Christmas Nazi

Yes...I hate to use the word Nazi in the same title as the word that represents the birth of our savior, BUT...I must. You see, this seems to be the nickname my beloved family has given to me. Let me explain...

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

I have never tried to hide it and I never expect anyone else to love it as much as I do. I really don't even mind if I sit around in my Christmas splendor while everyone (Nonny, Bobo, RobBob) else sits around in their boring, everyday, never excited about anything funk. Hence, their nickname for me...Christmas Nazi.

So...every Christmas I try to come up with some kind of event/attraction to celebrate the holiday season. Yes, we've rode the Polar Express train at the TN Valley Railroad Museum, we've watched Polar Express at the IMAX, we've gone to the Nutcracker and Ebenezer Scrooge...You get my point.

This year I wanted to take the kids to see the Christmas lights at Rock City. It's been years since we have gone and the kids have never seen them. I "thought" it would be a good idea to wait until Bobo and Iggs got here so we could experience it together as a family.

I'm not going to say BAD IDEA but I might've thought it a few times last night.

Well, let me start at the beginning.

Anytime we're talking about food, we get into the ongoing debate about where we will eat. This is not a simple decision since we have philosophically different views on restaurant choice.

• Bobo and RobBob would eat at the local Chili's in any town we visit. They find a restaurant or a menu item and they are STUCK. If I hear Olive Garden or Mellow Mushroom one more time...well lets not talk about that.
• Nonny and Iggs...let's just say their my Tender Tummy Twins. Having a little gastro issues makes for little interest in food and sometimes, not always, but sometimes, a little grouchiness when it comes to dinnertime.
• Tate and Lily have no mealtime preference except for two requirements: pizza and coloring sheets.
• And then there's me...I am all about the experience. I want to go somewhere that is local and where the atmosphere is more than just commercialized sports memorabilia.

So, I gave them two options: Crust or Mr. T's. in St. Elmo. Choices were quickly minimized when we pulled in Mr. T's parking lot to see that economic stress has closed the doors of one of my favorite pizza joints. So Crust it was. Dinner was good after some timeout for Lily...She fell asleep in the car and when she woke up in Crust's parking lot all she wanted was Bay. After negotiations were done, she decided she would rather come in and eat with the family. Final reviews from the restaurant choice...Thumbs Up: Iggs, RobBob, Autumn, Nonny, Lily...Thumbs Down: Bobo and Tate.

After dinner, we climbed Lookout Mt. After a brief bathroom break and Starbucks stop, we were headed to the "Enchanted Trail". It's a pretty neat little deal as you wind in and out of all of the caverns and rock formations to see the lights.

It's a little scary with two active kids since it is dark and there are some places where the railings are scarce, but they loved it.

Long story short, midway through the trail Bobo, Iggs, Nonny, and RobBob try to coerce my children out the exit. WE HADN'T EVEN SEEN SANTA YET!

Then, Bobo sat and made fun of us as Team O'Bryan sat and listened to the Christmas story. I believe his exact words were, "They're just freakin' Christmas lights". I do believe those words should put someone on the "naughty list" for life.

Regardless, the kids and I (and sometimes Robbie) had a great time, despite our boring, non-Christ loving family members that went with us.