The Best Laid Plans

This weekend the kids had two extra days off of school, and we had planned to take a trip to Big Bend National Park. It's my favorite place in the world, and I've been itching to get back there. Unfortunately, my husband's work schedule did not permit him adequate time off to make the trip, so we canceled it. I was consoled with the fact that we could still plan a camping trip for the weekend, even if it was only for one or two nights.

Plan B was canceled due to the three soccer games and one practice that were scheduled for this weekend. It was at this point that I wrote my whiny post about needing to get out of town at all costs. That plan is still in the works, although I am seriously considering taking the money I had set aside for the trip and going shopping instead. We'll see.

I was placated by Plan C, which was for Greg to take Monday off so we could all go to the State Fair. Plan C was washed out by the rainstorm that greeted us when we woke up on Monday morning.

So we made Plan D, which was to take the kids to Planet Pizza. Planet Pizza is sort of an indoor mini-amusement park that's much cheaper than the State Fair, but with crappier food. I asked Katie's friend Molly to come along, so everyone would have a ride partner.

But then the sun came out, and we revisited Plan C, deciding to go to the Fair after all, and take our chances that it wouldn't rain again. I broke Molly's heart and dropped her back off at home, promising to take her to Planet Pizza another day.

The new plan C made the kids cry because they had their hearts set on Planet Pizza, where the rides are unlimited. (We had told them we wouldn't be riding rides at the State Fair because we didn't really want to take out a second mortgage. Mainly we just wanted to look at pigs and watch the shows and eat funnel cakes and see Big Tex, who is a giant talking cowboy statue that tells people to wash their hands.) (I really love Big Tex, but that's another story.)

Faced with the prospect of spending all of that money to get into the Fair, only to possibly be rained on and surrounded by whining about not being able to go on rides (an idea they had been fine with before Planet Pizza was thrown in the mix), we decided finally to go to Planet Pizza.

So I went back and picked up a perplexed Molly, and we spent a beautiful sunny day indoors riding bumper cars and ladybug teacups and eating nasty pizza.

And it was a good plan.

Tomorrow, the kids have yet another day off of school, and I foolishly promised them we could go to the Arboretum. I am now taking bets to see how many times those plans get changed.