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I'm one of the blessed ones. I seriously have the best Momma. EVER. When God picked her for me, He knew what he was doing (if she saw the picture I posted above - on the ski lift at Tamarack in fall, sans makeup - she would shoot me =).
Over Labor Day weekend, Craig and I decided we needed to do some camping. Well, city-style camping. Okay, we wanted to hit up SNIAGRAB in the morning, the annual Labor Day event held at the Sports Authority. We knew we would have to camp out in the Sports Authority parking lot overnight. Ahhhh, urban camping. Gotta love it.
At 8 am on Saturday morning, the Sports Authority SNIAGRAB people hand out $100 gift cards to the first twenty-five people in line. The second twenty-five people in line get a $50 gift card, and the last fifty people in line get $25 gift card. In addition to the gift cards, two of them are secretly $500. WOW! Once you get your gift card, you are able to get into SNIAGRAB and buy all sorts of winter must-haves in Idaho: skis, snowboards, boots, bindings, goggles, hats, winter coats, gloves, poles, snow pants, ski pants, ect. Craig and I decided it was our year to get new winter coats. All marked half-off, and with our guaranteed combined $200 gift cards, we knew it was going to be AWESOME.
Only one small, tiny problem: SNIAGRAB is VERY popular in Boise. People show up early Friday morning, almost 24 hours before the doors open, just to get a spot in line. People bring tents, air mattresses, tarps, camping chairs, and all sorts of warm clothes - completely prepared to spend the night camping out -- literally -- in line. Craig had class on Friday. I had to work on Friday. There was no way we could be in line any earlier than 4 pm on Friday afternoon. By 4 pm we would definitely be at the back of the line.
My Mom is always up for a bargain. She is absolutely into freebies. Heck, she was at the mall at 1 am the day after Thanksgiving this past year for the free stuff and amazing deals. I knew if there was one person in the world who wouldn't mind sitting outside, all day, in the heat and sun, holding her children's place in line for a great deal, it was my Momma.
I called her on my way to work. I told her (quickly) about SNIAGRAB. I assured her that I would bring her lunch (my office isn't far from the SNIAGRAB location) and take her place at 4 pm. Within minutes she packed up a sleeping bag, a book, and a water bottle, and she headed down to sit in line. She called me at my office thirty minutes later to tell me that she was FIRST in line! At 8 am! I was SO proud of her.
When I visited her at lunch, the line was already fifteen people deep. My Mom did not have a chair (she only brought a sleeping bag for padding), so the General Manager at the Sports Authority took pity on her and brought her a folding chair (such a nice man). She did not have sunglasses. She did not have a hat. She was not wearing sunscreen. I thought my Mom looked just like a skinny tomato in a tank top. There she was, sitting in front of a HUGE white tent on a sleeping bag, reading her book. She looked completely zen and happy, despite being completely sun burnt and possibly dehydrated. I ran quickly and picked up some helpful items: food for lunch, sunscreen, two camping chairs, sunglasses, and the biggest water bottle I could find.
Our boss ended up closing our office early, so I was able to join her at 2 pm. I called her on my way out of my office, and she started rambling off a list of things for me to bring: the tarps in her garage, the three air mattresses, snack food in the pantry, sheets, sweats....and in the middle of her list it became clear to me: she was planning on staying the night with us. I stopped and asked her, "Mom, are you going to stay?"
She happily said, "Well, I've been here for six hours already. When you get here, I'll go home and spend some time with Aunt Ethel Mae. Then I'll be back around midnight to sleep with you guys. I think I would like a $100 gift card too." I decided that my Mom was absolutely a baller. She was also the oldest person in line -- by AT LEAST forty years.
She was true to her word. When I brought all of the items on my Mom's list, we set up a beautiful squatters camp (until Craig arrived to fine-tune our living quarters). We chatted for an hour, and then my Mom went home for a little while. Craig arrived, and I told him what my Mom had done all day for us. I also mentioned she would be sleeping out all night with us. Even better? She didn't have much use for the gift card, so she was giving it to us to go towards our winter coats. Because of my Mom, we were guaranteed $300 towards our new, winter coats. Craig summed it up best when he said, "Wow. She's definitely the best Mom ever." I couldn't agree more.
My Mom returned and spent the night with us in our makeshift tent. In the morning, we each ended up with a $100 gift card. Chelsea also came in the morning and got a $25 gift card. Because of my Mom's patience, age, grace, and positive attitude, the Sports Authority gave her a bonus $50 gift card. Craig ended up with a beautiful, bright yellow Columbia coat. I became the proud owner of a red North Face coat. Craig also got amazingly sleek North Face gloves. Chelsea found a gorgeous Columbia jacket as well. As we loaded everything into our car, my Mom's last words were, "Wow, I can't wait until next year!"
Over Labor Day weekend, Craig and I decided we needed to do some camping. Well, city-style camping. Okay, we wanted to hit up SNIAGRAB in the morning, the annual Labor Day event held at the Sports Authority. We knew we would have to camp out in the Sports Authority parking lot overnight. Ahhhh, urban camping. Gotta love it.
At 8 am on Saturday morning, the Sports Authority SNIAGRAB people hand out $100 gift cards to the first twenty-five people in line. The second twenty-five people in line get a $50 gift card, and the last fifty people in line get $25 gift card. In addition to the gift cards, two of them are secretly $500. WOW! Once you get your gift card, you are able to get into SNIAGRAB and buy all sorts of winter must-haves in Idaho: skis, snowboards, boots, bindings, goggles, hats, winter coats, gloves, poles, snow pants, ski pants, ect. Craig and I decided it was our year to get new winter coats. All marked half-off, and with our guaranteed combined $200 gift cards, we knew it was going to be AWESOME.
Only one small, tiny problem: SNIAGRAB is VERY popular in Boise. People show up early Friday morning, almost 24 hours before the doors open, just to get a spot in line. People bring tents, air mattresses, tarps, camping chairs, and all sorts of warm clothes - completely prepared to spend the night camping out -- literally -- in line. Craig had class on Friday. I had to work on Friday. There was no way we could be in line any earlier than 4 pm on Friday afternoon. By 4 pm we would definitely be at the back of the line.
My Mom is always up for a bargain. She is absolutely into freebies. Heck, she was at the mall at 1 am the day after Thanksgiving this past year for the free stuff and amazing deals. I knew if there was one person in the world who wouldn't mind sitting outside, all day, in the heat and sun, holding her children's place in line for a great deal, it was my Momma.
I called her on my way to work. I told her (quickly) about SNIAGRAB. I assured her that I would bring her lunch (my office isn't far from the SNIAGRAB location) and take her place at 4 pm. Within minutes she packed up a sleeping bag, a book, and a water bottle, and she headed down to sit in line. She called me at my office thirty minutes later to tell me that she was FIRST in line! At 8 am! I was SO proud of her.
When I visited her at lunch, the line was already fifteen people deep. My Mom did not have a chair (she only brought a sleeping bag for padding), so the General Manager at the Sports Authority took pity on her and brought her a folding chair (such a nice man). She did not have sunglasses. She did not have a hat. She was not wearing sunscreen. I thought my Mom looked just like a skinny tomato in a tank top. There she was, sitting in front of a HUGE white tent on a sleeping bag, reading her book. She looked completely zen and happy, despite being completely sun burnt and possibly dehydrated. I ran quickly and picked up some helpful items: food for lunch, sunscreen, two camping chairs, sunglasses, and the biggest water bottle I could find.
Our boss ended up closing our office early, so I was able to join her at 2 pm. I called her on my way out of my office, and she started rambling off a list of things for me to bring: the tarps in her garage, the three air mattresses, snack food in the pantry, sheets, sweats....and in the middle of her list it became clear to me: she was planning on staying the night with us. I stopped and asked her, "Mom, are you going to stay?"
She happily said, "Well, I've been here for six hours already. When you get here, I'll go home and spend some time with Aunt Ethel Mae. Then I'll be back around midnight to sleep with you guys. I think I would like a $100 gift card too." I decided that my Mom was absolutely a baller. She was also the oldest person in line -- by AT LEAST forty years.
She was true to her word. When I brought all of the items on my Mom's list, we set up a beautiful squatters camp (until Craig arrived to fine-tune our living quarters). We chatted for an hour, and then my Mom went home for a little while. Craig arrived, and I told him what my Mom had done all day for us. I also mentioned she would be sleeping out all night with us. Even better? She didn't have much use for the gift card, so she was giving it to us to go towards our winter coats. Because of my Mom, we were guaranteed $300 towards our new, winter coats. Craig summed it up best when he said, "Wow. She's definitely the best Mom ever." I couldn't agree more.
My Mom returned and spent the night with us in our makeshift tent. In the morning, we each ended up with a $100 gift card. Chelsea also came in the morning and got a $25 gift card. Because of my Mom's patience, age, grace, and positive attitude, the Sports Authority gave her a bonus $50 gift card. Craig ended up with a beautiful, bright yellow Columbia coat. I became the proud owner of a red North Face coat. Craig also got amazingly sleek North Face gloves. Chelsea found a gorgeous Columbia jacket as well. As we loaded everything into our car, my Mom's last words were, "Wow, I can't wait until next year!"
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