Vacation Recap

I know I am late on this, but wanted to post a couple of pics from our trip. We had an amazing time. Alan and I enjoyed our three nights away at the Buttermilk Inn and Spa in the Hudson River Valley, New York. It was so nice just to get away--the two of us. The photos show the front of the inn and the view of the river from the outside patio.

Then on to Pennsylvania to meet up with the kids. They had a ball. They went tubing on the lake out back from the grandparents. The girls LOVED it. Katelyn kept yelling, faster, faster, faster. Ellie even rode the tube with Alan.

The girls went blueberry picking with their Boston cousins, went bumper-boating with their Pennsylvania cousin and went to camp and rode horses. Overall a great trip.

Babymoon

Alan and I learned a new term last night: Babymoon. It is apparently the last childless weekend getaway before you have a baby. Well we are doing this one right. My wonderful inlaws offered to take the kids for a few days, so we took adavantage of it for a quick getaway. We flew up to Pennsylvania yesterday and they met us at the airport to get the kids. No tears by them which was wonderful. Alan and I then headed to the Hudson River Valley to spend three nights at a wonderful little inn in Milton, NY--Buttermilk Falls Inn. Our room looks out into a flowery courtyard. We spent the morning on a little walk of the grounds, walking down to the Hudson River and looking out over an amazing overlook. It would be the most awesome place for a wedding. Getting ready to head to the included, delicious smelling breakfast at the inn and then off to site see. On the agenda for today: the Vanderbilt Mansion and the FDR museum and library.

We're having a . . . . . .

I am not sure if it is because it is our last baby or because the girls are so excited about having the baby, but I have been anxiously awaiting this ultrasound for weeks. For the big news. . . Not sure what to do with a boy, but ready or not, he is coming. Wow.

We took the girls so it would feel more real to them. They were excited to see the baby, but not so excited to hear the news of it being a boy. I explained to them that "you get what you get" to which Ellie promptly responded, " and you don't throw a fit." My wise little one. They were fairly attentive for the first ten minutes and then quickly were ready to move on to other things. I am always so amazed at ultrasounds to see how he is already a little person with hands and feet and fingers and toes--a truly amazing creation from God. Katelyn was a little sensitive to "how are we going to get him out" and whether it would hurt. They most definitely will not be in the room for all that. But most of all I am feeling blessed that so far everything looks healthy whether it was a boy or a girl.

So we are very excited as we continue on this adventure called parenthood. It seems that a new gender chapter is about to be opened. Wish us luck and lots of advice on what to do with little boys. Alan will be very pleased to have some additional testosterone in the house. So far he has had to rely on Scotty.

4th of July festivities

We had a busy day today. Our neighborhood had a 4th of July parade where all the kids decorate their bikes and parade around the neighborhood, followed by lots of watermelon. The pool was packed with families, along with free food and a DJ. We visited with lots of neighbor friends.  Ellie is actually starting to swim without her floaties which she is very proud of, although it tires her out. Luckily, that translates into a nice afternoon nap. 

Post nap, we went to the Crowell family's annual 4th of July party. There were kids galore, a pool and even our own fireworks display. Even the rain turned out to be an enjoyable event for the girls. All in all, a very fulfilling day with lots of friends and fun. 

The rest of vacation

I took a bit of a sabbatical from the computer for the last few days of vacation. Here were some other highlights of the trip.


Most of the crew went to the Waterville water park one day. I spent most of the day in the wave pool and the kiddie area with Ellie while Katelyn was fearless on the slides and tubes.

The Calhoun clan spent one morning at the Gulf Shores zoo. It wasn't a very big zoo, but worked for our kids. They had lots of animals that the kids could feed. Ellie especially loved feeding the animals. Katelyn tended to pull her hand back at the last minute, creating animal frustration I am sure.

Family photos

The Girls were wiped out by the last day. Don't they look angelic?

Dolphins

Gulf Shores

We are at Gulf Shores this week having a wonderful time. The girls love the beach and the ocean. Katelyn has been a fish. She LOVES the water. It is actually a little scary because she swims pretty fast and doesn't want to stay that close. She goes underwater and you can't see here and it gives me a little pause. Yesterday we went on a Dolphin cruise and were awed by the beauty of the dolphins. The boats created a huge wake between them and the dolphins rode the wakes it seemed. They kept jumping out of the water and riding along side us. The girls loved it. Today we are off to the waterpark. Being preggo, I am going to park it at the kiddie pool with Ellie and venture to the lazy river. I am sure Katelyn will master the park in an hour.

Thanks to Cole and Gabe for coming by to take care of our furry friends.

Another test of facebook

Seeing if blogger goes straight to facebook.

My brave little climbers

This week at church they are having a Vacation Bible School. It kicked off Monday night with pizza, sno cones, face painting, jumpy things and a rock wall. Katelyn is fearless when it comes to climbing those walls. Ellie had her first attempt at it and did a pretty good job. She got up a few rocks before coming back down.

The Weekend's Festivities have come to a close

The planner that I am, I thought it would be a good idea to have June babies so I could be off all summer with them before heading back to school. Why didn't someone tell me the crazy birthday weekends that would be in store for me with two birthdays so close together. Well we survived the weekend and had a great time at it. It was a tremendous help to have Grandma Karen and Aunt Joyce around.

We had beautiful weather yesterday for Ellie's party at the Splash Pad. It was nice to meet some of the parents of Ellie's friends. The kids pretty much ran around for two hours in the water, occasionally stopping in for food and drink. Katelyn handled it wonderfully given that it was actually her birthday. We ended up grilling out at our house that evening and having a little cake to celebrate Katelyn's actual birthday. Katelyn's big birthday present was a new bike which you can see her so proudly riding. Ellie is the recipient of Katelyn's old Dora bike.

Today we took a trip to Brushfire Pottery for a party with some of Katelyn's girl friends. The girls did a wonderful job and were complimented on by the manager on how well-behaved and attentive they were. We get to pick up their works of art in about a week. That should be interesting. So in summary, I have a new three year old and a new five year old. Where has the time gone? I know it sounds crazy to say they are getting ready to go to college, but I feel like time is moving that fast. So my prayer for tonight is that time slows down so I don't miss all the little things.

Reminiscing some more--Katelyn turning five

On the heals of realizing my baby just turned 3 years old yesterday, I have to come to grips with the idea that I will officially have a five year old in a few hours--one heading to kindergarten this fall. So in honor of Katelyn's birthday tomorrow, here are some pictures from her first year. Poor Katelyn was so beat up when she entered this world. She looked like she had already fought a few rounds. There is also a particularly telling one of her already sucking her thumb vigorously at five months. Katelyn is one who wears her heart on her sleeve--whether you are blessed with her love or are the recipient of one of her looks, she has a passion for life. Happy Birthday Katelyn!!

Ellie's Birthday Part I

So we don't really believe in having one day birthdays around here. The kids' tend to extend for days. So last night we celebrated Ellie's birthday on her actual birthday. Things were low key with a few gifts, followed by cake and ice cream. Check out Ellie with one of her new gifts--an electric toothbrush from Katelyn. Katelyn was actually very proud of her gift since Ellie has been trying to sneak Katelyn's toothbrush for weeks. Katelyn also gave her a Barbie head that you can practice hair on which they proceeded to do for the rest of the night.

Grandma Karen and Aunt Joyce arrived this evening. We had a delicious dinner at Monell's, followed by a visit to the Children's Theatre to watch Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. The kids found it amusing. Tomorrow is a busy day as we have Katelyn's actual birthday and Ellie's birthday party.

I can't believe my baby is turning three in four hours

It seems like just yesterday that we were introducing Katelyn to her new baby sister. Now Ellie will be three in the morning. We have been having a great week counting down the days for both Ellie (Thursday B-day) and Katelyn (Saturday B-Day.) Today Alan and I each split the girls up and took them to buy birthday presents for one another. They did a very good job and were quite proud of their purchases. So with my reminiscing, I am attaching pictures from three years ago as we introduced Ellie to the world. What a blessing she has been to us with all her smiles, cuddles and "I love You"s.

Who says you need toys to have fun?

We hosted a shower for Karen Ford at my mom's house this weekend. She is marrying my cousin Adam. One of the gifts came in a large UPS box filled with peanuts. Of course, my kids thought it was the most fun ever. Even my cousin Bayley got in and had a ball. The weekend was filled with family and fun. Not only did we have the bridal shower, but we went to another friend of the family (maybe cousin)'s graduation party and then stopped by Mema and Papa's for a visit. The girls were wiped out by the end of the day from all the attention, love and playing.