Lake Magic Florida - 2021/12/02-14

Welcome back to Florida! We're back from Colorado and back to living in the RV. 

Leaving Colorado, in the Denver International Airport, Theresa showed us where she found Ian's backpack when he left it on the train on the way out here. 

Just behind that bench there. Thank goodness for Good Samaritans. 

Goodbye Colorado!

Hello Florida! Ian was extra cautious to keep his backpack with him the whole time. 

Because of the time change coming east and because we're getting in after dark, neither Theresa nor I were all that interested in getting the RV out of storage and parking it at a new place. Instead, Theresa booked a hotel room nearby and we spent the night there. Plus free breakfast! When's the last time you drank milk from a paper carton? 

Here's where we're going to spend the next couple weeks. Lake Magic! 

Checkin was quick. They assign you a space, so there's no searching for where we want to stay. 

I'm glad to not have to do this drive in the dark. With some cars sticking out over the road, and other RVs close to it, I want to keep the RV as clear of those as I can. 

I was fortunate enough to get a pull-through site here, so after navigating to our spot, it was easy to pull in and get set up. 

The kids were excited to be at a place with a pool! They're making friends with other kids and having a great time. 

Inside the clubhouse there's ping pong and billiards. And instead of paying, it's free to play!

And there's a whole wall full of puzzles!

We were able to take one back to the RV for the kids to work on. It's another state license plate puzzle. 

Great job kids! They worked on it together and finished it themselves. 

We celebrated Burger King's 64th birthday with a 37 cent Whopper. 

Whoppers sure are tasty! The kids said they were better than McDonalds, but not as good as Daddy's burgers. They are big and messy!

The skies are turning a beautiful orange. 

It's time to do some Christmas decorating in the RV! I raided my lights back home and brought as many as I wanted to carry and store until I can offload them. 

And it's not just the outside. We've already got a fireplace, and now we have a little tree to go with it. I brought some mini ornaments for it, but also suggested the kids could make ornaments too. 

Alli took that to heart and spent the morning making ornaments. I don't think I'm going to need to use any of the ornaments I brought. 

She drew the RV, lots of families that are coming down for Christmas, a fireplace, Disney, and more. She even made the ornament hangers out of paper. Love it Alli! 

Our stockings are hung above the fireplace with care. 

And even the kids' room is getting festive. 

As an extra special treat, Donald happened to be traveling for work and was able to pop down and see us for a day. The kids were super excited to have him come visit. He arrived late at night as we were getting ready for bed. 

They watched a few minutes of Ice Age together before they went to sleep. 

The next morning, Ian and Alli were up early. They were trying to recruit Donald into joining them for Operation Ho Ho Ho Nutty Rick. They tried to convince him to drive them to the store so they could go shopping before Mommy and Daddy woke up. He was able to hold them off on that idea. 

But eventually we did go shopping, and they took their own grocery cart and kept avoiding us whenever they saw us. 

Back at the RV, they all went swimming together. Donald is enjoying this 80F weather, when it's mid 30s back home. 

All too soon it was time for Donald to fly home. 

Good thing we're going to see him in a week! The whole family will be down in Florida for Christmas break!

Alli and Ian got all secretive one day and kept closing the door to their room. They put up a "Do Not Enter" sign and set up a pass system to get in. They'd knock, show a homemade ID under the door, and then the other one would let them in. 

Once they were done, I was able to get a few pictures. 

That's where all the copy paper has gone! They're making gift bags and gifts for all the family we're going to see at Christmas!

They even filled the inside with tissues for tissue paper. I'm curious to see what gifts they've made for everyone! It won't be too long now before we head to the next place! 

I made Toffee five times while I was in Colorado. I wanted to try to make it again in Florida, but this time I'm doing something a little different. Instead of chocolate and nuts, I'm topping it with cinnamon and sugar. 

It was a delicious alternative!

But why not also make the regular one too. So good!

I've got to keep working on perfecting that recipe. We're going to have a lot more visitors soon!