The Man - Jasper's Biscuit!

Saturday 01.12.08

Well. Happy New Year! Once again, it has been ages since the last update. Lots has been going on in the Hefty household. Laura turned 3, which was exciting. We took her to the San Francisco Zoo on a gloomy Tuesday afternoon, which was awesome. There was hardly anyone there, and we arrived at the beginning of feeding times. We got a great view of the Tigers munching on some cow femurs:

And then found out the next week that a tiger had gotten out and munched on a couple people. Not sure if it was this very tiger, but we were this close to every single one. SPOOKY. Laura was a total adventure girl and got to feed a giraffe - and that was just about the coolest thing in the world.

It was like we had the entire zoo to ourselves. It was a superb way to spend a birthday.

Then we headed off to OC to get ready for Christmas. We were all very excited to see Unkie Tim and Auntie Rian. Shelly could hardly wait to get going, and we were all set once Bob loaded up the truck with all those bags!

We were on the Mexico cruise which was a blast. Kinda strange to be on a boat for a holiday, but they had it all decked out. Even Santa and snow in the lobby on Christmas day. Luckily, Grandma & Grandpa had a balcony room so it was easy for ol' Saint Nick to drop off the goods on Christmas eve, for those of you who like the details of logistics. We had fun at the pool, fun at out ports of call and a great time visiting Unkie John and Auntie Karla and new baby Willie. Sometimes, Shelly was bored:

Lots of times, Laura was a bit snooty.

But we really did have a blast. And don't my peeps clean up nice?

Be sure to check out even more pics on the Media Page.

We came back to OC, had a second and third Christmas at Granmere & Poppy's & Nina's houses. SO many presents! Once we got our land legs back, we decided to start getting serious about starting a little side business. That is taking up any/all of our "free time" right now. I will be SURE to keep you posted on those developments.

On Monday, Laura will start preschool. I can't believe it.

We dropped by the school the other day to see if they had room and Laura walked in like she owned the place, started playing and making friends while I got the tour, and threw a fit when it was time to go. I think we are both ready.

I think that is the news from here. I will be busy until we start making a fortune and buy that yacht, but I will try to post every now and then. Hope you had a wonderful holiday and the new year brings you everything you desire.

Friday 11.16.07 - Around the Corner

So do I even mention that I might today attempt to brave the world of the Stanford Shopping Center to capture forever in jpeg. format an image of my kids with Santa? I may very well chicken out in the next few hours of solitude and time with my own thoughts...

In other news, the fact that Father Christmas is at the mall drives home the notion that Thanksgiving is next week, Christmas just a mere spattering of days away. How's your gift shopping coming along? Actually, with all the stores going crazy before Halloween is even over, I am showing major restraint by not having all our Christmas decor up.

We have been out and about much lately, squeezing some gift shopping in between getting food for the two garbage disposals that live with us. Shelly has recently sprouted a couple new teeth, and man is she working them in. Oh, and the gallons of milk. You may not really notice that milk costs more than gas until you are buying like 5 gallons a week. Oh! Spongebob Squarepants came over for dinner one night. Now, this is a horrible shot of him, he had just finished washing the dishes. I think he was also a little put off by my ugly kitchen - I had to remind him, "Hey, we all can't live in a pineapple under the sea!"

Check out the Media Page for more of us out and about. Here is a shot of Shelly's laid back errand running pose:

P.S.

Had a GREAT time visiting Santa today - no tears, no screaming. Laura walked right up to him, gave him a hug and hopped on his lap. Shelly followed her sisters example and they were both great. Santa gave them each a candy cane which we saved for later this evening. After Laura ate it she said, "Wow, thanks Mom. That candy cane was delicious."

Monday 11.05.07 - Kids Rule

Ok. So things have been busy. But I don't have much to show for it. I can't believe it has been so long since the last post! Anyway, we have been busy with trips back and forth, Shelly's 1st Birthday, and of course, Halloween.

Be sure to check out the Media Page for the latest slideshows of our adventures.

We are looking forward to more fun in the near future - Thanksgiving with Grandmere and Poppy. A new addition to the Hefty clan - a cousin for Laura & Shelly is due around the same time. We should be hitting the shops soon, Christmas is right around the corner. For Christmas we will be cruising to Mexico with G&G Bird, Tim & Rian, The Birds from Missouri, and Grandma & Grandpa. Phew! And we haven't even started preschool yet! (Hopefully soon!)

Wednesday 09.12.07 - Back From The Road

What a trip! We returned late Sunday night from our trip to Yosemite and Idaho. It was off to a rough start with some car trouble. Despite having the truck in for service for a transmission safety bulletin THE DAY BEFORE WE LEFT, it seems the service department didn't quite get the job done as we found out trying to exit Yosemite Valley. We were stuck there for most of the day waiting to get towed out to Fresno. Want to venture a guess as to how much it costs to get towed out of Yosemite Valley to Fresno (about 150 miles)? I will just say we are still waiting for Nissan of Fremont to reimburse us. Yuck. Luckily once we were in Fresno, and due to much of Bob's diligent searching, we found a shop that was open on Labor Day (it took maybe an hour to fix) and we hit the road again. Yosemite was amazing, even though we didn't get to do much exploring. I certainly left wanting to visit again soon.

Then on to Idaho. We stayed Tuesday night with Unkie Tim and Auntie Rian, which was great. Unkie Tim set us up in a great Cabin close to the South and Middle forks of the Boise River.

The girls enjoyed frogging in the river during the day and mooing at the cows that grazed in the meadow just below the cabin in the evening. On Friday, I decided to shake it up again with transportation. The girls, Ginger and I went to explore up the river while we left Bob to fish. That's when I got a little too close to some rocks that had fallen into the road (not quite an avalanche) and tore the heck out of one of the tires. So, I put Shelly on my back and Laura was a trooper as we walked back to Bob's fishing spot and made him aware of my awesome driving skills. Here is Laura helping Dad change a tire (notice her superhero pose):

A little more time wasted on Saturday getting a better tire to drive home on, but got to spend the afternoon with Tim & Rian, and we still had lots of fun enjoying each other and a beautiful setting.

Be sure to check out the Media page for the <ahem, quite long> slide show. Although I do not pretend to be a photographer, there are many hazy outdoor photos - this I blame not on my lack of skills but due to the several wild fires that were raging all over Idaho.

Monday 08.06.07 - Summer School

Our first (and most likely only) installment of Summer School '07 will be presented by Prof. Laura and is a pictorial culinary lesson. Topic: How to Eat a Home Grown Strawberry.

1. Pick a winner 2. Inspect 3. Shove

4. Bite off stem 5. Continue shove 6. Savor (don't choke)

Then, get your sister and gang up on your Mom:

Then leave the scene of the crime, ditch your accomplice:

My two little partners in crime:

So, in short, we've spent the last month playing in the pool, growing strawberries (none make it as far as the house), tomatoes (we have harvested 3 to date but they were delicious), and some bouquets of sweet peas. During the rare "down time" we watch Dora, and Laura can now count to 10 in Spanish as well as use a few words correctly in context ("Mom! Vamanos!!) Shelly has been working on expressions

and wild animal imitations (her favorite: squeal like a stuck pig and crying baby bobcat.) We took the girls to the local arts and crafts street fair where we had a party dude make Laura a balloon hat, which lasted about 3 minutes. Ahh, summer.

Friday 07.06.07 - Too Demanding

We have really been enjoying the past few hot days in the new blow-up pool I purchased at the local OSH.

Totally cool whale with the spout and tail and all, right? WELL, upon closer inspection I read this:

Whoa. Wait just a minute. Competent supervision? COMPETENT?!Whatever happened to good old "adult supervision"? I was pretty sure I was borderline on that anyway. Now I have to be competent? And I have to empty and store safely? What if the kids get really tired playing and swimming and splashing around all day - can't I just bail some water out and let them sleep in it? And I need to put a fence around it? This may be the most complicated and demanding $15 summer toy item I have ever seen.

And then I finish looking at all the instructions and information to keep me safe from drowning, paralysis or other serious injury to see this:

Now let me get this straight. If I am not capable of reading the eleven lines of warnings and instructions the people at Intex® thought it was essential for me to obtain before using my pool toy, is it safe to lure me into a false sense of security by offering up a two pane stick figure diagram on how to avoid imminent danger? Hmmm...

So here is me and my competent supervision skillz. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am watching a bug crawl up my leg. Don't care really as long as it stays out of my mason jar of whiskey.

Friday 07.06.07 - Lessons

Really important things I've learned this week:

	Don't let your kid pig out on corn on the cob and macaroon cookies or you will regret it in the "end"
	Don't give your dog guacamole and let her sleep in the same house you let loved ones sleep.

Tuesday 06.26.07 - Solstice

The warm weather is here and we are enjoying it! We spent some of our recent days in O.C. - checking out the beach and some other favorite haunts:

We worked on our Paris Hilton too cool looks:

Laura entered a new phase in her life. She is afraid of everything she used to love. Wanna go swimming? NO. Remember last year when you were pushing me away so you could paddle from one end of the pool to the other? DON'T CARE WATER MAY MELT MY FACE OFF. Want to eat at a favorite restaurant? CREEPY DECOR - MUST HAVE HISSY UPON ENTRY. Remember all those fun days playing in the metal tub at Grandma and Grandpa's? CAN'T GO IN UNTIL I SEE BABY SISTER PLAYING IN IT. Want to go splash in the water at the beach and build a castle? IF I GET NEAR WET SAND I MIGHT SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST.

Have I painted the picture here? Can you sense from my tone that this is crazy? We are hoping this phase is a quick one.

This trip was heavy on trampoline jumping. Upon leaving the Bay area, Laura asked almost continuously, "Can I jump with Dottie?" We would drive for a couple hours, she might take a nap or sing a couple of songs, point out some scenery, and then like a fire cracker went off in her pants the asking about jumping with the dog. We stopped in Santa Barbara for a lovely lunch where we looked at the boats in the harbor, the palm trees lining the beach. As we pulled back onto 101. "Are we going to Nina's to jump now? With Dottie?" She is so scared to walk in a pedestrian tunnel to the beach painted with a seascape mural by school children, so scared that she buries her head in Grandpa's shoulder. But she defies gravity and temps injury on a trampoline. So here it is. Jumping with Dottie for the love of all that is good.

Fears set aside, we had a great trip. We were able to see family, rest and relax a bit, and Shelly spent some quality time with her Grand dads (and Moms too.)

Friday 05.11.07 - ¡Viva Viva!

We had an awesome Cinco de Mustache '07. Just take a look:

El Conquistador de la Piñata Laura takes a whack

Sr. Hefty's bigotes Party Animal

The weather was nice, the BBQ ribs were abundant, and the margaritas were frosty. I am still finding piñata debris in the grass, but other than that we have mostly recovered. Well, except Shelly. She had way too much to drink:

Don't you hate passing out in your jumperoo? Laura had a blast and pretty much ran around in a frenzy. Since recovering, we have enjoyed some warm days. Bob and Laura have been having some fun.

Ginger is pretty worn out from Laura running circles around her. She tries to sit one out every now and then.

Shelly has been having fun too (pooping), although I haven't got too many photos this time (because she usually is pooping). She mostly likes to eat (poop), sleep (poop) and poop (poop). My gosh, she has started to completely inhale solid food (and therefore poops constantly). She adores her big sister, and I can tell that she is just waiting until she can run around with her. She also is very taken with Ginger, and loves to look at her and "pet" her. Ginger takes babysitting Shelly very seriously.

And, of course I would be remiss if I neglected to include the "man's dream" photo. Sometimes, when preparing for a fiesta, you get creative when it comes to storage of supplies. Here is the beer keg wrapped in pork spare ribs. Look away vegetarians:

So, until next time, BYE!!

Tuesday 04.17.07 - Spring Has Sprung

Easter eggs. Road trips. Spring colds. Weddings. Bubbles. We have seen and/or done it all in the past few weeks. Spring has sprung and it seems like summer is breathing down our necks. However, Mother Nature reminds us that the ultra warm days are not here yet as we have recently had a howling wind whipping around.

We spent the past couple weeks in Orange Co. for an Easter trip. This rapidly turned into a wedding party for John and Karla. They came up from Mexico for a civil ceremony and we were able to be part of the celebration! Tim was able to pop in (although we missed Rian) to celebrate as well. Be sure to check out the rather large slide shows on the Media Page documenting all the festivities.

We were able to have some fun before spring break. I still can't get over how much fun everyone is having in the backyard.

On a totally different note: is there some special age, or is it a Mom thing or something else that enables me to wash dishes in at least 853 degree water? I can also now drink coffee at a much higher temperature than I used to be able to tolerate. Or maybe, I am developing superhero powers....

Tuesday 03.13.07 - Settling In

Another new address, another new place to get used to. So far, we are enjoying our new house. It is much closer to Bob's work, so the girls and I get to see him for lunch a few days here and there. That is a treat. The girls are totally loving the yard. Laura runs and runs. Now that the weather is getting a bit warmer, she wants to play in the hose and have me constantly fill her water can. It is amazing how she can find the smallest trickle of water and splash in it like it's a pool. I have a feeling her hair is going to reach maximum blondness this summer. Shelly also likes to sit outside with us and take it all in.

There are still boxes and boxes to go through. We are making a big push to go through everything and do some weeding. There are boxes in the garage we haven't seen since we were in Boston (I think some since we packed up to move out to Boston.) With all the stuff that goes along with having kids, there isn't enough space for all the crap that goes along with Bob and Em! Slowly but surely we will get through it.

The girls are also getting used to each other. I guess I should say Laura is getting used to Shelly, who is just becoming aware of things around her. However, Shelly has learned quickly that she really likes this big sister person. Whenever Laura is around her, she gets a huge smile on her face and gets so excited to see her sister.

Well, you will have to trust me on Shelly smiling. And there are aslo often squeals of joy.

Laura has been big on trying new things lately. The other night we tried a new Sushi place and she specifically asked for seconds on the tuna. What a champ. I guess I need to keep the chopstick helpers in my bag at all times, they don't do much good at home in the kitchen drawer while we are at the restarurant.

We are very excited about Tim's recent proposal to Rian. I think we are slotted for a wedding every year for at least a couple of years now! Other than that, we are doing well and getting ready for summer. Hopefully I can get back in the swing of updating the site on a more regular basis! Happy Spring!

Saturday 01.27.07 - The Long Walk Goodbye

Woo hoo! The sold sign is up and the fat lady has sung! Yesterday was quite the rollercoaster. After looking at a handful of crummy houses to rent, we finally found a winner and signed the paperwork. That was so exciting. While we were waiting for the dude to let us in to look at the house, Laura was running wild in the front yard. For the brief moment Bob could catch her to zip her coat I busted out the camera, so here are the only shots so far of the new place:

That would be the kitchen window right there. And here is a great pictorial of the very recluse but fun peoples of the Heftoo Tribe. Notice their colorful link-a-doos ornamentation:

However, we were very sad to have to say goodbye to our friend Rookie. After thinking long and hard, we decided that she wasn't getting the attention she needs with us and we took her to the shelter so that she could find another family with a little more time for her.

Despite the smiles here, its was a teary goodbye (well, Laura was totally clueless) . Actually, we had to get rid of her because her eyes do that freaky green monster glow in every picture we take of her....

So. I was up at the wee hours updating the site because I was really trying to keep my mind off the fact that it was a rainy night and she was probably shivering and lonely :( BUT, I am sure she will find a great home soon. It was surprising how many of the dogs up for adoption were pit bulls or some pit mix. Yuck. Rookie's as good as sleeping at the foot of someone's bed if that's her competition.

I will be stinking up the house today to make meatballs as we will be re-watching that amazing Boise game. Best game E.V.E.R.

Thursday 01.25.07 - Nail Biting

Well, here we are. Anxiously awaiting for our realtor to give us the all clear on our condo. Hopefully by Saturday we will know if we are "sold" or back on the market.

In the mean time, we have been busy. Bob has an awesome commuter car we got for $300! Doesn't he look smashing?

Laura has been working on some Valentines sweets:

And Shelly and I have just been hanging out. I plan to shift into hyper this weekend as house (rental) hunting hopefully starts as well as packing, etc. etc. More to come...

Monday 01.08.07 - Feliz Ano Nuevo

Only eight days into 2007 and here is a new update! And this year is going to be NUMBER ONE! So says Posh Hef:

We had an AWESOME Christmas in O.C. Bob and I were so anxious for Christmas morning that we started kicking the crib to wake Laura up around 6:30 a.m. Of course, she enjoyed the boxes and wrapping paper almost as much as the presents themselves. Grandpa was on a mission to get the TMX Elmo, which she loves, but wasn't too sure about in the beginning:

The snow sled she got from Grandmere and Poppy was a big hit too - she wanted Bob to pull her around in it all day. It was great having Bob around for vacation. Nothing beats every day feeling like a Saturday. It was so great to hang out and do fun stuff like walk to Starbucks for coffee. Laura really enjoyed it:

We had so much fun with everyone and got too much great stuff. But what is she still talking about most? What does she ask every time we get in the car? Our new best friend and favorite cousin (second cousin) Miles:

Are we going to Miles' house? Here I come Miles! Let's play with Miles. Miles house? Miles house? There were only a few shots I was able to get where they were visible as more than just a blur.

The girls had a great time with Unkie Tim,

And we always enjoy lunch at the San Clemente pier with Grandma and Grandpa:

Shelly had fun with Poppy too

Now that we are back in the View and are on the market again, we have spent our first weekend of 2007 killing time during the open house. It was interesting coming home to a condo that had been "staged" while we were gone. Just a few subtle changes, but enough to stand back and think, "Hey, who lives here?" Laura is adjusting well to having all of her toys stuffed away in the closet, and is very good about asking for what she wants to play with. Usually, we try to get out of the house to keep it somewhat organized.

At least some of us look cool when we are killing time! Shelly is starting to act like a real live kid. Eating more, pooping more (could it even happen?) and really starting to smile and laugh. Be sure to check out the slideshows from the holidays on the Media Page.

Happy New Year!

Tuesday 12.19.06 - The Countdown Begins

Well, I made the mistake of driving within the 15 mile radius of a shopping mall yesterday. Too crazy. The girls were a little restless, so that added to the total excitement. Over the weekend while we were out and about, Laura and Bob got in some major quality time at Carl's Jr.:

We also did a little horseback riding (at the car wash):

So, my heart goes out to you if you have shopping left to do! In the mean time, we will update you with our non-mall adventures.

Monday 12.11.06 - Month Two

My, how time flies! It seems like October was just yesterday. Here is NOT the overall sentiment in the Hefty household:

Shelly saw the doctor today for her 2 month check up. And Laura just celebrated two years. I must say it is impressive how different kids can be so early on. Shelly isn't growing at quite the same rate as Laura did, but she is still growing. No insight into too much yet, but Shelly is like Laura in that she loves to be out and about. She really enjoys puking on her Dad in the morning right before he leaves for work. And she can't grunt at me enough. She is starting to smile at me, which is great. And she is trying to make sounds at me but does that much more with her Dad.

I am still working out some video bugs, I hope to put some fun clips up soon. There is one from Thanksgiving, see the movie page. There is also a Thanksgiving slideshow (with tons of photos) on the media page.

I can't go without finally showing evidence of our visitor during Thanksgiving. Here is the story:

Bob and I arose from out bed when heard the clatter. We thought someone had fallen down the stairs. When I opened our bedroom door, Ginger barked which must have scared whatever away. I saw food package shrapnel around and thought the dogs had gotten into the supplies. Then I remembered all the dogs were contained in various bedrooms. I also recalled that a neighbor 4 houses up the street had had a bear in their yard the night before. Then I really started to worry. I got a pot and a spoon and made Bob look around, thankfully (after all, it was Thanksgiving) Ginger scared the animal out instead of further in. After securing the house and making sure nothing else could visit, we lay in bed (adrenaline pumping) discussing that it must have been a raccoon. There was no way a bear could have 1.) gotten through the dog door (even though Ginger could) and 2.) ransack the food so neatly. So I went to bed thinking a little bandit had visited. When I got up in the morning, the menfolk had gone outside to discover these:

So, those are bear prints in the middle, with a quarter to give you an idea of size. Those small prints in the lower left hand corner, those are Ginger's prints. Pretty nice sized bear in our house. I won't show the nose smudge on the window of the room Laura was staying in (because the photo is hard to see, and it's a smudge from Rambis' nose).

Needless to say, there was tons to talk about that morning.

Friday 12.08.06 - Happy Holidays!

I know, I know. I won't even comment on how long it has been since the last update. And this one will be quick, as I am working dangerously close to nap time. Here is a recent look at the smallest girl in the house, already so smug:

Thanksgiving was awesome, I still need to put up those photos. I have a new video clip up of Laura totally goooshing with love, so be sure to check out the media page. Be patient, it is a big movie and takes some time to load. I think I might also be done with holiday shopping! However, I may owe some dirty favors to the UPS guy on account of visiting our house several times a week.

Hope you are feelin' the spirit!