C and D's Christmas gift

The kids have lots of stuff (as well as cash flow that allows them to buy the small items they actually want), so we have been encouraging their grandparents to give them activities (a day trip or a camp) rather than toys. Yesterday was their Christmas present from one set of grandparents. We went to the Big City and spent the whole day amusing them. We went to the Big City zoo and they rode the carousel, ran back and forth a dozen times underground at the dwarf mongoose exhibit, C had a pony ride, C fed the birds and the kids ran wild on the animal-themed playground (which features giant hollow eggs to climb into, a large spider web, etc.). After our lunch (homemade PBJ, dave s.!), we went to the science museum/children's museum and stayed until closing. C saw a film on the progress of food through the digestive tract and D practiced milking a life-size plastic cow that squirted water from its udder. We then drove over to the largest mall I have ever been in (four stories), had an undistinguished food court Chinese dinner, and then the kids played on a soft African animal-themed indoor playground. There was also a huge skating rink with a towering Christmas tree in the center, but it was late and C decided that she wanted to go to the soft playground. She changed her mind later, but it was too late by then. In any case, as my husband pointed out, ice skating is hard, so C should be fresh and rested for a successful first experience. We'll go again (maybe in the summer?) to try the rink. And that was our day.