November 11, 2:58 p.m.

I have wanted to post for several days, but believe it or not, there have been more important things in my life to do than blog. Hard to believe, I know.

In the past month, I have learned of three people I know who have been diagnosed with cancer. One of these is a friend and homeschool mother of six children who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is only forty years old. She recently moved out of state, too.

So I have been spending some time this week writing letters to some of these folks or their family members. Please keep them in prayer.



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Other than that, we did return from our camping trip this Sunday, and it was an especially memorable trip for one reason that will be covered later in this post. The weather was exceptionally gorgeous throughout the trip, and we were thankful for that.

The name of the state park this time was Silver River State Park, near Ocala, in our great state. I have to say that when they designed and laid out this campground, they really did it right. It is a newer campground, and very popular, which is why we hadn't made it there sooner. The campsites are wooded, spacious, and private! There is plenty of distance between sites, which I love. The facilities are newer and well-kept, with convenient laundry and outdoor sink, that made life much easier for us van folks. This campground has perhaps dislodged Anastasia State Park from first place in our list of state campgrounds.

Every time we head to a new place, I always wonder... are there enough activities there? Will the children enjoy this park? Will anybody be bored? I honestly don't know why I still wonder about this, because they always find something to pretend about when they get there.





Matchbox cars and gravel always make for several periods of uninterrupted campsite play, as the children always make a new network of "roads" wherever we camp.





Other diversions included:




the snapping turtle that the children befriended for two days.







Then there were the chickens that the children discovered at the Cracker village museum.















Although fishing was not allowed at this park, that did not stop Baby Girl and Little Son from making their own "cane poles" out of sticks and pine needles (fishing line). They used these poles to "entertain" the snapping turtle with bits of bread.














Baby Girl was always keeper of the "Feed the Fire Store", selling us from her stash of firewood and tinder. Friday, she announced, was "Free Friday" so we snatched up all the merchandise we could while it lasted.









The children found a clearing in the woods behind our campsite, which they dubbed their "Exploring Office". Baby Girl wanted to make sure that I got a photo of the all important Exploring Office into the blog. So here it is.













And lest you think that camping is all play and no work for our children, never fear. They do have their campsite responsibilities, besides helping to pack and unpack. Baby Girl often has table-setting duties to tend to.














Little Son chipped in with some of the less challenging cooking tasks.















Self-Reliant Man is always the champion burger flipper.














One thing that we can do really well while camping is EAT!














One favorite evening snack continues to be Jiffy Pop...













... but hot cocoa, pound cake, and cookies filled in those spare idle moments around the campfire very well. As did "read alouds" by Yours Truly. Right now, we are reading Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze ~~ a very entertaining campfire read!















And before I forget, we continued to hike whenever we could. The first hike we took was the River Trail, where we obtained a lovely view of the pristine Silver River.














The next day we attempted to hike one of the other many trails: the Swamp Trail, which would provide another fine view of the river, and some baby snapping turtles to observe. We really wanted to complete this trail...








but....




about a hundred yards or so down this trail, we were moving along at a good pace, Baby Girl in the lead, but thankfully within grabbing distance of Breezy Point Mom (that's me). Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I noticed, lying in a straight line alongside the left edge of the trail, a five foot long Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake! The most dangerous rattlesnake in North America. This was a fat one, too, with approximately three inch diameter around the middle. At once, I yelled, "Oh my God, a Diamondback" and reached out for Baby Girl, who hadn't noticed it. When she saw the creature, she panicked and ran to me (mommy!!!) and I turned to Self-Reliant Man, who said "Run!" and the four of us darted back to the beginning of the trail, hearts beating a mile a minute. Self-Reliant Man got the best look at this snake, and reported that he had noticed the rattler, and that the snake had turned its head to see us off as we ran away.

Sorry, I did NOT take up my camera to get a shot for the blog, important as the blog is and all. Actually, the idea didn't enter my mind at that moment, not that it would have made a difference. So the above snake picture is just one I pulled from elsewhere.

The photo above of the children by the trail sign was taken only about two minutes before the snake sighting. How naive and innocent that moment was. Wait ~~ isn't that something slipping through the leaves in the distance behind the kids?? Yikes!

We reported our sighting to park personnel, and to other visitors we saw approaching that trail, and any families we noted with young children.

We learned anew why it is important not to let your little ones get far ahead of you on the trail. Baby Girl had developed a habit of running out far ahead of us, with us unable to keep up with her at times. I don't think she will be doing this again any time soon.

And yes, we did go back a little later and hike.... the River Trail again. Don't know if we will ever brave the Swamp Trail now.

Nevertheless.............

We love camping!

And we can't wait to do it again.