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.

Picture me rollin.....

So, I found my (used) dream car and it's actually affordable!! Who knew?! Beau has been wonderful about my really, really, really wanting this vehicle. I've never really been a car person. Loved my Camry. Still do. I haven't really ever had my eye on one nor have I had the "I neeeeeed this car" feeling (until now). And we have both REALLY loved not having that extra car payment. BUT Beau loves my dream car too and we are looking at introducing it into the family in either December or January! I reeeeally want it now though. But don't worry, it's not like I pull the site up on Beau's computer when he's not looking or send him Powerpoint presentations of his picture photoshopped into the car or anything.....

Dallas Days & Austin Nights

Beau and I took a trip to Austin and New Braunfels to float the river and visit some friends. My office has introduced Summer Hours on Fridays, which means I get a hand full of 1/2 days until October! So, we kenneled the dogs (tugs at our hearts every time) and headed down to Austin. We were at El Arroyo, my FAVORITE mexican restaurant, in time for Happy Hour and met our friends Pam, Parm and Bobby for dinner. Delicious crab enchiladas - my mom and I get them every time we eat there!

After that, we headed to the Lustre Pearl, Austin's coolest new outdoor bar for a couple of beers and to meet my friend Patsy, whom I haven't seen since the wedding! It's been too long and we had SO much catching up to do. It was great seeing everyone!

Saturday morning, we headed down to New Braunfels to meet our friends Nikki and Brad for some lunch and then off to the Comal River! Twice! Since the Comal is the world's shortest river, we were able to hop on the bus and go for Round 2! Which wasn't pretty. It was a hysterical time and plenty "you had to be there" stories but it involved Beau's McGyver-like rigging of the beer tube (just give him some nylon rope and watch him go!), shoes and coolers, a blender-like motion of water that the 4 of us were sucked into after one of the tube chutes, toppling over in tubes, 2 rescues by my dear husband, a really bad cut on my finger and Nikki injuring her arm. A great time had by all! And afterward, an AMAZING dinner at the Gristmill! Our next trip may just be a tour of my favorite central Texas restaurants!

Days go by....

I have that Keith Urban song in my head right now. Maybe because I've been thinking of all the time that has passed since I last updated this. Here are some things that have happened since we last chatted:

A/C kicked the bucket - in June!
Brinkley, Shelby and I were homeless for a full week! It seemed so much longer while I was going through it all since Beau was traveling and each day I thought was moving back home. So I never packed more than a days worth of clothes. We stayed at Nick and Annie's 1 night (or was it 2?) and then A Loft (a W hotel) the rest of the week. It was fun to be in the hotel but stressful with the doggies since the hotel made it clear that barking could result in them inviting me to leave ;-) In the end, we have a great new A/C system! A big THANK YOU to Nick/Annie to offering their home to my crazy pack. :-)

Family Reunion - July 4th weekend - Omni Ft. Worth
What a great weekend in Ft. Worth with the fam! We had delicious meals, fun conversation and an incredible fireworks show. Uncle Jimmy arranged rooms at the brand new Omni hotel and also had us set up in one of the newly finished condos to watch the fireworks show. It was a beautiful night and we were on a corner balcony with a great view! Added treat: we were able to see about a dozen other shows in the distance since the night was so clear. Four thumbs up from the Reynolds!


Rahr Brewery/Roger Creager
Our friends Ken and Karl celebrated their birthdays at Rahr Brewery in Ft. Worth and what a fun day it was to be out with friends drinking good beer! We had pizza at Mellow Mushroom afterward and then headed off to see Roger Creager, my favorite!! The night didn't necessarily "improve" since Beau (and Whit and Thea) ended up on a mechanical bull, I angered some fellow concert goers and we got a noise complaint at our hotel later (really?? we were all old and in bed by midnight).

Mama came to visit!
What a perfect weekend with Mama! We were busy, busy with running errands, eating til we were miserable and getting the second guest bedroom outfitted with extra touches before Ma comes to visit in September for her Birthday!! I can't wait for that weekend:-) If anyone has any ideas of cute retirement areas in DFW for 2 resistant-to-changes parents, send them my way! ;-)

Beau's B-day - Aug 16
We are having a little party at the house for Beau's birthday/our housewarming! I am getting excited and just hope the house (and the menu) will come together by then.

Yay for my new dining room table! Boo to my ugly landscaping. We have really been working hard to get the house complete. But I'm realizing that a house is never "complete". There are always new projects and things I will want to spruce up. [sigh]

Launch of the new TCF Facebook page!
At the office, we have been working tirelessly to get the latest campaign up and running for The Cheesecake Factory! We have been watching the fan count increase dramatically over the past several weeks! The incentive? A chance to win a trip to Vegas for you and NINE friends!! How exciting. I haven't had much time to think about that though since we are pushing full force ahead toward our Drive Out Hunger Tour that kicks off 8/31 to assist Feeding America. What's not to love about a cross-country tour to fight hunger in America. It's been quite a ride! ;-)

ReyRey needs a break

For those of you who don't know, Rey Rey is us (the wedding was commonly referred to as 'ReyRey '09' by my friends)...

We have been crazy busy recently and I have so many updates (and not many pictures, ugh)...here it goes:

The house was struck by lightning. Yep, 2 months after living here, at 5:30 in the morning we awoke to the loudest explosive lightning noise ever! Thank God Beau was home! We have had a good amount of damage - the biggest being wall fixtures blew off the walls. Oh, and our electronics are fried. I couldn't have taken care of everything w/o Beau here! He has been in town the past 2 weeks so he took care of scheduling the insurance adjuster, Verizon Fios, an electrician, etc. We are still waiting to hear back on the electronics but the Insurance company was very speedy to get the first check cut. At the end of the day, we are so blessed the house didn't catch on fire!! Looking at the damage, one can't help but wonder how we didn't have a fire. We have singed black areas around light fixtures, the pieces that blew off the walls and the mirrors in the master bath. We are so fortunate! :-)

Then, a week later, we had ANOTHER storm, which blew down a piece of our fence. So, Beau spent the past 2 days putting up a brand new 8 ft. fence - and it's awesome!! He and his dad did such quality work and it was about 98 degrees yesterday so they deserve a big high 5 and a vacation after that! I do think we have pictures of the new fence although I'm just devastated that I don't have pictures of my hottie husband in his cowboy hat, shades, big tool belt and massive power tool in his hand - so hot!! :-)

My Birthday was last week and Beau threw me a surprise party in Uptown! He is the sweetest man :-) I thought we were going down there for dinner and having drinks first but when we walked into Blackfriar, many of my friends were there to greet us and we had a great time! Not too shabby for a weekday Birthday! He gave me my very first "Happy Birthday to my Wife" card ;-) I will save it forever (unless of course I lose it, which tends to happen with me).

Beau also gave me a Blackberry Storm, which turned out to be my B-day present! I don't think he was planning on it but this is what happens when lightning strikes your house the day before your Birthday and you don't have A/C or TV. We were bored and hot so we went shopping! I still can't text on it. So, if I don't write you back - that's why...

My friend Brooke is in town from New Zealand, her first trip back home since she moved almost a year ago. It was great to see her! Beau and I went to a BBQ at Chris and Hailey's to welcome her back and then I went on a much-needed girls weekend trip to Brooke's parents' lake house. Everything was perfect and we had so much fun. I think I found the place that Beau and I should retire (next year)...

We call her Brookie of the Year:













Beau starts traveling again - for 4 weeks. This time will probably be the hardest for me - he's going to training in CA Mon-Fri and gets in late Fridays - then back out first thing Mondays. He is so fortunate though b/c they furloughed 40-50 consultants in his company so he is very lucky to have a job after being on the bench. And then they have a project for him after that. His Manager fights so hard for him and we are so lucky for that. Not to mention, his Manager Mark and his wife got us the coolest wedding gift! It's this hi tech blender (like you see in William-Sonoma) w/ several margarita mixes! It's awesome and quite a coincidence since Beau recently broke his old one making a protein shake. We love Mark and Cathy and are very lucky to have someone working so hard for Beau!

My Mom received the wedding pictures she purchased!! Here are some of them - what an amazing night/weekend!!!