Black Friday. Ugh. And now... an update.

John thinks I insist on standing outside of Best Buy while waiting for their midnight open because I want a break from the nightly routine of getting the kids to bed. Which, if he knew anything about me at all, he would realize is totally ridiculous.   Okay. 98% ridiculous. But still more ridiculous than not ridiculous.

Why? Here are a few reasons I've had time to come up with while standing in this slightly chilly outdoor weather. For the past 30 minutes.

1. Standing outside in the cold (as mentioned, I'm in line as I type this) isn't comfy. Sure I'm in my yoga pants and winter coat but it's not where I would choose to spend my free time on a normal night. (Meaning any other night that *isn't* tonight.)

2. The kids are probably in dream land right now. Meaning that my night would be a bazillion times more relaxing if I were at home at this very moment.

3. I would rather be snuggled into my cozy spot on the couch watching one of the many "guilty pleasure" TV shows that are constantly on while snuggled up with a toasty baby and listening to the snores of my other two from their rooms.

No, what I'm really standing outside in the cold for is a 42" TV that we would never splurge on because it's one of those things I just can't spend an obscene amount of money on when we've got a mortgage, tuition for Katie, two car payments, and baby expenses. But for the price, I figured why not see what the fuss is about.

So I'm at the end of a very long line with next to no chance of getting one of the TVs but... I still don't want to give up. This is the first year I've done this and it's probably going to be the last (I don't play the lottery and I don't (usually) gamble because there's no guarantee I'll win) but even with the horrible terrible no good odds, I want to see it through.

In the cold.

Update:
I didn't get the TV. Duh. I pretty much knew I wouldn't but, like I told John,  I wanted to try. And he went with me.

Granted he did spend most of the time in the car watching the activity in the line (line jumpers. Ugh.) and listening to the police radio.  And let me tell you, things were hopping at Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.

As a nice little break... I did get to see two guys doing a choreographed dance in the back of a pickup truck. (I know, odd. And oddly entertaining.)  I watched said truck park. Two guys got out and started to dance a jig in the back of the truck.  A few seconds after they started, the truck pulled forward. With the guys in mid dance.  It seemed a little unexpected. And the quick move caused one of the guys to topple out onto the hard ground.  It was pretty funny.  Okay, I laughed so hard I teared up.  And then my eyes kept watering.  Comfortable?  No.  Worth it? Ohhhh yeah.

37 Years.

My mom and dad will celebrate 37 years of marriage tomorrow. Thirty.seven.years.  Wow.

They met when mom was visiting Texas for a missions trip and my dad was the handyman at the church she was staying at.  Mom plopped down on the bed and it broke (how embarrassing,  right?), my dad came to fix it. With some help from my aunts (dad's sisters), mom and dad had their first date - roller skating with a group. Dad's sisters, mom, and her friend, and my dad. Thus began a really long courtship. I mean, I think it was pretty long since they met when mom was ... well, I won't mention any actual numbers, but it seems to me it took around 3 years before the big day.

During this courtship they wrote letters, sent messages on cassette tape, my dad came to visit mom, even moving into the apartments across the street from my grandparents house!

Finally... finally they got hitched.

But something wad missing.  The one thing that would make their lives complete...

They had me when they were living in Texas.  I can't imagine how hard it must have been for mom to have a newborn and not have her mom there for support.  I can't count the number of times grandma has wanted a "squeeze" and ended up with a gang of kids downstairs, leaving me free to do laundry or dishes without having to stop every couple of minutes to settle a dispute or cheer up a fussy baby.

And dad is there and ready to jump in with help to figure out car trouble, give horsey rides, handmake birthday pinatas (pink unicorn - with a matching stick - so cute I didn't want anyone to break it!) or take Katie to school or to awana club or for dinner at McDonald's and play time at the play center.

So I can't imagine how tough it was for them with a new baby. And though I'm sure dad's family helped out, it wouldn't have been the same as being near her mom.

Eventually we moved back north and have been here ever since.  It's cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Dad's adjusted pretty well to the extremely cold temps and on those really cold days I wonder what life would've been like if we had stayed in Texas. Warm sun, no snow, aahhhh.  But we didn't. Nope. Cold winters for the win!

Anyway, Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

37 years ain't nothing to shake a stick at.  Even a very pretty decorative pink pinata breaking stick.

Jackson.

UPDATED to fix picture size. Why didn't anyone tell me the pictures were huge and not actually viewable on the screen!

I've posted a few pics of Jack. He's the only one of my kids who stays still enough for me to get a pic on my phone. Jake always seems like he's seconds away from rushing off and Katie is so busy with VERY IMPORTANT THINGS that she doesn't have a lot of time to smile for pics.
So that leaves Jack.
For now, he's stuck with me.