Turkeys at Lake Gaston

This Thanksgiving, the HarHughGuid clan decided to gather at an amazing house on Lake Gaston for the long holiday weekend.

The house was enormous, had enough actual beds for all 15 of us (meaning no blow up mattresses had to be hauled around),a huge kitchen with every possible utensil, pot, pan or other kitchen gadget we could have ever needed, and a large table with chairs for almost of all us to sit down at the same time.

But most importantly, the lake house had a fabulous game room in the basement big enough for all nine kids to hang out in their own little world!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast with tons of food and just as much love and gratitude to go around.

 

Sandy made the day extra special by creating a Thankful Tree in which we all decorated with leaves that said the many things that we are thankful for.

To ward off the chilly temperatures, we had a toasty fire going every day and we had lots of fun activities to keep us busy.

We played LOTS of Qwirkle.

Built and decorated gingerbread houses.

Ate lots of delicious meals.

Completed fun themed worksheets that teacher Sandy pulled out when the kids - and apparently Jason - got a bit too rowdy!

We had a Dirty Santa gift exchange that included some interesting gifts!

 

 

Jason and Jeni created a HarHughGuid kids version of Chopped! by giving each kid a plate of foods with which to create culinary magic. 

Us adult judges had to choke down some interesting combinations of cheese, candy cane, chex mix and yeast rolls. {shudder!}

We had nightly bonfires by the water and entertained each other with songs, jokes and acting silly.

Best of all, a couple of very brave Duguid souls did a Polar Bear plunge into Lake Gaston!

We had a wonderful time and look forward to the next grand HarHughGuid adventure!

What the Second Grader Could Teach The Grown Ups...

Will wrote  this at school today. 

He pretty much nailed it.

Love, love his sweet, honest and loving heart.

Translation:
"I love November especially Thanksgiving because I get to spend time with my family and have a good meal.  Don't worry about black Friday be thankful for what you have don't push or shove or fight over a toy because that's just not right.  Don't be sad be glad that you have a family that loves you."

Thanksgiving Lowcountry Style

We were blessed with the opportunity to head to Kiawah Island, SC with Grandmommy for a second time this year. This time we celebrated Thanksgiving in the Low country.

Peaceful. Slow. Laid back. Books. Bikes. Beach. These are the words that come to mind when I think about spending time on Kiawah.

We played on the beach and took a couple of long, leisurely bike rides, enjoying mid-70 temperatures most of the time

We took a quick trip to Charles Towne Landing to take in the flora and fauna.

We had a low key and yummy Thanksgiving meal and still had energy to enjoy the evening activities at Night Heron park.

We watched the nature dude feed 5 year old alligators at the Nature Center and Eliza Grace managed to beat me at checkers fair and square.

A great getaway but now back to real life!

Egrets were roosting in the lagoon in the backyard

About to take flight

Great blue herons made an appearance as well

We did a lot of bicycling. Eliza Grace wanted to wear her new scarf, hand-knitted by Grandmommy, everywhere.

Water break!

Oh how I love this face!

Running the remote control four
wheeler all over the place

This is the face of mischief!

Beautiful scenery at Charles Towne Landing

I always feel like I have stepped into a scene of
Gone With The Wind when I see the huge, stately live oaks with their Spanish moss lazing from their branches.

Speaking of live oaks, 
this one was fun to sit and climb on.

Replica of the early accommodations for the settlers.

I told Will that this was the early
American version of our no-no couch.

Reproduction of a the 17th century
cargo ship, The Adventure.
Practicing tying knots
Ta Tanka
A very smart Grandmommy who brought all the fixins' for a yummy craft to keep the kids busy while we prepped the Thanksgiving meal

Cookie/Candy Turkeys:

You need: Oreos, candy corns, chocolate icing, malted milk balls, and orange tic tacs.

1.Split the Oreos in half so that one side has no icing and the other side has all the icing (my Mom used dental floss to separate the halves.)

2. Use chocolate icing as "glue" to secure the malted milk ball in the middle of one half of the Oreo and to hold the other half of the Oreo perpendicular at the back of the first half.

3. Once the icing has set up enough, press candy corns to look like turkey feathers onto the vertical Oreo half.

4. Use icing to secure tic tac onto the front of the malted milk ball to look like the nose.
Kind of messy but fun and yummy!

Creativity

Eliza Grace is a nut. And it is not just me that thinks so. I have heard those exact same words from many people who have met her. She completely cracks us up without really trying to. I think it is her commentary and ingenuity that is sometimes surprising and so is funny.

She has this combination of adult-like linguistics and 7-year old silliness, with a heaping helping of creativity thrown in.

She has a particular penchant for creating things out of paper. Lots of paper. I have to limit her or she could go through a ream in a week. She writes books - lately they are Scooby Doo mysteries - complete with illustrations, title pages, indexes and binding (usually tape, ribbon, staples or a combination of all three). She makes costumes, games, and stuffed animals that she calls e-Factory Friends. And paper is not her only medium.

Yesterday, while waiting for her aunt and cousin to arrive for the Thanksgiving meal, she occupied herself by creating napkins rings, a table center piece and a game called "Pin the Waddle on the Turkey." Lastly, she decorated herself as a Thanksgiving turkey.

The kid is a nut. A creative, smart, silly and amazing nut. And man how we love her so!

Homemade napkin rings made from a paper towel tube, aluminum foil and a sticker

Turkey center piece, obviously made from a toilet paper tube.

Pin the waddle on the turkey!

Our nutty turkey, complete with waddle,

tail feathers and colored feet!