Morgan Family / Cousins Weekend 2020 (part 1)

Per our Morgan Family summer tradition, we had all been SO looking forward to our annual trip together with my parents, siblings, and cousins. This year's summer vacation was even more special than usual, because my parents had booked an extended stay in Lake Tahoe as a fun and new venue for us to explore together. Unfortunately, Covid-19 had other plans.

As we approached the end of June, it became clear that we wouldn't be able to enjoy our Morgan Family summer trip as we had in years past. But we couldn't let the summer go by without reuniting in some way. That's when we activated the Backup Plan - a long weekend at our house in Katy. It wouldn't be the same at all, but we were just so thankful that we had an opportunity to see everyone for an extended weekend. Jeff and I (and the kids) couldn't wait to get the fun started!

MeMe and Grandaddy arrived on a Thursday in late June, and the fun was underway. That meant late night games with Grandaddy as well as a hot day on the golf course, while MeMe and I shopped for grocery essentials for the upcoming weekend. We were ready!

The next day, it was time for the Morgan aunts, uncles, and cousins to arrive. Connor and Kaitlynn were beside themselves with excitement. Of course, we knew that things would feel very different on this visit due to the precautions everyone was taking to protect themselves from Corona. To be honest, we weren't sure what to expect, and we were all trying to be respectful of each other's feelings about said precautions. 

Somewhere along the way before anyone arrived, Connor and Kaitlynn came up with an idea to try to trick their cousins into thinking that we were being extremely strict about our virus prevention rules in the Courtright household. Kaitlynn made a sign for the door saying "Masks Required!" and we gathered all of our face masks to cover our faces. When Uncle Jeb, Aunt Alli, and their 3 girls arrived at our house and ready for long-awaited reunion hugs, they pulled up to find Connor in the driveway wearing his mask and holding out his arms to request social distance and prevent the usual family hugs and greetings. 

Uncle Jeb and Aunt Alli seemed a little caught off guard and definitely had some surprised looks on their faces. But, ever the respectful family members, they calmly turned around and walked back to their vehicle to find their masks and put them on before approaching the house. I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall to hear the comments they must've been making about the thought of spending their weekend with us in masks and PPE inside our house! We didn't make them suffer for long, though. As soon as they walked in, we couldn't contain our laughter and we let them in on the prank. What incredible sports they were! We laughed and laughed!

We had so much fun pulling off the prank with Jeb's family that we decided to try it again when Michelle and her girls arrived a couple hours later. This time, we ALL got into it. We had the sign on the front door, Connor wearing his mask in the driveway, and all of us were inside maintaining social distance waiting to greet Michelle, Renee, and Ryah. 

When Michelle and the girls arrived, they were indeed caught off guard when they were greeted by Connor in a mask, asking them politely to grab their masks and keep their distance instead of the usual welcome hugs. Renee and Ryah seemed to go with the flow, while my sister Michelle promptly replied, "Wait, what?! I didn't drive all the way from Dallas to wear a mask inside the house!!" 

Oh my word, she was NOT happy and she proceed to get more and more frustrated as she walked inside the house and saw how "serious" we all were with our social distancing. We carried the prank much farther this time, it was GREAT!! Finally, we let her in on the joke, much to her relief. It took her a minute to realize she had been PUNKED, and we all got the biggest kick out her reaction! 

To mark the occasion of this very strange and surreal Morgan Family / Cousins weekend, we had our neighbor take some photos of our new "normal." Masks and social distancing were the name of the game in summer 2020. 

All jokes aside, the cousins quickly fell right into step and began enjoying the long-awaited time together. Swimming, game-playing, Tik-Toking, and planning/choreographing for the annual Morgan Family talent show were at the top of the list of cousin activities for the weekend. It was so refreshing to have everyone together again, even if under less-than-ideal circumstances.

It seems like every summer that we reunite, there is always one of the cousins who has experienced a growth spurt which has caught everyone off guard. This year, it was no contest - Connor had achieved the biggest growth by far. Most of us are looking up to him now, and he even challenged Renee in the height category. Of course, anytime the height discussion comes up, we have to do a quick check to see how the Father vs. Son situation is progressing. Not quite there, but SO close!!

One of the highlights of every Morgan Family summer vacation is the long-awaited talent show, years ago dubbed the Morgan Freeman Talent Show. Kaitlynn and Marissa worked for hours and hours to choreograph several dance numbers, and this year they even added coordinating outfits to the mix. Of course, we later learned that the true winner of the "long game" was Ryah, who had been perfecting a suite of characters for months to introduce to us. Among the favorites were Jason and Christina, and to this day I can hardly keep a straight face when remembering them! Despite her best efforts, however, no one can ever seem to beat Kaitlynn and Marissa in the talent show. Their cuteness wins every time!

Side note: we take our talent show very seriously. Injuries may occur!

Besides the talent show, the other popular activities included pool time and food time. We had all the favorites on hand, including the long-time family Mexican staple, Lupe Tortilla. One of their gigantic party packs was just the perfect amount to feed our hungry crew and enjoy yummy leftovers for days on end.

As the weekend drew to a close, no one was quite ready to say goodbye. Connor, in particular, had missed out on some quality time with everyone due to previous baseball commitments. Due to the last minute tournament schedule, we ended up spending much of the weekend at the baseball fields, and Connor was super bummed to be missing out on that time with his cousins. We felt so bad about it, and we began wondering if we could find a way to extend the family fun.

Meeting Nicole

In June, Jeff was able to reunite with some of his family for a very special occasion - the high school graduation of his niece, Nicole. The last time he had seen her was when she was a baby, and so it was a long-awaited reunion for the entire extended family. Unfortunately, the kids and I weren't able to join Jeff for the trip, but he dropped everything to drive 12+ hours to meet Nicole's family in Tennessee. He was beyond thankful for the incredibly special weekend.

Nicole's mom, Tina, arranged for some special time together so that Nicole could meet her dad, Chris, for the first time since she was a baby. Jeff and many of the Arndt family made the long drive for the celebratory weekend, and they were so thankful for the chance to get to know Nicole who has grown into such an extraordinary young woman. As she heads off to college this fall, no doubt she will continue to accomplish big things. We are hopeful and excited to have her as a part of our extended family and look forward to many more times together in the future.

Birthday Fun with Anais

Kaitlynn's birthday fun was extended into the following week when she was able to have her long-time bestie, Anais, over for multiple days of fun and catching up. Kaitlynn was so excited that she made an activity list to make sure they could fit in as much fun as possible.

When Anais first arrived, the girls made a beeline for the pool and immediately began choreographing some dance routines. It wasn't long before they had a 3-minute number completed and ready to perform for us. Jeff and I were impressed!

 

Just as designed on K's activity plan, they went outside to play with the neighbor girls. The Journey Ice truck just so happened to be at the neighborhood park, and the girls were happy to enjoy a cold treat on a hot summer day.

Later in the day, the girls moved on to the next activity on the list: making brownies. They managed the entire project start to finish and the brownies turned out great. But probably most impressive part was the fact that they even washed the dishes at the end. I have no doubt this was from Anais's positive influence, ha!

On Day 2 of the extended birthday visit, we ventured out to Altitude for some fun at the trampoline park. I was a little unsure of visiting because I didn't know what to expect amidst the ongoing pandemic and retail restrictions. But we ended up being some of the only ones there and practically had the place to ourselves - awesome!

After 2 hours of jumping, the girls were a hot mess and starving for some lunch. We went back to their favorite spot Willie's, which they loved from their last visit because of the little arcade at the restaurant. Unfortunately, the arcade had been removed due to the new restaurant restrictions. Bummer.

Anais gave Kaitlynn a gift card to Justice for her birthday, so we made sure to work in a visit to our local store as the last stop before driving Anais home. We just so happened to be there during a huge sale, so we were able to score some great deals. Anais walked out with a fall top and ankle boots for $3, awesome! 

The girls were sad when their time together came to an end, but we were hopeful that we could get them together again soon - pending ongoing Covid craziness, of course!

Closing out Kaitlynn's 11th birthday festivities, it's still hard to believe that she's officially a "tween" and looking the part more and more each day. She officially graduated to the front passenger seat and is loving that she can torture her brother by calling "shotgun" to claim it. I'm still not ready to see my baby girl becoming so grown-up but I guess there's just nothing I can do about that!

11-year-old Shenanigans

As excited as Kaitlynn was about turning 11, there was one thing in particular that she had dreaded for YEARS. It was her official 11-year-old "well check" visit with the pediatrician -- the one where you get all the required vaccination boosters, yikes! She knew the day was coming because we've always teased the kids as the dreaded day loomed in the future. Of course, visiting the doctor's office in the middle of a pandemic made for an even more interesting situation. The office looked completely deserted but the medical staff was friendly and professional as they escorted us past multiple screening stations and into our private room. Although Kaitlynn was nervouse, she handled her 4 shots like a champ.

With that unpleasant chore out of the way, Kaitlynn was able to move on to more fun birthday activities. She had invited 2 of her favorite friends, Lily and Sophia, over for a special birthday sleepover. They had a blast with games, swimming, extra friends, and special birthday ice cream sundaes!

Kaitlynn turns 11

Kaitlynn's favorite day of the year arrived on June 14 with a lot less fanfare than usual. Turning a year older in the middle of a pandemic just seemed to kill the fun birthday vibe. We weren't able to celebrate Kaitlynn's big day the way she had hoped, but we still tried to make it as fun as possible. First up - her official front porch birthday photos.

Next up was Kaitlynn's favorite part - GIFTS! She was also able to enjoy a FaceTime call with Meme and Grandaddy as she opened their gift. As has been for the past several years, the theme of her birthday gifts revolved around zebra stripes. We keep thinking this phase will pass but it shows no signs of slowing down at all!

After gifts, we headed out for Kaitlynn's choice of birthday lunch - Lupe Tortilla. Then we were back home so that Kaitlynn could enjoy her gifts. She had been so excited about getting a new mermaid tail ever since the pool was finished. She invited the neighbor girls to join her and it was like a mermaid party in our backyard!

Big Brothers

Collin's job in North Dakota was one of the many casualties of the COVID-19 virus fallout. He decided to come to Texas to spend some time with friends and family before heading off to Oklahoma for the next chapter in his career. While he was with us in Texas, the kids really enjoyed spending some down time with him at home. And Kevin was becoming a more familiar face as well -- he showed up often at Connor's baseball games to spend time with the family. 

One of Connor and Kaitlynn's favorite activities with their big brothers was to take a ride in their fancy sports cars. Collin has multiple vehicles but his Viper is his baby, and Kevin drives a Corvette that is incredibly loud and fast. One day after a baseball game, Kaitlynn was able to experience the full throttle of the Vette and her eyes were HUGE as she was pushed back into the seat!

Usually when Collin comes over, Kaitlynn suckers him into board games of any kind. He's such a great sport about it, and the guys never miss a chance to tease Kaitlynn for her cheating, I mean winning, ways. Haha.

On one particular visit, Connor and Kaitlynn had a rare moment of sibling camaraderie when they attempted to come up with a way to get on Collin's nerves while he was relaxing downstairs. Apparently there was a well-devised and phased approach entitled the "Bother Collin plan" that was thoughtfully brainstormed and constructed before execution. The red stick figure marks their target. Cracks me up every time I see this! Spoiler alert: the plan did NOT work. Collin was on to them from the beginning! 

On another occasion, Kaitlynn challenged Collin and Kevin to a headstand duel. To our surprise, the boys were great sports and actually pulled off the feat quite well. We laughed and laughed. Of course, Kaitlynn had to show them how it was really done, only to be toppled over by pillows thrown with brotherly love!

The extra time with Collin and Kevin has been a bright spot in an otherwise dreary spring/early summer due to the current pandemic situation. Jeff and I have been so thankful for the quality time that we have been able to spend together as a family.