Black Friday 2013

This year, we decided to do the 'busiest shopping day of the year' a little differently. Normally, me and Pop-Pop accompany our daughter and hubby to a mall of their choosing so we can keep the kids distracted and occupied with other things while they begin their Christmas shopping for them. But this time, they asked if we could take the two oldest grands some place else for the day while they shopped, and they would take the youngest grand to the mall with them. We agreed and decided to take the two of them to Cracker Barrel for brunch, and then to the movies to see 'Frozen-3D'. The movie was great and both of them enjoyed it, especially the 3D effects and glasses. By the time the movie ended, our daughter and hubby were back home, so we took them home too.

We had a nice day and to be honest, me and Pop-Pop didn't miss the 'mall madness' at all this year. Even though the movie theater was packed with people too, at least nobody was fighting over the last movie ticket, if you know what I mean. Here are a few pics we took while we were waiting for a table on the infamous Cracker Barrel front porch and inside the restaurant. So, whether you were shopping or working today, we hope you survived 'Black Friday' too!

A Day To Give Thanks...

Here are some pics of my Thanksgiving Day with family. As always, we had a nice time at my mom's house. The dinner was great and we ate until we were stuffed. 2TU Mom, you did it again! Everyone is back home now, preparing for a good night's sleep before we hit the stores tomorrow morning around 10:00am. A definite highlight for my two oldest grands was something totally unexpected and initiated by my mom. Believe it or not, she still has a wind-up Victor Victrola in the basement. It was actually left there by the previous owner when my parents bought the house in 1968 and it still works! So, she pulled out some of her 78rpm records (that's right, 78rpms) and talked them into dancing with her, which she does as a form of exercise. What's amazing to me is, the kids had no idea who they were listening to (Fats Domino), what a 78rpm record is, or what that weird-looking contraption was playing the record. But, they didn't seem to care and they had a good time dancing with her, just the same. And, I know she enjoyed being able to expose her great-grands to a little piece of her past. You go, Mom!

My father passed away in 2002 and I still miss him very much, but I'm grateful and thankful that my mom has been blessed to meet all three of her great-grandchildren. I’m actually trying to get her to 'sit down' and stop preparing this meal every year, but she still wants to do it as long as God gives her the strength to do it, so what can I say. But, she comes to our house on Christmas Day and we prepare that annual meal for everyone. But, above all else, I’m most grateful for my family and the added blessing that everyone is doing okay in these difficult economic times. We’re not rich when it comes to money and it’s a struggle at times, but we have what we need the most, along with the added blessings of relatively good health, life, and strength. I'm also thankful that God has blessed us to be able to spend another Thanksgiving Day together, and no one else is missing from the table. So, from my family to yours, we hope that you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

⏰ Quality Time w/ The Grands

Day 1 - Saturday

Me and the hubby had our grandson and youngest granddaughter over for a sleepover this weekend. We didn't plan an outing this time and just chilled at the house for the day. For one thing, Grammy and Pop-Pop also had a great-but-late dinner and movie date night with the Marriage Ministry of our church Friday evening. But, I'd like to think we made the most of our day indoors with them, just the same. One thing I did plan on doing was introducing them to one of my all-time favorite books from childhood, 'The Mouse & The Motorcycle' by Beverly Clearly. I read that book during my elementary school years until the cover fell off! I didn't know until recently that Beverly did two follow-up books, 'Runaway Ralph' and 'Ralph S. Mouse'. I also didn't know that mini-movies were done for all three books. I found out about all of this a month ago on the internet when I stumbled across a read-along 3-disc DVD set by Scholastic called 'The Ralph Mouse Collection'. I ordered it with much enthusiasm and had it ready for the next time they came to visit. It was big hit with my grandson in particular, because my granddaughter is still too young to appreciate it. And unfortunately, oldest granddaughter missed it because she was having a weekend sleepover with her godmother. But, I'm going to make sure she has an opportunity to see it too. We made some popcorn and enjoyed all 3 discs back-to-back, which also gave me the opportunity to enjoy the two follow-up stories for the first time. 

Day 2 - Sunday

The rest of the sleepover went well too. Me and the hubby got up, cooked breakfast, got everybody ready, and made it out to church. The kids were pretty good during the service so after it was over, we took them to Ruby's Diner in Ardmore, PA for lunch. Since all of their restaurants have trains running along the ceiling, it was the perfect spot to eat. We took them back home when lunch was over, and my oldest granddaughter returned home shortly after them from the sleepover she had with her godmother.

I (Still) Wanna Be A Toys-R-Us Kid!

The World's Greatest Toy Store

Operation one-day Megabus trip to 'Toys-R-Us Times Square' was a success. The hubby and I discovered this TRU that is like no other when we went to NYC back in March to see 'Motown The Musical'. We decided on the spot that we had to go back there before the year was out so the grands could see it. So, that day was yesterday and my daughter went with us too. Here are some of the photos that we took during the day and we had a great time. Do you remember a little 'jingle' from yesteryear that went something like this: 'I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys-R-Us kid?" Well, that's exactly what we all were yesterday, and it felt good! LOL!