Wrapping It All Up

It's summer! The school year officially came to a close with two tremendous ceremonies starring none other than Chapel & Eli Barker.

Chapel joined dance club in January and worked very hard on her part as a flower. Chapel has this to say about dance club: "It was hard work, but fun when the day of the performance finally comes. I was nervous because my class was there too and the principal!"

Molly, Annie's mom, putting Chapel's hair in a bun. All dancers had to wear the same make-up and hairstyle.

Chapel making her entrance on the big stage.

Here she is making the bridge.

Chapel after the performance with her flowers and big sister Abbie who was also in the dance.

Abbie was a bird....

Doesn't she have the stature of a ballerina?

Following that performance, we walked across Campus where Eli's Pre-K performance was about to get underway. This performance was bittersweet, as it was Eli's last day at Ashley Hall. Next year he will move to Kindergarten at Charleston Collegiate.

Watching mom to make sure she is watching!

Pledge.

Rainbow Ribbons.

Singing with his class.

FREEDOM!

Serious Swimmers

Conor and Jude visited their friend Carson today at the pool. Boy, do I have some high maintenance, serious swimmers on my hands. Floaties, goggles, boogey boards - just to name a few of their demands before getting in the water. They enjoyed "swimming" for hours, just jumping over and over and pulling themselves along the bottom. So far, summer is looking pretty promising - the older the kids get, the easier they are to entertain. Tomorrow is Eli's last day and Friday is Chapel's so we will be in full blown summer mode by next week.

Conor told me she was "enjoying her life" at the pool.

Jude was a big daredevil, jumping and jumping.

Sporting the goggles.

Carson and his float.

Which was later taken over by his mama!

Little Graduates

So very proud of my babies. They have successfully finished their first year of pre-school. Both can sing their ABC's, name colors and shapes, and they can even recite the pledge! We loved having Ms. Becky as a teacher and will miss her this summer but look forward to returning in the fall with a new group of friends to love.

Ms. Conor Barker - Graduate:

Mr. Jude Barker - Graduate:

Sweet note from Ms. Becky:

An Open Letter

Dear Chapel, Eli, Conor & Jude -

Last week, we lost a huge part of our family. Parker, your beloved friend, passed away. I want you guys to always remember that in the 3 years we knew her, she never once disappointed us. She was a dependable, loyal, honest and gentle soul. Parker was so very patient with each one of you, always encouraging and always finding ways to entertain you. To me, Parker was irreplaceable. She was my friend that greeted me at the beginning and end of the day with a smile. She never had a harsh word and always put a positive spin on the events of each day. As you grow older and time fades and you think back and remember Ms. Parker, I hope you remember the times she spent with you and the wonderful things she taught you and know how much she loved you. Little things, like strolling you around the block, playing in the back yard, taking you to the Children's Museum, letting you walk the dogs and water the plants, making cupcakes with you, taking you to karate and the library and the sandy playground. And when you do, I hope these memories bring a smile to your faces as big as the smiles you brought to hers.

East vs. West (Playgrounds, of course)

For those of you who know Folly, you know there is an East Side and a West Side. Those of us who live on the east side are much cooler (just kidding). But we east side dwellers do have some new bragging rights. Just in time for summer, Folly Beach has added a new public playground that is two short blocks from our home. Previously, we always played on the west side playground, which is also nice but at times crowded. Having said that, we have been to the new play area three times so far, and each time we are the only ones there. I kinda feel like it's our little secret right now, as it has not been highly publicized that it is open. The bright colors and structure make it completely Folly - I already envision us making good use of this over the next few months!

SUGAR, SUGAR, & more SUGAR

Chapel celebrated her July 18th birthday at school yesterday, on May 18th, because with a mid-summer birthday, she gets the short end of the stick when it comes to class parties. She requested I send in cupcakes. Remember when I made cupcakes for Eli's class party in April? I had these two handy helpers....

Not having time to this week for the homemade variety , I relied on something much less labor intensive, and honestly much more delicious than I have ever whipped up. Sugar.

Located downtown, this old fashioned bakery was as much fun to hang out after school as it was to enjoy the delicious treats they had to offer.

Eli with his chocolate chip cookie.

Conor and Jude in the courtyard enjoying mini cupcakes.

Carefully escorting the goods home.

And here the dozen for class.

Followed by Chapel carrying the box with the additional 3 needed to round it up to 15.

Everyone LOVED the delicious treats - and mom, well she enjoyed getting out of making them and the outing that went along with picking them up. Sugar did not disappoint!

Summer Styles

Chapel has been begging to get her hair cut for ages now but I always insisted she get a trim, not wanting to go any shorter than shoulder length. Brett has been insisting Chapel is old enough now to make this decision without me so that combined with her telling all of her friends at school she was indeed going to cut her hair left me no choice. So we Googled short hairstyles and these were her top two fav's....

Can you guess the style to which I agreed?

Getting started....

The final result! Is it not AWESOME???

Of course my big man also decided to go short....

And was so pleased with his results he even went so far to add Joel's glasses for his his photo op. Love his sense of style.

I'm actually lovin' how much easier the upkeep of these shorter styles. With summer and the beach and pools around the corner, I am thinking I am going to appreciate short hair even more!