Santa Takes A Hike

It has become tradition for Marina and I to take a hike with Santa at the Wildlife Museum every Christmas. This year we we lucky to snag the last two tickets for today's hike. Marina brought her Anna doll along since she is ready for a trek.

We arrived a bit early and checked out the newest traveling exhibit - the Lego Adventure. First we looked at some very impressive vehicles created out of Legos. Marina even had the chance to try out a Lego car. Then she got to create her own Lego masterpieces. She found a pink house someone had started and decided to complete it. She also created her own couch.

After lunch we got ready for the hike with Santa. We got hot chocolate and Marina roasted marshmallows as we waited for Santa to make his appearance. He showed up pretty early and mingled with all the families. This year, Santa had a high tech gadget on a smart phone which determined if each child was naughty or nice. Marina rated naughty the first time, but after giving me a hug she shifted to the nice category.

Once the hike began, each child got a chance to carry the jingle bells as they walked. We stopped at statues of wild animals and Santa gave the kids a lesson about each one. During one part, Marina even got to use Santa's cane for a while.

Once the hike was over, we went back into the museum to look through the animal environment exhibit. Marina got a scavenger hunt sheet - this time it was the intermediate level, the beginner level was much too easy for her.

After our hike we went to the Museum's movie theater to see The Polar Express. This movie came out the year Marina was born and she loves it. We enjoyed seeing it on the big screen again.