3 Things I know for sure....

George Strait just gets better with age!

Purrrrr. My goodness, he just never gets old!! Mama was so nice to take me to see George Strait this past weekend in Cedar Park, a suburb of Austin. It was in intimate setting (well, compared to the 100,000+ seat Cowboys stadium) and the evening was wonderful! They showed pictures of George from his younger years - real pictures. With his wife, his rodeo days, pictures you just don't see of him and it made us feel like we knew him. A great peak into the life of a very private man. On a more important note, I have nothing against George's eyes, but how does he make that "hiding under his cowboy hat" thing look so handsome?! Mama and I had a great time!! He usually plays "This is where the cowboy rides away" as his last song - so perfect. My other fave, Amarillo by Morning. Just never gets old.

Mama was right - vodka/red bull really is the devil

True story.

Leaving your babies with friends is way better than boarding them
The thing I love most about leaving Brinkley and Shelby with friends (besides knowing they are being taken care of, picking them up when we get home, etc.) is the recap we get when we get back! It's like our friends get how important it is to us to know how they did, what they did, that they were happy & played, etc. Brinkley stayed with Deran, Sarah and their dog Gracey and Shelby went with Ashley, a friend from work. We loved hearing the stories from Sarah and Ashley - it sounds like they had a way better time than they ever could have at the kennel. :-) Thanks guys!

Texas Fight

As most of you know, burnt orange blood runs through my family and it doesn't stop there. Our 4-legged family members are no exception! Shelby and my nephew Walter were VERY excited [sarcasm]about the big game [more sarcasm] against UTEP!

Michael Jackson

This post is not about the King of Pop's death although I'm sure I will feel guilty 10 years from now looking back on my blog to see what I found noteworthy...hehe....

I have lots to blog about since we got back from Austin a few hours ago but this is priority. Mainly b/c it is the funniest thing I have ever heard from my mom. Andrea, my mom and I enjoyed some Hey Cupcake! (are you seeing a theme here) while we were in Austin shopping yesterday. They have 8 flavors. One of which is the Michael Jackson. It's a chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting. I know, I know, it's tacky. Hilariously tacky!! We laughed and laughed and once we got over that, we bought all 8 cupcakes and headed back to Andrea's house. By the time we met Beau and our dad for dinner, we forgot about this funny little cupcake and merely told them we had treats back at the house. I can't even recall what my dad said to my mom at the end of the meal - probably something about going out after dinner, to which she replied, "You need to go home and eat your Michael Jackson." HA!! I can't really decide if this random statement was funnier or the expression on my dad's face! The whole thing was crazy funny and we all had a good laugh about it ;-)

And if you are wondering, Sprinkles is better (in my opinion). :-)

Sprinkles - My new guilty pleasure

I only wish I lived closer to Sprinkles - I love this place and it's such a special treat for any special occasion. :-) My mom and Ma were in town this weekend and after a LOVELY weekend together, we ended it with a celebratory lunch and treat for Ma's 89th Birthday! Yummy, I still remember the order: Cinnamon for me, Chocolate marshmellow for Mama, vanilla hazelnut chocolate for Ma and carrot cake for Beau. I wanted one of each!! The best treat - they update their FB status with 'secret' words that if you whisper in store, you get a free cupcake! :-)

Choco-not

So apparently all things chocolate aren't heavenly. At least for doggies. Shelby was rushed to the vet last week after Beau discovered that she consumed A LOT of chocolate! And as we all know, chocolate is deadly for dogs - well, one of the chemicals in it is. We were so worried about her but Beau caught it early enough. She had her stomach pumped and lived to see many more days. The vet said he had never seen a dog of her size throw up that much chocolate. I wouldn't expect anything less from her ;-) We determined that she jumped ON TO the coffee table, which a) I never knew she could do and b)we are guessing that wasn't her first time! Bad Shelby. She's so sneaky. Love this girl and I don't know what I would have done if I lost her!!

The Rainolds Family Fun

No, this isn't about the hotel people in Mexico calling Beau 'Mr. Raynuls' with their cute Mexican accents. I still laugh about that! ;-) This is about the fun we are creating with this rainy weekend! Love the rain but it def. limits the outdoor activity. Beau and Brinkley are getting a little stir crazy so we decided to give up and have fun with it! If you know about our hardwood floors and if you have had the misfortune of hearing me complain about how difficult it is to keep them clean, then you understand what a big deal this was for us! :-) Brinkley and Shelby had SO much fun! And we really enjoyed watching them....

The Drive Out Hunger Tour

The Cheesecake Factory Drive Out Hunger Tour stops in Dallas tomorrow, 9/8!! There was SO much preparation that went into this large, cross-country event - I can't help but feel so personally attached to it and the success of the Tour. It benefits Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger relief charity. So, come see me!! Stonebriar Mall in Frisco between 3-6. The first 500 people to bring 2 cans of soup will receive a free slice of the cheesecake I have been RAVING about since it's release on National Cheesecake Day: Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake!! It's amazing :-)

I'd like to check you for ticks

Who knew this was a real thing?! It's a Brad Paisley song and a cheesy one at that. But I never knew it was something real! We were out with the Springer Spaniel group recently and they joked that since we are newlyweds, checking each other for ticks should still be fun. I didn't get it. They said, no, really. It's very important that you check yourselves and the dogs for ticks when you get home. What a strange family tradition we can start! Kidding.