The McElwain Family

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Long Process Begins

We have decided that now is as good as time as any to try and sell our house and move to a bigger one - so, we are in the process of getting our house ready to put on the market. In order to make our house appear "normal" Jonathan has been packing up his Star Wars collection. He has been working into the wee hours of every night packing things up. I have spent my summer cleaning out closets and sneezing through lots of dust. This weekend we started moving his collection to storage. I, of course, am very excited to actually have a basement again. Jonathan is sad to see his stuff go - although it will be back to clutter our new house - I mean to be displayed in our new house. We took the seats out of the mini van and loaded it up many times with trips to the storage unit. The kids were great helpers and had fun playing with some of the toys. Of course...we got yelled at all the time for bending things or not being careful enough - so we finally gave up.
Anyways...we got most of his stuff moved this weekend. A few more trips and I will have a basement again. My task this week is to get the toy room turned back into a dining room. I'll let you know if we succeed!

How do you like the R2D2 coolers guarding the unit? Nice, huh?

Owen..child labor...helping move Daddy's stuff.

Owen imitating Jar Jar's display.

Logan's turn!

Logan's sad eyes when Daddy wouldn't let him open this "awesome" bike!

Beautiful blue eyed boy!

Foosball - you would think they were the luckiest kids ever - two video games, Star Wars foosball - they don't know how good they have it. Now...we won't be able to afford college because of the toys, but....LOL!

Emma...checking it all out!

Checking out Daddy's toys.

Day #2 - more helping hands - sneaking a peek in the boxes.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Penn State Proud

We knew that we weren't too far from Penn State, so we decided to take the kids to show them around. Right away they were impressed that we knew our way around. We showed them Beaver Stadium and Bryce Jordan center. Jonathan tried to tell them about the time Mommy broke into the stadium after the Michigan win...but luckily they weren't listening!! We drove around, amazed by the changes and new construction. We made our first stop at the Lion Shrine - of course and got some cute shots.

We hit the stores downtown and bought our t-shirts. The boys were thriled with the foam fingers. We had to tear Logan away from his, kicking and screaming when we refused to buy them.

Hey...it's Joe Pa....no wait - it's Emma! We had fun checking out all of the Penn State gear.

We walked around campus and had to show the kids McElwain Hall. They thought that it was very cool that there was a building named after "us". We told them that we paid Penn State enough money over the years that they decided to name a residence hall after us. I don't know if they believed us or not.

We walked around campus and the boys fed the squirrels acorns. It was an absolutely beautiful day. We went through the HUB student center and walked through the gardens over to Old Main. We made the kids pose at all of the landmarks that we enjoyed.

Old Main

The Obelisk

Owen in the Obelisk garden - we watched baby ducks and turtles.

When Emma was a few months old, we went to Brett's graduation and took their picture by the Architectural Engineering sign. Here Jonathan is reliving that picture - holding Emma like a baby. When I get a chance, I will scan the original and put it up. Don't think he will be able to hold her like that much longer!!!!

Daddy and his three angels

We made our way around campus and walked through downtown. Here the kids posed with a statue of a mama pig and two piglets.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at The Deli. The potato soup hasn't changed a bit. Of course we couldn't leave town without a stop at the creamery. It was our first time in the new Creamery - it was kind of sad - they tore down the original - but the ice cream tasted the same. I had my all time favorite - Peanut Butter Twirl and the kids enjoyed Death by Chocolate. Once we were stuffed to the gills, we headed out and made our way back to Virginia. It was a long day, but a fabulous one. The kids keep asking when we can go back. We're hoping to get back to Penn State for a weekend some time - so we can spend more time reliving our college days!

Go Lions!!!

Family, Deer, and Bears, Oh My!

We spent the past weekend in the mountains of PA with my brother and his family. After a long drive up there (almost 7 hours) in the rain, we were happy to arrive at the cabin. The kids did well in the car, but they were ready to be there. We enjoyed making S'mores over the fire and wrapped up the evening watching a giant black bear outside of the window! Needless to say the kids were freaked out and had a hard time settling down.
The next morning we woke up and had a yummy breakfast, then headed out to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. It was a beautiful (but long) ride through the mountains. The Grand Canyon was beautiful...but Owen was upset that it wasn't brown like the real one! We took some pictures and enjoyed a picnic at the park. We came back to the cabin and enjoyed sitting outside watching three mommy deer and two fawns eat the corn we put out for them. The kids played and enjoyed being together. Madison was always in the thick of things - Logan and her were trouble. They were really cute together though and it was so nice spending time with them. We didn't see our bear friend Saturday night, so bedtime was a little less uneventful. We woke up early Sunday morning and the bear was there again. Cara snapped a quick picture of him eating his breakfast. We loaded up the van and headed out to Penn State for a quick visit before heading home.

Ethan enjoying a s'more.

Grandma and Logan - she truly enjoys being with her great grandchildren!

Madison posing like a little model.

Logan and Madison checking out a bright orange salamander.

Emma and Grandma- chillaxin!

Madison did whatever Logan did. He took his shirt off, so she did too. Mind you - it was chilly out and they both were running around half naked.

Ethan on the playground at the park.

Madison hanging out...looking beautiful.

My brother Nathan, sister in law Cara, and their kids, Ethan and Madison at the PA Grand Canyon.

Emma checking out the scenery.

Beautiful!

Owen showing off his toothless grin.

The girls in their matching t-shirts.

Ethan and Logan in their matching shirts.

Four of the cousins - Owen was being anit-social.

The deer at the cabin-eating corn that the kids put out.

And the black bear eating what was left!

The family shot

Monday, July 6, 2009

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you all had a wonderful fourth of July. We did! It was so nice spending time with family in Pennsylvania. No matter what, it will always be home. We certainly don't get there often enough, but it sure is nice when we do.

The kids did their annual blueberry picking at Memaw and Pepaw's house. Now they are begging me to make a blueberry pie. I'm sure it won't be as good as Memaw's, but I will certainly try.
We also met up with my cousin Leanne and her three beautiful girls. The kids had a blast playing on the playground and then we enjoyed lunch together. Unfortunately Rachel got sick and had to go home early, but it was still nice spending time with them. It amazes me how quickly the kids pick up their relationships with their cousins and second cousins. Although we only see each other a few times a year, they always act like such good friends.

The fireworks were great this year. They were everywhere! Pop and Daddy put on a good show and we enjoyed sitting in Pepaw's truck watching the Stewartstown fireworks.
We celebrated Nana's birthday with Ethan and Madison and enjoyed Nana and Pop's new fish pond. The kids went with Nana and each picked out two fish. They love looking for their fish each time we go there.

We missed Brett and Katie, Connor and Maisie this 4th. They were visiting family in Boston, but we're looking forward to a week at the beach with them. Emma and Owen are taking a summer engineering camp (I know...they are geeks!) this week. They go every afternoon and Logan and I get a little one on one time. Emma wasn't too thrilled, but I think she will enjoy it. The camp is all about building bridges - Uncle Brett will be proud! Owen is always full of a million questions whenever we cross a bridge, so hopefully he will learn something from it. Next week Emma goes to drama camp - yes, we are paying for her to learn to be more dramatic...can you believe it?
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Enjoy a few of our pictures. I got some really cute ones this time. It was hard to pick...but here you go!

Kasey stepped right up and posed with the kids. I love this shot! He looks like he is smiling right along with them. I don't think I could have posed them any better!