A weekend in the snow

At the end of February we went with Oma and Opa to Tahoe for the weekend. We had such a great time and kids loved the snow... especially the getting pulled around in a sleigh part. We found a great hill for sledding and after Madison got some fancy pink ski goggles so the snow wouldn't get in her face... she was set to go. Oma and Opa didn't miss any of the action... they were real sports and I promised them I would file these pictures in the "anything for our grandkids" pile.

As some of you may know... my kids are OBSESSED with ice... so as you can imagine snowballs aren't just good for throwing. But let's be clear they are also good for throwing... especially with Opa. There were definitely some "firsts" on this trip... including Jack's first time in the snow Madison's first indoor Smoreand the first Farrell Snowman (complete with a carrot nose, please note)We had such a nice time and hope to get back up there more next year... maybe for some skiing??

An afternoon on Chestnut Street

One recent Friday afternoon we all decided to meet on Chestnut Street.. this is one of the awesome parts of everyone living close we can have these spur of the moment good times. We were all in tow including Grammy... an extra set of hands never hurt!!
Julie was decked for the "walk" with Dylan making his first appearance in the Bjorn
It was a beautiful day so we promised Madison and Mia some frozen yogurt... look at these two girls, hangin' out on Chestnut Street with chocolate all over their faces.... soon they'll be hanging out of bars on Chestnut Street.... oh boy!!If you have never seen the pure joy of a 3-year-old this is it.. my friends!!

Crab Feed

Every year we have the high school/college crew over for crab. This was our 5th year doing it and it has become a tradition we all look forward to. This year everyone got a babysitter and we enjoyed a fun night with good wine, good crab and good friends of course!!

Every year we go to our special friends at the wharf to make sure the crab is super fresh. This year we made a morning out of it, so after we got the crab we headed to Pier 39 and Mark relived his glory days in the arcade.. teaching Madison and Jack the "art" of skeeball.

Preschool Playdates

Madison has had some fun recently having some friends from preschool over after school. This is Madison and Drew making some cookies.
Dress up is also becoming a big thing in our house.... here is a picture of Madison and Callen Porter testing out their "jewels"
The girls were getting all dressed up... when I asked where they were going ... Madison told me "Costco".

While the Daddies are away... the cousins will play

Every year the Daddies head to Tahoe for Super Bowl weekend... this weekend in the past has been marked with a lot of angst by the girls mostly because someone is always sick, pregnant, or has a newborn... or all three. This year we were determined to make it a fun weekend so everyone came to Chez Farrell for a cousins sleepover... and after everyone went to bed the mommies snuck out to drinks and dinner!! This is how Jack felt after spending the whole weekend with all his aunties and cousins. No hall pass for Ryan this year.. but Dylan did make it over for the first cousins pick as you can see.. it was a great success... everyone is all smiles and Jack is sitting nicely.. oh wait that's what we hoped it would be this is what really happened.

We did get this pic of the youngest four.. the M&M's are getting too cool for these pics and playing babies and dress up is way more fun.

The trampoline has been a big hit since we got it and Chloe after spending a year watching everyone else... is joining Jack in the fun.

Jack LOVES all his girl cousins.... and after Chloe he moves right on over to Reese. He loves to invade their space... I mean give them lots of hugs and kisses.

Madison and Mia have a wonderful friendship and play so well together. They even have figured out how to call each other on the phone.. they have 20 minute conversations about nothing..their just like 2 little old ladies. I love this pic of them. On Saturday afternoon we headed to the East Bay to the Little Star Cafe... I highly recommend it if you haven't been. Fun for everyone.. mommies get to eat and drink and kids get to play. It was a big hit.

Lucky No. 7!!

The news has been under wraps since Christmas... but I just got the official ok to do a post. The Fishers will be welcoming #2 to their clan in early August..... this is also #7 in 3.5 years for Grammy and Poppo... must be something in the water...hahaha. Jen and John told Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve by showing them an ultrasound pic and giving them another stocking to add to the fireplace.

We are so excited for them to join the the chaos.. I mean fun of 2 and Chloe is so excited about being a big sister. Jen is feeling good and still wearing her normal clothes... don't get me started!!

Congrats Fishers!!

Callen Porter's Birthday

Callen Porter is the daughter of Andrea Callen who Mark went to high school with and is now my good friend. Madison and Callen both go to The Serra Preschool together and Callen celebrated her 4th birthday at the Tutu school

They made little crowns and then had a little ballet class... seeing all those girls in their tutus was precious. Madison loves her tutu and often wears it now around the house for dress up.

This is Madison with Callen and Rily who was also celebrating a birthday.

Jack has a buddy!!! Welcome Dylan Patrick Dunn

On January 13, 2009 at 2:21pm we welcomed Dylan Patrick Dunn to the world!Julie pushed for 3 hours but everyone is happy and healthy. He weighed 8lbs. 4 ounces and is 21 inches long.
He is such a little bundle of joy. This is the Dunn Family's first family photo.
Everyone was there... a small waiting room with 12 anxious people cheering on all the doctors and nurses and Julie too (from afar). We lined the hallway waiting for Ryan to walk down the hall with the news. Dr. Green came out first... and was sworn to secrecy.... We had 3 hours in the waiting room so there were lots of jokes, updates on Facebook and last minute reviews of Mark's famous "Baby Dunn Pool"There were also many tender moments... I especially love this one... Tom and Laura minutes before they are about to become grandparents for the first time.
This is #6 for Grammy and Poppo but still just as special as the first.
We are so proud of our little sis!!All the boys raced from work to be there... they were so excited to meet their new nephew and welcome Ryan to the wonderful world of Fatherhood.

Madison and Jack are so excited to add #6 to the cousins crew. The oldest and the youngest met for the first time today and shared a tender moment. Madison wore her ballerina tutu to the hospital in honor of Auntie JuJu ( a former ballerina).Grammy and Madison helped count all Dylan's toes to make sure they were all there. They are... whew!!Jack and Dylan also met today for the first time... I have to admit it wasn't love at first sight but that's just because there was a cup of ice nearby that was far more interesting.. but no doubt these two will be thick as thieves soon. We are so excited for Jack to have a buddy and finally someone else can share my pain... I mean joy in the fact that boys are just much different!!! See below when Jack heard there was another boy, he started kicking dirt.