lights

Just a simple photo for today, because Matt and I went on a date! Every year the zoo puts up Christmas lights and plays Christmas music. I had been wanting to go, so Matt and I finally went!


It snowed so much today. Even with two layers of clothing Matt and I were still cold. But walking through the zoo with snow falling and lights strung in the trees and animals braving the weather made it worth it. (So did holding hands with a cute boy.)




I told Matt we would have to come back during the summer so we could see more animals. Most of them were gone for the winter, but a few were still out, like llamas and seals and eagles and wolves!


After we could stand the cold no longer, Matt and I headed to the mall for food and arcade games. Ever since our teacher told us about the arcade, Matt and I have tried to make it a tradition to go every Saturday.

There's a funny story that goes with this picture. The escalator wasn't working, so while my oblivious self just walked up the steps, Matt stayed at the bottom and pretended to wait for it to start working again. Most people just looked at him funny (as did I), but he got one kid to laugh! It was so funny. Matt was quite proud he made someone smile.

Matt and I usually haunt three particular games at the arcade. After purchasing our handfuls of tokens, we head straight for the storm stopper machine. The first time I played it, I hit the jackpot! So we were determined to rack in hundreds of tickets again. Just when I was about to give up, Matt handed me one more token, I put it in ... and ding! Jackpot! We have a winner! Then it was on to the shark game, which is like whack-a-mole, but with sharks. It might be cheating with both of us playing at the same time, but hey, we get the high score. The third game is that one where you push the button and the bouncy ball drops and bounces into a hole. I tried it a couple of times and got a few tickets. And then I made Matt play it. He pushed the button and the bouncy ball went straight into the jackpot hole! Success! Another champion! Either Matt and I are really lucky, or we've got some serious skills. I think it's the latter.
Then finally Matt and I returned to my house to play some games and drink hot chocolate with my family. There was a lot of laughing and good times, and all in all it was a very successful day.