That one time our stroller fell into the canal

Yesterday we went for a walk after Steve got home from school. Family Home Evening!!!! I'd seen from the road that the trees were blossoming down by the canals and I was dying to get some pictures of them! When we got to where I was planning on going, I was so excited! It was so pretty! I was in heaven snapping away because it was sunset too, so everything looked even better. Steve was just excited to be playing with Cole so he got him out of the stroller quickly, left it on the path and took Cole into the grass to play with him and to show him the ducks in the canal. (Cole loves those ducks:) And he FORGOT TO LOCK THE WHEELS. 

So there we were. Steve playing with Cole, sticking him in the tree. Me taking pictures; gushing about how badly I wanted to do family pictures right then and there. I love spring.

And then I heard a splash. I looked behind me and saw that our stroller had rolled down right into the canal! I started sprinting towards it while yelling "Steve! Our stroller!" Steve was further away from our sinking stroller holding Cole, so he caught up with me, handed him to me and then went after our stroller. He took off his shoes and his shirt and then jumped in...that nasty water. It was actually kind of hard to get it out since it was full of water. As Steve pushed it up and out of the canal and onto the grass, my cute peace sign flip flops which had been at the bottom of the stroller fell out. And floated away :( I loved those flip flops! But luckily my bag which had my wallet in it, did not fall out. Everything was just sopping wet. And we didn't lose Cole's cute robeez shoes either! yay!

We just laughed at ourselves. We're those crazy parents. I couldn't believe that had just happened. While Steve dried himself off with his shirt, this older couple walked by on the other side of the canal and the man yelled to us: "There are snakes in there! Don't swim in there!" I thought to myself: he must not have seen what just happened. He wasn't swimming in there for fun! So I yelled back: "Our stroller fell in!" And then a man who lived right there and had seen everything happen came out with a broom to help us get my flip flops. Pretty nice, right? (Unfortunately they were long gone.) He told us: "Oh don't worry, you aren't the first this has happened to." Seriously?! I thought. People's strollers roll into the canal all the time? Crazy.

And it was at about this time that we realized Steve's phone had been in the stroller. And now it was somewhere at the bottom of the canal. It seemed pointless to get back in and get it since his phone would probably be dead once we got it anyway. Dang. We weren't laughing as much anymore. "Let's get home," Steve said. He was still shirtless and barefoot and it was going to get dark fast.

So we walked home. We still chuckled to ourselves as we walked. Steve pushed the stroller and I held Cole since you know, the stroller was soaking wet. We were just about home when Steve turned to me and asked "Wait, do you have the keys?!" I sure didn't. They had been in the stroller with Steve's phone. And now there were also in the canal :/ We seriously didn't think of the keys til then?!? Our little family outing was turning into a disaster. We needed to figure out how to get into our house. And then how would we get into our car? I called my friend Elaine who lives at our same complex to see if we could hang out at her house while we figured everything out. (Thank you soo much!!) Steve just wanted to get inside since he wasn't wearing a shirt and it was getting dark!

We brainstormed with our friends. How much would it cost to replace our car key? It was expensive. We only had one. How long would it take? Steve had his school bags in the trunk of the car which he needed the next day. Things were falling apart fast. So Steve decided that it was probably best to just go back and see if he could find the keys! Our friends lended us their goggles, and Ryan drove Steve back to the canal. I was worried since I now knew that there were snakes in the water. And who knows what else! Did he seriously have to jump back in that yucky water? In the dark this time?

But they were back before I knew it! Steve had just felt around with his foot and he found the keys right away. His cell phone too! And a huge piece of broken glass too!! Steve saves the day again!!!!!

As we walked home Steve said: "That's it. We're going out to dinner tonight. I just saved us $200." Ha. Now we're just trying to see if leaving his cell phone in a sealed bag of rice will fix his phone or not. Fingers crossed!

It was a crazy day but it makes for a good story. And now we know: always lock the wheels.

And at least I got my pictures ;)