First Black Friday without my dad.

Ever since I had my first child I have gone to Black Friday with my dad and some of my other siblings. My dad loved being part of the mayhem and madness that Black Friday brings. So it just became a tradition. We all loved going with him because he became our wallet...LOL! He would see things and say just get it for your kids I'll pay for it. We would always say, "okay dad." haha j/k My dad would get in arguments, push people out of our way, and we would get my dads back when people would cuss him out. He seriously thought he was the Walmart Black Friday police...LOL! My mom hated our funny stories of dads drama sessions...haha Slowly our family members stopped coming because the craziness wasn't worth it, but my dad and I who are die hards went by ourselves last year. It was so cute. He didn't buy one thing, but just wanted to be in the mix of the event. I loved that experience with him, because I never spend one on one time with him. He also bought me breakfast and we just talked, just me and my dad. That is one memory I will never forget. (tears)
Anywayz, this year my dad didn't go. I know he wanted to because he kept asking who was going, but he had to work. He's really gotten to old to be doing Black Friday though. So I was just gonna go alone. And then my two saving graces (Anna and Klarah) came to my rescue. We had fun. Well maybe me and Anna more than Klarah, because we have girls and girls are more fun to shop for. I was so grateful to have them with me. This is what we did:

10pm-1:30am -Toys R Us ( We will never do that again. Toys r Us sucks and they are so unorganized. Do NOT go to their Black Friday)
1:30-3:30 -Walmart (loved it)
3:30- Del Taco (for a quick bite to eat)
4am-5:00- JCPenny (loved it)
5am-6:30 - Target (loved it)
6:30am- Walmart (again to look for DS lite)
7am - Home

I never shopped like that on a Black Friday. It was so much fun being with the girls and shopping til we dropped. I came home and slept til 1pm. My dad called me and asked who I went with and for how long. So cute. I then went and did some more shopping with my hubby from 3pm-7pm. We ended the night at California Pizza Kitchen and then I came home and knocked out til 9:30 am this morning. I am totally shopped out and grateful that my Christmas shopping is DONE!! Thank you Klarah and Anna for hanging in there while I dragged you all over SLC. Love ya and Black Friday!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I have started a new tradition with my family. We will give gifts of thanks to all our/their teachers and friends at Thanksgiving and during Christmas we will give gifts of love to our family. This way I am not so overwhelmed with giving so many people gifts. I can break it up in two months and feel the love throughout the holiday season.
So last night we delivered our gifts. Everyone was so touched and surprised at receiving gifts of thanks, that it gave us all a warm feeling of happiness and satisfaction that our tradition is appreciated. I was grateful to have my children part of this process in buying, wrapping, making cards of thanks, and giving. I feel that it has taught them to love and appreciate their teachers and friends.
I am truly grateful for all the trials and tribulations that 2010 has brought to my life. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be so grateful to be where I am right now. I am so thankful to all the people who I have crossed paths with and for their examples that they have bestowed upon me. I am thankful for my calling and for the great presidency that I work with. They are such an inspiration to me. I have learned something great from each and every one of them. I am grateful to be an instrument to God in working with 30 beautiful young women. They try me at times, but I have learned to love and know each one of them individually. I am most grateful for my children and my husband. They are my life! They are what has kept me going and continue to make me want to strive to be a mother/wife of Zion. I love my family, friends and the wonderful religion that I have been blessed to be raised in.
Happy Thanksgiving!! Now eat, drink plenty or water and get ready for Black Friday...LOL! Love you all!

We are the Champions, We are the Champions...

Today was my sons East little league's CHAMPIONSHIP banquet! My son plays for East and my husband coached their defense. I was a little reluctant to even have my son play this year, because last year East was totally unorganized. But you know my hubby is a die hard football fan, so he won. Well it was such a fun year! My son ran the ball and made touchdowns, tackled people so hard, I wondered if he himself wasn't hurt and made some lasting friendships with his teammates. Junior is the only boy in our family. So you'd understand why he loved going to football and hanging out with the boys for 4 hours a day! He didn't know what to do with himself last week, because football was over...LOL! But his Gremlin team won their CHAMPIONSHIP and it was the most AWESOME game ever. It was one of those can't sit down want to jump in the game and play type of games for me...hahaha. I know crazy huh! My voice was gone at the end of that game and I had a huge rush of energy when they WON!
I am so proud of my husband for being there for my son as well as his team throughout the season. He only missed one game, our anniversary weekend, which was a huge sacrifice for him. Solomon took his coaching "job" very seriously and hated when anyone would score on his defense. Even when East won, if someone scored on his defense that was all he could think about til the next game. My brother Lame said to him, "Dang boy, your defense only allowed 58 points TOTAL for the season. That's a lil over one touchdown a game." Sol was all proud, grinning from ear to ear! They played 11 games, lost 1 game and shut out 5 teams. I would have to say CONGRATULATIONS to my defense coach....hahaha!
Today at the banquet which was held at Rocky Mountain Pizza, they had the championship game playing while we were eating and then after the award ceremony, we watched a slide show. My daughter Jasmine turned and said to me, "I'm gonna miss football season." Awww, we had such a good year and I hope this team stays together for many years to come! "WHO ARE, WHO ARE, WHO ARE WE?? WE ARE, WE ARE, WE ARE EAST!