Today we got together and went ...

Luckily, we are both on board with making "strategic strikes" as Caleb calls them. We went to 11 stores total in just 5 hours... I thought it was impressive anyways. Thanks to our loving friends and family, we had plenty of money to work with from Christmas. Here's what we bought today:

• Flashlights (3) - One water submersible LED, one small LED, and one mag light 
• SmartWool socks (6 pairs) - heavy and extra heavy cushion
• Ski pants for me - 50% off
• Long underwear
• Tinted face moisturizer with SPF - will most likely serve as makeup for me
• Nalgen water bottles (2)
• Metal thermoses (2) 

We hit Mountain High Outfitters, Alabama Outdoors, Bass Pro Shop, Dick's Sporting Goods, Macy's, Sears, BareMinerals, and the dreaded, but surprisingly useful,WalMart. If you detail hounds are counting, there were two Mountain High's, Alabama Outdoors, and WalMarts. 

This is only the beginning. We have only scratched the surface in the shopping list, but it's a good start. There is more research to do on things like luggage and electronic adapters, and we're waiting until we are finished with work to worry about clothing.

It feels like the list is getting longer the more we talk about it, but these initial purchases make the upcoming trip seem real. Our staging date is exactly two months from today. The excitement, anticipation, and anxiety are slowly making a debut, but we still have much to do before departure.

~Sally