Rotary Lights

One of the great things about living in La Crosse is the Rotary Lights Display at Riverside park along the Mississippi River. You've never seen so many Christmas lights in one place. So last night we braved the cold weather (it was about 7 degrees when we headed out around 7pm) and bundled up. You can drive through part of the Rotary Lights and there is also a walking section, so we planned on doing both. But of course, with it being a saturday night, the line of cars was about a mile long---no exaggerating! We had anticipated this, so we got the kids in their pajamas and brought along a bag of popcorn.Wyatt was ready to go....pajamas, boots, coat, and santa hat. The outfit was just too much!

One of Wyatt's favorite things about the rotary lights is that he gets to "drive" with Daddy while we wait in line and go through the lights. Here they are...."driving" and eating popcorn.

This is just a small section of the lights. Of course, we had to take our picture in front of the helicopter, train, and fire engine......any 2-year old boys' dream!

I have to say that my favorite part about the Rotary Lights is the live nativity. They do this every weekend (thurs-sunday) and it's so moving. As you enter the park, you are greeted by a Centurion soldier taking a census (the reason Mary and Joseph were travelling to Bethlehem--Luke 2:1). The soldier greets your car and asks how many are in your vehicle, then shouts that number across the way to a scribe writing it down. Next, you see live sheep, donkeys (in picture above) and Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in a stable with an angel above. As you keep driving, you come to a chorus of angels singing (Luke 2:13). And then you see the three wisemen with their gifts. It is so refreshing to see this display amidst all the other "Christmas stuff"--santa, reindeer, gifts, etc. Each year I see it, it is more and more moving to me and I'm really going to miss this when we move.

Staying warm out in the cold as we waited in line for hot chocolate.

Matt and the kids in Santa's sleigh.

We didn't last outside for very long, so I may take the kids back sometime this week to do the rest of the walking portion. The kids were exhausted by the time we got home, but it was well worth it.