It Was Really Similar to Phelps....

Errr, without the Olympics...or the eight gold medals........or the speedos, and, umm, without the bong. In any case, Grant spent his third year in swim lessons and Little Buddy his first.

Grant and a friend of Rhett's informed me that he cried the first day. When I asked him about it he said, "That was NOT crying." I asked him what it was exactly and his reply was " Well, I screamed 'NO!! NO!!' a couple times and then I kicked my feet some". He said it very matter-of-factly. When I asked him why in the world he did that he answered "BECAUSE. You told me never to get in the water without my life jacket." Tis true. Should've cleared that up before swim lessons I guess.After only a few minutes he got over it and did all he was asked to do.He got in that pool with no life jacket and swam like a little fishy. We've been to the pool since lessons ended and he didn't wear his life jacket at all. The best thing is that I never had to jump in and save him! As I said, this was Grant's third year to go to lessons. He was swimming like a champ at the end of summer last year. However, he some how forgot every piece of swimming knowledge he had somewhere between August and this May. Too bad we had to discover that bit of information AFTER he hung on the zip line at Blizzard Beach and plummeted into 10 feet of water. I bet that lifeguard was getting hot anyway perched up on that high chair in the hot sun.......

A couple days at our neighborhood pool cured him of his less than stellar swimming skills. It all came back quite quickly. I must say though that I was thoroughly impressed at how well he was swimming using strokes at the swim show this year. Here he is just after he jumped off the diving board and swam all the way to the other end of the pool. This is his "I'm really trying to look humble but deep inside I'm full of pride" face.

I think one of his favorite parts was the races.

Well, that's probably a lie. The real reason either one of them stuck it out through the week was a chance to pilfer through an orange tackle box full of kid sized treasure.

We are now the proud owners of 58 little neon ninjas, 15 tiny army men on plastic parachutes, and 1 sticky frog. Not to mention one blonde surfer kid with improved swim stroke skills and one curly cutie that doesn't have to sport a life jacket tan this year. Yee Haw. (some numbers may have been exaggerated but if you add up all the years we've been swimming there, they are probably accurate).

Disney Thoughts

We had the wonderful honor of touring Disney this year for our family vacation. It was our first time to go there and it was a great time......full of sweat, some tears, lots of interesting things, and many things learned. So, instead of trekking through every gruesome detail for you I've decided to highlight some of the lesser known facts that I stumbled upon while vacationing in the Magical Place. I am pretty sure that I'll also throw in some other random thoughts I'd like to share with you as well. Here goes:


Did you know that from the time we got up until the time we actually arrived at Disney was approximately 5 hours. But, alas, it was even less than that from the time we arrived at Animal Kingdom to the time we lost Grant. Yikes. Thank you stranger man and woman that held him while he cried and for flagging me down as I ran like a mad dog through the crowds looking for him. Note to self: Don't ever let that happen again. We were moments too close to my having loose bowels.Did you know that it costs about $48 plus tax to purchase Mickey Mouse ears for your family?Did you also know that it takes Little Buddy less than 7 hours to lose his and then cry (scream) in agony from the Castle to the shuttle bus stop?Did you also know that you can buy your children this little light up wand thing-a-ma-doogie to annoy yourself as well as others during the Fantasmic show for about $21? How many hours do you think it was before Little Buddy broke his? Twenty one. At this point we've decided that all Rhett is bringing home from Disney is a few memories. They are free and can't be broken, however, if his brain is similar to mine they can definitely be lost. No matter what part of the country you're in it's great to go to Ghiardelli and share a chocolate brownie sundae with your brothers.
But there is always "that guy" that hogs the good melty stuff at the bottom.



Did you know that Hollywood Studios does Star Wars Weekends and that is another name for Heaven if you are a boy in my family?

And also, if you happen to get stuck in a downpour, you may be lucky enough to be ushered inside of a building that holds some of Star Wars creepiest characters? One brave Morgan Jedi complied and posed with the freakiest of the freaky.


Tracie and I weren't scared either!
Grant ponied up to get snapped with Bobba Fett. He hearts Bobba.
Did you know that there is much joy to be had seeing the terrified face of your 7 year old riding the Rockin' Roller Coaster? Oh yes, my friend. I nearly wet my pants after seeing this picture.

Speaking of 'wet my pants'.... Did you know that Disney World has very clean bathrooms? I know this because my children use the restroom every 10-12 minutes on a rotational basis. That means for the 7 days that we were at Disney we spent a solid block of 24 hours of it in one bathroom or another. I was pleased that they have the little paper covers for the toilet. The germaphobe in me loves those even though I never actually sit.....it creates a germ hopping barrier......and you can use them to blot oil off of your face. Learned that on the Rachel Ray show one day last year.




Did you know that you can get your face painted at Disney World? Freaky!



And that they make no exception to age? Anyone with an inner Tinkerbell can get painted up!



They also do not make an age limit on who can be photographed with the characters at the nightly character dinners we attended!

In an unfortunate turn of events I also discovered against my will that they also do not discriminate by age (nor size for that matter) those who are allowed to wear bikinis and banana hammocks at the Blizzard Beach. For the safety of your eyes there are no pictures to share from that experience. And while we're on it.....to the man that wore his wife beater all day at Magic Kingdom and then strutted around Blizzard Beach the next day.....Three words for you: Sunscreen- Use it.

Most people talk about how their children's faces lit up as soon as they walked into Magic Kingdom and they saw the castle. Not how it happened for the Morgan's. Our kids faces lit up the moment we stepped off the shuttle in downtown Disney and we entered the mecca.....where manna flows abundantly and there are rivers of gold......or the Lego store where kids run wild and parents get headaches.


So, here's three cheers to one of the most fun, exhausting, glad to have my own bed back kind of vacations....

and three cheers to having my mom and dad and sister along for the trip!

My last word of advice would be this: If you are going to eat at Disney beware of the dish they call "Asian Chicken Salad". A better description would have been "Slimey Brown Cat Meat Served Atop Sketchy Iceberg". Disney dining is not for the faint of heart.

Now He's Got His Own Tag

You know Little Buddy is always in some kind of mischief. He's a sneaky fella and one that I do not trust under any circumstance. He's got a long running history with writing instruments and recently I've noticed that he has some gang tendencies. In fact, he's developed his own "tag". I'm sure that if he were older and was part of the Bloods or the Crypts this is what his spray paint bottle would draw:

Exhibit A: An unsuspecting corner of the living room that is sandwiched between a wall of windows and the built in entertainment center. It had gone unnoticed for some time until I was doing some random cleaning. Notice the "double t's"..... r. h. e. TT !!Exhibit B: Facial tissues from Target that were minding their own business on the counter....apparently way too close to a sharpie. Again, the double T's.Exhibit C: The last victim is one not to be reckoned with. The Infallible, Holy word of the Lord. Defacing such things is surely punishable by things worse than jail but shall not be discussed on this forum. I believe in the book of Joseph, chapter 3, it states that if you are under the age of 4 that this offense can be cleared and forgiven through the prayer and petition of your parents.

So, this double T is turning up all over this house. The defacer denies all charges but, seriously, he's the only person in this family with TT in his name. And given his reputation, he's prone to lying on the witness stand.

Grant Graduates!

Grant got to walk the big stage today at Pre-K graduation. I really can't believe that in just a few short months he's going to be at "real" school. The time, as usual, has just flown by without me realizing it. He was being quite the cut-up and making his friend Olivia laugh during the ceremony.

This is Grant with his teacher Ms. Ann Marie. He super loved being in her class this year. One thing they did with each child is to announce for everyone what they desired to be when they grow up. Grant's response is about 2 years and holding : An army jet pilot.

He gave Ms. Ann Marie a charm bracelet as a thank you for being such a great teacher.

I took Grant's picture with Thomas because, save for one year when he moved away, they have been in the same class at preschool. Grant and Thomas were usually inseperable at school. Unfortunately, they won't get to go to the same elementary school :(

Hugs from mommy for the graduate.

And another from daddy:

Kisses from grandma who never misses a thing!

I am so proud of Grant and how well he's done in his preschool. He started in the one year old class when he was 15 months old. He's never cried, not once, when I dropped him off. He's made several new friends, learned how to write his name, his colors, shapes, and numbers to name a few things. And, he's learned lots of independence. I can't wait to see him flourish in kindergarten!

Service With a Smile

Grant has never really been the eager to help kind of child. He likes the sound of helping out but doesn't actually like the work that accompanies it. Lately, however, he's turned over a new leaf. I've found something that he enjoys doing AND it's a big help. It's raking. The kid loves it. Who knew a $7.99 plastic fan rake could bring so much enjoyment to all of us?? Cade usually helps out as well but today it was a solo job. Grant bagged all the grass on his own and he did it with a smile. He did ask afterward when he was going to get paid some money for being so good. I guess his heart wasn't as pure as I thought :) And yes, he IS raking with a pistol on his belt. With all the creepy critters we've had around these parts lately one can never be too sure of when you may need to put a cap in something. We always keep personal safety a priority, even in the smallest of household chores.

Ahhh, all in a day's work..... seven days of rest from yard work if we're lucky!

A True....Umm, Animalitarian

There should really be crime tape on our porch after the last 24 hours. No pictures have been taken due to the graphic nature of the scene..... only the one's that will vividly remain in my mind until a couple weeks roll by and I can replace them with nicer ones. You remember Robin, correct? And you remember how I chastised her for her poor placement of a home. Yes, friends. The dreaded day has come.



Bobby was casually walking through our foyer when he noticed that our front door was now lacking one very important wreath. He looked out on the porch and saw that all 3 babies were strewn upon the aggregate.....one even fell down one step. He hung the wreath with the nest still attached back on the door. Then, remembering the golden rule of bird saving, (you should never touch the baby because then the mom won't love it anymore because it smells like a human, you know, that rule) he retrieved a spatula from my kitchen and "spatulated" (made that up) the babes back into their nest. All the while the mama bird was tweeting her head off at him. Luckily all 3 were alive and much to our relief the mom returned to sit on them. Strange thing was, about an hour later, another bird shows up to the nest with worms in it's mouth. The mama moved over and let this other bird feed the babies. I figured the conversation must have gone like this, " Ooohhh, Robin. I heard about the triplets. Honey, you must be beside yourself. We've been praying for you at church and I just thought I'd bring a meal by for you. " Pretty sure that's what she said but Rosetta Stone doesn't make a program for learning Tweet.



Let's fast forward to say, 1:35 this morning. Rhett is yelling for me to come up and re-cover him. (Seriously? That's another story for another day). I, friends, believe this was divine intervention. As I'm coming down the stairs I see a looonnngg, swaying tail hanging out of the nest. No mama bird. Oh yes. There was a four foot long, 6 inch in diameter, poison--........let me back up. There was about a foot long little snake in the nest EATING THE BABIES. No joke. One already in it's belly, one halfway in it's mouth. Then here comes Steve Irwi-- Bobby Morgan.....Fearless Baby Bird Saver. He pulled the snake out of the nest, stomped it and threw it into the street. (Then this morning retold the story to the children and marched them out in the rain to see it in the road. ) I have NO idea how this snake found the bird nest and frankly I'm a little weirded out that we had a snake on our front porch. Do you know how long it takes to fall back asleep after you've witnessed a baby bird head in the mouth of a snake? Long time.



Anyway, poor Robin is down to one little birdie that she is now sitting on diligently. We have enrolled her in some sessions with a Christian counselor so that she can tweet through her grief. You've never seen the likes of a bird with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. On a brighter note, we are pleased to announce that Bobby is a true hero of the bird community and will continue to do his part to form a friendly alliance between humans and birds.

Our New Lake House

This is a picture of the little creek that runs through our back yard. Little Buddy insisted that he run down there, stand next to the new bridge my dad built a couple weeks ago, and get his picture made. I did it to appease him and now I'm glad I did. It can serve as the "before" picture. I took the boys to the book fair at Cade's school and got caught in torrential rain on my way into the school. I had gone straight from the gym so I was already looking rough to start with. However, mix that with the wind and rain and the finished product was not good. In fact, (this is no lie), a special needs girl walked straight up to me in the library and said, "Why in the world does your hair look like that?" and she proceeded to use her hands to push my hair around on my head. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. Just a side note. So, I come home and see our little creek busting at the seams. Little bridge underwater.

I sat down inside and was reading to the boys. Seriously maybe 20 minutes had gone by, if that. This was the view out my back window.

Then just a couple minutes later, it looked like this. CRAZY. I got the boys suited up because we were going to kayak through the back yard but when I got to the garage I realized we didn't own a kayak. Next time I'm at Academy I may price them.

I also now have a nice collection of balls: footballs, soccer balls, bouncy balls, over sized plastic balls, and a sword, and probably some shoes. And plenty of miscellaneous garbage. And a strange pile of weedy things on my little bridge now that the water has receded. Let me know if you ever want to come over and pretend we're at Dale Hollow. As always it's BYOB (bring your own boat).