Or maybe I’m out to get it? I’ll just be over here watching my toes.

Justin was determined to see an alligator in the wild. He kept trekking into the woods to peer at Peace River in hopes that one would just be chilling on the banks. By all accounts this should have been the case yet every time we went out there, the alligators pulled a “see you later” and hid. His persistence paid off and Wesson was witness, as he was pulled into this gator hunt too. He immediately started forming a knife out of a nearby palm frond. This was the deal he had made regarding the hunt; we find one, I make a knife to defend myself. He might make a good survivalist some day.

 

It was just a little guy, thankfully, and Wesson didn’t have to go hand-to-… claw. The next park yielded a larger, more relaxed dinosaur.

This one was, thankfully, on the other side of a lake.

Speaking of parks, we moved into Thousand Trails Orlando on the sixth in anticipation of a visit from these beautiful people:

Justin’s fab sister and her wonderful family came down for a whole week! Now, even when we lived in an actual house that didn’t move around, we hardly ever got anybody for a whole week. We lured them down with the help of Universal Studios, though, so there’s that. The kids got along famously as usual and the theme park was a blast.

Sam decided to scare one of the Who’s from Whoville, and after his unsuccessful BOO he was chased down in what was probably the most hilarious cat and mouse game ever. Picture Sam taunting them from a gift shop window and the Whoville residents scrambling around. He eventually lost them and they ran off through Dr Seuss land. I kind of wanted to see what they’d do to him once they caught up but, alas, he was fast!

Wesson and Mara fell in love with this water slide ride in the Fivel Goes West area of the park. I think Wesson rode it NINE times. (One of the benefits of going during the week is that no one was there! No lines for anything!) He had very soggy pants after this.

We ended up there for two days, and that was just about enough. We have season passes due to an over estimation of how much the kids could actually do there and we weren’t qualified for the military discount when we purchased. Had we waited until that week it would have been a bit cheaper. Still, now we have a reason to come back down here in the fall, and it will still be ultra fun.

Dinner on the second night was at Cici’s Pizza! Listen. Cici’s is like Little Caesars if Little Caesars had a buffet and dealt in more than just pepperoni. It’s an ultra cheap pizza buffet, and we go there when we’re STARVING and need food immediately. On this night they were employing the best, most patient balloon artist we’ve ever met. He spent FOREVER on this Captain America.

He created masterpieces for all five kids and walked away with a mountain of tips he most definitely earned.

After everyone went back to snowy Michigan, Wesson decided to create some excitement the hard way. After three whole days of not eating or drinking and literally laying flat out on the living room floor we trekked him over to the children’s hospital.

It was the nicest hospital I’ve ever seen. They valet parked the monster truck for free, there was NO waiting in the lobby, and they treated Wesson IMMEDIATELY. From door to doctor was five minutes. He ultimately was just working through a virus. They loaded him with anti-nausea meds and Motrin, and after a popsicle went down fine they let us leave. He ate a donut on the way home and then asked to go to Disney World if that gives you any indication of his state of well-being.

Oh! I forgot to tell you about the dang tortoises! They were all over the place, and the park had created garbage can houses for them.

This guy was SO not happy with me. He was traipsing by the camper and I picked him up so that the kids would have a chance to get outside to see him. Once they came out I set him down and he hissed/grunted at me then charged at my toesies. They are NOT slow, people. Wesson is shown here proclaiming his innocence in the tortoise assault.

 

I also managed to piss off the Sandhill Cranes that were EVERYWHERE. I tried to walk up to get a good photo and was met with much dancing, flapping of wings, and tossing of dirt into the air. Justin, however, walked right up to them with no problem. Apparently I am no Dr. Doolittle and the wildlife of Florida knows it. They’ve probably been talking to the Vultures. Ehh, I’m watchin you, nature.

This park also had the most bizarre speed limit sign I’ve ever seen. Whether it was a nod to Harry Potter or just a way to catch your eye, it worked. It’s now a month after we left there and Mara is still talking about it.

Our travels brought us back down to Peace River for Christmas and such. One day we all decided to go fossil hunting. We found one, alright.

This big fourteen foot alligator watched us check him out the whole time. Thankfully he was on the other side of the river. I have real doubts on his aggressiveness, though. Everyone seems to see him in this spot everyday, yet I’ve seen people sitting and fishing in “his spot” as well. We moved up the river a little to dig around, anyway.

Our haul was… miniature.  We found baby shark teeth and maybe a few stingray remnants. Wesson put it all in a clear plastic bag labeled CLASSIFIED. He’s my boy and I love him.

Lots of people wade out into the river, alligators be damned. Yeah, we went ahead and passed on that.

Christmas came and went without any real drama. We frosted homemade sugar cookies, decorated our big, fake, white Christmas tree, and watched ALL the Christmas movies. The kids were absolutely spoiled rotten as usual and got everything they ever asked for.

Wesson ended up with a really cool drone from Santa. So far Justin is the only one that has come close to leaving it in a tree.

 

Wesson got it turned around a few times and ended up chasing himself. That was probably my favorite trick.

Mara got this glorious Elsa dress from Mommy and Daddy, and Grandma and Grandpa Susanka got her the stroller for her dolly that she’s been pining over forever. If I had to hear her ask One. More. Time. I think I would have lost what little sanity I had left. She about wore the wheels off the thing the first day she had it, and of course wore her Elsa dress the whole time. The campground got quite a show that week.

The kids also ended up with a set of never melting snowballs which have resulted in many hilarious snowball fights inside the camper. So far we haven’t lost any! Grandma and Grandpa Rowland said they thought the kids could use a little taste of Michigan winter and Wesson is especially grateful.

Here’s our Christmas card photo:

…and the back:

We’re so cute!

I’m going to share something with you and talk directly to my children in the process. This blog is ultimately for their benefit, after all. I might seem a little crazy here but I choose to believe that my perceived craziness is just part of my charm. *ahem* So, kids, listen. Every year I look at you and think, “look at these little people! They are the most peopley people they could be! They say the best stuff and the do the best things.” Then, you get bigger, and you say BETTER stuff, and do BETTER things, and make it really, really hard to be the straight-faced parent when you come up with something amazingly funny and your dad is inevitably no help as he is always giggling in the background. For example:

Me: Mara told me a story about a lazy susan earlier.
Justin: Mara!
Mara: IT WASN’T ME, IT WAS A GHOST!

It was a story about something that they were going to get me for Christmas but ultimately didn’t. If anything is to be learned about Mara, it’s that she can’t stand it when she has to keep a secret. She’ll do it, but as soon as the information is irrelevant it bursts out of her like a fountain. Do you remember this lady from SNL:

She could rival Aunt Sue in the inability to withhold information division.

I decided to finish out the year with a ridiculously terrible ear infection that landed me in the emergency room because I quite seriously thought I had ruptured my eardrum again. PS – when you have a ridiculous ear infection, you can’t swallow or move your tongue at all without feeling like you’re being stabbed. I went to a different hospital than dear Wesson did and I still had the best wait time ever: five minutes from door to doctor. The doctor was a real A-HOLE but he was there quickly. Thanks to Doctor A. Hole I felt better just in time for our next move. It was relieving that we weren’t go-to-the-doctor sick at all last winter. Our track record this year is not holding up so well.

New Years Eve was low-key and full of s’mores and sparklers.

A new year for new adventures, new growth, new motivation, and new dreams.

And s’mores. Always s’mores.