Kate is off on her very first mommy-time-off trip, visiting a good friend in Seattle. She left at 6:30 this morning (Wednesday), and she’ll be back around midnight on Sunday. That means it’s just Lydia and me for five days! I’m really looking forward to this, though of course I’m a little nervous about it, especially since the weather is cool and we can’t kill two hours running around in circles on the lawn. And I don’t think she’ll be all that interested in my current project of installing enough lighting in the garage to bake a ham.

So right now, we’re off to the Philadelphia Zoo to see the monkeys. Wish me luck! My goals:

• A good time for both of us
• A healthy amount of father-daughter field trips (the zoo, maybe the “please touch” museum, go get some more broadfall pants in Lancaster.)
• Regular, non-junk-food meals.
• A bath every night. Plus a bath for her, if she needs one.

Update: we just got back. Everything went great. Lydia learned how to say “Capybara.” Pictures here!