We survived!

Not only did we survive. We came out unbeaten, unbruised and triumphant!

The alarm went off at 3AM.

I tried to get the ladies to just fore go sleep, keep playing games and head out to Kohls when it opened at 3AM. I had perks: "You won't have to get up and do your hair...If you don't go to bed, it won't get messed up." But I still couldn't convince them, so we went to bed...for a few hours anyway!

The Little Lady went with us and I am not exaggerating one bit...complete shopping rock star!!! Ate a bottle at 3AM, was back asleep before we even pulled out of the driveway and slept solid 'til nearly 9AM! When she woke up, happy as a lark for the rest of the day!



Our first stop was Best Buy. Line wrapped around the store, but I was on a mission. My Mom and Grandma stayed in the Suburban with the Little Lady, while I went and braved the line. This crowd was a little different than the Black Friday crowd I usually find myself with. We usually hit up Kohls first: moms after Christmas presents for their kids, husbands after mixers for their wives...a pretty boring crowd really. Best Buy crowd: I felt as if I was outside a concert venue where groupies had been tailgating all day...camp chairs, energy drink cans littering the sidewalks, coffee spilled all over. The crowd after the biggest TV and latest gaming craze is a little different (and maybe a little more exciting) than your stay-at-home moms at Kohls.

I make it to the door, after not too long of a wait, where I am greeted by not only several security officers, but a Colorado Springs policeman. I mean this guy was ready to shoot you if you got out of line. Well, got unruly, I mean if you want to get out of the line after you've been standing in subfreezing temperatures waiting for the doors to open, that's your beef.

Made it back to the cameras, stood in a painless line and within 20 minutes I was the proud new owner of a Nikon D3000, two lenses, a bag, a tripod and a memory card...for drum roll please...a savings of $275 bucks! You'd get up at 3AM for $275 bucks wouldn't you!

After Best Buy, we hit Target, Mardels and Old Navy.


Breakfast break at Panera. This is part of our tradition. There we met up with my Grandpa who had hit Big R that morning for the best deals on things like coveralls and my Uncle who had snagged two TVs at Wal-Mart.

Don't judge my hair. At 3AM I thought it looked quite nice.


We then headed to Joanne's, Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Boot Barn and Dollar Tree (no things were not on sale for 50 cents!).
Olive Garden for a lunch break.
JC Penney's, Home Depot (again) and Target (again)!

On the road, headed home at 3PM.

John Wayne is busy wrapping presents as we speak.
Yep, John Wayne is an amazing present wrapper!