Thanks to Grandmom Marilyn!!!!!!

Since construction was a little behind on the new high school building, school was pushed back a week. Grandmom Marilyn so graciously agreed to bring Katelyn back a week later so that she could stay with us for the week before school starts and keep Katelyn and Ellie. I think they had a ball with their Grandmom time!!! She caught some of the best sibling pictures I have had in awhile.

Owen also started his new preschool this week at CPA. They seem to love him and say he is very sweet and well-behaved. Here is a picture of their buggy ride. The little girl next to him is a week older than Owen, but I'd say he could eat her up :)

The girls walking Owen home from school

Katelyn made it home

Ellie, Owen and I met Katelyn at the airport when she arrived from Camp Netimus. Ellie REALLY missed Katelyn. As soon as she saw her in the terminal, she RAN to her. As you can see from the picture, she went into the No Entry area and set off the alarms. But is was so sweet to see how much she loved her big sister. Katelyn's flight had been delayed, so Ellie put together a sign for her. She was actually initially delayed overnight and spend the night in Detroit. Thanks Grandmom Marilyn for taking such good care of her.

2 more days until Katelyn comes home

Tonight is Katelyn's last night at camp. We miss her dearly in the Calhoun household. She gets picked up tomorrow and will fly in on Sunday. Can't wait to see her!!!!! I can't believe my baby has been gone for 3 weeks. 

 Final dance performance

They came in through a window to a surprise Candyland banquet.

Cape Cod Vacation

In July, we were blessed to be able to go to Cape Cod and stay in a house with my inlaws. I think Cape Cod is one of my favorite vacation spots. The place is beautiful and you have a great time without anything spectacular scheduled. Their Shining Sea Bike Path runs 10 miles along the water and down to Woods Hole. We rented bikes for the week with Owen in a trailer and Ellie in a tagalong. I was especially proud of Katelyn who rode her own bike. She was initially apprehensive, but it quickly wore off as she tried to keep up with her older cousin, Rebecca. We took one day and biked the 6.5 miles to Woods Hole. It is  beautiful site and quaint town area. Owen liked the seals at the aquarium.

One day, we took a ferry trip over to Martha's Vineyard and strolled along the town. The kids took a dip in the ocean and enjoyed looking at the gingerbread houses. The highlight of the day was the three cousins (Katelyn, Ellie and Rebecca) and me getting feathers in our hair. They had asked for weeks for them and I finally caved. Unfortunately, they have to take them out for school.

We also hit a good old-fashioned county fair. I should show pictures of how disgusting our feet were, but I will spare you. They had the traditional rides, animals and treats. We realized that we have never taken our kids to a fair. It actually brought back memories of Aunt Joyce taking us kids to the fair every summer (but only on wristband days :) )

The week ended with Alan venturing home with Ellie and Owen, while I rode with the grandparents to Pennsylvania to take Katelyn to camp (which she is still loving). 

 I had to run in the morning to work off all the ice cream we ate.

 Katelyn, Ellie and their cousin

 Leaving the aquarium

 The top of the lighthouse on a not-so-clear day. The picture below is the prism glass thing that allows the light to shine miles and miles away. It is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They can't figure out how it was made to replicate it, so they were very particular about not touching it.

Ellie petting a very new baby chick.

Camp Netimus

I dropped Katelyn off at camp a week ago today. We have missed her, but she seems to be having a fantastic time. I finally got to call her today. She says she misses us, but in the next breath, she talked about all her activities, so I'd say that camp has been a success. Camp Netimus does a great job of posting pictures, so I thought I'd share a few.

 Katelyn's cabinmates

 Her fabric painting class (above)

Bad Hair day (below)

 Katelyn with cousin Rebecca on right

 Visiting Shohola (she is in the light blue)

Dance at Camp Netimus (You can barely see her head behind purple girl)

Just now posting about the bi-annual Family Vacation

Every other year, the Bibelhauser Family takes a family vacation together. This year we had a record 28 converge in Garden City, SC at a beach house. I love this time of the year when my kiddos get showered with love and get to hang out with their cousins for a week.

The kids were all water bugs. Owen loved to run into the ocean and then run out. He would squeal with delight as the waves hit his toes. The girls learned how to body board (along with Aunt Sherry).  They also had the pleasure of their cousin, Katie, on the trip. They didn't want to go anywhere without her. It was fun to just watch them all week.

We also had a pool at our house for the first time. It came in handy since high tide came all the way up to the steps of our bridge over the dunes. It meant we had no beach access during the afternoons. One day was also spent at the water park.

The highlight for the kids, I think, was parasailing on our last day. They wanted to go and had no reservations about it. There was a full boat of us. Katelyn went up with Sherry and Ellie went up with me.

Sherry and Katelyn

Amy and Ellie

 Our parasailing crew

The morning we headed out.

Katelyn and Ellie's Luau Birthday Party

With the girls' birthdays just two days apart, you would have thought we would always celebrate their birthdays together. But until this year, they always seemed too far apart. It never made sense to combine a 2 year old and a 4 year old party. But as they turned five (today) and seven (on Tuesday), we decided to do a joint party with their friends and hosted a Luau at our house. After much fretting over food, games and whether they'd have enough friends show up to not be disappointed (yes, I know it is more my issue that theirs, but still . . .), the day arrived. And it turned out perfect. The two hours went by in a flash with flip flop decorating (thanks Kay for your creative help), hula hooping, limbo, pin the tail on the donkey (yes, my hubby is a little old school), and pinatas.  However, the main event ended up being a regular old slip and slide. With the temperatures hitting the upper 90s today, we invited the girls to wear their swim suits and have fun in the sun and water.

The afternoon ended with a scooter for Ellie from Aunt Sherry. The evening was even more eventful. Our gift to the girls was an iCarly karaoke machine. We are heading to bed this evening with Justin Beiber's Baby Baby blaring in our ears. Oh, what have we gotten ourselves in to???

Feeling truly blessed as the day ends--a successful party, a helpful sister who loves my kids, a great friend who spent two hours helping little kids decorate flip flops and a hubby who wore a grass skirt because he knew our kids would love it.

 Instead of a cake, we had cupcakes with the little umbrellas in them. The girls made them and then put on the icing and sprinkles and umbrellas.

 The Limbo

 Ellie Hula Hooping. We also had a Hula contest, which Katelyn won.

 The girls each had their own pinatas. They were tough to break. You can see Katelyn below scrambling for candy. I'd say she was successful.

 Owen loved the watermelon.

 . . . . and the cupcakes

Ellie on her new scooter from Aunt Sherry.

Ellie graduates from The J

Tuesday evening we attended Ellie's Pre-K Celebration as she finished out her year at the JCC and heads to kindergarten. It was bittersweet. The JCC has helped me raise this precious little girl for the last five years. She started there when she was only 8 weeks old with Ms. Anna and Mrs. Annette. She was this sweet, little baby who grew into a little chunk and then on to this long, legged, slim young lady with deep dimples and a smile that brightens a room.

While the JCC is a Jewish Day Care, they laid many of her biblical foundations, taught her how to pray before meals (albeit it is in Hebrew), and fed her with the stories that she still asks to read about in her Bible at night. She learned how to be a friend and how to love her friends well. She even created her own Musketeer group that plans to save the world (at present it leaves no time for college or marriage, per Ellie), but still a noble calling I believe.

We will especially miss Miss Sondra, who has cared for Ellie and Katelyn in aftercare. To meet this woman is to know love and genuine joy. In my five years at the JCC, I have never seen her with anything but a smile on her face, constantly encouraging others, greeting every parent and sibling by name. She is always quick with a kind word, compliment, or just asking how your day is going. She displays such a joy of just being with our children every day, even when we are thinking of pulling our hair out with them she always finds the best. Words cannot express the kind disposition of this woman and how much I would love to have one tenth of her spirit.

So thank you JCC for helping me to raise my girls to be the young ladies they are and starting Owen on the right path as he also heads to CPA this fall.  I've also included some clips from the Pre-K performance. You can't watch the little monkeys without smiling.

Five Little Monkey Video

Ellie's Run for Africa

The Calhoun Clan was out in almost full force on Saturday to run in Ellie's Run for Africa. Unfortunately, I pulled a leg muscle a couple of weeks ago and couldn't participate, but Alan, Katelyn and Ellie all ran (it was Ellie's first race).

The morning began with the 5K. 

 They had three kids divisions and Ellie and Katelyn were in the 8 and under group. 

They did very well.

 Ellie's first run was Ellie's Run for Africa. How fitting. She finished in under 10 minutes. I didn't know she had those kind of legs. Definitely has the Calhoun genes in her.

This is one of the coolest races to participate in. They have many activities for the kids. When they arrived, they received a passport and went around to different booths to learn about Africa. Ellie got to carry jugs of water to learn what it was like to have to walk to get your water and hike back with it. They also rode in a utility vehicle (their version of a car in some places).

I had to also include a picture of my handsome, little man. He is wearing an outfit from a friend, who also has an Owen. Isn't it cute. I am learning what it is like to have a boy as he is into EVERYTHING. But I am loving this age. His vocabulary is expanding daily, and he understands just about everything I say, complete with nod "No" to express his opinions.