A Day That Will Live In Infamy

So today was my last day of summer vacation.  Tomorrow begins teacher pre-planning and the first day of school for students is on Monday.  I am actually looking forward to the beginning of a new year.  I love seeing the school supplies on display in the stores...I love the thought of a fresh start, new beginnings, new students...Its all very exciting to me and a lot of the reason I became a teacher.  Also, I love that I have summers off, along with a week-long break at the end of every six-week grading period at school.  Most days I can be home between 4:30 and 5 pm, so I get a few hours of quality  with the kiddos every day before they go to bed.  I love it.
Anyway, so tomorrow I head back to school.  Being that today was my last day of summer vacation, we decided to go to the zoo.  We have season passes and actually haven't gone at all this summer because we've either been out of town or its been too stinkin' hot.  We headed out the door @ 9 am and were looking forward to an awesome day.  Kids were in a good mood, we were in good moods, we were armed with sunscreen and bug spray (and plenty of snacks!)...all was well. 
We had a lot of fun at the zoo until we got to the World of Reptiles.  This is when Hannah decided she was tired of riding (she had walked a bit at first, then got in the stroller to ride awhile).  Well, when she saw things that interested her, she wanted to go check them out, of course.  One item on interest was a large statue of a komodo dragon that was in front of the World Of Reptiles.  Her interest in the komodo dragon statue wasn't a big deal, but the fact that she had to climb a few steps (with no railing) was a bigger deal.  She is quite stubborn, and decided she was going to master these stairs with no help from mommy.  Chris and Andrew were ready to go see the orangutans, but Hannah was more interested in these steps.  Instead of letting her practice for awhile, I decided we needed to move on.  MY BAD. 

She threw a hissy fit that would rival any I'd ever heard before. 

Anyone who knows us knows that when Hannah throws a hissy fit, Chris throws a hissy fit.  Andrew gets upset and starts crying because she is so upset and getting all the attention, Having this happen in the middle of the zoo was just.freakin.awesome, let me tell you.  Chris tried to get her to calm down but after several minutes was getting more and more frustrated, so I grabbed her and she immediately settled down.  We managed to get through the rest of the zoo without further tantrums from anyone.
We got in the car and headed home.  Hannah promptly fell asleep and Andrew was playing happily in the backseat asking his 4,286 "why" questions.  We stopped at Burger King because Andrew was saying he was so hungry.  All was well, we were almost home...Hannah was napping, Andrew was going to nap when we got home.  It was not over.  Not at all, my friends.

We pulled into the driveway at home, got all our things out of the car, and I had to ask..."Where are the babies?"  You see, the "babies" are Andrew's stuffed giraffe (I think it came from Kohl's once upon a time) and a little blue blankie with a bear's head attached.  Their names are Bobo (the blankie) and Burr (the giraffe).  And no, I do not know why those are their names.  Ask him.  Anyway, they are his prized possessions, his loveys that he has had since he was born...the items that MUST go everywhere with us no.matter.what. because they are his "precious" (as Gollum would say). 

Chris gives me this look that says, "OH.SCHMIDT.  You mean we don't have the babies???"  (No, he didn't say it, but the look said it all.)  Andrew looks between us and just knows.  The babies are not in the car.  They got left behind.  He starts bawling...his poor little heart is broken and I am hurting for him because he is so very upset.  I can't believe he didn't notice their absence during the entire.car.ride.home. and Chris is fuming because life is going to SUCK if the babies are not found.  We are just traumatized but Chris has the good sense to call the zoo just to see if, by chance, anyone found them and turned them in.  Well, God must really love us, because they.had.the.babies.  I immediately grabbed my keys, buckled Andrew in the car (because there was NO WAY he was gonna take a nap when his babies were out there all alone in the world) and headed back to the zoo.  It was so worth it.  All the way there he was so concerned.  His little face was so worried, and he kept telling me how much he missed them and was so glad they were found.

When he saw them again, his face lit up like the sun and he started running in circles out of pure joy.  I tried to get a picture, but he wouldn't sit still.  He kept telling me how scared he'd been and how very happy he was that Bobo and Burr were safe in his arms again.  Oh, that boy...I love him so much.  No matter how much he begs, though, those babies will NEVER leave the car. 

And now, because I know you must know what these precious babies look like...here is a picture that Andrew himself took of them (and a couple of other beloved "babies") long ago when they were much newer and not as "loved."  Bobo is the blue blankie thing in the middle and Burr is the larger giraffe on the left.