Running just as fast as you can

Sunday morning we were up and out the door early to run in the Banana Chase 5K benefiting UCSF Children's hospital. Mark and I each pushed a stroller

The Fishers, D'Angelo's (sans Jack who was nursing a sore calf), and Gina and Sadie were also part of the fun.

Jack had so much fun checking out all the people and going fast with Dad.

The Fishers made it a family affair and Chloe smiled for her first race.
The race was great and Team Farrell had a strong finish.

Gina and I ran most of the race together and opted for the Ipods.
Chuck decided not to run the race but got his exercise for the day blowing up this banana.
After the race we ran into Vanessa's sister and her husband Gary and their adorable twins Addison and Gracie... so cute.But the running wasn't over... Madison and Makenzie were about to run their first 50 yard dash... let the stretching begin!!
Madison had her own official race t-shirt and number was ready to run.There were 80 3year olds running..Mads and Makenzie made it into heat 3 as I helped them scope out the course.
"Ready, set, go.... she's off... running at full stride to the finish line.

She got a little thrown off when the banana ran up right next to her....

But both girls had a strong finish... under 40 seconds... now if we could just shave 30 seconds off that in the next 15 years... watch out Olympics. They had purple ribbons and big smiles.. it was a great time!!

Girls Night In

Friday night was Aaron's birthday so the boys all went out to celebrate.... leaving the girls and Jack at home for a night in. Chloe enjoyed some sweet potatoes while Mommy enjoyed the Chardonnay.
Eileen and her girls were ready to celebrate.... toasting their Dad's birthday.
After dinner it was bath time for Chloe and Jack... Jack was so excited to have someone to share his new bath tub with.

After the three babies were down... the "big girls" (Mia and Mads) got to be silly with their moms. Here they are using the camera to take a picture of the 3 mommies and one to be.
Now it was time for a game of switcharoo....Mia and Mads got to stay up way past their bedtime...and tuck the mommies in bed.
Madison and Jack are starting to play together and they have so many tender moments together... here they are riding Madison's horsey, "go chicago"... giddy up.

Jack has also figured out how to climb onto Madison's trampoline and do some jumping of his own. Jack can hold his own... even with all that hair coming his way.. yikes!!

First day of Serra Preschool

Today was Madison's first day of preschool and it was a great day!! She is already reading the signs at school... a true genius on our hands!
She was greeted by her two friends... Makenzie Eggert and Callen Porter... these girls are gonna be trouble!!

After a short stint in the art room.. Madison was outside braving the 55 degree weather to check out the bikes. Is she having fun or what?? This could be when she realized mom wasn't staying.. ouch!!
But all was good and after school Madison was greeted at home by Oma and Opa who had a special surprise for her... a pink (of course) schultute... this is German for school bag and is a tradition on the first day of school.Inside were all kinds of goodies from Oma and Opa including new hair clips, stickers, panties and the best treat of all... a pink cupcake from Cara's Cupcakes on Chestnut Street.. thanks Oma and Opa!!


Let's hope the second day goes as well as the first!!

Madison's Preschool "Do"

This week was Madison's turn to get her haircut.. now she has had regular haircuts since she was 9 months old thanks to her thick long locks so this was old hat but it was made special because it was her "preschool do". Madison and Mia start school next week and along with every other kid in America their moms thought they needed a haircut to start the year off right and set just the right first impression for preschool.


Grammy made a surprise appearance... her first time out of the house in three weeks (she has been taking care of my dad since hip surgery).
This little place in Danville was great... they got to drive a truck, watch Cinderella, get their haircut, and the real topper... SPRINKLES in their hair over a beautiful braid.

Mia had to check it out and give her final approval. Both girls looked great!!

Jack's first haircut

Last week we all headed downtown for a big milestone for Jack.. his first haircut... and this was quite a special one. Jack got his haircut right after Daddy at the barber downtown (Placido) where Mark has and his Dad have been going for years!! This is Jack's before look...
This is during... Dad is micromanaging the process well and I am trying to stay quiet.
Jack was a real trooper and loved all the attention and he especially loved his blue cape.
He is a little unsure about Placido's plans for the back but he's trusting Dad on this one.
He is definitely excited about getting rid of the bangs... and is psyched that he will be able to see where he is going now.
This was a special dad for the Farrell men and we all went to lunch after to celebrate.

A Beach Day

The weather has been so nice in San Francisco that we have spent a lot of time at the beach... and thanks to Gina's secret solution (baby powder) to get the sand off.. its not the heinous experience it has been in the past. Last week... we were lucky to have Heather and Nikos join us.. except Nikos kept crawling to other people's towels.. I guess we weren't fun enough for him.


Makenzie and Madison kept themselves nice and busy digging a hole and then watching the waves crash into it.
This was the best shot I could get of the younger three... Jack is on the move so he doesn't sit still long enough for the pic... but from the looks of it something really cool was happening in the water... did they see a great white??
This is possibly my favorite pic of the summer... Makenzie loves the sand and the water and is such a bundle of energy. I can't help but think how her dad is going to love this pic.. if preschool doesn't work out... maybe Baywatch is doing some early recruiting!!

Take Maddy to work day

Madison woke up this morning to some very exciting news.. this wasn't going to be just any old Friday morning... this was a special day. She was going to work with Dad and she was thrilled with the news.
Mark's boss is out of town so he decided to take Madison to work with him. Madison is fascinated by the fact that a yellow taxi comes every morning to pick Daddy up and drop him off... so today she got to check it out for herself.
She got to go to Starbucks and get some "purple bread" and then she found Mickey Mouse on Dad's computer and after all that she decided it was time to get to business so she sat down to write a few emails.
She had a great day, I mean hour, at Dad's office and after Mom picked her up it was time for a quick potty break then off to Enzo with her cousins... Thanks Dad for a great morning!!

Breakfast with Enzo

Most of our Friday mornings are spent with a man called Enzo Garcia... he's a quirky folk singer but the kids and mommies love him. This was a special Friday because after weeks of talking it up... Chloe came with us.All 5 cousins got to enjoy Breakfast with Enzo this morning and it was quite a scene. Here's some video of Madison and Mia dancing/tackling each other.


Surprisingly even with all this commotion... Reese was able to catch up on some beauty sleep.

Tahoe August 2008

We spent a week in Tahoe and had such a great time. Some of the best moments were at the pool at Old Greenwood where Madison became a fish.
Madison also enjoyed (along with Mommy) her first waterslide... so fun!!
We had a great deck on the back of the house where we had many wonderful family dinners and drank nice wine.
We also enjoyed some fun times actually at the Lake.. this was at a dinner we had at Gar Woods.. the best part was after dinner we got to put our toes in the Lake.
and dance together by the Lake at sunset.