The Case of the Missing Key

Let's say you were a key to a mini-van and you were hiding somewhere. Where, oh where, would you be hiding?
Yesterday at 5:30 I got the kids all loaded in the van. The plan was that I would take them to Rick's office, switch him vehicles and then go to my first ever Bunco Party - I was SO excited!! So, I finished buckling Tabitha into her carseat, opened my door, slid into the driver's seat and went to turn the key that should have been in the ignition. That's when we ran into a problem - a big problem! The key was gone. We always (almost) leave the key in the ignition when we are home. However, I have been getting into the bad habit lately of bringing it inside with me and putting it in my purse or a pocket. For about 10 minutes I frantically searched the van, the kitchen counter, all my pants pockets, jacket pockets, and purse. No key. I called Rick and he had no idea where the key was, so he started on his way home. Gabriella then joined me in the search. It was about that time that I had a sickening thought. On our way home from preschool yesterday, we went thru the drive-thru at Arctic Circle. Could I have been so absent minded and dumb that I would have tossed the key in the bag with the food when I brought it inside the house - and then, not thinking, thrown the bag, with the key inside it, in the garbage?! If so then we were really out of luck. Yesterday was garbage day and the garbage man and long come and gone. I felt sick!
Rick got home at 6 and still no key. I left for my Bunco party. I was still worried they had been thrown away, never to be found - buried at the city dump. Ten minutes later Rick called me. I was hoping he had good news. I was wrong. He said he had searched the van, couldn't find the key, and was heading inside the house when he noticed the headlights were on (Tabitha had been "driving" for a brief moment before I got her in her carseat). As he was walking around to the driver's side to turn off the headlights, all of a sudden the doors locked magically by themselves! So now we had a locked van, headlights on, and no key! I suggested he check with our insurance to see if they had some kind of locksmith clause to help us out and gave him strict orders to call me if and when he found the key. He never called. When I got home at 9:30 I researched the van, checked underneath it, on top of it, took carseats out, no luck! Still worried that I had indeed thrown them away. As I was brushing my teeth I suddenly had a little revelation! I didn't throw the key away! I couldn't possibly have thrown it away because we went somewhere later that day at 5 o'clock! I had to take a box to UPS and then picked Gabriella up at her friend's house. So, all that time that I had been retracing my steps from when we'd gotten home after preschool were not the right steps to have been retracing! But my problem is, I can't remember what exactly I did when we got home after getting Gabriella. I know after a few minutes the kids all went in the backyard to play and I started making Giant Meatballs for dinner. But what happened in those few minutes in between could be crucial! The Case of the Missing Key began at 5:30 pm yesterday. It is now 9:30 am today and still no key!
Like I said before, I have looked in all the logical places. I even looked in some very unlogical ones - the fridge, the dishwasher, the dryer. I've searched the kids rooms, opened every drawer and cupboard. We've just cleaned up downstairs and still no luck!
So, if you were a key to a mini-van and you were hiding somewhere. Where, oh where, would you be hiding?