The Morris Family

Welcome to our blog! We are very excited to finally have this up and running at last. To kick it off, we wanted to make sure we had some really fun photos to share with all our family and friends. So let me tell you about our fabulous 10 day vacation in beautiful................. F L O R I D A!

First, I have to tell you that Emily earned this trip for us. At the beginning of first grade, she was struggling with some behavior problems at school. Her teacher and I had been talking everyday and we were both really frustrated. Wes and I finally decided we would try a really good incentive to see if she could "get it together". We told her we would take the whole family to Florida if she could make it the rest of the entire school year without a single check (for misbehaving). Obviously, to our delight, she did it and hasn't had a single problem at school since. She even made the principals list for good behavior!

So as soon as we were able to, away we went! Florida was a complete blast! We stayed with Matt and Tyra in their beautiful new home. The home is nestled on 8 acres of lush grass and other tropical vegetation. The kids were warned to stay out of the tall grass and away from the equipment due to the "black" snakes that commonly live there. S C A R Y! They had so much room to roam and loved every inch of it! Emily fell in love with Chad and Debra's new puppy "Cookie". She had to see her first thing when she woke and wouldn't get in bed until she gave Cookie a kiss good night. I guess it's time for a dog........argggg.

Matt was able to get us into each of the theme parks at Disney World. We had so much fun being there. It is so different from Disney Land. Everything in California is condensed into 2 parks but in Florida it's spread out into 4 parks. Even though it was a lot more walking, there was so much more to see in between all the main attractions. The street shows were everywhere and so much fun to watch. We all loved every bit of it! Our favorite ride (by majority vote) was "Everest" at Animal Kingdom. Jalon actually rode it 9 times! Emily only rode it once and I practically had to force her in it. She's definitely lost her nerve. Cole says he loved, believe it or not, "The Tower of Terror" but I think his favorites are "Sorin" and "Splash Mountain". Emily couldn't get enough of the rapids. Once was enough for me on that one. Our favorite shows were "The Lion King" , "Indiana Jones" and the "Extreme Stunt Show". Jalon particularly loved the stunt show. All the noise and the explosions really got him "reved" up. Ha, ha, (Pun intended). On the last day that we were there we got to go back to the Animal Kingdom and do the Safari ride. Animals are always a huge hit with our kids. The lion was a little scary. It was hunched down in the tall grass and looked like it was about ready to pounce when we drove by.

Other highlights to our trip were trick-or-treating with Chad and Debra and going to "Coco Beach". That was really fun. The water and weather couldn't have been more perfect! The kids even got to do some boogie boarding!

We had such a fantastic time and our vacation ended up being more than we dreamed. By far one of the best parts was getting to know our extended family on that side of the country. Matt and Tyra completely spoiled us! I'm sure we were more of a burden than they will ever admit and their generosity and love was incredibly touching. Our entire family in Florida was such a joy to be with. Aunt Lonna was a delight. It was great to get to know her better. Chad and Debra were a ton of fun to be with and Sean too. All of our kids got to know each other so well and you could see they were really bonding. We can't wait till the next reunion so we can see everyone again. We are already missing everyone so much!

Thank you Matt and Tyra for making our dream vacation come true!

Matt and Tyra's Family