Sun & Fun At Folly Beach

All smiles, here are Maddie, Jules, Brady and Kalen.

Kalen was a wild man in the pool.  This is a picture of Scott throwing him up.  Notice Kalen making a silly face.  He was loving pool time.

Julian standing tall

We all look like drowned rats, but we were having a blast.

Hanging out with little B by the sea.  :)

Kalen was the first to be buried in the sand.  Everyone got in on the burial.

What could be more relaxing?  What a cool guy.

Madelyn, Jerry (Grandpa) and Brayden share a sweet moment in the pool.  

Grandpa and Nana with their four grandchildren.  

Shanda, Jerry and Jan with the kids

Jerry and Scott taking in a game of paddle ball.

The Morrison family gathered around the table many times for a good game of UNO.  We got the biggest kick out of Kalen.  He is a serious, I mean, seriously funny UNO player.  

Here we are enjoying a night out in Charleston.  We ate at Mellow Mushroom.  Yum!

Downtown Charleston

Nana took the kids to Talbots and treated them to some spiffy new clothes.  Madelyn was quite proud carrying this big shopping bag.  

Folly Beach

We're back from our annual trip to Folly Beach, South Carolina.  It is such an understatement to even say, "we had a great time."  We look forward to this trip all year long.  Jerry and Jan treat us to a week at the beach each year.  It is a wonderful time of relaxation, fun, and togetherness.

I have so many moments to share with you all.  I just uploaded almost 200 photos!  Don't worry, I won't post all of them, but I do want to take some time to sort through them.  

Here are five pictures of our family to get the ball rolling.  There will be more beach posts to come!

Easy Dill Pickles

Last night, Scott and I decided to make use of our over abundance of cucumbers.  We have a great recipe for making dill pickles.  It is relatively easy.  We made 12 beautiful jars of pickles.  

Daniel, we knew you'd be proud. :)

Easy Dill Pickles

* 4 dozen pickling cucumbers (about 3 inches in length) ~ we use bigger cucumbers and less of them

* 1 bunch of fresh dill

* 1 quart apple cider vinegar

* 8 cups water

* 1 cup pickling salt

* 12 to 16 garlic cloves, peeled 

Directions:

Wash the cucumbers and remove any stems.  Cover with cold water and refrigerator overnight or for several hours.

Soak jars in hot water for a few minutes.

Pack the cucumbers into pint jars as tightly as possible.  Poke in 2 springs of dill per jar.

Bring the vinegar, water, salt and garlic cloves to a boil.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Fish out the garlic cloves with a slotted spoon and put one in each jar (or to taste) while the brine cools slightly.  

Pour the hot brine into the jars and seal.  Makes 12 pints.

Transitioning

Our transition has gone pretty well.  I was amazed the first night after I tucked Brayden in his new bed.  He and his new roommate, Kalen, just stayed quiet as mice and went right to sleep.I was expecting more drama.  The next morning at 6:55 am, they tip toed into our room with grins on their faces.  

Since then, Brayden has realized his new found freedom.  Last night was difficult for him as he was trying to settle down and sleep.  He wanted to get up and play.  Of course, it didn't help that Kalen was talking to him all the while.  Kalen fell asleep first and I think that made Brayden realize that this was for real.  I heard them this morning at 6:45 am in their room.  I went in there and tried to shush them.  Remember, I am not a morning person.  I ended up just surrendering to the moment and escorted them downstairs so the rest of the family could continue sleeping. 

Julian seems to be enjoying his own room.  He was able to get a new comforter with dinosaurs on it.  He has his own bookshelf full of books, CD player and such.  We made the clothes swap yesterday.  This was quite an effort, but it is done.  We have a lot more organizing and personalizing to do within both of the boy's rooms.  I am happy that we were able to get some free mattresses at the perfect time and start all this.  

Might I add what an amazing gift it has been this week to have Scott home more.  He has been so helpful.  This is his first week of not teaching summer session classes at UNC.  He will start back on August 19th with his course work and being a teaching assistant.  Until then, he has a book review and several other things he can be working on.  The great thing is, nothing is pressing on him and he can spend more time at home within the next few weeks.   He cracks me up, he has always got to be doing something.  He is ultra productive.  Yesterday, he took most of our paperback chapter books and put book binding tape on the side.  He spent the entire morning doing this.  He is such a worker and I am so thankful for him.

25 Random Things

This was inspired by my friend Torie's blog post.  I am listing 25 random things about me that you may not know.  This will be a challenge, but I am up for it.

1.  I love cereal.  I could eat it morning, noon and night. 

2.  My favorite word is sunshine.

3.  I don't like olives.  

4.  When I was in kindergarten, my class took a field trip.  For some reason, I rode with another classmate with our teacher.  My teacher closed my finger in the car door.  

5.  My first car was a used red Sunbird.

6.  One of my favorite TV shows is the Andy Griffith Show. 

7.  I hold my right armpit with my left hand while I brush my teeth with my right hand every single time! 

8.  I don't finish things off, such as a cup of coffee, the last bit of something in the fridge, the last few pretzels in a bag.  I open a new one or just leave the last sip of drink in my cup.  Scott really loves this about me.  :)

9.  I was a cheerleader in junior high and high school.

10.  My full maiden name is Anna Laurel Kirby.

11.  I attended Appalachian State University and got a degree in Birth through Kindergarten.

12.  My freshman college roommate was unexpectedly pregnant and we found out together.  

13.  A nurse delivered my daughter, Madelyn.  Labor had progressed so quickly and the doctor just couldn't get there quickly enough.  

14.  I waited tables in a little cafe in Blowing Rock in college.

15.  When I was younger, I would spend the night with my maternal grandmother.  We would watch Nick at Nite and crack up at I Love Lucy for what seemed like hours.  

16.  I was afraid of the dark as a child.

17.  I like a good country song.  

18.  It was love at first sight with Scott.  I knew it when I simply looked at him.  Do you believe in that?  I do.  We have a one of a kind of love.

19.  I am not a morning person, not at all!

20.  I would love to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House in Durham.

21.  I have learned to love reading.

22.  I am very thankful to be vegan and really can't stand the thought of what happens to animals on factory farms.  

23.  I became a vegetarian in 1997.

24.  I would love to learn to ballroom dance.

25.  I sleep on the left side of the bed.  

Warning: Turbulence Ahead

Scott went and picked up a six month old box spring and mattress today, another freecycle success.  We knew in the near future, we would need to purchase these for Julian.  The plan has been to have Julian move to his own room (Brady's current room) when Brayden was ready to transition out of his crib.  Brayden's bed actually converts into a full size bed.  Ready or not, here we go.  We have the mattresses and the time is now.  

Tonight, Scott and I moved the box spring and mattress up into the hallway.  It would be no fun to have these things in this spot for any long length of time, so we are going for the transition tomorrow.  Ahh . . . . breathe deep Morrison family!!!

I talked to each of the boys tonight about what tomorrow would be like.  Brayden said, "Okay!" about twenty times.  Kalen and Julian both got wide eyes and tried to let it sink in.  I went around like a little reporter taking photos.  This is a night to remember.  Tonight is the last night Kalen and Julian will be roomies.  Tomorrow, Kalen will move into the big brother position in his room.  Lord only knows how Brayden will deal with it all.  He will not be confined by the bars of his crib.  Freedom baby!  He will have total access to this, that and the other.  Transitions like these are seldom easy.  We'll keep you posted.

Home Life & Creativity

Our home has been very rich with creativity recently, especially with Julian, Madelyn and Kalen.  Maybe it is due to these hot summer days or maybe just a development within our children.  I have enjoyed getting quite creative in the kitchen, as well.  It's fun to whip up a meal that is a delight to look at, as well as delightful to eat.  

The kids have been very creative with Legos and K'NEX.  As a proud mom would, I wanted to share a few of the creations that lasted until I was able to get a picture of them.  

Boat made by Julian with K'NEX

Madelyn with Lego house.  This was her first attempt at making a roof.  :)

This is Julian's Lego house with dog house underneath.  

This is a Red Lentil Pasta dish from one of Sarah Kramer's cookbook.

This is a Veggie Pot Pie.  I can't express to you how elated I was at accomplishing this.  I had never attempted a dish like this before.  It turned out so great!  The top crust was wonderful and super manageable.  Another super Sarah recipe.

Had to throw this in.  This is one of Kalen's toad friends.  We, I say we but really mean they, have found several lately in and around our yard.  This thrills Kalen to no end.  We keep them for a day or so, feed them crickets, observe them and send them on their merry way.  

In one of my recent posts, I mentioned Julian's new Swiss Family Robinson Comprehension Guide.  This is an activity from that.  He and I used two Silk soymilk containers and a couple of other materials to make this ship.  

This is Maddie with her bird.  She created this today, with a little help from Kalen.