Black Friday with My Gal

Tay and I planned to get up at 5am to head to the stores. I guess we were super excited because we ended up awake at 3am giggling, making Dad mad. We tried to go back to sleep but couldn't so we just got up. I had an espresso and we pulled ourselves together enough to go out into public..lol. Turns out, nothing was open except for Kohls. Taylor found some fun little trinkets but that was all. We were really hoping Chic-fil-a would be open so we could get our early morning fuel but it wasn't...as we headed to walmart, I noticed STARBUCKS had JUST opened their drive thru...I typically do not give Starbucks my business, but coffee could not be passed up! We went all through Walmart and didn't see any big deals that we had to have. We ran by the house to drop stuff off and take a potty break quietly then finally got our Chic-fil-a breakfast, ate in the Target parking lot before strolling through there. Then we hit Michaels for some much needed craft stuff then back to the house to unload..lol! I'm exhausted just rehashing this morning!

 

We ended up picking up Dad and going to a furniture store to see if there was any living room furniture that was on sale. We found the same set we like before but still didn't purchase because there is a long wait on delivery. We grabbed Culver's for lunch then went to Farm & Home for a great sale item for my sister for Christmas. They were sold out so I was bummed. Oh well, it was a great day of shopping! Happy Black Friday!

 

January happenings

Blake turned 16, Taylor got braces on the bottom, and there have been a couple snow days so far! The kids love the snow days, even though they haven't played outside like they used to. The dogs enjoy them getting to stay home from school, so Millie isn't crated as much, so there's that. PLUS, little Millie started training at Petsmart, she is such a smart girl!

Billy found out the the Nashville Songwriters Association had a St. Louis chapter and that they hold local events. There was an open mic night for NSAI members at a small coffee shop called Picasso's on Main. Billy couldn't wait to join in! The only stress was choosing which 3 or 4 songs to play. Mike, Mandy and Max decided to go so I went along with them. That way, Billy could focus on networking and deciding on songs and I could have some friends to hang with. I am glad I went, it was fun and Billy did awesome! He played,  Livin' in a John Prine song, One way road, The Stranger, and Drinking Scotch Whiskey. He got to network before he makes his trip to Nashville in March!

A December to Remember

Taylor had her first band concert and she did amazing! She is our little clarinet player and we couldn't be more proud of her. Blake came along to support her band career and it made her a little nervous that "the pro" would be judging her. He assured her that she has to start somewhere and he kinda coached her...love that. Evie got to join us and she did amazing at her percussion parts too! They played........It was a great concert followed by a treat at McDonald's with Max and Mandy.

December days filled with puppies playing, fighting, cuddling on the couch, watching Christmas movies and overall, just being cute.

ONE time of getting to go with Billy & Milo...she
is ready and waiting with her collar! lol!

Finally, peel the fridge day! lol!

Blake also had his holiday band concert and it was wonderful too! The jazz band played a rendition of Sesame Street, while much of the other songs were fold/holiday songs from around the globe. They were long, very intricate pieces...we have a very talented group of band kids here!

Blake will do just about anything if it has to do with band...even bake and shop for the annual band Christmas party potluck and secret Santa gift exchange! We took some time that afternoon, to bake our famous crispy sugar cookies and wrap the gift he found for Wren. She loves the color yellow, cocoa, peppermint and blankets. We found a way to envelope them all into one cool gift...a no-sew yellow floral blanket kit, a chalkboard mug with Starbucks cocoa and a peppermint spoon to boot! Score! And when he came home from the party, he said she really loved her gift, I am so happy! He got a Starbucks gift card and a Spiderman plush...he was really happy too. It's really awesome that Mr. A plans all these cool events to do with the kids. He really loves his job and it shines through. Love this second family Blake has become a part of.

Me and my girls got to do our Christmas thing too...I sure love these ladies. These are the friends that love you for who you are. There are few and far between and I am blessed to have them as my friends and neighbors! LaShana is pointing to the table let because, before I got there, the table was wobbly and she KNEW it would bother me so she asked for extra napkins so I could put it under the leg to stabilize it! lol!

My work Christmas party was at Top Notch Axe Throwing! Shane made sure to feed us well with bbq and special cake. It was a fun time! He is very generous, we all got Christmas bonuses and gifts from the sales people...everyone is so great to work with. Go J&S Tool!!