Confessions of a Mother of Five...

I have a confession to make. I have an addiction and it's probably time that I get it out of the closet and out in the open. Here it comes:

I love the D.I.!!!
Deseret Industries.

(Wow! I feel so much better getting that out!)

Call it what you may, but it's one of my favorite places to shop. If I need to get away, this is usually the first place that I go. (One time my friend Lisa called and asked if I would go to the DI with her. I was so excited until I found out she was just going to drop off some stuff and not even get out of the car! I mean, honestly. Why would you drive that far and not even go in?!) Anyway, it's like an adventure to me every time I walk through those doors. You just never know what's in store, what you're going to find or what treasures await. (As long as you can get past that first whif of "DI smell" when you first walk in...)

Being the good mother that I am (87.3% of the time) I have passed my love of the DI along to my children. Most all of Emma's Barbies have come from there, and almost every toy that belongs to Cam belonged to some other little boy named Gavin or AJ before it became a hidden treasure hidden on a shelf which we were lucky enough to find. (Thanks for your cars, AJ. And thanks, Gavin, for your dinosaurs.) So while the kids were home for UEA weekend I planned one of our family outings and decided to take them to the new DI. I couldn't help but notice how funny it sounded as I told them (repeatedly...over and over...) "You need to get your jobs done, or we're not going to the DI." And they jumped to it like we were going to Disneyland. I only had to remind them 7 times instead of the usual 12-15 times.

We finally got everything done, so we all packed up in the car and headed off together to check out the Grand Opening. When we got there I was not prepared to for what I saw. The entire parking lot was full. The entire parking lot of the OLD DI was full also, AND people were parking in Sam's Club parking lot and then crossing the street to the newly opened front doors. There were balloons everywhere, parking assistants in the parking lots, and even a clown in the corner tieing balloon animals. The families were streaming in right and left. I was in shock. I felt like a fisherman whose secret fishing spot had just been discovered. Who were all these people and why were they shopping in MY store!?!?!?!! Did they think that they were going to have a huge sale or something? Were they expecting door busters? I simply could not imagine why all these people had suddenly decided to show up this day, aside from the fact that it was the grand opening and all. I was a bit peeved, to say the least. I mean, I shopped the DI before the DI was cool with its new-fancy schmancy building, after all! Doesn't that mean that I should at least get some preferred customer parking or something? (The thought crossed my mind that we should have just gone to Lagoon because it would have been less crowded.)

The mayhem that was inside of the store was something I have not seen since that one time I was CRAZY and got up at 5 AM to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving with my mom and sisters at the local Wal*Mart and hovered over the sewing machines ready to grab one at the stroke of 6 AM or punch anyone who grabbed one before me. And just like then, the lines for checkout went half way to the back of the store and all the registers were beeping just as fast as they could. I really felt like turning around and going home right then. But then I thought of my kids, and how this was their reward for getting their jobs done, and this WAS our family field trip after all. So we braved the crowds, stuck together, and made our way through the store, all the while looking for treasures and trying to keep track of each other at the same time. Now THERE is a fun family field trip!

The conclusion? We made it. And we even managed to find some killer deals, including some snow boots for Em, and this very cool rug for the boys room. Isn't it just the cutest thing ever?! Cam LOVES it and will sit and play for hours. Okay, not really for hours, but for at least 5 minutes straight, which says a lot.

On a side note: Here is my current quest at the DI. Chevron Cars. I love these little dudes about as much as Cam does. I have acquired a dozen or so over the course of the past months, but I am ALWAYS looking for more of them, and consider my trip successful if just happen to find one. (One time Morgan and I found 4 in one trip! It was the best trip ever!!!) So if you happen to see one while you are there, please leave it for me, or better yet, buy it and I'll pay you for it!

p.s. I actually did take the kids to Lagoon a few days after and found that I was wrong. There were WAY more people at Lagoon!!! Holy freaking cow!!!!!