Two Little Fishes

We are very fortunate to have a swimming pool in our neighborhood to cool off in during these super HOT summer months in Florida. Will and Landon have definitely turned into little fish and are becoming great little swimmers. This week, Will swam across the pool coming up for frequent breaths and didn't touch the bottom. Mommy was so proud of him and Will was pretty excited too. He said "I swam like the swimmers on TV". Landon is not far behind. He has no fear of the water. Loves to jump off the side and just swim around the pool kicking his little legs as fast as he runs on land. For those of you that don't know how fast Landon runs.....it's fast. The pool is easier to catch him though...ha,ha!!

Surfs up dude!!

Video of Will swimming across the pool.

Will Swimming from Dottie Morgan on Vimeo.

Video of Landon jumping (belly floppying) off the side and kicking his little legs as fast as they will go.

Landon Swimming from Dottie Morgan on Vimeo.

Will and Landon's Photo Shoot

Right before Father's Day we had professional pictures done of the boys. These are just a few of the ones that we thought turned out really good.

Will

Landon

Father/Son Canoe Trip

So as you can tell Daddy takes a little longer to get around to posting to the blog than mommy, nonetheless, hope you enjoy the highlights of our canoe trip:

Those of you who have been around the Morgan family probably have heard of the annual Father/Son summer canoe trip, and after a long sabbatical we decided it was time to bring it back. This year however, it got a little more exciting, a new generation of Morgan's joined the crew. Daddy (Chad) decided it was time to get Will out on the water, and we were lucky enough to bring Papaw out of retirement for a few days on the water. Three generations of Morgan men took to the woods as a part of our summer trip to North Carolina. We loaded up our canoes and headed to Lake Fontana for three days and two nights of adventure.

This was really a special trip, and getting to do it with Papaw only made it better. Will seemed to really enjoy himself after we figured out exactly what was making all the new noises outside of our tent that first night. It was pretty cool to to get to show him the Bull Frog that made the scary noise the night before, and watch him armed with this new knowledge grow braver and less timid the second night of our trip. Everything went smoothly and the weather was beautiful. The fishing was, well not great, but that didn't really matter we had a great time trying. It should be noted however that Daddy caught the only fish of the trip (not Papaw) ahah - justice!

It's amazing how your perspective changes as you graduate thru the generations. As a child the trip was magical and as I soon learned many of the normal rules went out the window. Candy and water guns were the norm. Rather than a bed time, we went to bed when we were tired, dinner time came when we were hungry, swimming wasn't a special treat, but rather a way to cool off when we were hot, and we fished when there wasn't anything more interesting to do. As a teen, it seemed there was more work to do on the trip, but nonetheless a fishing pole or a swimming hole was just around the corner and the little bit of extra work seemed to be worth the effort. As a parent, there was a good bit more work to be done, but I can honestly say I never enjoyed any of the previous trips as much as this one. Seeing Will enjoy the time with his grandfather, as well as the lessons we learned about building fires, casting a fishing lure and sleeping in the woods were precious joys that I hope to recreate for many summers to come.

I have been blessed with many things in my life, but more than anything else I am thankful for the two wonderful and healthy children and a generous wife willing to let me run away to the woods with one of them while she tends to all the realities of home. I was blessed to have a father who took the interests to spend time with me each summer, and I credit this experience with making me much of who I am. I have learned a great deal in the last year living in Florida about the importance of making time to be with those you love, and this was just one more affirmation of how much richer a life can be when you slow down enough to enjoy those around that love you. I hope that one day Will and Landon will look back at these trips with the same joy and appreciation that they bring me.

It was always asked on these trips, what time is it? Rather than a time from a watch, it just depended on how we felt; time to eat, time to swim, time to fish. I guess now its time to put my watch back on and get back to work so we can take the time next summer to do this again. We hope that this trip will continue to be a summer tradition, soon enough it will be time for Landon and Abram to join the fun!!! If you have any sons out there who are swimming and you think might enjoy the adventure, please give me a call we are already picking out a time to do the trip again next year.

All loaded up and ready to go. Landon was not a happy camper that he didn't get to go along.

Loaded up and ready to head in the water.

How fitting, Papaw fishing while Will paddles on.


Will and Papaw cooling off in the water.


Father and son!!

Camp site.

Will hanging out with his Papaw.

Papaw showing Will how to start a fire.

Looks like he knew what he was talking about.

Like father, like son. (attempted dump cake in the dutch oven)

Finding solutions to all the worlds problems, or maybe just talking about the stars.

One Last Cast before we hit the water headed for home.
Tired little camper!!

Dupont Adventure

One day while we were in North Carolina, we took the boys to Dupont State Forest for another Morgan adventure. It was great family time and it was so nice to be back in the woods.

Mommy with her two little buddies!!

Daddy with his boys!!

Landon had a big time throwing rocks in the water.

Of course we had to let the boys walk in the water.

Mommy's three favorite boys!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Our family had a wonderful 4th of July this year!! Last night we went to Magic Kingdom and saw their 4th of July fireworks, which were AMAZING!! This morning we got up and went to the pool and then this evening we grilled out hamburgers. Mommy also tried to make a flag cake out of Angel Food Cake. Well, most of it burned, but it actually worked out better because what mommy did save, the boys were able to make their own flag cake. Then this evening we saw lots of fireworks right in our own neighborhood, which was nice. Landon kept saying "the castle", which he probably thought the fireworks were coming from Disney World's Castle because that is where we usually see them.

Here are the boys decorating their cakes. First starting out with Cool Whip.

Next they each added some blueberries and strawberries to make it look a flag.


After the boys were finished decorating their cakes, they discovered their was still Cool Whip in the tub, so they decided to finish it off.

Landon had to make sure he got every last bit. He's a funny kid!!!

The 4th of July is not complete without Watermelon!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!!!

Papaw's 60th Birthday!!

While we were in North Carolina we got to celebrate Papaw's 60th Birthday. There was a surprise party at Grandma's house where family and friends came to help celebrate. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone and as always the boys had a blast playing with their cousins (Abram and Katie).

Will, Abram, Katie, and Landon sitting on the stairs at Great Grandma's house. Bubble time with Aunt Mandi. Katie, Will and Landon dancing for Papaw while Steve Jones and David Pierce sang a birthday song about Papaw.

Abram decided it was safer to watch from behind the chair. He's a smart boy!!!

Abram, Landon and Will helping Papaw blow out the candles.

The best part of birthday's is the cake. All four of the kids were the first to test it out and agreed it was good enough for everyone else to have a piece.

Happy 60th Birthday Papaw!!! We are so glad we got to be there to help you celebrate!!

Trip to North Carolina

The past two weeks we have been in North Carolina on vacation. It was great to spend time with family and friends and doing some things that we truely miss about the area. Dottie started the adventure by driving Will and Landon by herself to North Carolina. It took Dottie 11 hours and she says she will do it again. The boys did great in the car....Thank Goodness for DVD Players!! Chad took the easy way out and flew into Asheville for the second week of the trip.

Dottie and the kids first stopped in Salisbury to visit with Dottie's sister (Julie) and her two kids (Sarah and Brian) for a few days. The cousins had a blast being together and as always the Etherton girls did too.

Dottie and Julie took the kids to this really awesome park in Salisbury where they had a picnic lunch, played on the playground, road a train and a marry-go-round. The kids also got to play in a water pad that the kids had a blast in, which is why they are all wet in this picture.

Dottie, Will and Landon got to go to Sarah's dance recital. Will was totally bored, except when Sarah was dancing and Landon......well, let's just say he is not quite ready to sit through a dance recital yet. It definitely brought back memories of the good old days at Pat's School of Dance.

Science Center

After Dottie and the kids left Salisbury, they drove to Hickory to see where Dottie's little sister (Myra) and her husband live now. During the short visit, Dottie and Myra took the boys to the Science Center in Hickory, where they got to experiment with all sorts of things. Will's favorite part was the aquarium as he is really into sea life right now.

Will and Landon getting ready to see how fast they can spin Aunt Myra.

Here is Will touching a turtle. He also got to touch a baby shark, which he thought was so cool.
Landon enjoyed looking at the fish and calling each one either Nemo or Dory (from the movie "Finding Nemo").

Will was making funny noises by talking through this pipe.

Landon tried to make the noise even louder by beating on these pipes.

Hendersonville

After Dottie and the boys left Hickory, the next stop was Hendersonville, where most of the trip was spent. Julie and her kids came up for a few days, which was fun for the cousins to spend a little bit more time together.

Water gun war with Pop.

Happy Cousins!! Landon was too fast to sit down and smile for this picture.

Silly Cousins!!

Slippin Sliding down Great Grandmother's hill. The kids had a blast!! Highly recommended to entertain kids.

Landon is usually not scared of anything and usually the first to try something out, but as you can see from his face, he didn't really care for it so much. He went down this one time and then stood up at the top the rest of the time and cheered everyone on as they went down.

We don't have lightening bugs in Florida, so Will and Landon had so much fun catching them while we were in North Carolina. This was something we did almost every night it was not raining, which was also a great way to wear out the boys before bedtime. It was even more fun when the boys got to catch them with their cousins.

Please check back as we still have more adventures from our trip to post.