2012.12.29 Birthday Shopping Honkey Donkey

 

The first words out of Miles’ mouth this morning were “I read yesterday’s blog.  You left out the most important part.”  It turns out that last night while eating at the Saltgrass Steakhouse, Miles polished off his own 16oz ribeye and then helped me finish mine.  The fact that Miles and KK both finished their steaks, while Scott and I did not, led Miles to state that “masculinity has skipped a generation in our family.”  Ouch!

Today, Mallory turns 13!  There was some talk about us being at the Allen Premium Outlet when it opened at 9am, but Stephanie and I did not wake up until 10am.  Oops.  Love you anyway, Mallory!

Our first stop today was Starbucks.  There is nothing like starting your life as a teenager with an iced coffee with two pumps of caramel.

The Birthday Girl and Uncle Scott celebrate at Starbucks.

 

Finally, sometime after Noon, we arrived at the Outlet Mall.  There is probably no gift that we could give our new teenager that would be better than a day of shopping.

We were not at the mall for 15 minutes before Stephanie ran into an old friend from college, Susan Sargent.  In 1991, when Oklahoma State went 0-10-1, Susan was living in Iowa and we attended the tie game at Iowa State with her.

Our party of 8 immediately split up into four shopping sub-groups to more efficiently locate all of the bargains.  Miles was the most efficient sub-group, as he was a lone wolf in search of t-shirts and athletic shorts.  Scott and I were another sub-group and we made good time by skipping every store that only sold women’s clothes. (You can skip quite a few stores if you follow those guidelines.)

Stephanie and the Birthday Girl shopped together, and then Marissa teamed up with KK and PK.  (These two groups visited LOTS of stores that sold women’s clothes!)

In just a matter of a few hours, Miles had completed a full circuit of the entire outlet mall.  That is called “King Man Power Shopping”.  I was very proud of him.  The downside for Miles is that we did not leave the outlet mall for another six hours.

Miles joined Scott and I for shopping, and kept me entertained at the GAP.  Every time a shopper left the store and set off the security alarm (which seemed routine), Miles would yell out “Deal Alert!  Deal Alert!”.

By 3:00, we were ready for lunch, and the Birthday Girl chose In-N-Out Burger.  It was very tasty, and very crowded.  Which describes every visit I have ever had to In-N-Out.  I asked Miles if In-N-Out would be a good choice for lunch, and he said it would not only hit the spot, it would smash the spot.  Strong words.

Mallory celebrates at In-N-Out Burger.

 

After lunch, we visited a nearby store named Home Goods, that was recommended by my cousin.  Home Goods has everything from clothes, pillows, kitchen gear, to a giant magnifying glass attached to fake animal horn.  This last item was a family favorite.  It was only $35, and to be honest, we should have all chipped in to get it.

Scott and Miles test out the Magnifying Glass with Fake Animal Horn.

 

It was back to the Outlet Mall where we killed another 3 to 4 hours.  By the time we were through, we were often the only customers in each store we went in.

For dinner, Mallory wanted Chinese food, so Scott located a Pei Wei Asian Diner not far from our vacation home.  I tell you what, the things that guy can do with an iPhone is a long list.  Nobody left Pei Wei hungry, and we were even happy with our fortune cookies.

Waiting for our food at Pei Wei.

 

Marissa stuffs her face with noodles.

 

Miles wearing Steve’s new scarf after dinner. Stylish!

 

On our way drive back to the house, the kids were having fun with our two-way walkie talkies we use to communicate between vehicles.  Yesterday, the name of KK’s white truck somehow acquired the code name of “white donkey”.  Tonight, Miles morphed that into “Honkey Donkey”.  Well done, Miles.

When we got home, we were greeted by my Uncle Joe and Aunt Judy.  They made it to Dallas this afternoon and got settled at the house.  Joe celebrated his birthday yesterday, and they arrived in Dallas in time to help us celebrate Mallory’s today.

We had cake and ice cream, and then Mallory laid out all of the clothes she had purchased the past two days.  She has had a good run!

Mallory blows out her birthday candles.

 

Lively birthday discussion.

 

Mallory’s Birthday Haul.

 

After dessert, the kids (and Scott) got some exercise by playing ping pong in the game room.  Marissa in particular enjoys jumping on the mini-trampoline and then holding serve.

Marissa and Miles playing ping pong.

 

Mallory and Miles playing ping pong.

 

Tomorrow will be somewhat of a letdown because it will not be anybody’s birthday.  But we will get a chance to see more family, and yes, there will be more (Scandinavian) shopping.  Can you say, “Deal Alert!”?

2 thoughts on “2012.12.29 Birthday Shopping Honkey Donkey

  1. Cousin Beth

    Looks like a great start to Mallory’s teenage years. That cousin you were talking about sure has great taste! I have PK’s coffee mug that she left here at Christmas. Let me know if you want to meet up.

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