Our stake asked each of us to visit the temple before the end of the year, including adults, youth, and children. I decided to take the kids one day during Thanksgiving break. The kids had a good time. We did a little scavenger hunt and walked around the temple and the grounds. Afterwards, we visited a huge park nearby and had a picnic lunch.
Some old friends that used to live in our ward visited Texas the weekend before Thanksgiving. The Torres family. Ashton and their oldest were besties when they lived here. Then, they have a kid that lines up within months of one of our kids so it is a perfect group of kids to get together.
They were coming down to College Station to visit family for a quick weekend so we found a way to meet them at the Renaissance Festival. That is as far south as they were going. It was about 2 hours away for us. I took the three oldest and made a long day trip out of it. It was our first time going to the renaissance festival. I'll admit; it wasn't a favorite and I doubt we'll go back. It was crazy expensive! We paid entrance fees/tickets. But then everything else cost money. EVERYTHING! It drove me nuts. Plus, when you go with another family, I felt like I had to pay for whatever the other family was doing. It was fun to see the Torres family though. I would have rather just met at a park and had a fun day outside. Oh well. We learned that we are not missing much by skipping the renaissance festival.
The kids had a good time trick or treating. They made it to the furthest distance from the house before deciding they were all done trick or treating. Of course.
Tanner's costume was the easiest: a soccer player. He just wore his soccer jersey from the season.
Ashton was a witch. Gemma was the cutest squirrel ever. And Lydia wore some fairy wings intermittently.
The day before Halloween was our ward's trunk or treat. My sister joined us as she was in town for Ashton's baptism. Gemma loved the bounce house.
