What a Couple of Tourists

For Halloween '08, the Red Barns raided their parents' closets for some costumes. Claire, the oh-so creative one, had the idea to go as tourists. The gang snagged some old clothes, a couple of fannypacks and some other attire. The two had a blast dressing up and making fun of themselves. Everyone loved the costumes.

At Phillip's Christmas party for work, he followed the tourist costume up with a nod to the Disco Era. Claire could only watch and laugh as he took home first place and $50 with this ridiculous outfit.

Red Raiders take down Aggies in College Station

In mid-October, the Red Barns packed their bags and headed south about three hours to College Station, Texas, for the Texas Tech-Texas A&M game. With a years worth of bragging rights and Christmas ornament positioning on the line, the two lovebirds parted ways for a few hours to root on their respective teams. With an early kickoff, it was mimosas in the morning and beers after the game. Claire was all smiles at the start of the game as the Aggies took a small lead into halftime, but Phillip and the Red Raiders would have the last laugh, with the Red Raiders coming out on top, 43-25. After the game, Phillip and Claire headed back for some tailgating with the her parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, a little pigskin-tossing and some dominoes. The highlight of the weekend was when Mark, Claire's dad, managed to schmooze the gang's way onto the rooftop RV.

Summer Fun with Family and Friends

The Red Barns ended the summer with some quality time with both families. Claire's brother Sam turned 22, so the G family got together to share in the celebration. Phillip invited some of his family members for a day of feast and festivities. The kids took advantage of the Red Barns' apartment pool and Phillip's ability to launch them out of the water. Speaking of water, the Red Barns spent Labor Day Weekend at Jeff and Patty's lakehouse on Lake Livingston. The couple was treated to a weekend of water sports and extreme Cranium. Phillip shredded the lake on the wakeboard, while Claire slalomed in and out of the wake. Throw in a few weddings and you can call Summer 2008 one to remember.