T-Minus 2 Weeks

There are only two weeks left before my baby girl and I depart for our European adventure. We will arrive in Germany, take a day trip to Paris, France, visit a Gothic cathedral in Cologne and spend three glorious days in Italy. Our entire trip will consist of 11 days of globetrotting with my sister and niece. I can not even begin to tell you how much it means to me to take this trip with my oldest daughter and how much I look forward to bonding with her over our airplane travels, meals, sightseeing and shopping. It's an opportunity of a lifetime and I can only hope that her horizons are forever broadened and this trip is the beginning of what will shape her into an international traveler!

TGIF

We have had several changes in our schedule this past week that many moms across the board are also talking about - school starting back. Chapel is now a 1st grader and Eli is a most proud Pre-K student. Getting up at 6:00 a.m. is one adjustment that most families have to make when school starts back but the Barkers have also had another HUGE impact on our schedule. Brett took a new job with the Charleston School of Law as the Assistant Dean of Students for Evening Administration which means he now works from 12 noon to 9 p.m. at night. That's right, 9 p.m. Which leaves me to do the cooking (which Brett previously did), the baths, the homework and the bedtime all alone. Okay, so it is not that bad, but it is an adjustment. One of the best parts of the schedule is that Brett has Friday's off. All day. Which is excellent for both of us. So this Friday, after a long week of adjusting to all of these new schedules, we let the kids stay up late and have a Phineas and Ferb party (a favorite cartoon) complete with large bottled cokes and popcorn. TGIF! Everyone loves a party.....

Stats

A couple of weeks ago, before life got really hectic with European visitors and back-to-school madness, I took Chapel for her 6 year old wellness check and Conor and Jude for their 2 year old wellness checks.

And the stats for Chapel, who chose her own outfit that day, and that outfit being the one Aunt Mimi sent from Germany were:

42 lbs (5oth percentile).

And 45.5 inches tall (55th percentile).

Jude and Conor who looked much happier before they had to remove their clothing:

Jude: 25lbs 13 oz (24th percentile)

34.5 inches tall (55th percentile)

Conor: 26lbs 12 oz (45th percentile)

34 inches tall (60th percentile)

It's so hard to say goodbye....

Remember when Conor first moved out of the crib?

And left Jude all alone?

Well, as of about 8 weeks ago, Jude decided that he, too, was ready to make the change and began sleeping with Conor in the big bed. They are too cute when they get all of their bears and animals arranged at night so that can cuddle up and drift off to sleep. Here they are on a recent trip to the beach house snuggled together in the big bed.

Realizing the crib had become a storage bin for toys and clothing, I made the painful decision to take it out of their room and put in its place the desk that goes along with the bed and dresser. Before the crib left, all of the kids took the opportunity to say one final goodbye!

Surprisingly enough, Eli, who I can think slept in a crib.....well never in his whole life, decided to use it for a little snooze before it officially left the house.

And in the end, the babies now have their own big kid room. Complete with a new place for toys, books, dinosaurs and hideouts.

And sleeping together again couldn't be any sweeter!

A Night On the Town

How often does it happen that a Barker Four post does not really include the "Barker Four"? This past weekend, as Marisa and Gustavo planned to depart from their vacation in Charleston, we decided to have a nice dinner downtown - something I have not done in FOREVER. We made reservations at McCrady's (in my opinion the best in fine dining Charleston has to offer). Our dinner reservations were not until 9:15, giving us plenty of time get the kiddos settled before heading out and meeting our friends Mike and Andrea. The food was beyond perfect and the dessert afterwards at Kaminsky's was just as tasty. It was a great way to end a visit with our Spanish friends.

Mi Amigos de Espana

I have been MIA lately. Not just on my blog but also at work. Home. Email. All those things that happen when you sit down in the morning or evenings and take time. But I have a perfectly wonderful excuse. My friend Marisa, her husband Gustavo and their two sons Aday and Noel are here visiting us from Madrid, Spain. Marisa and I met when we were 16 and she was our exchange student for 10 months. For 10 months we shared a room, clothes, food, talks and friends. It was the best experience I could have ever had in my teenage years. It opened me up to another culture, allowed me to travel to Spain several times and has created a long-lasting bond with her and her family. We have not seen each other in 5 years. The last time she came to visit Chapel was 11 months old and Marisa was four months pregnant. Our families have both multiplied considerably since then. Gustavo's first visit to the US was in January of this year and he, too, is excited to be spending his vacation in Charleston and Myrtle Beach. We still have 5 days left, but here are a few pics to update everyone on what we have been up. 

Brett cooked an awesome dinner on Friday night and we also invited our friends Andrea and Mike and their boys. Eight kids at the house on one night! I joked we officially had more kiddos than the Jolie-Pitts.

Gustavo is a fireman in Madrid so the Firetruck Museum seemed like a natural fit. Here are Aday and Noel driving the simulator. 

Chapel and Eli posing in front of a vintage fire engine. 

Our trip to the aquarium was a bit hit. The kids play so well together despite a language barrier. 

We arrived in Myrtle Beach on Tuesday and went to Broadway at the Beach. Johnny Rockets was a hit for dinner. Doesn't get more American than that!

And to top it off, Tuesday night is fireworks night at Broadway so that really added to the excitement. 

Tomorrow night we are off to my parents home - the home Marisa shared with us - so she can catch up with her American family and eat some of mom's famous cooking.....

Good Ol' Fashioned Summer Fun

Remember when you were little and playing in the sprinklers was as exciting (or even more exciting) than a trip to the pool or beach? Last week, on a particularly hot summer afternoon, we broke out Eli's birthday present from Cross and had some old fashioned fun running through the sprinklers. In the driveway. It totally reminded me of my childhood days playing in the yard in the water hose. Sometimes the quick and easy activities are the most memorable.

Unlike the old fashioned water hose, they now have these cool Buzz Lightyear rockets that blast off.

Conor decided to ride the tricycle through the water. She's always one to start trouble.

Family Matters

Life often does not go as planned. And when that happens, a little improvising goes a long way. We had reservations last week to go to the Barker Family reunion in Pigeon Forge, TN. Brett's dad, however, had a small health scare and we all thought traveling that far away would not be a good idea. So we decided to go down to Myrtle Beach where PaPa Ed lives and spend some time there. A couple of other family members also met us there and a small family reunion ensued. And it was honestly just perfect. We were able to spend time with family, enjoy being at the beach house (which my kids all love), and we spared ourselves 8 hours of car travel (which I kinda like). And rescheduling our trip was no problem - we will be staying in our cabin at Thanksgiving this year.

Ed and Anne with Ed's brother Robert and his wife Debbie hanging out at Sam's Corner!

Brett wearing the hat he won in the claw machine at Sam's Corner.

Brett's cousin Gayle with her husband Ben and PaPa Ed.

Gayle, Anne, Bren and Caroline at Gulfstream Cafe.

Yum! Finally got the ice cream truck to stop right in front of the house.

Gayle with Sadie. Sadie is ALWAYS the kids favorite part of the reunion. Thank goodness she has patience. They dress her over and over in little outfits, walk her around on her leash and this year even put her in the baby swing.

Eli and his cousin Cross having a slumber party. 11:15 and they were still awake.

Conor and Jude FINALLY falling asleep. They were up every night until 10 but when they slept, they were the cutest things you could imagine. Look at them holding hands!