Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving weekend was such a whirlwind.  So much of a whirlwind that I didn't get my camera out much--I only have these three pictures to prove we Thanksgiving-ed at all.

These two needed to pose by the turkey.  Hyrum's eyes aren't closed--he's crossing them, a new skill he's working on.

Then, they got photo bombed.

Tucker and Karli came down late Tuesday night and stayed with us.  We loved having them here so much that every time they would go somewhere, Eve would dissolve into a puddle and beg for them.  Wasn't pretty, but they felt loved.

Dinner was a low-key affair: just us and Brad's sister's family.  We had a great day just eating and chatting and eating and playing games (Head's up--an app that we all enjoyed) and eating and sleeping over with cousins.

I got to bed way too late that night, and getting up for Black Friday shopping with my bestie, Karen, was quite difficult.

I feel like I need to voice my opinion on the Black Friday changes that took place this year.  Many, if not most, stores were open sometime on Thursday, forcing employees to miss Thanksgiving celebrations with their families to indulge America's already gigantic appetite for more stuff.  As a long-time Black Friday fan, I was appalled at this change.  I love having an entire day that I can spend with my family, and I'm sure those who were forced to work on Thursday were angry that they had to miss that precious time together.  I am disappointed with retailers--that they would place their bottom line as a higher priority than their employees' families.  Maybe I'm just getting old, but these times reserved just for family are getting fewer and fewer, and this new development was frustrating for me.

Karen and I both consciously chose to wait until Friday morning before we left on our annual shopping adventure.  We left her house just after 4:30 am, setting a course for the nearest Best Buy.  As we drove past Target, we couldn't believe what we saw:

Usually overflowing with cars, shoppers, and packages, our Target was deserted.  We parked the Suburban and walked through the empty parking lot into the store.  We were literally the ONLY customers in the entire store.  Every display was stocked.  Every shelf was straightened.  Every discarded item had been replaced.  It was eerie. 

Funny side note:  As Karen and I perused the deserted Target store, I got a Facebook message from my friend Catherine in New Zealand, hoping I was having fun shopping.  Thanks for thinking of me, Catherine!  

Our first stops that morning were all the same--virtually no one, calm parking lots, no crazy people (besides us).  It did get really busy as the day progressed, but never too bad. It made me wonder if this whole "open on Thursday" thing would be a flop (I later heard that Thursday's sales had been up 13% overall from last year's Black Friday, so I was wrong).  Unlike all previous years, I came into my shopping experience completely without a plan, and unlike previous years, I came home very far from completing everything on my list.  Who am I?

I returned home to a completely clean kitchen, happy kids, and Christmas decorations on the house.  I married the right man, that's for sure.

The rest of the weekend filled up nicely.  We worked around the house, took the family to dinner, dropped all the kids off at home, then took Tucker and Karli to see "Catching Fire."  As a non-fan of the first movie, I was surprised at this one.  I really enjoyed it--so much better than the first one.

I spent most of Saturday taking down Fall and putting up Christmas.  For some reason, the feisty, naughty elves were at work around here, and we couldn't get the lights on the trees to light, couldn't find replacement bulbs, couldn't find the decorations that always hang RIGHT THERE, couldn't get the letters straight, etc.  It seemed to take much longer to get everything in place, and Sunday was a mess.  Christmas had thrown up everywhere, and I couldn't get it cleaned up fast enough.  

Finally, by Sunday night, I felt like I had a grip on most of it.  All that's left to decorate today is the small tree in the entry, and I've resigned myself to the fact that not all of the lights are gonna light up this year.  And that's okay.

That's okay?  Who am I, and what have I done with the uptight me?