The tree lighting

Black Friday

After Thanksgiving dinner Kelly and I drove back to Salem to do some black Friday shopping. Boy did we have a blast. We started at Walmart as soon as we got into town at 4:30. After that we headed over to Toys-R-Us. It opened its doors at 10:30 and we got in and out by 10:45.
Nothing else was going to open until 3 or 4 so we decided it would be fun to go get warm and why not watch a movie while we were at it.

After the movie we met up with my friend Melody and her sisters. They were heading over to Kohl's so we decided to go with them and get the things we needed there.
I love Melody and miss having her here in town. However I love that her mom and dad live here so that she comes back every so often and we get to see her and the girls.

We even maid the paper

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201011270324
The ringleader

The streets were dark, the wind was whipping and the faint sound of a saxophone playing a Christmas tune could be heard in the distance.

Huddled in a semicircle outside the Salem Center Macy's at 3:30 a.m. were five sleep-deprived super shoppers waiting for the store to open at 4.

The ringleader, Leanna Thayer, was the Black Friday veteran, and coincidentally, she also was the most chipper of the Salem group.

Thayer coaxed her sister-in-law, Kelly Werner, into joining her on the Black Friday mission.
"She's the whole reason we're here," Werner said, pointing to Thayer.

The two, along with Thayer's friend Melody Thueson and Thueson's two teenage sisters, had been on the prowl for deals for about 10 hours.

They woke up Thanksgiving Day and never went back to sleep, hitting Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Kohl's before Macy's.

Fueled by caffeine and unbeatable bargains, the team was showing signs of slowing down.
"Tired," came the spontaneous response when asked how they were feeling.

But specific items behind Macy's locked doors were enough to keep them in line.

Thayer and Werner had plans to purchase vacuums at half the regular price. They also were in search of jewelry and down comforters.

"It's just so much fun," Thayer said. "It's the experience. Shopping gives you a rush anyway, but shopping when you get great deals gives you even more of a rush."

— Cara Pallone

The Toy Box