Another Year at Fantasy Lights!

After realizing several weeks ago that we have almost NOTHING on the calendar for the month of December, I decided that I needed to do something to help this holiday season seem as fun and as special as possible.  Normally, we have something almost every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening on the weekends in December with several things going on during the week nights.  And although a part of me definitely appreciates the slower pace of life, it makes me sad to think about the fact that we won't be able to participate in so many of the wonderful, family traditions that we have established over the years like watching the Santa Parade downtown or taking my girls to see the Nutcracker ballet or all of my kids to see the amazing living nativity at the Adventist church in Auburn.  In addition, there will be zero Christmas parties at church, or at school, or with friends and family throughout the season.  

As a result, I decided to purchase a little, wooden advent calendar and fill it with 24 daily activities that we can do as a family.  Some days are pretty simple like make hot cocoa with whipped cream and peppermint chips on top and other days involve a Christmas outing of sorts.  Yesterday was one of the latter as the kids opened up the little, advent calendar door to find the slip of paper informing them that we would be going to Fantasy Lights at Spanaway Park that evening.  This has been a tradition since Lia was a little girl and it never disappoints.  So, we skipped dinner tonight and headed out at 5 p.m. to get there right as it opened at 5:30 p.m. since I figured that the lines would be longer this year due to this being one of the few Covid-friendly, Christmas activities in the area.  And, boy was I right.  Although we got there right at 5:30, it took us 25 minutes to enter the entrance of the park and when we left an hour later, there was the longest line of cars that I have ever seen waiting to get in.  The wait easily could have been 1.5 hours at that time.  Yet one more example of this Covid Christmas we are experiencing this year.  Needless to say, I was so grateful that we arrived when we did as there was no way that our kids could have handled waiting in the car for that long.  Luckily, we got in by 5:55 and had a great time touring the park while taking a gander at all of the wonderful light displays and watching Emmett's reaction to all of them.  It is so much fun to watch this little boy experience Christmas really for the first time!

Logan, Ella, and Lia looking at the lights from the middle row in the car.

Cute Emmy making a funny face as the camera flash went off!

All three older kids took turns looking out of the Suburban's sunroof for a better view.  When it wasn't her turn, Ella enjoyed poking her head through the outside her window.  This is the adorable picture I was able to take of her smiling from ear to ear as she leaned out her window behind me.

And here are a few pictures of some of our favorites--the rockin' triceratops.

The mamma and baby dinosaur out for a stroll.

Old, man winter blowing away.

The fountains and ducks.

Santa and his elves sailing away.

The cool, light tunnel that we drove through before exiting the park at the end of the drive.