Halloween Carnival Madness

The Halloween Carnival at Ashley Hall is legendary. Each grade level prepares a booth, parents buy tickets and the kids are dismissed early to enjoy the fun. The carnival this year was by far my favorite. The weather was perfect, the lines not too long, and the babies were actually old enough to enjoy the fun. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Eli - my Ghostbuster - fishing for a treat.

Going from booth to booth.

Conor and Jude at musical chairs.

Ready for fun.

Conor showing off her sassy personality.

Jude taking in the excitement.

SLIDE!

JUMP!

New Kid on the Block

Today I took my four kiddos to visit their new cousin, John Redden. My first cousin, Tina, and her husband Joey just welcomed their bundle of joy 4 weeks ago and he is too sweet. I was surprised at how relaxed Tina was as a first time mom - especially with my wild children running through her home, peering over the top of the bassinet for glimpses, and asking for every piece of candy in sight. I remember being a first time mom to a four week old and I don't think I was half as composed as she! It's so great when someone I am close to in my family has a baby. Finally, it's my turn to enjoy holding them and then giving them BACK!

Chapel sharing the love.

Eli looking deceptively sweet.

Conor and Jude reverting back to infancy and enjoying the baby swing.

TGI Monday

Have you ever had one of those weekends where you needed Monday to roll back around so you could breath? That was our weekend! Although fun, it was jammed packed with events and family and friends visiting. I am actually quite thankful Monday is here - kids were all in school, got my laundry caught up and house cleaned a little and made time to catch up at SPROUT. But falling behind is sometimes worth it! Here are some highlights from our weekend!

Folly Beach Exchange Club Haunted House Friday & Saturday night. My good friend Jennifer arrived Friday to spend the weekend with us. Great to see her and catch up like old times. Bren was here for Saturday night's festivities.

Soccer games for Chapel and Eli Saturday morning starting at 9. And we we provided snacks for both teams. Mama Anne and PaPa Ed and Bren met us at the soccer field to cheer on the Barkers!

Victory lunch after soccer with Uncle Robert, grandparents, and Jennifer at JB 's Smokehouse on Johns Island. My kids love sitting on this little pig.

Saturday afternoon - Disney Princesses on Ice.

All the kids dressed up except Jude. We need a Prince Charming costume in size 2!

And then on Sunday we had home haircuts with Joel.

Phew - TGI Monday!

Not For the Weak of Heart (or head)....

We all knew it was coming.... well, we sorta expected it. But thinking it might happen as opposed to it actually happening is an entirely different story. Since the twins have been mobile one of their favorite activities has been to jump from this coffee table to this couch. Over and over again. Despite warning after warning!

Unfortunately, Jude missed and banged his head really hard. With Brett working at the Law School until 9pm, I was alone when the crisis occurred. And if you ever wonder if your kid is gonna need stitches, let me just tell you, when they need them you just KNOW it. When I saw this gash, I immediately called the Folly Beach Public Safety Department who responded in less than 3 minutes with a firetruck, ambulance and police car. They are actually, embarassingly, familiar with me at this point. The fireman said, "I responded to a fire here when the twins were two weeks old" (faulty AC unit). And the policeman remembered us from just 5 weeks ago when Eli locked Jude in the bathroom and again, with me being alone at home and unable to get my child out of the loo, I had to turn to the resourceful FB PSD.

Jude was loaded on the ambulance while the other three kids and I followed in the car. Brett met us at MUSC and stayed with Jude while I returned home. Here is my baby's head in the ER.

And here is my baby waiting patiently to see the doctor. He doesn't seem too distressed, does he?

The final result of our night of trauma? Three lovely staples, yes staples, to the back of the head! Thank goodness he is recovering nicely and the staples are scheduled to be removed tomorrow!

Class Mascot

Eli skipped to the car Monday afternoon. The reason? It was his turn to bring Holly, the class mascot, home to spend two nights. Holly came with an overnight bag that included books on horses, apples, and a journal for us to record her adventures during her stay at our home. Brining home the class mascot is a big deal to the kids in the classroom. Eli LOVES this horse. I gave him the choice of taking Holly to the aquarium or playground and he chose the latter. Here are a few pictures of Eli and his little friend.

Giving Holly a push in the swing.

Showing Holly how to climb.

Working on his homework with his best gal pal from school.

Zutano = Twin Friendly

It is finally not 115 degrees in Charleston. It's actually been cold in the mornings/evenings which made me realize exactly how few fall outfits Conor and Jude have. I called mom and she said, pick out an outfit for each from the store and I'll buy it.... DONE! I chose these cute Zutano matching outfits and immediately decided it's gonna be a Zutano and Tea kind-of winter. The babies looked so adorable in these semi-matching outfits, that I went online to Zutano and ordered them a few other pieces for fall.

I also went to Tea online, another brand we carry in the store, and ordered Chapel and Conor matching outfits and Jude and Eli matching outfits (all four coordinate). I have a feeling these will appear on our Christmas cards this year. I can't wait for all the new clothes to arrive! Having your own children's store has its advantages when it comes to outfitting your kids!~

Thriller!

Remember the graveyard scene from the video Thriller? For some reason that came to mind when I looked at these pictures. Chapel and Eli worked tirelessly on their cemetery - carefully placing each pumpkin, tombstone, and lawn ornament to create the spooky scene you see here. They are incredibly excited about Halloween (as usual)!

"It's close to midnight...."

"... and something evil's lurking in the dark...."

"... under the moonlight..."

"... you see a sight that almost stops your heart..."

Big Man's Big Adventure

While Chapel and I enjoyed our European vacation, Eli enjoyed a vacation of his own. He stayed with PaPa Dan Dan and GiGi for a few days in Conway and then travelled to my dad's home state of Kentucky for a Fogle Family Reunion. This was the first time Eli had met many of Kentucky relatives and definitely his first road trip without mom, dad, and siblings. From what I can gather, he did miss us but his one-on-one time with PaPa and GiGi more than made up for mom and sissy being away. Mom said he was very well-behaved, ate well, slept well and had an incredible time playing with rocks, fishing, catching grasshoppers, breaking the piñata, and sleeping with his grandparents every night. After hearing of his adventure, Chapel declared Eli had way more fun that she had, and that next year Eli should travel to Germany with me and she can go to Kentucky!

Hanging with PaPa and GiGi in Conway.

Reunion in Kentucky.

A trip to the Knoxville Zoo on the way home.

Paris in Pictures

If pictures are worth a thousand words, then mine could write a novel. The best way for me to show you our Parisian adventure is through the wonderful photo's we took during our trip!

The hotel Mercure, our home sweet home in Paris for two glorious nights.

Chapel getting her energy out after the 4 hour car ride.

Reese happy to finally stretch and be free of the carseat.

Riding the train to the sights.

First stop: The Louvre to see Mona Lisa.

She was actually much smaller than we had expected but beautiful none-the-less.

Second stop: Pompidou Center & Museum of Modern Art. This is the Stravinsky fountain that Chapel requested to see after studying the artists in French class. So smart!

Looking cute in front of a Pablo Picasso.

Final destination: Eiffel Tower. Loved riding down the Seine on the boat and catching our first glimpse.

Waiting in line to go to the very tip top.

Such an amazing structure. The City of Light did not disappoint.