Funfest at the JCC

My wonderful sister watched my kids two weekends ago so that Alan and I could go to his 20th Duke Reunion. What a surprise when I got home and saw pictures of my new cats!!!

Enjoying a beautiful spring day

Believe it or not, if you want to entertain my kids on a beautiful day, give them a sponge and a bucket of water. We took advantage of the great weather this weekend do some spring cleaning. We scrubbed down the deck and all the furniture. The girls probably spent an hour with brushes and sponges cleaning. Of course, it usually required Sherry and I do to some touching up, but they had a good time and were wiped out. Ellie ended up taking a four hour nap to recover. We also got the sprinkler out for the first time this season. We are looking forward to many more days like this weekend to just be outside in the wonders of nature. I feel blessed that my kids would rather be running around with a hose and on bikes that glued to a TV.

Evening rituals

So I just put the girls to bed. Ellie is still yelling, "mom, lay with me, just one more hug." As crazy as it may seem, I love putting the girls down at bed. It is not without negotiations. We negotiate on which pjs they are going to wear, what toothbrush they are going to use, whether I get to brush their teeth or whether they are going to do it, which book they will each pick out, whose book gets to be read first, where they will sit to have their book read and on it goes. But it is a time of snuggling and talking and praying. Tonight Ellie wanted to pray for all the "adults" she knew and she usually ends by blessing her bed. For those who don't know, Katelyn still bangs her head to go to sleep, so the music I am currently listening to is supplemented with a little bass beat.

I look at these two girls every day and wonder how they got to be so big so fast and how I can make it slow down. My mom keeps threatening to put them in a box with a brick on top so they can't get any bigger. It makes me wonder at what age my mom stopped looking at me and wondering when I would stop growing. I hope I do continue to grow each day (maybe not physically, but wiser).

Personal website not convenient

So I tried to go to my own personal website and I was just as bad at keeping everyone up to date on it. In fact, I think I was worse because I can only update it from my personal computer at home. So I am going to go back to using blogger. Hope I don't lose any of you in the transition.

We had an awesome weekend up in Louisville for Easter. It is always great to spend time with the family. I am so blessed to have a family that loves me and my kids so much. They are truly doted on for days on end and receive such unconditional love. We had our usual Easter Egg dying evening at mom's on Friday night and then had a rare unscheduled day on Saturday to just relax. The kids got to go to the bungy jumping place that they love. Katelyn is up to doing flips and everything. Then on Sunday we spent the day eating. I am not kidding. I gained two pounds in less than 48 hours in Louisville. We started the morning at church. . .it was actually quite distracting with the kiddos, although they were dressed to impress. They actually slept in curlers. if anyone of you are familiar with our family's hair--there is not an ounce of curl in it. Then we went to Grandma Libby's and visited and stuffed ourselves. We finished the day off at Mema Shirley's where we again stuffed ourselves with the relatives. We finally drug ourselves back to Nashville Sunday night. All in all, a successful trip.

Family Fun at Amelia Island

We had an awesome time at Amelia Island last week visiting the Calhoun/Barger families. The girls loved playing with their cousins. They are finally getting old enough to be able to at least hang with the Calhoun girls. Ellie followed her girl cousins around like a puppy dog and both of my girls were always asking where their Cousins were. We had great weather. It was warmer earlier in the week so we got lots of beach time. Both girls like the water, but Katelyn is a fish. She was fearless. The waves would knock her down and she’d be right back up again. Later in the week, it was windier so we went to a Parade downtown and to the Jacksonville Zoo which is one of our favorites.

We also got to hang out with Kit’s kids and the Barger cousins. They have all grown so much. Last summer when Katelyn and Ethan got together they just fought the whole time. This year they actually seemed to like each other a bit more. We are looking forward to seeing the whole gang again in July when we head to Pennsylvania for a week.

Purim Parade

Yesterday was the Purim Parade at the girls’ school. It is the celebration of when Esther saved her people. The girls got to dress up as whatever they wanted with the exception of super heroes and guns. Of course, mine are girly, girly. They then paraded around the JCC handing out goodie bags.

Soccer starts up

Katelyn’s soccer season started back up this Saturday. Her poor team got crushed by the other team. Fortunately, all the girls were in good spirits. They got the hang of it by halftime and were even in goals the second half, but you can’t really erase a 10 goal spread from the beginning. Katelyn was the perfect sport, though, which is a huge accomplishment. Last year, when the girls scored on her, she had some not so nice things to say to them.

It was a beautiful weekend here, so we spent a lot of time outside. The girls loved riding bikes, roller skating, going on nature walks and running around with the neighborhood boys. This neighborhood is going to be crazy as these little ones all start to grow up.

This picture is of Katelyn waiting on her turn to get in the game. I don’t have any great action shots since their goal was on the other end..

New website

In order to be able to post pictures more easily and add in movies, I am trying out a website associated with our mac. You can go to http://web.me.com/thecalhouns and see what we are up to. You need a username and password, so if I haven't sent you one, then shoot me an email at acalhoun@comcast.net. I am making the site password protected so pictures of my little ones are not able to be accessed any old stranger.

It's Friday!!!!!

It is Friday and about 70 degrees here today. We got to sleep in a little late today because it is Career Day at CPA. Alan was one of the presenters speaking on the law. I had the opportunity to meet up with him for a rare lunch out today which was very nice. Sherry picked the girls up from school and took them to the park to play, then they played out front with all the neighborhood kids until dark. I am so looking forward to spring and summer. We are so blessed to live in this neighborhood that is flooded with kids and sociable neighbors. It is kind of Desperate Housewifeish with all the wives gathered in the driveways with the kids running around like wild, but we all love it.

Great weekend with the family

We had a great weekend with the family. Mom and Larry came down to Nashville for a visit. It was Larry’s first trek down here since the weekend we moved in. In his typical handyman fashion, he helped with a few projects around the house. I almost electrocuted him I think when he was trying to fix an electrical problem in the bathroom. I switched off the breaker, but didn’t realize that the switches were on two different switches until on popped the light. Oh well, alls well that ends well.

We went to the Imax 3D under the Sea which Uncle Keith would have loved. It was pretty cool. The sea lions appeared to swim up to the kids and give them kisses at the end. Then on Sunday we went to the Playhouse Disney Live featuring Mickey Mouse and gang, Handy Manny (Dylan would have loved it), The Little Einsteins and Tigger and Pooh. Ellie kept looking around trying to figure out where rocket had gone. She didn’t quite understand why the characters didn’t look quite like they do on the television.

West Palm Beach

I have been out of sorts for a while. Sorry. Our computer moved so slow that it was difficult to load pictures and frankly, I didn't have the patience. Luckily, we got a new computer recently, so I am hopeful the upload speed is faster. Here are a couple of pictures from our recent trip to West Palm Beach to see the in-laws. We went to a Safari which ended at a park with a bird place. Katelyn LOVED feeding the birds. I regret to say I have taken no pictures in February. I'll get to it though. We are heading to Louisville this weekend which always means photo ops.

More Christmas photos

After our DC trip, we headed to Louisville to see my family. The kids were overwhelmed with love. It always makes me a little homesick when I come up for a visit, but I appreciate the way everybody loves on my kids and me so well. Here are a couple of photos from the trip. The girls received a beauty salon from Grandma Karen. Unfortunately, we almost had to cut a chunk out of Katelyn's hair when Emily tightly rolled it up in a round brush. Luckily, Kasey was able to cut the brush out. Who would have thought that a beauty salon would be hazardous. Much love to everybody from Nashville!

Christmas Photos from DC

Here are a couple of the girls opening their stockings at Alan's dad's.

Katelyn's Winter showcase

Katelyn had her first Winter Showcase with dance in December. It was quite a show to see all the three and four year olds try to dance in unision. She did a great job, if not the most graceful. She has decided to switch to gymnastics rather than ballet in January where I believe her strength and quickness will be more appreciated. Although we are tempted to keep her in ballet just to improve coordination. :)

Recognize this outfit

It was mine when I was little, although I am quite sure I did not wear it when I was two. In fact, I feel like Katelyn just started wearing it a couple of months ago.

Tea with Daddy

Ellie got all dolled up for tea with her daddy. It was actually cookies and hot chocolate, but she loved it just the same.

Am I a beautiful bride?

Ellie was trying out different looks for a bride. Which do you like best? Sassy Ellie or Frankenstein's bride? Katelyn loves to dress her up and put on a tiara so she can be a bride.

Last soccer game

Katelyn's last game of soccer was on Saturday. They had a great finish--much improved from the beginning of the season. All the girls went to the park, had pizza and received their trophies. Katelyn took hers to school to show it off on Monday. She is very proud of herself.

Halloween fun

I had a Dora and an Ariel for Halloween this year. They had a blast. Ellie was ready to keep going when we had finished the block. Halloween is always a great time in our neighborhood. All the neighbors get out and visit and socialize. We even had a little gathering in our cul de sac after the trick or treating was done. Katelyn played hide and seek with the boys until way past her bedtime. I've been trying to upload individual pictures of the girls, but they won't upload. Sorry.

The Flower Girl

Katelyn was in heaven Saturday night. After dreaming of being a flower girl for almost a year, the day finally came. She started the day getting her hair done with the girls. Thank you to the amazing hair lady because she kept my stick straight haired child in curls all night. After getting her hair done, she sat mesmerized watching Angela get hers done. If you all have seen my little girl around beautiful girls in dresses, you will know how transfixed she can becomes. She spent the entire evening dutifully following Angela around (Thank you Angela for being so accommodating.) When the time came she got very serious and walked down the aisle with a purpose---distributing those leaves. She had a blast and spent the evening on the dance floor before crashing in her Aunt Sherry's arms.

I can't believe how grown up my little girl is. What happened to that little baby that I birthed just four short years ago.

For those of you wondering why my wonderful husband is not in any of these pictures, he took one for the team. A few minutes before the bridesmaids were due to walk down the aisle, Ellie quietly said, "My tummy hurts," and then promptly threw up all over Alan and the aisle. However, Sherry and the photographer rose to the occasion, quickly taking care of the problem and the wedding went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, my poor hubby was not so fortunate and had to have replacement clothes brought to him. He and Ellie watched the wedding from the back where they got to see the procession up close. Fortunately, Ellie bounced back quickly and was dancing before we hardly knew what hit her. All is well today. The picture of Ellis is from pre-incident :)