Okay, I know I just said it might be a little while longer before I had anything else to say, but I just have to add that I am excessively and unreasonably excited about taking the kids to Arbuckle Wilderness tomorrow. Part of it is the excitement of going with my mom, I think. We don't get to do stuff like this often. I think there are actually more kid-friendly activities closer to where we live here in OK than where my parents live in CA, if you can believe it. We still have to drive, mind you (A.W. is about 35 minutes away) but, really, at my parents' house there's the zoo and the beach and that's pretty much it. I mean, there's only so many times you can look at seagulls or meerkats before you're wishing there was a damned mall nearby or something.

The other thing that plays a part in my excitement is just remembering how much fun we had when we went last time. It's a "just enough" activity. The drive isn't too far, it doesn't take too long to see everything -- you know, it's just the right amount so as to be entertaining but not exhausting and overwhelming.

We are going to get up in the morning and get ready, then take the kids to breakfast somewhere here in town before we get going. We'll have some snacks and drinks packed in the car and that should hold us over till we get back. There isn't really anywhere spectacular to eat down there so we're going to bypass lunch altogether and try to return home in time to go out to dinner here, instead.

Wow...I guess I'm really a parent. There's no turning back now. I'm getting excited about a drive-thru animal park.