Individuals and families participating in the Fresh Air Fund Friendly Town Program welcome the children they will host for a summer vacation with signs and balloons at Holmdel Park on July 14. PHOTOS BY STEVE MEDLIN Before the doors were even open, the throng of Monmouth County families had swarmed the bus, cheering and waving signs like the Rolling Stones had come to Holmdel Park on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

“The bus is here!” cheered Karen Medlin, chairperson of the Fresh Air Fund for Western and Northern Monmouth County.

The plan for a group picture of the host families before the kids arrived was immediately scrapped.

In Medlin’s chapter, families fromAberdeen, Holmdel, Keyport, Little Silver, Matawan, Red Bank, Sea Bright and Shrewsbury have all agreed to host a child for two weeks.

During that time, they will plan trips and take walks on the beach. Some will just sit around the pool or grill food in the backyard.

When one child got off the bus, a young girl from the host family jumped up and down before hugging her. Her mother looked on — just for a second — before diving into the group hug herself.

Most of the families will treat their guest like a good friend or relative enjoying a summer vacation with them, but for others, the bonds of friendship are already there.

“We don’t even need anyone else!” said 10-year-old Ethan Heine.

The Heine family has been hosting 12-year-old Damian for the past five years.

When Damian got off the bus, he simply smiled and looked at Pam Heine before getting his suitcase and hugging Ethan, Pam and her 13-year-old nephew, Alec.

“I can’t wait to go surfing,” Damian told the waiting members of his “family.” Red Bank resident Sue Barr said it was her 8-year-old son, Jake, who got her involved with the program. They welcomed back Miguel, from Brooklyn, N.Y., for his second year.

“My son is an only child and he asks often for a sibling,” Barr said. “I told him we could have somebody come, and he’d see what it’d be like to have a brother.”

Last year, Jake and Miguel took private surf lessons and spent a few days at Camp Arrowhead in Marlboro. They also spent an entire day, over 10 hours, Barr said, in Keansburg, enjoying some amusement park attractions as many as six times in a row.

“The two boys are very well suited for each other,” Barr said. “The funny part about it is that they almost act like brothers. ”

Medlin and the FreshAir Fund have also organized activities such as beach trips and a day at Hurricane Harbor, and the Heines have also organized a canoe trip at the DelawareWater Gap.

“It’s nice to get these kids out of the city,” Pam said. “We just want to keep it simple. They’re able to walk around town after dark here, and that’s great.”

For most of this year’s families, this is their first time hosting a Fresh Air Fund child.

Eleven-year-old Unique, from Staten Island, N.Y., is looking forward to all the sports and games he can play with the Dechart family fromAberdeen.

“Basketball!” he called out excitedly, which prompted an “uh-oh” from 13-yearold Austen Dechart, a basketball player himself.

Game on.

“It’s like he has a younger brother now,” Laurie Dechart said while watching the exchange between Austen and Unique.

Medlin said that in her experience, children appreciate the little things to which grownups have become accustomed.

“We hosted kids 15 years ago, and we’re still in touch with them,” she said. “And do you know what they find the most interesting?

“Dead deer on the side of the road, and the fact that you have a button in your car that opens the garage.”

As the crowd of families slowly dwindled down, only the Trainor family was left.

“I thought it would be great for my kids and obviously for this kid,” Aimee Trainor said .

Eight-year-old Jennifer, from Harlem, sat on a beach towel and smiled, one of Aimee’s homemade sandwiches in hand. They chatted and giggled with each other, talking about what they would like to do over the next two weeks.

Behind them was a sign left behind by one of the other children in the frenzy as their Fresh Air Fund guest arrived.

It said, “Welcome home.”

Contact Mike Davis at mdavis@gmnews.com.