Thinking "Outside the Box"

This is one of Sean's favorite sayings and we have had more than one conversation about employees and people who can't "think outside the box." Sean is definitely an "outside" thinker. He can come up with the most creative ways to solve problems that I would have sworn were unsolvable. And I am finding out quickly that Brynlee is just like him!

Bryns is my child that does not accept "no" as an answer. Taylee can be upset when she is told no, but she rarely disobeys us. Brynlee on the other hand thinks that a "no" means to do what she wants to faster, or to think of another way to get what she wants. Here is a story to illustrate:

I was at my grandparents house a couple days ago in Blackfoot. These are my dad's parents, so my kids great-grandparents. We went to visit while my aunt and uncle and their kids were in from Arkansas. Taylee and Brynlee love visiting my grandparents house. Not only are there horses, cows, and a real barn, but my grandmother has collected various toys for her great grandkids to play with and always has candy for them. The object that my kids love the most is the antique candy-machine in the corner of the living room similar to this one that I found a picture of, except their's always has M&Ms in it.

Brynlee was determined to have some M&Ms. I was determined that she was not. Beside the obvious reasons of the excess of sugar in the M&Ms that Brynlee does not need, she looked so darn cute and I did not want her to have multi-color drool all down her shirt. I tried to make her happy with watermelon and chips, but it did not work. Every time she could she headed over to the corner with the candy machine, even though all the seats around it were filled with people that she did not know (Have I mentioned that she is not shy either?). She stood in the corner and kept spinning the lever back and forth before bending down to lift the door and peek in to see if any candy had come out. I was keeping an eye on her from my seat but I was not too worried about her getting into it unless someone helped her to find the pennies that my grandparents keep handy on one of the tables.

Suddenly I hear lots of laughter from the corner where the candy machine is. I look over to see Bryns standing on her tiptoes, arm hooked over the top of the now topless machine, with her little hand buried in M&Ms. The cute little stinker had spun off the lid of the machine in order to get to the M&Ms. Needless to say, I let her keep some of the M&Ms (which did result in multi-color drool) and I screwed that top back on as tight as I could so she couldn't get back into it...for now :-)