Day 4: Santa Claws at PetSmart

Noah can't keep his eyes open such is his excitement for Benny

It was hard to hide the disappointment the boys felt in discovering "Santa Claws"
was not the crustacean cousin they had been hoping to see.

For more info on taking your pooch or kitty or even fishie to the Santa Claws Photo Event (a fundraiser for local animal shelters and PetSmart), go to http://www.petsmart.com.

Day 3: Live Nativities and Small Boys, do they mix?

On the third day of Christmas my three boys gave to me (cue the music in your head) ... a live nay-ee-tiv-vi-ah-tee.

I will now profess to just about understand why people enjoy producing live nativities with small children. My current conclusions on the matter are as follow:

• Kids dressed up as shepherds, angels, and wise men remind us of the true spirit of the Christmas season. Adults dressed up just remind us of community theater or Halloween.  
• Costume expenses are cheaper since the actors are 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the adult versions. 
• The drama of working with the actors during rehearsals can be managed with a healthy dose of suckers and, if necessary, time-outs.
• Kids are cute when they mess up their cues on stage. Adults just look awkward, then ashamed, then sometimes downright angry.
• Joseph and Mary were probably closer to my kids age when they starred in the actual live version.
• Can you really go wrong with farm animals (either real or fake) and small children? If only puppies had been mentioned in the gospels, then you really would have a tour de force.

All that being said, I'm still left wondering "Is it safe to place a long stick with a crook in the hands of my two-year-old and expect him to act like a shepherd?" The only people he really sees holding long stick-like objects are the Jedi and dragon slayers (he's got older brothers, it's my only excuse). At best, he might pretend the cane is a guitar (yes, he's seen School of Rock... my fault) or a really big gun (no, he's not seen Dirty Harry, I'm not that bad).

Luckily, no one was injured in the production of this live nativity with the boys.

The Second Day of Christmas

Anyone who is familiar with myself or Marisa knows we're crazy about Europe. Crazy like pretend we were thirteen-year-olds and Europe was the Jonas brothers kinda crazy. So you can imagine my reaction when I learned the Gateway Mall was hosting the first annual European-esque Christmas Market thru December 4th. I didn't squeal... excitedly squeaked would be a more accurate description.

So following the boys big live nativity practice (they're performing tomorrow night for the ward Christmas extravaganza), we headed off to the Old World Christmas Market. The atmosphere was quite fun and reminiscent of a European Christmas market, complete with fine chocolate, loads of jewelry, furs,  and at least one stand dedicated to Russian dolls. Following a rousing stroll of the stands (the boys only knocked a few non-fragile things off the tables), we feasted on shortbread, danishes, fresh cider and hot chocolate. Total cost of the evening: $17.50.

Here are a couple poor phone pics from the night's outing:

The First Day of Christmas

So today I was visited by a sweet little tweet while sitting at my desk. It mentioned how fun it might be to create an "event advent calendar" as opposed to settling for the cheap chocolate and cardboard variety.

"Well," I thought, "We are having a baby somewhere in the middle of the month, but why not give it a go for as much of the season as possible." No sooner had I mentioned my goal freshly shot from the hip, then my dear coworker Cheryl pointed me in the direction of this fine event, located at the end of an unsuspecting cul-de-sac in Murray, Utah:

Needless to say, the kids had a blast and especially appreciated the bubble blower and talking trees. We liked that they got such a kick out of it and it didn't cost a dime more than the gas to drive there.

Marty's website will provide you with all the information you need, including address (click here for Google Map), hours, parking instructions, and tutorials in case you ever want to set up your own Christmas miracle.

NOTE: Not all posts will be this radical. Not all events will be this elaborate. However, at very least you might get some ideas of cool things to do around Salt Lake City this Christmas season.

Babes in Jetlag

Kyoto, Japan: It’s 5:00 in the morning and your 9-month-old is more interested in coo-ing than snoozing. This is a classic traveling-with-kids moment because you now have to choose to either 1) slowly go insane worrying about waking others, run out of your ryokan (Japanese traditional inn) screaming, and spend the rest of your life deranged and singing karaoke for change on the street corners of Japan or 2) simply take advantage.

This very scenario happened to Marisa and me on our second major “globetotting” trip. Our first-born, Noah, was wide-awake way too early in the morning and Marisa was still beat from being on mom-duty all night. So instead of going Loco in Kyoto (sounds like a good south-of-the-border action movie to me), I grabbed the little man, our Kelty Pack, and my camera and we headed out to explore the cultural capital of Japan at daybreak. The results were breathtaking. With no one out but the sun peeking over the rooftops, we stumbled into everything from picture perfect alleys filled with brightly colored doorsteps adorned with bonsai and ancient bicycles to one of Kyoto’s newest shrines, Heian Jingu, which boasts one of the largest torii (shrine gate) in Japan.

So when traveling with small children, here’s the golden nugget to grasp so you don’t lose sleep over the trivial: your children deserve to be on vacation just as much as you. When was the last time you tried teething or learning to walk? That’s as hard as any nine to five desk job, and it deserves some paid time off. This means allowing your kids to be on vacation from their sleep schedule as well as everything else. Instead of fretting over missed naps, late nights or early mornings, bask in the randomness of everyone’s internal clock and I promise you’ll enjoy yourself a whole lot more.

For Noah and I that morning, his off-kilter sleeping schedule allowed a glimpse into a heritage (Noah’s heritage in fact, since he’s a quarter Japanese) that we otherwise might have missed. Unobscured by any other distraction, the city itself seemed to whisper to us as we reverently passed through its streets. We marveled at the delicacy of the streets and homes, windows into a culture centuries older than our own. We were awed by the humble grandeur of the Heian Jingu shrine, with its brilliant blue tiled roofs and glowing orange framework. We finished by silently paying our respects at a prayer tree: its brilliant white shards of fabric filled with poetic pleas gently lifting towards the heavens in the morning breeze. This was awe-inspiring. This was tear-jerkingly awesome. This never would have happened had I not been traveling with the best 9-month-old tour guide the world has ever known, who was now snoozing in the Kelty Pack.

My five-year-old’s Nice

Walking through Nice’s old town (Vieux Nice), it’s not hard to spot five things my five-year-old would love about this place:

1. Gelato: Nice offers some of the best gelato flavors found on the planet. Everything from the classic nutella to questionable flavors like black olive or beer (the latter is not for my five-year-old).
2. Pastries: When Christ teaches us in the New Testament that we should become as little children, I think one of the requirements not specifically outlined was eat more pastries. Vieux Nice offers my five-year-old countless opportunities to indulge alongside his gourmand father.
3. Dogs: Nice has got to be one of the most dog-friendly places on earth. From grocery stores to fancy-schmancy restaurants, it’s canine time. Nothing pleases my five-year-old more than seeing a Shitzu enjoying Socca or Pug pounding a Pizza alla Niçoise.
4. Pigeons: People don’t bring pigeons here on vacation. Like most decent-sized Western cities, Nice is bobbing with them. And what five-year-old boy doesn’t enjoy some quality pigeon chasing?
5. Nice Plage: Two words: rocks and water. Nice Plage is a gorgeous black rock beach that stretches the length of the city’s Promenade. I’m pretty certain that the endorphins kicks into high gear the minute my five-year-old sees acres of smooth black rocks flanked by an endless supply of water.
   

My five-year-old’s Monaco

Monaco, home to the world’s best-looking cars, biggest gambling stakes, and best-dressed natives, is also the temporary home of something that would actually interest my five-year-old: the fair! Throughout the year, fairs of varying degrees make their way across the European continent, making week to month-long stops - depending on the size of the city.

When we say “fair” in America, I often picture scenes from an E.B. White-induced dream (prize-winning pigs, cotton candy, and a rickety Ferris wheel), but the fairs in Europe are more like mini mobile theme parks. The fair at Monaco (here for a month) offers everything from swinging upside down in the Monte Carlo skyline at the height of 35 feet to being catapulted into the air faster than your stomach can say “Wait I just ate an entire Italian pizza!”

Here’s a quick glimpse: