Runaway

My grandpa said "there's always one of them in the bunch..." He is referring to Ella who has become our resident runaway. She is almost three but is really independent, really too much so. Last weekend, I took the girls for a Sunday bikeride. Maddie is getting good a riding so we are trying to practice as much as possible. The little girls ride in a bike trailer, which I tell myself is a good workout, pulling 70 pounds...but anyway, we were hanging out in the front yard talking to our neighbor and I ask Maddie where did Ella Sue go? She didn't know and suddenly this fear came over me. I ran through the house looking in her usual hiding spots, called Granny's house, not there either. Started yelling outside, mind you our house is on a dead end street that backs up to a park. Between us and the park is one little bridge to get across, otherwise it is a little stream that no two old could could get out of one their own. So Maddie starts running toward the park and we're all yelling her name and up pops this little head, way far away, down the hill, right by that stream! Ella comes up, not even phased by the incident, and says "I went to the river, but couldn't get across because I didn't have a boat..." How can you be mad at that??? This girl has seen too much Dora the Explorer...chocolate rivers...strawberry mountains...boats...and did I mention Ella was also sporting a backpack!

So a few days later, she pulls a similar stunt while at Granny's house. Granny is having her bathroom remodeled (and it is awesome) and Ella just went out the front door when the construction guys went out. Granny was worried she might have hopped on one of their trailers but no, she had walked around the block because she wanted to go home. The elderly woman next door to us happened to be outside and was walking her back in the other direction....Oh my God, this is too much!

Maddie had her final show at school. It was a jungle theme and they sang songs. The school is most often not prepared for the turnout of parents and loved one and it is usually pretty crazy. But it is fun to see parents that we know and there are a few that we went to high school with so it's neat to see them. The kids have fun and it is always difficult with the little ones in those scenes because they need to go to the bathroom (usually twice), they need snacks, we keep asking them sit still, whatever, by the time it is over we are spent!