Where have I been???

Wow...it's crazy how time flies in the blogging world.  It has almost been 2 weeks since my last post.  The kids and I currently enjoying Big Cedar while Brandon is busy with meetings here.  It is such a beautiful resort with great views and beautiful Christmas decorations.  I will try to take a lot of pictures to share with you when we return.  In the meantime, I will recount a few fun things that we have done over the past few weeks.

Many of you have asked me about my Black Friday experience.  Brandon and I ventured out to Tanger Outlet at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night.  Most of the stores opened at 10 and we wanted a chance at a couple of the free $10 gift cards to the first 250 guests at the guest service office.  We were already armed with $100 in gift cards that we received for $50 by "liking" Tanger Outlets on  Facebook.  Much to our surprise, there wasn't even a line for the gift cards and we both easily received one...kind of easy...the lady carded me because you had to be 18 or older to receive a gift card...that made me feel great!  We also had 2 vouchers for free $10 gift cards through 417 magazine that we were able to redeem.  So we started out with $140 in gift cards for $50 plus all the great sales...not too bad huh?  We were able to find some great deals at Gymboree for the kids and a little bit for ourselves as well.  We hit up several "door buster" sales at various stores around Springfield and were home and in bed by 7 a.m. on Friday. 

The most notable purchase we made on Black Friday was Landry's drum set.  Yes, that means he is potty trained!!!  Let me just say that I couldn't have imagined the process going any smoother.  We were accident free after just 3 days and he seems like such a big boy now.  I don't have my camera cord with me right now, but I will be sure to post pictures of my professional drummer soon.  We gave Landry the drums on a Sunday afternoon at 4 and we had to make him come downstairs at 9 to go to bed.  It amazes me how much rhythm he has and how intense his little face is when he is playing.  I know Brynley's ears are happy that we have an upstairs room to shut our little noisemaker up in!

Brandon was on vacation last week and we enjoyed a "stay-cation."  It is sometimes nice just to sleep in (as long as Landry will allow) and enjoy time spent as a family.  We were able to go to Silver Dollar City on Thursday afternoon and we couldn't have asked for better weather or a less crowded day.  We were able to enjoy a few shows and see all the beautiful lights.  Landry was able to experience his first go-kart ride at Incredible Pizza and Brynley loved the train ride. (Once again, pictures to come).

I will try to not drop off the face of the earth again anytime soon.  Happy Monday everyone!