So we got there a few minutes before they opened, which meant we had to wait a bit. In the cold. I mean, it wasn't FREEZING, but it was pretty chilly. This made Cole angry. (Big Surprise.) ((Not a Surprise.))
Lance just loves activities like this: out in the cold, whiny kids, on a Friday night when he could be gaming...
So this nativity: it's not just a nativity. There are something like 14 different scenes depicting different parts of the bible, starting with the fall of Adam and Eve and ending with the resurrection of Christ. It's all done outside and all done with volunteers. Hundreds of volunteers. It was pretty impressive!
Here's Spencer in front of Moses and the burning bush. (The fire was in a fire pit decorated with metal leaves.)
As you walked along there was a short recording that told you about each scene and then would tell you when to move on.
There were even live animals involved!
They had a scene from Bethlehem with tons of little kids dressed up and walking around, acting as if they were in a marketplace. It was pretty cute and you could tell those kids were having a great time.
Cold Tess, however, was not having a great time. She was having a scowly time.
It took me a second glance to realize that the baby Jesus in this scene was made of rubber. It looked really realistic and I was starting to get nervous that he didn't have a hat on! Too realistic. Creepy realistic.
Here's the Angel talking to the shepherds. I'm... not sure why his arms were stuck out like that. I liked the cute sheep. The kids liked the smoke.
This was my favorite scene because CAMELS!! They're my favorite animal, in case you didn't know. Who knew I would ever see camels in Lafayette, Indiana?!
Look! This camel smiled for me. He knew I was a fan.
I tried to take a camel selfie, but it didn't work. Lance to the rescue! (I feel like I look weird. And not just because I'm standing in front of a camel.)
This scene of Jesus calming the waters was pretty cool. I even took video of it.
Okay, I'm not gonna lie. Lazarus was a little weird. He looked like a mummy to me.
I didn't take any pictures from the crucifixion scene - it seemed wrong. (They used statues, in case you were wondering.) This guy was talking about... something... I don't know. By this point the kids were pretty cold and whiny and we just wanted to get done!
Annnnddd... then we saw disco Jesus. I know, it's supposed to be Jesus resurrected. But the lights kept flashing and there was lots of fog and it was a little weird. And Josh asked, rather loudly, "WHY DOES HE HAVE A GOLD CROWN?!?" And I had to explain that it was because Jesus is known as the King of Kings, and that was their way of representing that. He started to ask about the lights and fog but I shushed him and distracted him with the thought of hot chocolate and cookies.
We went into their community center and enjoyed some very hot chocolate and cookies. There were lots of volunteers there to welcome you, chat, invite you to church, and make you feel rather uncomfortable sometimes. (What do you chat about when their main job is to get you to come to their church and you're not interested. And your kids are eating ssoooooo ssssslllloooowwww...)
In all, it was a pretty interesting experience. As we drove out of the parking lot I tried to talk to the kids about the differences between what we saw and what we believe. There weren't many - we believe in the Bible and all that good stuff. I pointed out that there were no references to the Book of Mormon, which the kids thought was weird. (I totally get it; when you're a kid, of course everyone believes the exact same things you do!) They all agreed that they would like to do it again next year and I think we probably will. Even if it's not our church, all of us could do with a little more religion! :)
After the nativity we decided to hit our usual light show up in Battle Ground. (We were already halfway there, why not?) We waited and waited and finally got to see the show and Josh whined and Spencer was mean and Cole was impatient and Tess danced... so, pretty much like every other year.
We drove home, making sure we went up 9th Street because there's this rather large house that has a TON of lit-up decorations on the lawn and a Christmas tree in every window. Impressive. (I couldn't get a picture of it, though. Dang.)
Once we were finally in our neighborhood we saw what is Tess and Cole's favorite Christmas display: the giant, lit-up PVC star. "GIANT STAR!!! GIANT STAR!!! HAHAHAHHAAAAAHAHAA!!" This is what I hear for a good 5 minutes every time we drive by it. Fun.
It was a really fun evening out with our family and I love that we do things like this. I hope our kids grow up loving these traditions as much as I do.
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