You're never too old to learn something...

Jim and I love school holidays as they mean more time with Cade and Kirby. Since they were out of school Monday, they came up Sunday afternoon, spent the night and all day with us. They brought their Wal-Mart gift cards that were burning a hole in their pockets and Jim and I promised them a shopping trip. They started posing the big “When?” question shortly after they woke up Monday morning. I had some things to take care of first and told them it would be after lunch.

After lunch I was taking an important phone call when Cade walked into the room. He held up the following note he had written:

That sweet little note was all it took for me to put everything on the back burner. I hung up the phone, told him and Kirby to get ready and tell Jim we were ready to hit the road.

Jim and Cade made it to the car a few minutes ahead of me and Kirby. No big surprise there! While waiting on us, Jim and Cade got into a discussion as to why it takes women/girls longer to get ready than it does guys. Cade told Jim he knew the answer. “ Women are cold blooded and that’s why they are so slow. Other than that, they just don’t care.” Pretty smart thinking for a nine year old.

After a fun shopping trip we went back to the house and started dinner. Creston and Ashley came up and asked if I wanted to go appliance shopping with them. Creston wasn’t feeling well and he thought I might be of some help negotiating prices. Ashley suggested we walk in separately, and shop as if we didn’t know each other, then compare deals. Since we were short on time, we went for Plan B. Get the best deal on a washer and dryer and then ask if they would get a better deal if they bought a dishwasher.

I felt pretty confident of my shopping strategies until the sales clerk gave Creston her final price. I looked at Marsha and asked if she give them a better deal if they bought a dishwasher. “No, that was as low as they could go.” I took her at her word, but my wise son knew better. He and Ashley picked out a dishwasher. Creston ask for the bottom line price of the three appliances. After reviewing those, he got tough with his negotiating and asked for a lower price. Marsha talked with her boss and came back with a lower price. He still had some tricks up his sleeve and told her he was leaving to go check prices other places. We walked out of the store. At this point I realized that I didn’t get such a good deal on the two appliances I purchased a couple of months ago. I took the first offer, thinking it was the best offer. WRONG!

Creston had the perfect plan, pulled out the big guns and called Jami. She went to work researching prices on the internet. While he ran in to grab some food, he asked me to call her back and see what she had came up with. Jami answered the phone with “Price Line Hot Line!” She found the same washer and dryer for less, but couldn’t find the dishwasher for a lower price. Armed with that information we went back to the store.

When Creston walked in Marsha said, “We were hoping you would come back, we can offer you lower prices. “ Geez!, Couldn’t she have done that before he walked out??? After she gave him the bottom line prices, Creston gave her the prices Jami had found and got $147 more off the washer and dryer. Now that’s smart shopping. And to think Creston thought he needed my help. HA!

While we were shopping Jim, Cade and Kirby watched “Babe: Pig in the City.” In the movie there is a little crippled dog that has a brace on his back two legs with wheels on it, so he can move around. The dog was chasing a bad guy and grabbed a rag hanging out of the door of the truck so he could go faster. All was going well, until the truck turned a corner. The little dog was thrown into the street, landed on his side and appeared to be dead.

All of a sudden Kirby belted out in a hysterical cry and begin squalling. It startled Jim and he thought something had happened to her. (Just like a guy to be clueless as to why a girl is crying while watching a movie.) He asked what was wrong and before she could answer, an annoyed Cade said, “Aw, Jim the dog died.” Jim started to explain the dog wasn’t dead when Babe pushed the dog back up on his wheels and the dog took off. Simultaneously Kirby’s crying stopped. Cade looked at Jim and said, “She does that all the time.”

Jim and I received a little bit of education Monday from the younger generations. I learned that appliance shopping is just about as intense as car shopping. You need to be informed, have a partner in front of a computer, and be prepared to fight for the best deal. (Next time I’m taking Creston and having Jami manning the phones,) Jim learned why women are the last out the door. It's safe to say that he still hasn’t figured out the emotional reactions women/girls have when it comes to movies and he probably never will!