We had told them we were going to do something, but did not tell them what, where, when or how until we pulled in the gates. This last fall, Kiley and I had purchased some very discounted tickets at a charity auction we attended for a ministry the church supports, so we figured we would put them to good use.
It was a fairly cool day for Northern California, but at least it was dry. We bundled up and headed in...we didn't leave home until noon and so arrived mid-afternoon, which was just about perfect for us as, none of us are "ride" people except me (Mike), so the day was mainly spent wandering around the animals and the games.
The highlights of the day were according to plan. We saw the Christmas Sea Lion show, the Christmas Dolphin Show and, of course, the Christmas Shouka (the killer whale) show. At the Dolphin show, a vendor came by selling stuffed dolphins with santa hats. I grit my teeth expecting the usual, "dad can we pleeeeasee have one?!" They asked, but politely, and had great attitudes. I wasn't about to spend a ton of money on overpriced stuff animals...wasn't I surprised when she told me the price and it was cheaper than it would have been at Wal-Mart!! Soooo, since they had good attitudes...I chased the vendor down and spoiled my kids (and felt good about it, since it was cheaper than I expected!). It didn't help that Kiley, who normally is the one saying, "that's too expensive..." gave me a look from those big beautiful eyes that said, "I think they deserve it." So much for the cash in my pocket...
My two highlights of the day, were buying hot chocolate and mini-doughnuts and then going on a roller-coaster (despite going by myself). I had to have at least one thrill.
We were home by 8 pm and the boys were worn out. It was another great Christmas memory for us to end a year of a million incredible memories.
