Winter Lights

When I was growing up in Texas, Christmas lights were a big deal. Neighborhoods went all out to make sure they had the best lights in town. Some neighborhoods had themes. Others had radio stations you could tune in to while you're driving around looking at the lights. It was intense. Especially for a Jewish girl with no Christmas lights of her own. But every year, we climbed into our car and drove around to look at the beautiful displays.

I knew that the kids would love the lights as much as I do--especially with a warm thermos of hot chocolate added to the mix. Last year we went to the Winter Lights at Seneca Creek State Park. It started off a little rocky as both kids were asleep, but Z woke up around half-way through and loved it.

This year, even though it was freezing out, we went to the Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens. This light display is in the huge park near our house, where we did our last maternity photos. We bundled ourselves up in many layers, grabbed tons of snacks and hot chocolate. It was a huge success! Both kids loved it!

It took us about an hour to go through the gardens and the mini-train display. The timing was perfect.

These pictures do not do it justice. We loved the displays of animals, sea monsters, rainbows with storm clouds, and all the gorgeous flowers. I definitely see this as a new family tradition!