Adventures at the Strawberry Patch

This morning I took Jackson down to Bladenboro to spend the weekend with my parents. After his nap, we rode over to Morris' Farm to pick some strawberries. Jackson had never been out to a strawberry patch, so I was excited to see what he would think. And of course, he loved it! I mean, strawberry picking is a lot like treasure hunting! At first, he would just pick the ones that we pointed out to him, but after a while he decided that he wanted to choose his own...even a couple of green ones. He was having a good ole time! He was super funny carrying around the box to put them in. He carried it out to the patch, but I figured that he would give it up when he started picking strawberries. Not so much. He wanted to do both and insisted on carrying the box. However, after he dumped our picked strawberries on the ground for the second time, Nana was able to convince him that it would be better if she carried it.

"Oh, I found another one!"

Trying to convince Jackson to let me carry the box...

So, looks like we had fun, right?? Well, we did! But the fun was just about to begin. As I walk over to my car to get out $$ to pay for our berries I realize...

...the doors are locked and there are my keys. Peeking out next to the DMD. Not cool at all. And also not cool is the weather...it was hot! It was like 85 degrees today and this was at about 3 o'clock! So, after a quick call to AAA and another call to my Dad on the way home from work, we found us a nice shady spot in the grass to try and stay cool. Well, we had only been sitting there for about 5 minutes when Mrs. Morris came out of her house going to her car. She walked over to say hello and I'm sure to see who these folks were that were just hanging out and then recognized my mom. It's a honor pay system, so there was no staff out there, just us. One of the many things to love about a small town...you know everybody and in this case, I think we are kind of distantly related to the Morris'. So anyway, when we tell her we are locked out, she kindly insists that we come inside for a glass of water. And I don't think Jackson had heard a better idea all day! He got inside and chugged some water -- he was one thirsty little boy! Actually, all three of us were! Mrs. Morris was very sweet though as we waited on my Dad to get there -- he was leaving work when I realized that the keys were locked in, so he ran home to switch cars and get the car seat.

So I was very excited when the locksmith arrived after only about 45 minutes. I thought, "This'll be pretty easy."

Not at all! Turns out that there's some anti-theft thing that disables the power locks, so when he got the door wedged open and pushed the unlock button, nothing happened. He tried both doors several times, but nothing happened. While he was calling another locksmith for help, I was calling everyone at the dealership to find out if there was something we were doing wrong. Everyone thought that they should unlock. Well, they didn't. After about 20 minutes or so, I started thinking, "Sean is going to be so excited when I call him to say I need him to drive to B-boro after work w/ my spare keys!" Finally, the locksmith rigged up another tool that he had and was able to manually unlock the passenger door. Whew! I was thrilled -- I'm pretty sure I even hugged the locksmith. Kudos to you, Mr. Locksmith!

Jackson really enjoyed the strawberries once we made it back to the house. And they are really good, if I must say so myself! Even worth the wait!

"Here Pa-Jack, you try one."

Look at 'em all. Sweet, juicy goodness!

So what was supposed to be a quick trip to the strawberry patch, turned out to be an all afternoon adventure. But you know, when you're surrounded by people you love, it doesn't much matter what kind of situation you're in. You just turn your hat around right and enjoy the ride! And in the process, you might just learn something. In this case I did...it's that I need to stash away one of those hide-a-key thingies.

Isn't this flower pretty? My Grandma has always had the most beautiful flowers in her yard. I just couldn't resist stopping to enjoy this one.

Here's Myrtle the little sun turtle. My dad rescued her from the midst of pallets and forklifts a few days ago and I was able to convince him to keep her as a pet until Jackson could see her. I have always loved these little turtles. When I was little, I remember Daddy would sometimes go fishing and bring one home for me. I was only allowed to keep it for about 3 days until I had to release it into the pond. When I left this afternoon to head back to Wendell, Myrtle had found a nice home in the fountain. But I know it won't be long before she heads down to the pond. Nature belongs in nature. But isn't she just too cute??