Turkey and Black Friday

We spent Thanksgiving with my extended family out in West Texas this year.  The drive was LONG, but it was worth it to get to see everyone!  Lindsay loved getting to play with everyone, and she even came THISCLOSE to crawling in Memaw's living room!

Our Turkey Day outfit - another Pinterest project!

Almost crawling.... 

So close!

Lindsay and Memaw (my grandma)

So on this side of our family, Thanksgiving is about 3 things...

1.  Memaw and getting to spend time at her house

2.  Football (Cowboys in the afternoon, Aggies/Longhorns at night)

3.  Black Friday shopping

A lot of people say they go shopping on Black Friday.  But my family doesn't just "go shopping".  They LIVE for Black Friday.  We've done it all - shopped the midnight sales and turned around to get in line for the 5 AM sale, had strategy sessions to assign who was waiting in line for what deal at which store,  and carried walkie-talkies to coordinate positions.  We have been interviewed on the news and ended up in pictures in the paper (not for anything bad or rowdy, just good shopping fun!).  This year was special, though... it was our first time to make matching shirts!

The front said "Up All Night".  On the back, we all had shopping nicknames, football jersey style.

Now I will be the first to admit that out of the family, I am one of the "lamer" ones... I usually hit the midnight sale, but the 5 AM is hit or miss for me.  Sometimes I'll stay in bed and go out with the second wave around 9 AM instead. :)  My mom, aunts, and cousins are MUCH more dedicated to the cause!  Never-the-less, we all decided to brave the 10 PM Wal-Mart sale together this year...

Standing in line for a Nintendo Wii in the juice aisle 

This was the toy section BEFORE the chaos... if you can believe it!   It got MUCH crazier once those black trash bags came off the $5 barbies and $10 DVD's!

It was okay until the sale actually started, then it was absolute madness.  Not fun like it's been in the past, but more of a "I'm-trying-to-get-out-but-I-can't-even-move-because-there-are-so-many-people" feeling.  Then people started getting ugly about the crowds and the lines.  Police were called to break up fights.  I got yelled at at least 3 times for bumping into other people's carts.  Bottom line, this was not the fun time we usually have on Black Friday, and I blame the 10 PM start time.  And the people that brought babies in strollers.

Next year, I think I'll just watch Black Friday from the safety of our living room while I shop online!