Morgan Family Reunion

18! Count them, my friends. Eighteen plus a dog. That's how many Morgans piled into an awesome lake house owned by Jim and Carolyn's oldest son, Brent. You might have thought we were crazy leaving Brent's 8,500 sq ft house in Murphy to stay in his smaller 4 bedroom lake house but we couldn't have had a better time any place else.



The lake house sits on Cypress Springs lake which is 3,400 acre spring-fed lake near Mount Vernon, TX.







The lake house would not be complete without the Morgan family crest flying high above it.



There is so much to do at the lake house. Brent has a ski boat and a fishing boat along with two docks. All the children and grandchildren spent hours tubing on the lake.









When you get hot and tired from tubing, you jump in the lake and float.



Then you get back on the boat and tube some more.



If you feel like you are getting a little sunburnt, you can read a good book in the hammock ...



Play a game of checkers ...



Rock on the front porch ...



Or swing on the back porch ...



You might think that evenings on the lake could be rather boring. Well, not for us. We happened to be at the lake over the 4th of July weekend. We were able to load almost everyone on to both boats to enjoy fireworks on the lake.



Next post, temperatures in the 100's.

One Special Anniversary

After Waleska we headed to the Lone Star State for a special celebration.





We all gathered at a special steak house.



We had our own special private room.



No special celebration is complete in Texas without cowboy hats.



Congratulations to two very special people, Jim and Carolyn Morgan, on their 50th Wedding Anniversary.







All four of Jim and Carolyn's children were able to attend the special celebration.



And nine out of eleven grandchildren were able to attend.







Congratulations Jim and Carolyn! So glad we could be a part of your special evening.

Next post, the Morgan clan heads to the lake house in Mt. Vernon, TX.

A Day Trip

So, where can a family go when they are visiting the lake house in Waleska and are in need of a meal? We headed to Wes Mans in White, Georgia. It is eclectic with a wide assortment of junk covering the walls.

The menu is simple. You choose a meat and either two or three vegetables.

These can be found all around the restaurant. What are they? Georgia fly catchers of course:

One of the best things about visiting Waleska aside from spending time with Grandpa and Nana is the amount of day trips that a family can take. Over the years we have had some amazing day excursions to downtown Atlanta to visit The World of Coke, the Atlanta Zoo, the Atlanta Aquarium, Stone Mountain, and the Cyclorama. We have taken day excursions to Chattanooga, Tennessee to visit Ruby Falls, Rock City, the Tennessee Aquarium, and the incline railway. We have taken day excursions to Helen, Georgia to go cool river tubing. We have had the opportunity to hike up waterfalls like Anna Ruby Falls and Amicalola Falls and eat at famous restaurants like The Dillard House and the Smithfield House.

On this particular visit to Waleska we took a day excursion to a new destination -The Tellus Museum. This 120,000 square foot museum included dinosaur bones and plenty of hands-on experiments.

So what made The Tellus Museum different from any other museum that we have ever visited? The entire family was able to pan for gems. What a blast! Everyone got into it including Grandpa and Nana. We were allowed to take home all the gems that we had panned.

Even Grandpa enjoyed the "hands-on" gallery.

Mackenzie couldn't decide which came first- the chicken or the egg?

This museum also includes a 120 seat digital planetarium. I made a quick decision to purchase tickets for the kids and I to see a show called "SpacePark360", it is a 38 minute 9 ride show that takes audiences on a wild ride through the solar system. It is designed to recreate the experience of amusement park thrill rides. If you ever have the opportunity to see the show, please do, it was amazing! Although, be warned, it can cause you motion sickness.

Next post, we head to The Lone State for a big celebration.

Waleska, Georgia

Three weeks. Yep, we have been gone three weeks. Due to scheduled events we had to take three trips back to back. If you have never taken such a long vacation we totally recommend you give it a try. We hope to do it again next summer.

First, we headed to Orlando to join Darin's brother's family at Universal Studios. I knew better than to take my camera along with me to the park. Why risk having an accident with the new camera? What I forgot to worry about was my new iPhone. Well, needless to say, it got drenched on a river raft ride. Goodbye iphone. Hence, there are no pictures from our trip to Orlando.

After two days at Universal, Darin dropped the kids and I off in Waleska, Georgia while he continued on to a guitar convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

Waleska is a 45 minute drive northwest of Atlanta. It is the home of Reinhardt College which was founded in 1883.

When we arrived at my parents lake house in Waleska we were able to spend one night with my brother's family. They happened to be passing through Waleska en route to their vacation in Montana.

So, how does a family keep themselves busy at a lake house? They fish ...

They have long conversations on the dock ...

They help Grandpa maintain his train tracks ...

They go searching for deer ...

Next post, a day trip a family can take from the lake house.

Happy 4th of July Weekend

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As you can see from the pictures, the kids and I are still out of town enjoying our adventures. However, we wanted to take a minute to wish you and your family a happy 4th of July. Check back with us later this month.