A Visit From Uncle Ryken

My (baby) brother Ryken is leaving on his mission this summer, so he came to visit us for a while and see his new niece before he leaves. He was here for 2 weeks! We really enjoyed having him here, even though I know he got the short end of the stick. We did a whole lot of "relaxing" (i.e. sitting around), but there were a few fun things we did. Here are the highlights:


Austin's Park and Pizza :This place is a family fun center, and has a variety of things to do. We went on a Monday during the day, though, and the place was deserted! It was great that we didn't have to wait in any lines for the rides, but having no one else there meant we were the ONLY ones in laser tag (a laser tag game with only 2 people isn't all that fun), the ONLY ones on the go-karts (there was no one to race against), and there wasn't a big variety of food at the buffet.

Camping: Our ward campout happened on one of the weekends he was here, so we all went together. Ryken saved us all from utter destruction when he found a coiled rattlesnake where we were going to pitch our tent. He didn't know it was a rattler, though (it never rattled at him), and left it alone. Luckily, another man overheard Jaimason telling his friend about it and went to take a look. Sure enough, it was a rattler, and so they did the only thing you should do in a situation like this: they dropped a boulder on its head, and then cut off the head and buried it. He took a picture, but it inadvertently got erased. BUMMER. Other fun critters of note on this campout: venomous caterpillars, a scorpion, and a huge spider carrying its egg sack on its back. Just another day in the outdoors in Texas!

Roasting Marshmallows: All it takes is 17 easy steps to have delicious, toasted marshmallows to make s'mores with!
Step 1: Go grocery shopping and buy all the fixins for s'mores...graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows.
Step 2: When you get to the campsite, learn that there is a fire ban so you cannot make s'mores.
Step 3: Decide the next night to try roasting marshmallows at the fire pit at the neighborhood pool.
Step 4: Go to Walmart to buy firewood to make a fire.
Step 5: Discover there is no firewood for sale there.
Step 6: Go to H .E.B. to buy firewood to make a fire.
Step 7: Discover there is no firewood for sale there either. In fact, there is no firewood for sale anywhere in Texas in the spring and summer. Apparently, this is "off-season" for making fires.
Step 8: Call 400 other grocery and sporting goods stores to ask if they sell firewood. Learn that they do not.
Step 9: Buy some mini grilling logs designed for grills after the salesman at the store insists they will work for making a fire.
Step 10: Pack everything up and take it to the fire pit. Don't forget the newspapers or matches!
Step 11: Arrive at the pool and find out that the fire pit is 4 feet deep and you have to get INSIDE the fire pit to start the fire.
Step 12: Curse at the hurricane-force winds that have just started, even though it was hot and sunny ALL DAY LONG.
Step 13: Try for 45 minutes to start a fire (While you're IN the fire pit, mind you) in heavy wind with logs that are, in fact, NOT for making fires...they're only designed to SMOKE.
Step 14: Curse at the RAIN that blows in from nowhere!
Step 15: Give up and go home. S'mores aren't that great anyway!
Step 16: Decide the next day that s'mores ARE delicious and you were really looking forward to them, gosh dang it, so you're going to find a way to make them.
Step 17: Fire up the gas stove at home and roast them!

SIMPLE. AS. THAT.

Natural Bridge Caverns:
We drove to San Antonio to visit the Natural Bridge Caverns one day. They are very interesting caves and we had a great time. They were discovered by a couple of college students way back when and have been there for thousands of years...at least 8000, they said.

Outside the caverns..believe it or not, Ryken and Jaimason are in this picture

The entrance to the cave was only 11 inches! The founders crawled 60 feet through that tiny crawlspace to get to the first cave. Makes me hyperventilate just thinking about it!

The fam

We call this one "the jellyfish"

This one is called "The Landlord." It looks like a Merman or a Buddha.

This is Maleah's favorite way to be held...like a ragdoll

Mom and baby...one of the only pictures I have of the two of us together

We really had an enjoyable time while Rykie was here and are so happy we got to see him before he leaves on his mission. He was a huge help!