Byodo-in Temple

We decided to be touristy one weekend and visit the Byodo-in Temple, a scaled down replica of a 1,000-year-old Buddhist temple in Japan. The replica here is open to visitors of all faiths. The girls and I had just finished learning about the origins of Buddhism in history, so they were very curious to see what an actual Buddhist Temple looked like. The temple and the grounds were beautiful! The temple is surrounded by streams, a tiny waterfall, and a massive koi pond that's also home to a family of gorgeous black swans. When we first entered, we walked by a small pagoda that houses a huge bell. Visitors are invited to ring the bell as a way of dispelling negative thoughts before entering the temple. (Let's be honest though, mostly it was rung by kids who thought it was great fun to make such a loud noise!)

One of our neighbors provided the perfect kid-sized banquet table.

Happy Thanksgiving!
We are thankful for awesome neighbors! Monthly potlucks have become the norm since we moved in this past summer, and we stepped it up to join forces to create a Thanksgiving feast. We had all the traditional fixings (including 4 kinds of pie) for a crowd of about 25 people. We ate lots of good food, followed by hours of kids playing and grown ups chatting in the shade of our climbing tree.