Dart. Taste of Dallas.

It was a weekend of firsts for the Joneses. Since we don't know how long we have left in Dallas we are determined to make the most of it. We plan on "living it up" in Dallas for the next year & experiencing all that the city has to offer. I don't want to look back on this phase of our life with regret & think, "if only."

1. I rode the Dart. I've been hell-bent on avoiding the Dart since we moved to Dallas. It angers me that the city is sinking tons and tons of money into public transportation when it's the highways that need work. As someone who spends 2 hours minimum daily on Dallas's freeways I resent public transportation & vowed to stay away from it at all costs. However, I also have a hard time spending $20 on parking at an event. Sooo Chris got the brilliant idea to take the Dart, which is $2 round trip/person, and save $16.

Ok..... so I kinda loved it. When we were switching lines and breezing through the city I felt like we were in NYC or London, not Dallas.

2. We attended Taste of Dallas at Fair Park. Again; another very cool experience. We make an effort never to eat at the same restaurant twice since there are so many fabulous options. Taste of Dallas is the perfect way to sample lots of Dallas's restaurants in an afternoon. All of the food was under $3 and admission to the venue was only $5.

&&& I love my husband because he's always open to trying new things.

How It All Began. Part 2

We spent the afternoon at the Canyon City Pool, as did most of the kids in our grade. One thing Chris didn't know was that I had a 6'3" 230lb best friend, Tate. He was the closest thing I ever had to a brother. Tate was always looking out for my safety, taking up for me, or getting me out of a mess.

Tate didn't care for Chris. He saw Chris as the cokcy Amarillo High boy who was moving in on his territory. It didn't help that Chris showed up with a paddle. Yes, a paddle. Dazed & Confused was one of Chris's favorite movies; hince the paddle. I'm still not certain why he carried it everywhere with him, but he did.

The Chris v. Tate show down resulting in me calling my mom to come pick us (Me Chris & Blake) up from the pool ASAP. Tate could be pretty intimidating & I knew things would not end well if we stayed.

In the midst of all the drama I realized that I really liked Chris. He was different from all the Canyon boys, which I liked. He was confident, athletic & intriguing.

We shared our first kiss in the back seat of my mom's BMW. Classy, I know. What can I say, we were 14. We talked everyday that summer & somehow managed to meet at the movies a couple times. It was the beginning of something really great.

&&& I love my husband even though he was my best friend's first kiss. Yup, sometime before I entered the picture Chris & Ash went to the movies together.

How it All Began

The other day I was flipping through old photos & reminiscing about mine and Chris's journey as a couple. As I rummaged through these old photos it dawned on me; Chris & I met 10 years ago this summer. It is so crazy to think that the 14 year old boy I met at the SnoBall stop would eventually become my best friend & my husband.

Trying to write our story intimidates me. I fear that I won't do it justice.

So here goes... Here's how "we" became "us" 10 years in the making....

It all started at the SnoBall Stop. We were 14. We were on the brink of our freshman year of high school. We both had close knit groups of friends. Mine consisted of the freshman cheerleaders, while Chris's group was the boys he'd grown up with. The boys spent a significant amount of time roaming aruond Amarillo (by foot) & usually ended up at the Westgate Mall looking for girls. It just so happened that these dashing young gentlemen met my friends Ashlee & Lauren.

One thing lead to another & phone numbers were exchanged. These were actual house phone numbers. We were still in pre cell phone days. A couple days after initial the Westgate Mall meeting Ash & Lauren spent the night at my house. That night the boys called. Somehow I got put on the phone with Chris. We had this uncanny ability to talk for hours on end. We clicked.

We eventually convinced the boys to come to the Canyon City Pool. I wondered if the boys would actually show up. I knew it was 50/50 since they'd have to bum a ride & they were used to getting everywhere by foot.

After a couple failed attempts at directions we decided it would be easiest if they meet us at the SnoBall Stop. To this day I remember seeing Liz's old Jeep pull up to the SnoBall stop.

They actually came.

To be continued.....

Doubles Trouble

Chris & I didn't grow up "lake people." Growing up in the Panhandle, where the lakes are few & far between, didn't permit us to spend endless summer weekends out on a boat. This, along with the pale skinned nature of the Jones family, prevented Chris from going to a lake until his college years. We both recently began wakeboarding & we are still learning the ins and outs of all things lake related. It's all so new & exciting & we are 100% in love with it. When we are at the lake we pop out of bed at the break of daylight & more times than not we are the first boat on the lake. It's addicting.

This weekend was no different. If the boat was out on the lake, we were on it. We were g0-go-go from sun up till sun down. Being out on the boat is one of my favorite places to be. I love cranking up the stereo & watching my loved ones attempt new wakeboarding tricks, or laughing as I see them fly off of the tube. There's something uniquely charming about a big water filled hole in the ground.

On Saturday my mom & I got the brilliant idea to wakeboard doubles. For my mother, the self proclaimed "Queen of the Lake", this was easy. For me, the lake newbie, it was rough. I had no trouble getting up, but the idea of riding right next to someone got inside my head, resulting in a minor Dad/Shan debacle. Dad, the boat driver, claimed it was my fault for being an amateur Me, the amateur, claimed it was my dad's fault for not being able to pull me. We are so the same person.

As I sit in my cubicle today I am somewhat thankful for my day of rest. I don't know if I could have survived another day wakeboarding. My muscles are sore, my skin is burnt & I am draggggiiinnngg... but it was so worth it.

&&& I love my husband because... he & Derek had an unstated, but friendly, competition over wakeboarding.

When it Rains.

I've never liked rain. I hate how it makes the skies all gloomy, ruins my hair, & it makes the bottoms of my jeans soaked leaving me wet and cold the entire day.

I think rain is God's way of telling me, "Shanna, today is going to be tough, so grin and bear it."Welp, it rained all day yesterday (Thank you Hurricane Alex); hince my day of stress.

7:00 AM: Alarm didn't go off.
7:50 AM: Merge onto 183 to find that 1 lane (out of 4) is getting by.
9:00 AM: Arrive to work 30 minutes late with emails up to my eye balls.
12:00 PM: Discovered that I left my lunch at home
1-4 PM: Proceed to have the busiest, most hectic afternoon in ButSchein history
4:00 PM: Surfboard dude calls to cancel our exchange meeting because of the rain.
5:45 PM: Approach downtown to see that traffic is at standstill.
6:45 PM: Pull in our parking garage and realize that I have misplaced my garage door opener
7:00 PM: Walk in our apartment to no cable or Internet
7:15 PM: Cook a yummy taco salad.... then realized we are out of salad dressing
8:00 PM: After an hour on the phone with the ATT technician we find out that all of our DVR'd shows are gone forever & no one can fix the DVR until next Tuesday.
9:00 PM: We realized we can "borrow" our neighbor's Internet, but my computer systems are so messed up I can't sign on any other network.
9:15 PM: My kind hearted husband loaned me his computer, but it didn't have the right software to watch my shows.
9:30 PM: I gave up and went to sleep.

Maybe it's my attitude towards the rain that ruins my day. My mood immediately changes when I look out the window and see it falling.

Rain Rain Go Away...

&&& I love my husband because he spent 1 hour on the phone with the ATT repair man. He knew how important it was that we record SYTYCD tonight!

In other news...

Sooo I guess it's about time for something other than paradise. When we got home from Hawaii we hit the ground running. Our flight landed at 7:05 AM on Sunday & we went back to work at 8:30 AM Monday morning. We left ourselves no time to do laundry, grocery shop, or catch up on sleep. It's. Been. Tough.

The Thursday we got back from Hawaii Mom & Codi came to Dallas. I guess they missed me that much. Since Derek was in town playing baseball I definitely watched more games than I have in my entire life. All the baseball watching reaffirmed that I am not a "baseball girl." Mom and Codi ended up staying through Sunday, which was great, but left us no time to get back in our groove before another work week.

This past Friday, the 25th, I took off work a little early to head to Austin/San Marcos with the lovely Jones women. I look forward to this trip every year, not just for the shopping, but for the opportunity to bond with my sister-in-laws. I feel like each year we grow closer & closer.

So the shopping trip was very successful. We started off Friday night at the Round Rock Outlets. We piddled around for a while & purchased a couple small ticket items, basically killing time before meeting Sarah in Austin. On our way out I spotted the Burberry outlet. I had to go in. One thing lead to another & I left Round Rock with a brand new Burberry bag.

Saturday we went to the outlets in San Marcos. Holy overwhelming. I'd forgotten how many stores there are. When we drove up Ellen said, "It's like Heaven on Earth."

Once we finished shopping Sarah took us to a great Mexican food place in Austin, which just happened to be near a Nordstrom's Rack. Jackpot. After "round 2" of shopping we were ready for dessert, specifically gelato. Ellen & the Joneses love gelato. I like it fine, but I'm not completely sold on the idea of cold pudding-ish ice cream. Never-the-less we went searching for a gelato place. It took us a while to find one that was actually open. First we went to Whole Foods, which usually has gelato, but not in Austin. The second place we tried was shut down. We finally found a neat little place in the Hyde Park area of Austin. It was like a coffee bar with outside seating. Very neat. I was adventurous and had the Mexican Chocolate, which was ok, but not my favorite. It had a weird cinnamon twang to it.

Sunday morning we went to Terryton Methodist Church to meet up with the Adam Joneses. We arrived a little late leaving Ellen worrying about finding a pew to fit all 11 of us. Adam's response was, "I doubt we have a problem finding a seat this morning. You see, during the summer church is optional for Methodists."

&&& I love my husband because he's the reason I have these wonderful Jones family members. They are pretty great.

Until Next Time.& How awesome my grandparents are

We got up bright & early our last day there. We decided to play hard, since it was our last day in Paradise. Codi was also in the mood for a mini photo shoot today, so there's a lot of photos. So after breacky (aka breakfast) we headed straight to the beach.


Grandad's other other girlfriend. He was quite the "Ladys Man" on our trip. He made friends with any/everyone he met. He's such a likeable guy.
& this dude was busy watching the US play, so he missed out on our Saturday morning at the beach.I love how happy my grandad is about life.
& last, but not least, the best nail polish ever. Sold only in ABC stores.
I am so so so thankful to have these 2 as my grandparents. They are such an amazing couple, and serve as an excellent example of what a marriage should be. They are grateful for their time with their kids, grand kids, and most of all each other. They value life more than anyone I've ever met & cherish each day they have. That was the whole reason behind this trip. Nena and grandad wanted "all their chickens in the same basket."

During rush week my junior year of college my grandad got very, very sick. He was in the hospital for 6 weeks & for a while there we were unsure if he would make it. After switching doctors, hospitals, and finding a new medication that actually worked, grandad slowly got better. He still has set backs from his illness (he lost 3 of his fingers & 1 toe, he becomes short of breath very easily, and he can only walk a short distance due to his bad hip), but he always has the best demeanor. I am thankful for everyday that he is in my life.

"Everyday is a good day, some days are just better than others" --my grandad.

&&& I love my husband because he was hell bent on watching the US play soccer in Hawaii. He even drug Dr. Dad to the sports bar to watch with him.