Thanksgiving 2010

Dear Logan,

Thanksgiving came and left.  I couldn't believe we're heading into December really soon.  We had a lovely Thanksgiving Dinner at Uncle Paul and Auntie Rachel's house last night.  I think it has slowly become a tradition for us to spend Thanksgiving with them.  This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for my wonderful family and friends, and relatively good health for everyone.

As mentioned, we were at The Lamberts last night for their annual Thanksgiving dinner with friends, starting early at 2 p.m.  They usually had their dinner super early, as friends came early, ate, talked, played, ate and then left.  It's an all-afternoon event.  Unfortunately, Daddy is on-call this whole week from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., so he pretty much worked the whole time we were at Uncle Paul and Auntie Rachel's house. Luckily, he could still be a part of the gathering, and had some delicious food.  And, some of his co-workers were at the dinner, so if he had any work questions, he could ask them right there!  The weather has become increasingly cold.  It was super cold last night when we were out in the backyard and patio.  Uncle Paul had to set up his two heat lamps outside, so that he could offer more room for his guests to congregate.  There were so many people, it was difficult for everyone to be inside the house.

Guess what I did last night after your brother went to bed?  I joined the Black Friday shopping madness at ToysRUs!!!  I knew it would be crazy, but I figured this year since they're starting at 10 p.m.instead of 5 a.m., I could just go after your brother went to bed.  And I guess many people thought the same way I did, as there were so many people.  I got there 5 minutes before 10 p.m., and the line went all around the store.  I saw many families with young children, and felt bad for the kids for being dragged out late at night to join the madness in such cold weather.  When inside the store, I could barely go through some aisles because they were packed with people waiting in line for check out.  The check-out lines curved all around the store.  I managed to grab a few "good" deals, I think, for the kids.  I got a bed tent for your brother, but it wasn't really his main present.  It's just something I think he might enjoy.  Guess how long it took for me to complete this whole shopping experience?  I got into the store at around 10:36 p.m., and finished shopping in less than an hour.  However, the check-out lines were CRAZY.  I started waiting in line at around 11 p.m., and it took me 1 hr and 45 mins to arrive at the cashier.  By the time I got home, it's already 1 a.m.

I would definitely not join this kind of madness again.  This will be my first and last Black Friday in-store experience.  I think I would rather pay a little more than to join all those enthusiastic shoppers.  Besides, I didn't really have any "must have" items that I wanted.  Today, I leisurely strolled around Target with Aidan, and I still managed to get some more "good deals".  The shopping season has only just begun.


Love you,
Mommy