{{{Laura}}} {{{Betsy}}} So this parenting stuff gets harder?

Owen is playing with the resin animals I got him when we went to the zoo this morning. He's also got two new words, "bonobo" and "okapi".

I couldn't get him to say "naked mole rat", bt. But we'll work on that the next time we go.

Oh, does it ever, Cash. But it also gets to be much, much more fun. Four-way snarking around the dinner table is priceless.

Hec, we're arriving midweek and leaving Saturday. We'll wave as we pass!

Many birthday happies to Owen! Are you guys having a good birthday?

My sister went to the zoo on Sunday - got in a bit of an argument: [link]

did a moose bite her?

Perkins, we're going this Friday.

I am tax-fried and bitter and waiting for blood work results, which is not making me any less fried. (Nothing big - knock wood - but one of those things where you go in for a totally random, minor, routine blood draw and everything's fine except one single iffy number, so you go back in for more blood work, which shows that everything is fine except for one completely different iffy number, so you have to go back in for more blood work, lather, rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat, and now I'm on the fifth or sixth iteration of blood draws that have spun out miles away from one small simple thing that was literally months ago. I'm askeered that my miscellaneously funky blood will allow this poke-and-stab routine to go on for years, or until I run out.)

Oooh, Betsy! We could have dinner Friday night or breakfast Saturday morning!

The birthday is going well--in spite of his nasty head cold, O has been very mellow and good. The weather was perfect for the zoo--sunny and in the high 60's.

No, but she apparently offended a tiger.

JZ, this is deep family time for us: one of the few times we get to hang out undistracted in a tight little Perry world. Let's meet again in the one true city, but not in Las Vegas.