Disaster Averted!

Today, we had a first...we almost lost a favorite toy. We were at Chick-Fil-A for lunch and John Palmer and Ellie were playing in the Play Space. John Palmer had brought his backpack full of Little People toys. I knew he had brought it in, but as I was packing us up to go, he came out of the playground area quite distraught. He said that Ankley was lost.
(Meet Ankley.)

I found out that he had taken out a few of the toys and Ellie had accidentally let one fall through the cracks on the wall. We could see Ankley, but I couldn't reach through to grab her...how frustrating. We went outside, around the corner of the restaurant to see if there was a door that could be opened to get the toy. There wasn't, but again, we could see her clear as day. I was heartbroken as John Palmer told me through tears, "Mom, Ankley says don't leave me!" I know it is just a toy, but for a moment, I felt helpless, like we were actually leaving a dear friend behind. With the help of my friend, Darcy, I was able to get the kids in the van and go back in to get some help. A very kind manager got some keys and unlocked a secret doorway on the play place wall, walked in, and grabbed Ankley. It took all of three minutes. When I came back out and showed the kids, they were shouting and celebrating. Whew! Disaster averted! Now we know why we don't bring our favorite toys out of the car and into public places...