From Our Front Porch Looking In: Trail of Lights (AKA ARE YOU INSANE???)

So, the only day that fit into our schedule to go to Zilker Park to see the Trail of Lights also happened to be one of the coldest damn days of the year! So, we bundled the kids and piled into the Expedition with the Lewtons and Grace (you know, Emma's BFF) and headed down. Last year we went on a cold night and had SUCH a WONDERFUL time. This year was bound to be just as great, right? No. Wrong. Very, very wrong :(

First, right when we stopped the car, my husband decided to be a good Samaritan and get Cayden (the Lewtons' 4 year old child) out of the car. He proceeds to set him down and walk the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Cayden's parents are on the other side of the car, in the dark. Poor Cayden goes looking for his parents and before the 3 adults outside the car (I was still inside the car, helpingthe other 4 children with their hats, scarves and mittens) realize that he is missing, he has wandered several cars away and is in tears. After Amanda reamed my husband a new one, I followed suit.

So, now that we were all brimming with Christmas Spirit, we headed to the big tree. Yep, nice tree. Spinning, however, does not make it any warmer than the 30 degrees with windchill. Okay, so let's get some hot chocolate. What is better than hot chocolate on a freezing cold night? Oh, I KNOW! I KNOW! Trying to push a stroller and walk over uneven terrain whilst holding said hot chocolate and having it slosh all over your mittens and down your pants. Double that if you are under age 10!

Okay, fuck it. Everyone throw out the $20 worth of now-cold chocolate. Let's do this thing. NO STOPPING!! It's too cold! Oh, sorry kids, Santa's not here tonight. We were out of there in one hour flat. If someone offered me one million dollars to describe just one display, sadly I couldn't :( We'll certainly do it again next year!

We did get a few photos: