Memorial Day Weekend

We went camping for the Memorial Day weekend at Gold Head State Park in Keystone Heights, Florida. We chose Gold Head because we like the rusticness of it, but to be honest, we really chose it because it is close and gas prices are so high right now. Since we pull our trailer with a diesel truck and are paying $4.75 a gallon right now, we are trying to stay pretty close to home.

My sister KD and her husband Bobby also went camping with us. This was our first time camping with them. KD actually camps quite a bit since she bought a horse trailer with an air conditioned sleeping compartment. She goes out with her horse friends and camps alot more than we do. So, they pulled their horse trailer (no horses) to the campground and set up camp near us.

We had a really nice weekend. KD & Bobby arrived at the campgrounds earlier than we did so they fixed dinner for us the first night. Chili-cheese dogs - one of our favorite camping foods! They also fixed us a hot breakfast 2 of the 3 mornings we were there. We normally eat cereal, so eggs and sausage were a welcome change! I cooked dinner Saturday night - Carribean Jerk Chicken, rice & green beans. On Sunday, KD's daughter Jenny came to visit us and brought some fresh grouper she had caught to grill up for us. She did a great job grilling up 3 huge grouper fillets with some excellent seasonings. Sometimes I think we eat better camping than we do at home.

During our weekend we took several little hikes through the woods, in the ravine and by (and in) the creek. We brought both of our dogs, Balto & Kobe. They brought their two dogs, Jesse & Sarah. So they dogs had a great time being walked more than usual and getting attention from fellow campers. I think every campsite had at least one dog and for the most part, all were well behaved and not too barky. (I just made that word up!)

There are a few lakes in the park. All the lake levels are low in this area, but the sad thing is there was a lake there called Big Lake Johnson. As you can see from this photo, it's pretty much nothing but a huge field now. It's really sad to see the lakes all disappearing.

The weather was nice for the weekend. A little hot in the middle of the day, but that's the beauty of having an air conditioned travel trailer.... nap time! :)

JT made some friends with a bunch of kids in a couple of the nearby campsites and stayed pretty busy playing with all of them. They rode bikes, skateboarded, scootered, shot each other with water guns and just plain had fun. I always feel guilty when JT doesn't have anyone to play with when we go, but he usually finds someone to play with.

The mosquitoes weren't too bad this trip, but the ticks were. I don't think any of us got away without a tick bite or two. Poor Balto had one stuck deep in between his toes. Something bit me on the finger and it swelled up pretty bad... I don't know what it was, but it gave me a large red bump and is quite itchy.

We had a great weekend and look forward to camping again with KD & Bobby sometime. It might be awhile before we head out again since gas prices are so hight and the weather is hitting the 90's already.

You can read my sister KD's blog here.

You can see more photos here.

JT's Cub Scout Advancement & My Birthday

Today JT advanced from a Webelo I to a Webelo II in Cub Scouts. It's hard to believe he only has one more year to go and he'll move up to Boy Scouts! My little boy is growing up!

They had their advancement ceremony in the outdoor Chapel in the woods behind the church because the fellowship hall was being used. The weather cooperated and it was fairly nice while we were out there. We celebrated with Pizza after the advancement ceremonies and a couple came out and brought a bunch of snakes, iguanas, a skunk and some other critters to show them. JT seemed to enjoy holding the tail end of this big snake.

Today was also my birthday and I had a really nice day. I had breakfast with my friend Traci, lunch with my friend Geri, several gifts from other friends, and I was sang to at least 15 times today. It made for a very special day for me!

Geri had me over for lunch and surprised me with this little cake complete with a cleverly crafted fake candle (since she didn't have any)! This other photo was from when KD and I celebrated our birthday's together at Sakuras Japanese Steak House with our husbands and Mom on Sunday night.

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Thanks to everyone who made my birthday special!!

Women of Faith, Zoo & SeaWorld

This has been a busy weekend so far for the Tungett family! Friday night and Saturday I went with 65 other women from my church to the Women of Faith Conference. I have traveled out of town to go to one of these before, but this was the first time it was held here in Jacksonville, Florida in their history of 12 years! The singing, preaching, teaching and worshiping was awesome! Imagine thousands of women in one room... laughing, crying, singing and just having a great time with their friends... that's what it was!

While I was enjoying my "girlfriend" time, my husband and son went on a Cub Scout trip out of town. Friday night they went to the Central Florida Zoo, a couple of hours away from home, and spent the night with other cub scouts in the pack and their families. They got to sleep in the Zoo and get a behind the scenes tour this morning. Then they went to SeaWorld in Orlando for a day of fun there. I would have normally gone with them and was sorry I missed it, but I wasn't going to miss the Women of Faith ... especially since I had been the coordinator who got our group together. So I spent the evening alone.... well, there were 3 men in my bed.... Balto, Kobe and Onyx. (2 dogs, 1 cat .. basically a total of about 130 lbs of hair covered companions sharing the bed with me!)

From all accounts, the guys had a great time at both places I got to hear some of the stories tonight and look forward to hearing more about it tomorrow when he gets out of bed and thinks of all the things he forgot to tell me tonight. :)

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

Happy Mother's Day! This day is always a very special day to me, just as I'm sure it's very special to all mom's. This is a day that I especially reflect and thank God for the miracle of the son that He gave to me. A son who can melt my heart one minute and make my blood boil the next!

My first mother's day was spent without my son. In fact, as my friends and family know, I hadn't even seen him or laid hands on him yet, although he was already officially mine. The photo to the right was taken the first day I saw him, the first day I held him and the first day I felt what it felt like to be a "Mommy"! Although I missed my first Mother's Day with him, I had the pleasure of watching Tim spend his first Father's Day with him in his arms, just a few days later. That in itself was a pretty special day!

I woke up this morning and my handsome young son had fixed me a cup of coffee and brought it to me. He had his presents for me too, but the most special thing I got was the card he picked out and the time he put into writing in it for me. He hates to write and I know that it probably took him quite a while to not only write as much as he did, but the fact that he got artistic with his printing and he thought carefully about the words he used. This is just one of those special things only a mother could truly appreciate! It's definitely a "keeper!"

We went to church this morning and then went to Bono's BBQ with my mother and my sister and her husband. We chose Bono's because we knew it wouldn't be packed like most of the restaurants would be on Mother's Day. It wasn't fancy, but the food was good and we got to spend time together as a family without the crowds. That works for me!

After lunch we came home and just spent a lazy Sunday at home. I took advantage of every opportunity I could to declare it Mother's Day and get my husband or my son to do something for me. :) It was a good day.

I saw this cartoon and it reminded me of my husband.... I love you Tim, even though Balto makes picking up the dog crap next to impossible since he only does it in the bushes!