Black Friday Madness

I am not a shopper. Nor am I an super early morning person. In my mind, waking up before 5:30 for anything is just nuts. Because of this I have always avoided the madness of Black Friday. But when I heard there was a need for Sub-for-Santa volunteers at a local store I signed myself up. I knew I would have to wake up at 3:00 in the morning (gasp), but it is such a good cause, and I sincerely believe that everyone deserves Christmas!

So I set my alarm for 3:00 am. I don’t think I have ever done that before. I got up and donned my warmest clothes over some borrowed thermals (thanks Liz!) and skiing socks, and headed off into the darkness and mist (yup, there really was a mist this morning).

The store that I was volunteering at didn’t even open until 5:00. When I arrived at 4:00 the lines were already HUGE. We handed out hot chocolate and told the people in the lines what we would be doing while we waited for the doors to open. When they said they needed two people two take care of the table directly inside of the doors, my hand shot in the air. When else would I have the chance to watch the stampede of Black Friday shoppers from head on? A perfect seat.

I got to go into the store five minutes before it actually opened. You should have seen the looks I got! We settled down at our Sub for Santa table and watched as the employees all joked about who would open the door. The crowd around the doorway got thicker and thicker. A fight almost broke out. Then, the clock chimed 5.

All four doors (both entrances and exits) were instantly filled as people sprinted into the store. I imagine it looked a lot like the Running of the Bulls. I watched with unconcealed amazement. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I had heard stories before about how scary Black Friday can be, but having never experienced it myself I didn’t know quite how serious shoppers are! I was glad to be safely hidden behind my Sub-for-Santa booth.

People had many strategies. Maps were handed out before the store was opened, so they knew exactly what routes they wanted to take. Many groups split up. Other groups planned to avoid aisles completely. It was very impressive.

I spent a while longer in the booth, then outside collecting donations. It turned out to be a lot of fun. It was cool to experience Black Friday for myself, and to see how generous people really are, especially around Christmastime!

I learned something interesting today. They said that they are able to get quite a few donations for babies and children, but it is hard to get people to buy gifts for 12-18 year olds. Just something to keep in mind as we enter into the holiday season.

While it was a very entertaining experience, I doubt that I will ever be a Black Friday shopper!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I love the holidays - and thanksgiving is no exception! I love the chance to get together with family, to sit and talk and play games. I love the traditional foods, and most importantly, I love the chance to remember all that I am thankful for! At the top of my list is my family!

This Thanksgiving was great. We had everybody together for the first time in five years. Between missions and semesters spent abroad, it has been a long time. We had lots of yummy food (including two types of sweet potatoes, HEAVEN!) and a enormous turkey that we will be enjoying for a long, long time! It was a fantastic day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

My week by numbers

This past week has been long, and at times hard, but I have also seen many blessings around me. The viewing and graveside service for my grandpa were really beautiful, and we couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather. It was nice to see family and talk about all of the good times with grandpa.

The rest if my week was full as well. I tried to decide what to write about, and decided to stick it all in. So, I present to you, my week by numbers:

1- adorable sympathy card from 24 adorable first graders (and one great teacher)

2- projects done! (a movie for my social studies class, and a book for my first graders)

3- the number of times I tripped while going up the stairs on Friday (twice at home, once at work)

4- the number of days I DIDN'T have to scrape frost off my car this week!

5- hours spent on one project over two days (a six minute movie). Thanks for the help, Liz! It turned out great!

6- average hours of sleep per night.

7- meals where ham and scalloped potatoes were the main dishes. I am a bit hammed out.

8- comments left on my post about Grandpa. A Kate’s Corner record! Thanks for all of your support everyone!

9- pieces of dental floss I went through while trying to remove the first piece of dental floss that somehow got stuck between two teeth while I was flossing on Wednesday night. It took me half an hour, and my mouth was bleeding and sore by the end. It was the strangest thing ever!

10- number of snowflakes & love notes given to me on Friday (love first graders!)

1923 - 2008

Yesterday my Grandpa died. It was a hard day for us all, as he was such an incredible person whom we all loved so much. My dad is an only child, so my four siblings and I were my grandpa's only grandchildren. Because of this, Grandma and Grandpa have played a huge part in our lives. Summertime’s were spent at their home, Fridays were made for trips to Wendy’s, and each holiday was celebrated with family traditions, either at our house or theirs.

He loved being a grandpa. Perhaps the only thing he loved more was being a great-grandpa (or maybe golf). He had a special place in his heart for his Maddie, and Ivy, his “red-headed one”. They were able to make him smile like no one else could.

I will always picture him sitting in his porch swing, enjoying the nice summer days as he swung back and forth. I will remember him popping his dentures out to get a squeal, always the jokester. But most of all I will remember the love that he shared. I never, ever doubted how much he loved me. I am so grateful that I was blessed with such an incredible Grandpa who influenced my life so much.

Here is part of his obituary:

He was born August 2, 1923, in Ogden, UT. He was raised in Weston and Preston, Idaho, and served in the U.S. Army during WWII. His battalion landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and went on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge. Upon discharge, he moved to Clearfield where he met and married his sweetheart, Norma, on July 3, 1947, whom he was later sealed to in the LDS temple.

He was raised during the depression, which combined with his experiences in WWII, left him with an understanding of the things that are most important. His family, both immediate and extended, was the love of his life.

As hard as it is to have him gone, I am so grateful to have the gospel, and the knowledge of eternal families. I know that I will see him again.

We will miss you!

Through the Eyes of a 1st Grader

I mentioned in an earlier post that I frequently get love letters from my cute little first graders. Often I am given freshly cut snowflakes, or uniquely folded up pieces of paper. And very often I am given pictures drawn of me by my adorable first graders. Generally, the pictures look something like this:

Apparently, the flippy hairstyle is the rage, my hair looks like this in almost every picture. The students are even pretty good about coloring my clothes the right color. However, last week I was given a this picture, it made me laugh:

Notice the pink hair and orange tube top. I promise I don't wear a tube top to school! Or anywhere! But I laughed and laughed. I really do love first graders!

Yesterday one of my students told me that I was still a kid. Another student indignantly said "She is not, she is 18!" To which he replied "She is not! She is, like, 45!" He was totally serious. I can see how teaching can age you prematurely! But they always do leave me smiling!

Family Pictures - 2008 edition

A few weeks ago a budding photographer, Kristin, was kind enough to take family pictures for us. It was actually her first time taking pictures of a large family, but you would never know it! It was quite the circus, trying to get everyone positioned right, looking at the camera, and smiling, but they turned out so good! I LOVE them! Here are a few of my favorites:

The whole gang! (I love Maddie's expression here!)



My baby bro.



Awww . . .So cute!



Madison with Nana and Pop Pop



What is this?!? a portrait of myself I actually like!
Kristen, you are a miracle worker.



I am in love with Ivy's chubby cheeks!

Thanks so much Kristen!

A Week of * BLAH * (literally)

This week really was quite blah. I became the 7th (and hopefully final)* member of my family to catch the flu in a matter of 8 days. It was yucky, I will spare you the details. Lucky for me, I recovered super quickly (I was a amazed!) and was back on my feet in time for some Friday Night Fun! Bethany, Heidi and I went to see a local production of Singing in the Rain (which was AWESOME by the way!) and then to a local diner for some treats.

We met Beth's friend, Cami, there. She sung her order to the waiter. His expression was priceless!

We ordered hot cocoa and cheesecake. Turns out it is an excellent combination.

Bethany had a bit of a struggle with the whipped cream on her cocoa.

* Dad woke up in the middle of the night last night with the flu, bringing the grand total to 8. This little bug is aggressive!

5K Number 5

When I started running at the beginning of the summer my goal was to run five 5K races by the end of the year. Today I ran my fifth! It was a perfect day for a run, though the long sleeved shirt and pants were not a good idea. I finished at 29:01. I was hoping to improve my time more than that, but I haven’t been running as much as I should, so I really can’t complain. I think it was the last race for the year (due to the cold) but I am looking forward to running more next year! I think I may even move up to some 10K’s!