Black Friday, 2013, w/a PS

 We headed out to the mall at 7, the stores opened at 8. The kids were just a tad excited.

 That sushi restaurant on the left was packed!!  The mall itself was pretty empty, but a few stores had long lines out front, like H&M, Hollister, Victoria Secret, etc.  Disney had a short line, not bad at all, so Myles and I got in it, while the girls and papa headed down to Hollister.  We were there till 9 and the mall was packed by the time we left.

 The Disney Store made the time go by fast. They handed out their ad, then baskets, then they had an opening ceremony similar to what they do at the park in the mornings, and then it opened!

 Meanwhile, down at Hollister......Sophie did a different sort of shopping : ) He's real.  Only in CA do life guards welcome you to the stores.

 Myles was having no problems finding things he wanted, he went to the Disney Store twice, and then found what he really, really, really wanted....a seat belt animal thing.  He saw it on TV and has wanted it ever since. It velcro's onto the seat belt so you can snuggle with it and it's  a pillow, too.  Personally, I think we'd all be much happier drivers if we all had one of these things!

 

 Myles got that big Perry the Platypus for $16 at The Disney store...it would have been $40 normally.  He also got Peter Pan, Miss Piggy, Eeyore in pj's, a green stuffed gecko, that seat belt friend thing, and a hex bug.

 Here's a look at all the loot. I should say that nobody spent all of their money.  In fact, as soon as they broke their big bill, they each gave us $15 to set aside so they could go ice skating.  Even with taking $15 out of their money, they still didn't spend all the rest and they got a ton.

 That's an up close look at my stash, some bracelets, glasses, headband, and purse.  Plus, today I got two books from the book store.

 That's Emma's stuff above, she really loves Hex Bugs, they are little robot bugs. These ones are special and can climb up stuff, like that track she got.

Some of Sophie's stuff, she went for movies, that parrot sweatshirt, fuzzy ear muffs, a stuffed doggy, and Bambie. That book is Emma's.

Brian also got me a vacuum.  I really did need a new one, so I was super excited!  We had talked about getting a TV because man, ours is on it's last leg....but in the end, while there were good deals on tv's themselves, when you price all the extra cables etc that you need to get it to work, it would have been spendy, so we decided to wait....until it breaks totally I guess.  I doubt it'll make it to next Black Friday.  Probably would have been smarter to get the tv now, and all the other parts as we can....but who wants to do that?? I'd rather get a purse.  And bracelets and books.

If you are thinking, "wait a minute, what did Brian get?" ....well, he is one to wait for something he really wants.  We went to the book store today to find some books he's been wanting, but they didn't carry them.  So now he thinks maybe he'll register for some races instead...but so far he's holding tight to his Black Friday $.  He did wear his new special shorts that Grandma Val got for him today and really loves them!  Thanks goes out to Grandma and Grandpa for making this a special shopping day for us.

If you are curious, we have always done the early, like 1 a.m., shopping on Friday morning, but this year with most the stores opening at 8 on Thursday night....we took the Thursday night option. We went to the mall, Old Navy (which had a line wrapped around the store that was not worth waiting in), and Target (which was busy but not super crowded).  We left the house at 7 Thursday night, and were home by 11:30.....and didn't get up until 9:30 this morning.  Much different than the whole super early Friday morning craziness, and much more enjoyable!

Hope you all had a fun Black Thur/Friday!!
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PS - Did anyone else watch the Garth special on TV tonight?? Garth still has it! That was the most enjoyable thing I have watched on TV in years!!  Man, do his songs take me back. I love that he kept both Brian and I completely entertained with just his humor, songs, and a guitar.  LOVED IT!!