Gulf Hammock Getaway

We headed over to Gulf Hammock to camp at Gus's Mom's place for a few days. After we unloaded our stuff, we headed up to Chiefland to eat lunch at a local favorite - Barbeque Bill's. It was delicious!! Then we traveled west to Cedar Key. We found a really nice playground that the kids enjoyed playing on even though it was burning up. After Gus and I had enough of that, we followed the signs around the island to the Cedar Key Museum. It was really tiny and not too interesting, but it was something to do. The funniest part was when I explained to Meagan that we were going there to learn and she responded "But I don't WANNA learn!!!"

After all that learning and sweating, we headed back to camp to get down to some riding and relaxing. The kids loved taking rides on the four-wheelers and Jeep.

Avery and I had a couple of good games of Uno - a family favorite!

Katrina was ecstatic that Hunter finally started saying "Mimi" this weekend!

You know we enjoyed some yummy meat off the charcoal grill compliments of the master chef!

The kids all had fun playing with the rod & reel we brought over. Meagan actually was pretty good at it.

Another fun game Gus and Avery learned this weekend was Dominoes. Gus got pretty hooked and stayed up late playing each night. Of course, Hunter liked them, too!

On Friday afternoon, Gus's Uncle Damon and Aunt Ruth came over. Ruth surprised us with this beautiful (and delicious) cake from Fresh Market to celebrate Gus and Hunter's upcoming birthdays.

Sweet Aunt Ruth (as the kids refer to her) also bought Hunter his very own Spiderman 4-wheeler! He was super excited to be a big boy like Daddy!

Gus and I came home Saturday afternoon to get ready and go to a National Wild Turkey Federation banquet over in The Villages. Not exactly my idea of a good time, but it was nice to spend some time together (kid less). We also woke up this morning and went out to breakfast and picked up some groceries at Publix. Katrina brought the kids home around 2 and we've just been hanging out here enjoying our last day together. Gus decided this has been one of the best vacations we've ever had and I have to agree!

Day #3: Fun with Friends

Today was pretty much a regular day for me. Gus had a bunch of running around to do so I was home with the kids doing housework, etc. Fun, fun! Anyway, I did have several things to do to get ready for our dinner party tonight at Sabrina and Jason's. They were gracious enough to open their home to all of us. As always, the hospitality was great and we shared lots of laughs!!
Starting with little John trying to gnaw on the plastic grapes! He's hungry, Hannah!!

Me and Sabrina being silly - Promise we hadn't even had anything to drink!!!

Speaking of drinks...... Wes really enjoyed his raspberry martini (or two or three....) He's such a hard working man that it's good to see him relax and unwind!

The kids filling up on pizza, pasta, salad and fruit!

After a yummy supper, we could hold the kids back from the pool any longer. Thankfully it was overcast and late enough that the pool was shaded and we didn't have to bother with sunscreen. I usually am a stickler about that but it is a real pain and I was glad to skip that step!

Avery is a little fish and rarely took her goggles off. Meagan has been so brave this summer and is doing great swimming on her own with her floatie thing. Hunter is a hoot and is really content in his floatie, too. Dylan wanted to make sure he got in the picture, too! He's such a sweetie!

Daddy and his baby boy - how sweet! I can't remember the last time we were all swimming together.

Hannah and Addie had a great time in the pool, too. We tease Hannah that she should ask for a refund on all of the swim lessons that Addie has taken since she will barely get out of the float. She can swim, just still a little scared!!

Sabrina and sweet Whitney - baby girl fell fast asleep watching all of us swim. Next year she'll be ready to join in the fun!!

Heading to the camp tomorrow, so I probably won't be able to blog again until Sunday, so check back then!

Day #2: Pottery, Pedicure, & Pub

Today started out with another leisurely morning that included a hot breakfast again! After a little housework and getting ready, the girls and I headed over to Amazing Glaze to get creative. I actually just watched/helped Meagan but I still had a good time.

Avery hard at work on her bumblebee plate.

Meagan chose an ice cream dish/bowl that turned out pretty interesting. Of course, the finished product always looks better and I wrote her name on it so it will be fun to see it all glazed!

After lunch and getting Meg and Hunter down for naps, I snuck away for a few hours by myself to get a pedicure. I had plans of sitting there for an hour enjoying reading The Host by Miss Stephenie Meyer herself but instead my sister Jill called and we caught up with each other which was great too.

I love my HOT pink toes! This picture really doesn't do them justice - trust me, they're BRIGHT!!

For supper tonight, we headed over to Inverness to a favorite but seldom visited restaurant..... or should I say "Pub and Grub" as the sign reads:

They have the BEST chicken wings and we tore them up! After supper, Gus took us on an hour long ride through the woods known as the Citrus Management Reserve. Of course the woods were beautiful, but after a while we were all getting pretty restless. Well, all of us except Gus's cousin Dylan who joined us tonight as well. He's a big time hunter and outdoors lover and he enjoyed the ride (and the wings, too!)

I'm heading to bed now to delve into my book. I won't be able to keep up with my goal of blogging every day this week, though. We are heading over to the campsite where Gus's mom goes fishing on Thursday and won't be back until Saturday so I'll have to catch up when we return. I still plan on posting tomorrow, so check back!

Staycation - Day #1: Bass Pro and Burgers

We had a great first day of the first annual Kornegay Family Staycation! It took me a while this Spring to convince Gus that this was a good idea. The main reason being that we really couldn't afford to go where we really wanted to (the mountains of Tennessee). Gus was worried that I would be dragging him to theme parks everyday and once I assured him that wasn't going to happen he was on board. I basically had the notion that we should come up with things that we would do on Saturdays if I had a "normal" work schedule and do them this week. Today started out with a yummy breakfast cooked by Daddy himself. Actually Gus is a great cook (not just bbq) and the kids love a hot breakfast since I usually serve cereal!


Then we headed south to Bass Pro Shops in Orlando. I don't remember ever taking Hunter there so I was really excited to see how he would like it. He was pretty overwhelmed, but overall loved it!

The girls loved looking at the huge fish!

Since Hunter's birthday is right around the corner, we went ahead and picked out a few gifts for him. He LOVES his new "pop" gun and set of 4-wheelers. We also got him a pint sized rod/reel for later this week.
Then we headed into the rest of the mall for some lunch. We had never eaten at Fuddruckers, but it has always sounded good so we gave it a try. We all had a great time and a yummy meal!

Avery really love her cheeseburger - I think she ate every bite!!

I am going to TRY to do a post each day of this week, but we'll see!! I'm usually doing good to get out two or three posts in a month, but I want to try, so stay tuned!!

What a week!!!

My poor van - let me just remind you all that this is the first new vehicle I have ever owned and that I actually do like driving my beautiful red van!

Well, I hate to be a downer, but since this is my blog about my life, it's inevitable that sometimes the topics won't be so happy and upbeat, right? Let me just say that I've had a really @#$!*@# week!!! Starting on Sunday with my first ever car accident. I was heading to church that evening which I NEVER do - the only reason we were going was to see the kids' camp program that night. I was coming around the corner on the Girl Scout Camp road (those of you who grew up around here know where that is) and this young man pulled out RIGHT in front of me. There was no way I could have stopped in time to avoid hitting him and I slammed smack dab into him. I was pretty shaken, but not hurt at all and neither were the girls who were safely strapped into their seats in the very back of the van. We are soooooooooo thankful we weren't injured. My van however, has some major damage (as you can see from the pictures). I am currently borrowing Hannah and Wes's Saturn Vue while my van is getting repaired. I have no idea how long that will take, but we shall see!

The other fun times I've had this week have involved my teeth. I had a cavity filled and a temporary crown done last Tuesday. Ever since then my teeth have been throbbing and I've been relying on pain medicine to get through the day and night. Just the over the counter stuff, y'all. I'm actually kinda scared of prescription pain medicine to tell the truth. So, I went to my regular dentist this Tuesday and he did a little filing off the tops of the two sore teeth to see if that would help. Well, it didn't help one bit!!! So today when I called them and told them how bad I was still hurting they referred me to a charming endodontist. In case some of you have never had the pleasure of visiting one of those offices - that is where you would go if you needed a ROOT CANAL!!!! Sure enough, after some x-rays and some "sensitivity testing" the dentist determined that I was indeed in need of his services for the tooth that had the temporary crown on it. How wonderful. After some tears, A LOT of anesthetic, and oh about a thousand dollars, I got through it and hopefully will start to get some relief.

So, that's it FOR NOW - it's only Thursday - but I am sure hoping the rest of the week (including work this weekend) is better!

Thanks for letting me vent!!!

Birthday - Luau Style

In honor of my 32nd (OMG!!!) birthday, my family and I celebrated at the Disney's Polynesian Resort enjoying the Spirit of Aloha dinner and show. Really we would have used any excuse to go there and since Jill was in town and it was the week of my birthday, we thought it sounded good. We did leave poor little Hunter with Mimi (Gus's Mom). We thought the show might be a little loud/scary for him and it was going to be a late night. I was glad we didn't bring him although I did miss my little buddy.



I was in the Hawaiian spirit with my leis and tropical shirt. Jill did my make up that night. It doesn't look like it in the picture, but I had a lot more eye makeup on than I normally wear.

All of the dancers (male and female) were great. These were my favorite costumes.

We got there a little late to do the official picture from the Disney photographers, so we had some fellow tourists take a group shot after the show. I think it turned out great and saved us thirty bucks!

Just the ladies in this one - we all look beautiful if I do say so myself! Definitely one of the best birthdays I've had in YEARS!!!

Little Miss Meagan had a fabulous time!!!! She loved the show and once again the chefs at Disney did an awesome job with the allergy free food! She loved the pork ribs the best!


ALOHA Ohana!

Madeira Beach

We just got back from a three day beach trip over to the west coast. Gus is not crazy about the beach and didn't want to take his week's vacation to go there so I asked my sister Lisa to go with us since I knew I couldn't do it alone. I really do like the beach and I knew the kids would love to get away for a few days, plus Hunter has never even been to the beach so I figured it was time. The weather was perfect and we did have fun despite the accommodations being less than what we were expecting. Basically, it was a dump but we made the best of it. For a much more detailed and creative description, head on over to my talented sister's blog. We were frequently reminded of the movie "Summer Rental" with John Candy. If you've never seen it - you must!!
We enjoyed collecting shells, playing in the sand and the ocean, swimming in the pool, a shopping trip to John's Pass Boardwalk, eating out at Sculley's, and even taking in the movie "UP". By the time Wednesday rolled around though, we were ready to come home!!


Lisa took this sweet picture of the the girls sharing a moment together. Why can't they always be like this???

Enjoying a walk on the beach at sunset.

Hunter was very content to play in the sand and loved being covered in it from head to toe!

Aunt Lisa and Meagan cooling off in the water. Meagan was still kinda scared of the water and preferred to curl up in a towel and hang out on the shore. Lisa and I often referred to her as the "Diva!"

Avery was by far the easiest one to entertain at the beach. She loved to swim and collect shells. She did get a little burned on the first full day, so day two wasn't as great, but she was a trooper anyway!

Hunter and Meagan making their masterpieces

All morning of playing on the beach plus a dip in the pool makes for a very tired little boy!