I grew up loving all furry animals! My parents feared when I got my own place that it would look like a zoo... LOL

Well with time and age, that is no longer the case. Although Heath and I have had several dogs through the years and one garage cat that STILL refuses to die, we don’t quite have the same love for animals any longer. It is probably a good thing, because fast forward to where we are with Tommy now, he is NOT A FAN!!

Kahlyn’s cat used to follow Tommy around the yard like a faithful/protective pup. But one day she; not sure how, scared him and he has little use for her now. Generally, he will just “shew her” or tell her to “get!!” She really is a sweet cat, but I believe she startled him at night, and we know how he feels about the dark!

There have been a few instances where he will tolerate or hold a small dog, but even then, he is not into petting or loving on them. There has been only one dog, Maggie that belongs to close friends that he will reach and pet. She bonded with him over food, but their interaction is still minimal. I believe he is just uncertain about them and or scared of them…

A lot of children on the spectrum or with other disabilities have service dogs and at times I’ve wondered if that would have been something to check into for him, but with his lack of interest we just did not pursue. Plus with our “freedom” traveling, the last thing I want in the fifth wheel is a shedding, pooping animal to clean up after… See I told you my outlook has changed! LOL

Short but sweet connection!

Last Thanksgiving we camped locally at Village Creek State Park. The park is small and pretty quiet, which was nice! There are beautiful views of the creek and walking trails to explore if you want to take in nature. We booked with friends and they have a semi-hyper pup and Tommy has not really even paid much attention to her on past trips or visits, but she plopped herself right at his feet one night in their camper and he just started petting her and hugging her neck. I was so taken back by it, I did not get the best parts on the video but at the same time I did not want to interrupt their interaction. I still look back on this moment in amazement. What is different about her, or what was different about this meet up? I will never know, but it thrilled me to see this short but sweet connection from Tommy who normally is so against animals.

More about the park.

We enjoyed our site! It had electric and water connections. They do have a dump station, but just not the sewer connections at the site. They have rentals available if you are interested in getting in the creek. There is also a pavilion with swings for children and adults as you will see!! LOL

Dutch-Oven Cobbler - YUM!

We were cooking a Dutch over peach cobbler. This was our first time and it was delicious and very simple! We will definitely be doing this again! We had some visitors and they picked the right time to visit. They were loving the cobbler as well!

Here is the recipe if anyone is interested! https://therovingfoleys.com/dutch-oven-cobbler-2/

Always time for Christmas!

I love putting up lights around our campsite. Our site at this park, had lots of area's to sit so we decorated it up perfectly. As I am decorating outside, Tommy gets out his christmas tree. I have a felt tree that he can put on the wall in his room of the "Freedom." I know that all children have a sparkle in their eye when it comes to Christmas, but for Tommy it truely is his favorite time of the year!