A Very Long Story

Mr. Ed and Mrs. Elizabeth are our neighbors. We adore them, especially Mr. Ed. He loves are children and I seriously think that Tyrus and Mary consider him family. They always run over to give him hugs when he is outside. They also run over to say hello to their two little dogs. Prissy is a Beagle of some sort and Rosie is a Dotson. They live outside 24/7. Lately, Mr. Ed and Mrs. Elizabeth have had to make several last minute trips to Macon because Mrs. Elizabeth father is not doing well. We usually know when they are leaving and we have an idea of when they will be back.

This past weekend was a 3 day for me. We were outside all weekend enjoying the awesome weather. On Saturday Neil created a nature trail through our woods and we promised the kids that when it got really dark that we would take a walk through the woods with flash lights. We did do this and therefore we were outside when Mr. Ed pulled into his driveway. We all went over to say hello to him and he told us that he had just returned from Macon and was planning on going back in the morning. When I got up around 9:00 on Sunday he was already gone. He had left Prissy and Rosie out in the back like he always does.

I guess that Prissy got to missing Mr. Ed and decided to go look for him. She dug a hole and crawled out of the fence. Rosie, monkey see/monkey do, was right behind her. Luckily, we were outside and we put them back in. I can't remember how many times it happened on Sunday, but they got out more than once. Neil had to repeatedly go over, fine the hole, and fix it to where they couldn't get out again.

On Sunday, Neil had to work until about 3. The kids and I were out and about until about 2. Mr. Ed is still not home. The dogs sneak out and I put them back in. Before I can even walk back over to our yard they have escaped again, but out the back of the fence. Luckily, the neighbor behind Ed knew that the dogs were his and brought them back. We met them in the driveway and got the dogs and put them back in. Guess what happened next? Yep, when we were eating dinner they escaped again! I've lost count at this point. Neil decides to drive over to the house behind Ed's to see if they went that way again. The kids and I were standing in the driveway when he came back without Prissy and Rosie. Tyrus was starting to get very sad. Neil says he is going to drive to the end of our street and then that was it. He got 3 houses down and there they were!! I walk down with the kids and Lulu and drive the van back up so that Neil can carry both dogs back to Ed's. When the kids and I get out of the van we all go over in Mr. Ed's backyard to try and find all the places that Prissy is getting out and to sprinkle food all over the ground so she could hunt it all night. I took the dogs water bowl and Mary and I walked around the house to the hose and filled it up. When we were done she helped me carry it back around the house. We say our goodbyes to the dogs and go home.

This morning we all woke up to get off to work. Neil had to leave on a move to Cincinnati so he was in a hurry too. Neil gets the kids in the van and I'm looking for my keys and I can't find them anywhere. Where the heck are they? I always put them in my purse or in the same spot on the counter. I finally shout to Neil, "You had them last when you went to get the dogs." He says, "Nope, you drove the van home." CRAP!! What did I do with them? Then, it hit me and Neil at the same time...Mary had them...in Ed's backyard...she had to have dropped them...in Ed's 1/2 acre back yard! To make matters better Ed and Mrs. Elizabeth had come home in the middle of the night and now they were going to wake up to Neil walking around their backyard. Sigh. Neil started walking in lines up and down the yard while I'm standing at the fence whispering as loud as I could spots where I remember seeing Mary with the keys. The kids are still locked in their car seats. Finally, it hits me, the water...go check the water hose. Neil starts running around the house and 5 seconds later he comes running back around dangling my car keys in his hand!!! Yippee!!! I guess when Mary decided to "help" me carry the water back around she put the keys down to do so. Makes perfect sense to me that she would put whatever was in her hands down in order to pick something else back up. Only thing is, is that she is 2 and she can't tell us that she did that. So, by 7:25 we were in the car on our way and only running 5 minutes late, but my blood pressure was so high with the thoughts of calling in to my boss and telling him that I had to stay out because my 2 year old lost our only pair of car keys in our neighbors backyard and I wouldn't be in until I found them were KILLING me!

Oh well...just another day in the Tingle home. Gotta love little Mary, loser of keys and all.