The Sights and Sounds of Christmas--San Marcos Style

Saturday night found us celebrating Christmas with Marty's family. We'd all made plans a couple of months ago to attend "Sights and Sounds," a Christmas Festival held in San Marcos each year. We attended last year with friends and our family wanted us to attend with them this year.


Everywhere we turned in the park, our senses were assailed with "sights and sounds" of Christmas, not to mention the aromas as well with all the food too. The light displays were awesome.

Our first stop was this village of Bethlehem. I don't remember seeing angels standing guard at the entry last year but it looked really pretty.





We encountered a bashful looking camel in Bethlehem.





And at the far end of Bethlehm we found the Nativity. We'd gone in search of Heather's dance teacher Cathy who is usally an angel in the Nativity but we never did see her.





Bethlehem village is even complete with a jail where I sent Heather for this photo.




Upon leaving Bethlehem we ran into our friend Ron who had decided the Sights and Sounds would be a great place to play with his new camera.





My nephew Tony had to work and Debbie was sick, but Marty's brother Mike and our niece Cheyenne joined us. Sorry you missed it Tony and Debbie!

Cheyenne and Heather enjoyed the carnival most of all I think.



















We all thought Heather and Cheyenne were crazy for wanting to ride this:






especially when we saw it did this:














This light display could be seen throughout the park.











All of us, (back row: my father in law Freddie, Mike, Ron, and Marty)

(front: my mother in law Billie, Cheyenne, Heather and me)

I've Been Published!!!

I arrived home today to find a large envelope in the mail with this note inside along with 2 copies of a magazine.

Here are the magazines!

And look! Look! My name is in a magazine!

Thanks Hannah!!! Hannah works for a magazine and found my blog through a link on my friend Lisa's blog. Hannah contacted me to request permission to publish a photo I had taken at the San Marcos "Sights and Sounds of Christmas" festival last year. It's exciting to see one of my photos staring up at me from within the pages of a beautiful glossy colorful magazine!





Here's the spread my photo is in (page 16)







And here's a close up of the page.




The magazine in which my photo is published is Country Lifestyle and I'm impressed with what a beautiful magaine it really is!




My original photo:

Sights and Sounds...How San Marcos Does Christmas

Until yesterday I'd never even heard of "Sights and Sounds," a Christmas Festival in San Marcos, TX. Our friends Jason and Erica were going to be there with their kiddos. Jason had to work a booth for part of the evening but then would be free to join his family for some fun. They asked us to meet them over there when we got off work this evening. We actually had an evening with no plans so we decided to join them.

There were Christmas lights everywhere, and carnival rides, and food, food and more food. (Jason was helping man a booth for the San Marcos police department and they were selling fried oreos, fried cookie dough and fried snickers! I'd never heard of or tried any of them. Although each was pretty rich, they were actually pretty good!) There were performances throughout the park on various stages. And people EVERYWHERE! We walked around just looking at everything there was to see as Jason was the only one of us to have ever been there. We rode some carnival rides. I don't recall ever riding carnival rides in December....let alone riding them with Christmas lights on display everywhere I could see.

Just a pretty tree in the park near the carousel.

Some of the pretty light displays throughout the park.

We decided to ride a couple of carnival rides. I was pretty apprehensive about riding one. I generally don't ride the ones that go upside down. This one didn't QUITE go all the way upside down....it appeared....but came very close!!!

Here Heather and I along with Riley, Cameron and Erica wait in line to ride.

On the far side you can see Heather, me and Cameron waiting for the ride to take off.

And away we go!

On another ride. This one spins so fast the walls slide up. I asked the ride operator to hold the camera and to snap a picture. He couldn't figure out how to work the camera so he took this picture after the ride, then told us to stay on and he'd take another one since he figured out the camera! He also let Mathew get back on with us and we all 3 got to ride again for free!

Marty and Heather crossing a bridge under a canopy of lights.

Marty and me wandering around the park.

At the end of the night Santa had already left so we borrowed his sleigh!

Thanks, Erica and Jason for asking us to tag along!!!