The only kind of marathon I'm capable of...

We had a very busy day today, but it was all voluntary...and relatively fun (except for the trapped in the car with the kids moments).

By noon, Tony had decided not to go into work after all, that he would rather go to the zoo with us. Our membership has been collecting dust for most of the year, so, with only 3 more months to go, I decided we had better start getting our money's worth! I waddled around the zoo (yes, I'm already well into the waddling stage of my pregnancy) and was very grateful that Tony was there to help me prevent BooBoo from falling into the aquarium, keep Annika from wandering away, and herd children in general. The downside was that Tony clearly had other (undisclosed) plans for the day, because he rushed us out of the zoo without riding the carousel or feeding the goats. (Sometimes I am the sucker parent.) I thought the kids would freak out, but we bribed them with oreos. Surprisingly effective.

After the zoo, Tony's plans revealed themselves. He drove us all of the way to Port Ludlow to take a look at the vacation shack I've been contemplating. Luckily, it was right on the road and not the size of lot I would want (and, honestly, way too long of a commute for my hubby). I'd rather have my dreams crushed by an undesirable property than by the cold, hard fact that we don't have any money saved to purchase a vacation home. Time to start that fund!

On our way home (or so we thought), we replaced my non-functional camera with a new little point-and-shoot Sony. It took us five stores to find one in stock! How sad is that? Don't people want my money? I resisted the urge to buy a nicer camera until 1)I have enough money for it in my bank account and 2)I actually know what I want (instead of randomly purchasing something more expensive). Besides, it's also nice to have a camera small enough to put in a pocket or throw in your purse. Result: my next post should be replete with pictures (in addition to the usual rambling).

Did our evening end there? Of course not, because, by this time, we were all starving and still in Silverdale, about an hour away from home (Tony denies it's that far away, but that will always be my travel-time estimate). Eating out in Port Orchard is so much nicer. Maybe people there are poorer, so there are more free tables? Maybe they all go up to Silverdale to eat out? Whatever the reason, we had about as much luck with the restaurants as we did with the camera shopping. Finally, we settled on Sharies (Woo-hoo! for immediate seating and kids eating free!)

By the time we were finished eating, what do you know? that 9pm showing of Bedtime Stories on the Navy Base (that we thought would be way too late) was about to start. The kids were right. I was wrong. It was the funniest movie I've seen in a long time. Even James was entranced and kept up his 2-year-old commentary, "Gumball..marshmellow...motorcycle."

That was our 11-hour outing. What a marathon. It reminded me of driving cross-country, only the stops were more fun and the kids fought MORE in the car than they do when we move. (Lack of preparedness on my part. No books for entertainment...only siblings to tease.) According to my calculations, now we shouldn't have to leave the house again for at least a month. Aaahh. Home Sweet Home.