Oh Christmas Tree.

Since we have company coming into town this weekend I've been determined to get my Christmas tree up ASAP. Chris was dragging his feet saying, "You know it's too early, Shan. Just wait until after Thanksgiving." I assumed he was saying this because he didn't want to dig out the Christmas decor from our patio closet.

To my surprise I came home from work on Monday to a spotless house & our Christmas tree up. I have the best husband.ever.

&&& I love my husband because he is so thoughtful. On top of putting up the Christmas tree he purchased 2 new remotes for us. (since Oxford ate the last 5)

Who loves Halloween?

He does! He does!

So last night on The Office Andy & Kevin were conflicted because they weren't sure whether or not they should attend Dan's Halloween party. Kevin said, "It's not like we get invited to many Halloween parties, so we'd really like to go." (paraphrased version). This got me to thinking.... are we total losers since we don't have Halloween plans?

After lying there thinking about it for a couple minutes I asked my level headed husband to weigh in. He responded with, "Babe, we're in Halloween limbo" Halloween limbo: "too old to dress in slutty costumes & too young for kids to dress up & take trick-or-treating." He obviously didn't think it through before he responded with, "Well since we don't have kids or a house so we can hand out candy.... " You see where this was going. Not.so.much, Jones.

&&& I love my husband because he loves Halloween so much. He is 25 & he still gets SO into it.

Quarter Century Old

I'm officially 25. I round up to 30. I keep hearing how, "You're a quarter century old" & "A quarter of your life is over." I take issue with both of these statements.

1. Any sentence with the word "century" in it sounds like a history book
2. If a quarter of my life is over you're saying I am going to live to be 100, which would be awesome although highly unrealistic.

25 is an intimidating birthday.

As unexciting as it might be, I did end up enjoying my birthday. Chris went to Amarillo Thursday evening for his interview, leaving me to fly in after work on Friday. Even though I spent my birthday at work and in Dallas alone it was ok since I didn't have to make the horrible 6 hour drive from Dallas to Amarillo. I'll take flying any day.

My flight landed just in time for a wonderful supper at the Amarillo Club. That place holds so many memories for me. It's the first place I met Chris's extended family (at Mitch & Lacey's wedding). It's where I got engaged & it's where we held our wedding reception. We enjoyed a delicious 4 course meal & shut the place down. Seriously, we were the last ones in there.

I got the Michele watch I've been crushing on. I have a feeling it will be one of those "every day essentials" for me. I have the best parents a girl could ask for. For.Real.

The in-laws gift didn't' disappoint either. Anything that comes in a little turquoise box is good in my book.

&&& I love my husband because he remembered the Centinneal Stripe makeup bags I had my eye on at Bendels. He got me 2 pieces for my for my birthday. Just when I think he doesn't listen to me ramble he proves me wrong!

Lakin' It.

I couldn't help but giggle when I re-read my previous post. Not only did Chris get up his first try on the wakboard, but he dominated all weekend long. It's amazing how much easier wakeboarding is with an adult wakeboard & an awesome boat.

I don't think I crawled in bed before 2 AM the entire trip, but it is so worth the "lake hangover" I'm having today. I am fairly certain we were the first people on the lake & the last people off every day. It's so new & exciting to us, so we soaked up every single minute of it.

I just love being at the lake. I love having tons of people out there just hanging out and drinking beer. I love having coffee on the back deck with my grandparents. I love watching scary movies after a long day on the lake. I love being the first ones on and the last ones off the lake. I love the isolation of being at the lake; it's like the really world stops when we're there. I love having a sunburn from being outside too long. I love it all.

The weekend was perfection. I left Canyon with a full, happy heart. There is absolutely nothing better than having both our families together. I am so thankful to have parents who want to put their earning toward something we can all enjoy. They are such loving selfless parents and I thank my Lord every day for them.

&&& I love my husband because when he sets his mind to something he will achieve it. Just like wakeboarding. He wanted to learn so he studied hard & prepared himself for it. He is such a hard worker.

Happy Happy Birthday

On Wednesday my hubbie celebrated his 25th birthday. He officially rounds up to 30!! (I have enjoyed rubbing that in since I round down to 20 for the next 6 months). He was really excited about his birthday this year, more so than ever before. Who knew 25 would be such a joyous birthday for him?!?!


We decided to go out to eat at Victor Tangos, a hip restaurant near our apartment. Their menu is the most unique I've ever seen. The have food ranging from "lamb lollipops with a sweet potato glaze" to "chicken and waffles." Good food & 2 bottles of wine made for a great birthday celebration.

I had a bit of a breakdown about the gifts I got for Chris. He does SO good purchasing gifts for me, so I wanted to make this birthday really special for him. I had been making little mental notes on stuff he mentioned liking & I felt really confident about the gifts I had for him. But the night before his birthday I just fell apart. I was so worried he would be disappointed on his birthday & I would be the cause... ***side note: We realize that the joy of celebrating a birthday does not come from gifts. However we made a pact early in our marriage to always make a big fuss over birthdays. We never want to be the old married couple who skimms over birthdays like they are "just another day." We want each other to feel special and appreciated, and for us birthdays are the perfect time to show it. It all worked out & Chris absolutely loved the gifts I got for him. I worried over nothing....

&&& I love my husband because.... we make birthdays a BIG deal in our house.--even Ollie & Oxfords!

Hoppy Easter

This past weekend was Easter weekend, so we headed to Lawton to celebrate with the Kelseys. Chris's Gramma Kelsey's birthday fell on Saturday, so we were able to celebrate with her over lunch while we were there. Kelsey family get togethers are a tad bit overwhelming. Ellen has 6 siblings and Chris has something like 35 first cousins, who now all have kids. At most Kelsey family events 40 people is considered a low turnout. It baffles my mind. My little family is nowhere near the size of Chris's.

It was great to spend Easter with family. We got to see the nephews all dressed up in their Easter bests & Carter even got to participate in the Kelsey great grandkid egg hunt. We even got to eat Chinese buffet for Easter lunch... evidently this is Kelsey tradition.

Since we were only gone for a night & Chris's grandparents live on a farm our two golden children went with us. During the day they were able to run around on the farm & then they spent the night at the Laquinta Lawton with us. We've done this several times before and it usually works out fine. This time we had a major Ollie issue. The girl loves the smell of manure! Since Gramma and Grandpa Kelsey have lots of cows there is no shortage of manure. It took Ollie 20 minutes to discover the poo, cover her whole body in it & come find us to show of her new scent. This would've been ok had we not been staying in a tiny hotel room with her that night. Soooo Chris got his Gramma's water hose and completely drenched our baby girl with hopes that it would rid her of the odor. Nope. Lovely, just lovely.

&&& I love my husband because someday we will have a BIG family of our own. That's one thing we always agree on.

Our 7th Valentines

This was mine and Chris's 7th Valentines Day. Considering we are only 24 years old I think this is pretty rare for couples our age. We did date on and off since we were 13, but we were never "on" on Valentines until our senior year of high school.

Chris is so good at making me feel special on holidays. Over the years I've received "love" gold fish (I wanted love birds, but he knew my parents wouldn't approve), diamond earring, diamond necklace, build a bears, memory cd's, photo montages, and the list goes on. He is GOOD!

I, on the other hand, am not so good. On Valentines day our Junior year of HS Chris invited me to watch him play soccer at Amarillo High. I had every intention of going until my friends decided we should have a "girls night." Girls night trumped the cold, rainy soccer game, soooo I caved and went with the girls to Applebees and a movie. All night I avoided his calls. I was a brat. To top it all off I called him at the end of the night to apologize and ended up leaving him a message that went something like this,


"Hey Chris. It's Shanna. Sorry I couldn't make it to your game. I really wish I could've. I got really caught up with my friends and lost track of time. Maybe next time." This is when I thought I hung up...but I had not... I continued recording on his home answering machine and said "That took all I had to be that nice."

&&& I love my husband because he forgave me for the whole "That took all I had to be that nice" incident (after several months of not speaking).

Merry Christmas from the Family...

We survived!! a 9 hour drive, 4 hours of sleep, & 5 Christmases later we are home free....

We left for our Christmas trip home last Wednesday evening. Little did we know that it would take us a whoppin 9 hours to get back to Amarillo. Once we hit Vernon so did a horrible winter storm. At one point in time Chris was driving 15 miles/hour. The conditions were so bad that we contemplated stopping and getting a hotel in Memphis and waiting for the roads to clear... until we realized Memphis has no hotels. Chris said he has never felt so "unsafe" being on the road.Needless to say we arrived in Canyon at 3:30 AM (we left Dallas at 6). No complaints here... just makin memories!

Christmas was fabulous. I couldn't have asked for a better time with our families. We truly are so blessed. We got to go to Las Brisas for Christmas Eve supper, Christmas Eve service at my parents' church, see Nena and Grandad, play countless hours of Beatles rockband, eat eat eat, & play with my nephews. Perfection! I just love Christmas. I love giving gifts, being with family, and the joy it brings out in everyone. I wish every day could be Christmas.

&&& I love my husband because... when I had a minor panic attack on Christmas Eve he calmed me down, ran last minute errands for me, and never complained once. How did I get so lucky?

Christmas Crazies

This weekend I went out to finish up my Christmas shopping... & I immediately regretted my decision. This time of year brings out the crazies in everyone. Stress levels are high, time is running low, and patients are worn thin, hence the Christmas crazies.

One of my best Christmas crazies stories was from last year:

It was the week before Christmas & Chris & I were just wrapping up some shopping at Northpark. As we walked down the isle in search of my car, I realized that a car was following us. It was super crowded and spots, especially the good ones, were hard to come by... they wanted our spot. So I turned around and pointed to the direction of our car, to ensure they were able to get it.

As we approached our car another SUV drove up behind us and a young SMU girl jumped out. She then went and stood at the hood of my car, waiting for us to back up. I was thinking, what the heck is this chick doing? As we we pulled out she proceeded to stand in the middle of the spot.

About this time the nice little mother/son duo that we promised our spot to pulled up. As they did the girl yelled, "This spot is saved." She stood there & stood there until finally her friend pulled up in the SUV & the mother/son left defeated.

This whole situation spurred a debate between Chrisand I:

Is this ok or not?
Either way, it was entertaining.

Merry Christmas from the Joneses.

&&& I love my husband becase... he knows when to stand up for himself and when to just let it go... something I should learn from.

The Holidays are here again!

Tree up, check.

Gifts purchased, check.

Vacations planned, check.

Radio tuned to Christmas station, check.

Presents wrapped, check.

Christmas cards in the mail, almost check.... workin' on that one.

We are ready for Christmas at the Jones household. It feels great to have all of our gifts purchased by December 8. This year I did the majority of my Christmas shopping online, which has worked out great. This time of year most stores are offering free shipping with a qualifying order, so I took advantage. I will say it was quite embarassing to have a note on our mailbox stating we had 5 packages to be picked up in the apartment office.

My favorite person I've shopped for this year was Beatriz, our 3 year old Angel Tree girl. She wrote on her info card that she loved Dora the Explorer, so I might have gone a little overboard (pj's, houseshoes, 3 toys, a tent... ALL Dora). It was fun buying for a little girl... I NEED A NIECE!!

I went to Canyon last weekend since Chris is in the big middle of finals.

I am in love with this time of year.. it's the best.

&&& I love my husband because he is so dedicated to his studies. 4 exams, 2 weeks, 12 textbooks, 1000 + hours studied. I couldn't do it.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

&&& I love my husband because he helped me put up all our lovely Christmas decorations... and never even complained once!

Inside of this card says,

"You always said you got shit for Christmas"

Is it Christmas yet?

One would think with this 80 degree weather that it was spring time, but no, it's mid-November. Running my air conditioner inside in November is ridiculous! We have an awesome fireplace in our bedroom, which I'm pretty sure will never get use at this rate. HURRY UP Jack Frost... I miss you!

I'm not gonna lie... I am ready for the Holidays. It's true, it is the most wonderful time of the year. I have already scoped out all the Christmas decor at Target and Hobby Lobby & plan on going to Garden Ridge during my lunch break today. For the last 2 weeks I have begged Chris to let me put out our Christmas decorations, but he keeps telling me, "Just wait until after Thanksgiving." He's right & I know better than to decorate before Thanksgiving, but I am so anxious! This is only my second year to get to decorate for the Holidays, so I am pumped.

I'm thinking of adding a twist to my tree this year. I have a large base of gold and red ornaments & want to add some pizzaz to our tree.

Here are my options:
1. leopard accents or

2.LIME GREEN! I am leaning more towards lime green simply because there are more options available.

We shall see....

&&& I love my husband EVEN THOUGH his closet is a wreck 2 weeks after we deep cleaned it...

24 Candles

Dinner @ Glorias on Greenville
Got my new car!

Hubbs :)

& a new keychain for my new car keys

the cube decorated

&&& I love my husband because.... he makes me feel so special on my Brithdays!

O.C.T.O.B.E.R. Halloween is coming near.

• Since my last post:
  Chris didn't get the job at Underwood (still a sore subject, but when God closes a window he opens a door, right?)
• We got another puppy, Oxford.
• We discovered the most fun place EVER, Top Golf
• Taylor is about to become Mrs. Clayton Smith
• I am getting a new car!!!

Ok, so our new puppy, Oxford aka OX, is the fattest, sweetest, orneriest puppy I have ever met... & I am in love. He is such a sweet addition to our little family. He and Ollie get along famously and are already the best of friends.

Taylor gets married this weekend! Taylor gets married this weekend! I had such a blast at her bachelorette party last weekend & am so excited to celebrated her marriage this coming weekend.

Top Golf= Awesome fun. It's like bowling & the driving range mixed together. You're outside, playing golf, buckets of beer & good friends. We went with Wally & his rommate & had a blast.

Chris has been back twice since then.

Ps... I beat the boys :)

My car should arrive between 6&7 tonight. Wahoooo. The X-Box was having some major issues (overheating in cool weather, or in a drive through) & instead of sinking more money into it we decided to just trade it in. Sooo I am the proud owner of a black 2010 SE Pathfinder.

I've decided to add a new portion of my blog entitled, "Why I love my husband." I often times find myself thinking, "& this is why I love my husband." So why not share, right?

&&& I love my husband because he surprises me with dark chocolate & a snuggie after a long night out with the girls :) Here's a photo in case you've never heard of a snuggie (it's a blanket with arm holes :))

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.

Hoppy Easter!

My baby sister is a Canyon High cheerleader... I cannot believe how old she is. For her tryouts this year her friends made "Team Codi" t-shirts and wore them to school the day of. I went back to watch her/visit, since I haven't been back to the Panhandle since Christmas. It was a quick visit, but great to just be at home and relax. It felt like I barely spent any time there during Christmas since we were torn in 8 different directions.

Me and Codi @ tryouts

I felew back to Dallas at 6:30 on Friday morning... just in time to go to work. Boo. Friday night I'm pretty sure I fell asleep at 8. I was tired.

Saturday night was spent catching up with an old friend, Collin. He was in town for Easter, and since his family lives in Southlake we could't go without seeing him.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday. We went to church and then to brunch at Cafe de Brazil... best crepes EVER.

On our way to church I had my first near death experience. It was rainy outside and we were running a little late (big surprise). We were on the highest overpass on 635 when my car hydroplaned. We spun in 2 complete circles as Chris tried to regain control of my car. I was sure we were going over the edge. We must have had angels watching over us, because we ended up without a scratch on either of us or my car. For the first time in my life I was completely speechless....

V: Vegas & Valentines

Last weekend we celebrated our "shaniversary" --as Chris calls it--and went to Vegas! It was a much needed get away for the both of us. We went to see Elton John (ama-zing) and Love (Beatle's Cirque du Solei). Chris had excellent luck at the tables ending up $300 ahead at the end of the weekend.

The trip was definitely enjoyable. Good food (Sushi Samba and Boa), good shopping, and good company.

Saturday was Valentines. Friday traffic was unbearable... seriously took 1 1/2 to make it my 19 miles home. I got home to a bottle of wine, dark chocolate, and a card with money for the sandals I've been eyeing. I am so lucky.

Saturday afternoon we saw Confessions of a Shopaholic, He's Just not that Into You, and Taken. All good.

Hello January!

It's mid January. Weird.

Where did Winter go?

Things in the Jones house are back to normal. My work schedule is back to the normal and Chris started back to school last Tuesday. It's been tough having to get up and go to work while he got to enjoy his break... no fair!

Nothing exciting going on in our little fam.

Here's some Christmas pictures to enjoy!

Turkey Day!!

Turkey Day came and went.....

I had to work Wednesday & Friday so the Demeres/Hoods ventured to Dallas! I am so thankful for family that will go to extreme measures to spend the Holidays together.

Mom & Co arrived Tuesday night with Nena & Grandad and my dad arriving Wednesday. Low & behold I got to leave work 2 hours early, which was an awesome surprise! Just beating traffic is enough to make my day.

Their time spent here was dominated by good food and shopping, 2 of my favorite things.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for many things, but here are my top 5:

1. a family full of unconitional love. From my husband to my parents to my in-laws to my extended family I never for a second doubt their love.

2. friends... the good kind that aren't fair weather friends, but the ones who will always be there.

3. the new opportunities God has given Chris & I. If this time a year ago you had told me this is how things would work I wouldn't have believed you.

4. happiness. cheesy, I know. But I have so many things to be happy about.

5. CHRISTMAS TIME. It just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.