It was the deal of the century… Three Nerf guns for a quarter each at a garage sale. (One of them was even a four-barrel shooter!) The only problem was that they no longer had any of the darts. “No problem!” I thought. Nothing that a quick trip to Target won’t solve.
Well, when shopping as a family, there is no such thing as a “quick trip” to Target. Today was no exception…
The boys have grown quite fond of riding in the “car cart” when we shop. Anyone who routinely takes small children to Target knows that this self-contained contraption is essential to a successful entrance and exit from said facility. Today, however, there were no car carts available. Oh well. “To the toy aisle or bust!”
The first detour was made by Luke as he grabbed a cup from the dollar section. “Look dad. You could serve beer in this.”
“Excuse me?” Ryan asks.
“Alcohol,” Luke explains. “You could put alcohol in this cup.”
I shoot Ryan the disapproving wife glare, shake my head and say, “That’s your kid,” as I continue our quest toward the toy section.
I’m guilty of initiating the next detour to the movie section. “Oh my gosh! ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ is only $4! I’ve been wanting to see this.” (I realize this came out several years ago, but I’ve been a little busy.) Now it was my turn to get the disapproving husband glare. “Chick flick,” he says as he turns and walks away. I toss it in the cart anyway and follow.
We finally arrived in the toy section and Cruz was like, well, a kid at a toy store. Every chance he had he was tossing something in the cart and every chance I had I was sneaking it back out and returning it to the shelf. He was so excited, “Mom, look! Soccer ball!” In the cart it went. “Oh, Luke! Ninja Turtles!” In the cart. You get the picture.
Eventually we found the darts and Ryan was ready to go.
Well, everyone knows you can’t leave Target without at least walking past the grocery section. Surely there is something that we absolutely can’t live without – even if I can’t remember what it is right now.
Sure enough, Luke needed juice boxes because he has gotten into cold lunches lately and, oh dang! Coffee creamer is on sale. “Honey, I don’t need this right now, but this will save me a trip to Target in about two weeks.”
Losing patience quickly Ryan said, “You are not going to Target in two weeks. In fact, I should have left you in the car now!” I told him how cute he looks with steam coming out of his ears.
We finally made it to the check out and Ryan headed to the lane in front of the customer service section. I thought to myself, “Brilliant! We are not within arms reach of the tic tacs, chap sticks and rows of candy.” Luke thought to himself, “This looks like the perfect place to practice my cart wheels.”
Tumbling in Target looked pretty fun so little brother decided to join him, however Cruz has not quite mastered the art of the cartwheel. Bound and determined guy that he is, he got himself into a cartwheel like position and then just sort of shook his butt up and down. Apparently he thought that this might somehow launch him into performing a Perfect Ten on his floor routine. So, basically, my three year old was twerking in the check out area of Target. It was both highly inappropriate and extremely funny at the same time.
$57 later and we successfully walked through the exit doors and headed towards our car. One final detour as the boys had to jump from the red balls that adorn the entrance. I handed Ryan the phone and asked him to snap a picture of me and Cruz. As we walked towards the car, I prodded him. “Wasn’t that a good deal I got on those Nerf guns?”
