Hoodlum Cousins

So I gave in and decided to take a week off from work. Chris was given the opportunity to work from HKB's Amarillo office for a week. I am a big fat weenie and am scared to stay in Dallas by my lonesome, so I went back too. I was very apprehensive at first, feeling like I was abandoning ship at Butler, however, once we pulled out of DFW I never looked back. It was a great week of relaxation. I spent the week napping, laying by the pool, shopping, and preparing for our annual Hoodlum Lake trip.

The lake was awesome. After 3 full days of skiing, knee boarding, & attempting to wake board I am burnt to a crisp and sore as can be! I am getting too dang old for this. I managed to read 2 books while we were there (LA Candy by Lauren Conrad -- 2 thumbs up--and My Sister's Keeper-- tearrr jerker). This year it was crazy packed at the lake house. I counted heads and at one point there was over 20 people there, and we all spent the night. Ahhh! The more the merrier I guess.

Ollie loves loves loves the lake. You can hardly keep her out of the water while we are there. ESPECIALLY if Chris & I were in the water. If she heard our voices from afar she was determined to swim to the middle of the lake to save us. It turned out that we had to save her. Silly dog.

Chris only got to stay Thursday and Friday nights. He had his "man trip" with his dad and brother here in Dallas.They went to the horse races, Chelsea soccer game, & golfing. I have barely talked to him since I've been home, but I'm sure he had a blast.

Funny story... kinda. My car went in the shop on Wednesday morning to get the AC fixed (it finally is-- Wahoo!) so I had to take Chris into AMA in my mom's car. I accidentally left my phone at my parents' house. Wouldn't you know that the BMW's "never fail" tires failed AGAIN. No phone, no spare tire, and no clue what to do. Soo I panicked and started to walk down VFW in my pajamas. I made it a couple miles before a sweet little grandma picked me up and offered to drive me home. Just. my. luck.

Domesticated? No, but trying!

Since we finally got cable on Saturday (after 6 weeks of waiting) I have been watching the Food Network. Taylor and I watched it all the time in college and I have become very familiar with the usuals like Rachel Ray, Giada, Barefoot Contessa, etc... Anyways, as I was watching Paula Deen with Liz she began to make these amazing cinnamon rolls. They didn't look too difficult, so I thought, "Hey I could totally make those." So I decided to use pre-made dough and substitute a cream cheese icing recipe I found online for her traditional version. They turned out prettttty darn good, if I might say so myself.

Liz and Eric were here this weekend. I just loveee them. Friday we went to Dick's Last Resort and walked around the West End. Then we went to Blue Goose for margaritas. Eric and Liz thought this was cool because it was referenced in Adam's book as the best margaritas in Dallas.

Saturday we lounged by the pool for the afternoon, which was really nice, and then went for sushi that evening. We tried Sushi Axiom by our apartment and it turned out to be really good.

Ok, so this is when our real fun began. Chris and I discovered a long time ago that jumping onto our Love Sack (aka big bean bag) from the coffee table is pretty humorous. Once we showed our guests how fun this can be it was on! It quickly turned into who could get the coolest picture mid-air. Ohhh mindless fun!

A very fun weekend with such a great couple! Success!!

A Fabulous Fourth.

Since Independence Day fell on a Saturday Chris and I were lucky enough to have Friday off from work. Sooo we headed to the Panhandle of family, food, fireworks and fun!

I got to go to lunch w/ Ashpolita on Friday at the Rock N Roll Soda shop, a Canyon staple. I hadn't been there since it was called "The Fountain" so that tells you how long it'd been. After lunch we got our nails painted and caught up. It was great to see her. Friday evening consisted of Tacos Garcias and swimming at the Demeres.

Saturday we had to be in Canyon bright and early for the parade. It was really fun this year. The parade itself was extremely long (we left after 1 hr and 45 minutes and it was still going!) but all the people and the fun little booths were exciting.

That evening we went to the Jones family cabin at the PDC. Love it! There was a very odd mix of people there this year (Me, Chris, David, Ellen, Grandad, Sam, Molly-for a bit, Delaina's son, Delaina's son's girlfriend, Delaina's son's girlfriend's daughter). We got to eat BBQ, play ping pong, enjoy the scenery, and best of all SHOOT OFF FIREWORKS!! Things got pretty crazy this year. Chris almost got hit with a huge firework spark (it got knocked over right before it shot off). One guy did get hit square in the back! His shirt was burned and it looked pretty painful.

Sunday we went to church w/ the Joneses and then to lunch at Jason's Deli. We hung out at my parents' house and swam and cooked out before making the dreaded trip back to Dallas. Liz tried to persuade us to leave at 3 (she was leaving for Dallas for a work conference) but we couldn't bring ourselves to leave THAT early. We had nothing to rush back to... no cable, no Internet--for 6 weeks now-- so we stayed in Canyon until around 6.

Overall a successful weekend.