Spontaneous is my middle name

Actually, I don't have a middle name; and if I did I wouldn't want it to be "Spontaneous", but around here lots of things happen on a whim. For instance, a while back we had been trying to make plans with some friends of ours. Twice we had things solidified on the calendar (with sharpie marker, even), and both times things came up (sick kids, extended family plans, etc). Then one day on the way to the community mailbox, these same friends stopped me and asked what we were doing in an hour or so, and I said, "Nothing". And then we went to lunch and a movie and had a splendid time. This happens with projects, too. A project will hang over my head for weeks, then one day I get a bee in my bonnet and decide to tackle it (the project, not the bee) out of the blue. Sometimes I wish I were more of a planner, but most of the time I appreciate the flexibility of being spontaneous.

We have been wanting a piano for a long time. We have been using a small keyboard, and it served its purpose, but Olivia had a hard time practicing on it. The keys are smaller than regular piano keys and they're not weighted like piano keys, so she would practice on the keyboard, then go to her lesson with a real piano, and it was so different that she was frustrated. I had been looking in the classifieds for used pianos, and decided that for our price range, we were better off buying a digital piano (one you plug in, but they have weighted keys, and is roughly the same size as a regular piano) so we didn't have to bother with a piano mover, piano tuner, etc. I have missed out on two pianos because I was slow to act, and Monday night I was talking to the kids about our schedule for the summer, and I emphasized that Liv should start practicing the piano more diligently. After that discussion I thought I would check the classifieds to see what was available. There was one in our price range that had been listed within the hour, so I called (it was 9:30pm). I asked a few questions about it, then told the guy I was interested in buying the piano. At this point I realized he was in Logan--two hours away! So...we planned a quick day trip and less than 12 hours later the DVD player was hooked up in the van, cash was obtained, and the kids and I went on our little adventure! The last half hour of the drive was GORGEOUS! The scenery was incredible. I told myself I would stop and take pictures on the way back but by then it was raining. You'll have to take my word for it! After we got the piano, we had it our way at Burger King, then stopped at Willow Park Zoo. It's a little park with birds and small mammals. It was perfect. Enough for the kids to exercise their legs and see some exciting stuff, but not too big and expensive (it was almost free) that you feel like you have to spend the day there to get your money's worth.

We saw monkeys

Lots of birds (we only took pictures of these, though) Sean's favorite was the turkey vulture-not pictured

wallabys

Deer, a porcupine, ducks, and bobcats.
Then we hopped like wallabys

Acted like monkeysOlivia put flowers in her brother's hair (which he enjoyed thoroughly)
played on the playground, used the bathroom (Warren worked his magic and opened the door with his "code". He thought he was pretty cool as the numbers beeped and the door opened. It was already open for the season, but I didn't want to burst his bubble so I just said, "Thanks for opening the door, bud!"Then we were off to see these guys: Lauren, Christa, LoganWe have been saying for a year and a half, "We should get together sometime". She's come down here a couple of times, but I hadn't made it to her neck of the woods for a long time. I spend a lot of phone time with Christa, but it's just so much more fun in person! Christa and I were pregnant at the same time with David and Logan. Our due dates were 2 days apart, but the boys ended up being 2 weeks apart. She came early, I came late (but I wasn't bitter).
Here are some more fun group shots:We made it home safely, and now we own this: (in case you're curious, it was still a good deal, even when you add the long drive with ridiculously expensive gas)This concludes my very long post about our very short trip!