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I was the coolest aunt ever. I was going to plan a gardening extravaganza for my little nephews. My sister manages her 2, 3 and 5 year olds, so really, how hard could it be? I gathered up my little guys and headed to the nursery to pick out some foliage.

As we walked into the nursery, I lost two of them before the door swung shut behind me. Somehow, the rows of flowers and ivy dangling from the ceiling seemed more a secret labyrinth or an exciting trip into an uninhabited jungle than a simple flower shop. After reenacting every scene they could remember from "The Jungle Book" I pushed and prodded and made them each decide on a flower, ok, I decided...it just so happens I gave them each a specific color, red, yellow and purple. I thought that would sway later arguments.

Three Happy Meals later, a few squished fries on my car floor and a Disney CD later, and we were home.

I unpacked our beautiful flowers and set them all out, ready for us all to get gritty and grimy in the dirt. I laid my red, yellow and purple buds out all in a row and gave them shovels to match. I really was the coolest aunt.

My oldest nephew, before the shovel even hit dirt, was distracted by a toad. While he was off finding a bucket to make a home for his little buddy my second nephew found a worm. I thought I'd be lucky enough to keep my little guy entertained, but a grasshopper picked that exact moment to hope across his path.

Four hours later, our three little plants sit in their plastic little carton, red, yellow and purple. On the patio, my three nephews and I charged admission to grandma and grandpa to see our "ZOO." Three lady bugs, two caterpillars, a grasshopper, a toad, and five worms all sat in little boxes carefully and lovingly filled with grass and leaves. While my nephews and I didn't have an opportunity to actually garden, it was and remains my favorite day in the garden.

Learn more about this author, Molly Carter.
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