This week has been so much fun. I am so excited to tell you all about it! Sunday morning started off gloomy and cold — it almost felt like we were back in Wisconsin. I had researched and found a church to visit near Savannah and the kids were excited to go to Sunday School. When we arrived at First Pentecostal Church of Savannah, I think literally every person in the church came running over to shake our hands and tell us they were so glad we were there. It was a wonderful church with a real southern feel. I told Scott it felt like we were at camp meeting. The kids had fun at Sunday School. Charlie really enjoyed the morning snack: Pringles and soda! When I asked Brytan if he liked Sunday School, he answered that he did, but he already knew about everything they talked about. Such a little stinker. After church, the sun came out and we did a little shopping in the surrounding area and slowly made our way home. It was wonderful to be in church and worship with such friendly people.
Monday brought sun and school. The weather warmed right up and the kids were itching to get outside. They knew it was a short week and focusing on school was a little harder this week than last. When we finished for the day, the kids spent the afternoon riding bikes and playing outside. Monday night we visited another of my favorite restaurants on the island, The Backyard. It is down home southern cooking and it is delicious! There are two small buildings with a courtyard in between that is lit up and has games for the kids. There were Christmas lights everywhere and it was beautiful! The building we sat in also had a guy playing guitar and singing. He was young and handsome and I think Charlie really enjoyed it when he played “Let it Go” from Frozen. The ambiance was wonderful and the food did not disappoint, so, all in all, it was a wonderful evening.
Then on Tuesday, after school Brytan went to “work” with Daddy at Starbucks while Charlie and I went to visit Lawton Stables on Hilton Head Island. It is a very fancy farm with lots of boarding barns and paddocks for riding and jumping horses, but they also have a small petting farm. My Charlie Girl is a true animal lover so I knew she would love it! When we got there we were armed with $5 worth of quarters and 5 lbs of carrots! It was Thanksgiving early for the farm! It was a really cute set up that started with a really hairy and stinky old goat, then a deer that kept jumping out of its pen and running around the paths, and then on to llamas, goats, two fluffy chickens, and two burros that would bray (hee haw) every time we walked away to feed a different animal. Charlie felt so bad that they made so much noise that she kept going back to feed them and I think they figured that out real quick! After we ran out of pellet food we took the carrots to the ponies and “Clyde” the Clydesdale (original, I know). Clyde was definitely the ring leader of that bunch standing between us and the ponies and monopolized the carrot market. I managed to get a few carrots to the ponies by winging them over the top of Clyde’s head. I only hit one between the eyes, I promise. I have never seen a pony jump like that. Thank God Charlie was focused on Clyde.
The rest of the week was more of the same and then came Thanksgiving. The day was beautiful, sunny and warm. I woke up and surprised the kids by making chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Well almost, I poured the batter into the frying pan and waited for the bubbles to rise to the surface so that I could flip them, well I waited and waited and waited. Then I realized that the pancakes were not cooking at all. Yep, all out of propane, on the only day that every propane place is closed. Boo. Hiss.
After a quick breakfast of cereal, we all went outside for a lovely game of kickball! Girls against boys. Team Kittens against Team Opposites. The kids came up with the team names and designed logos and number placards that we wore on our backs during the game. It was an exciting game that ended in a tie. After an afternoon nap, we headed to Savannah for Thanksgiving dinner at Paula Deen’s. The restaurant had a cute store with all kinds of cooking things to buy so we shopped while we waited for our table. When the maitre d’ calls you for your table he tells you which floor to choose in the elevator — the place is huge! It was buffet style so we got to try everything that was offered in Paula Deen’s traditional Thanksgiving dinner, from turkey to collared greens and it was all delicious! Charlie and I used to watch Paula Deen together, so being at her restaurant was really exciting for the both of us. We tried everything on the buffet, and Charlie liked almost all of it, I was very impressed with her adventurous attitude! When we were stuffed like Thanksgiving turkeys, we drove home and watched our first Christmas movie of the season in our jammies by the light of the super skinny Christmas tree that we bought for $27 at Target earlier in the week. We sure missed our family, but all in all, it was a lovely Thanksgiving.
Friday was Daddy’s first day off without anything to do so we headed to the beach! The day was beautiful and warm and it was so nice to spend some down time with Scott. The kids loved having him with us at the beach too, he’s great at sand castles. We also found a live sand dollar and got to watch it move and breath. It was really exciting for the kids. After the beach we had to stop at Barnes and Noble for some new math curriculum for Brytan. In two short weeks, he has managed to finish all of 1st grade math. So, on to 2nd grade math!
Saturday was spent doing laundry and grocery shopping and getting ready for our first big move of the trip. We have been in the Hilton Head area for just over two weeks and it already kind of feels like home. Both of the kids mentioned that they were sad to be leaving and wished we could stay for a few more days. They have grown to love the campground, from riding bikes to saying hi to Scruffy, the neighbor’s dog. It’s funny how quickly a place can feel like home when you are with your family, you find new favorites together and make new memories every day. I think every city that we travel through will hold a piece of our hearts forever.
