Nickelmania! Just Because

On July 23, my sister, Biz, invited me to join her and her two kids, Katy and Ike, on an excursion out to Nickelmania. There was no birthday or other special occasion to celebrate this time; this was just because Fun Uncle was in demand and was also more than willing to come along for the fun.

Ike immediately went for his favorite, the motorcycle-riding games:

And boy howdy, did we get tickets! With our combined tickets, we racked up more than 4,600, which is by far the biggest haul of any group I've been part of has won on one visit. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but (Honk! Honk!) I contributed by racking up multiple jackpots on some of my favorite arcade games:

Pics or it didn't happen and all that.

So, when we totaled up everything, the kids walked away with some fun prizes. I usually give them everything I've earned and pick out nothing for myself, but this time they really wanted me to get the umbrella hat we saw another guy wearing on his way out as we arrived. It looks like this:

Is it comfortable? Not really. But I imagine it helps keep the sun off of heads that no longer have the full amount of hair, if you catch my drift.

Rise of the Fun Uncle

I shared a post here last week about one of our recent family dinners. One of the pictures showed my oldest niece, now age 23, playing with one of my younger nephews. I sent a copy of this photo to her and told her that I've observed how good she is with her little cousins and how much they look up to her. In return I got this reply:

"I love them (these kids). You were the same way with me! I remember having so much fun with you and Biz." (Yes, this post is also for you, sis.)

This was just about the best compliment I've ever received (wipes away tear). If these are the kinds of memories I can leave with my nieces and nephews, then hopefully I'm doing something right.

Almost as important, I can also leave them a large collection of Star Wars DVDs and LEGO video games in mostly-good condition.

Arbuckle Family Dinner/October 2019

Admittedly, I don't take as many photos of the family dinners for JB's side of the family. But I'm working on doing better at it. (I now get to try to do my part in capturing two family histories.)

Most photogenic of all are the kids, of course, and some are opening up to their newest Fun Uncle at different rates than others. It's a labor of love, though, and the Grantsville family dinners are always a good time.

This past Sunday, we saw Zack and Spencer re-create the "Shoulder Angel" from the BYU-TV sketch comedy show "Studio C."

Star Wars Pack Meeting

My brother Ben is serving as scoutmaster of his ward's Scout troop in Centerville. On Tuesday night, they held their monthly pack meeting, and the theme for the night was Star Wars. (And why shouldn't it be? There's never a bad time for Star Wars.)

The Scouts played games such as a Jello-e eating contest, eating through the Jell-o to get to Han Solo trapped inside, which I thought was very clever.

Ben invited me to dress up as a Star Wars character, along with a few other adults (we had a Kylo Ren and a stormtrooper), to help them with the festivities, and I was more than happy to do so. When I showed up dressed in my Jedi robes, I found these two kids running around together:

I was informed that the girl's name is Kenzie, and that she and Graham have been inseparable friends at ward activities. All four of their parents confirmed to me that they're going to get married someday (remember, you read it here first).

I also found Graham hiding under one of the pews in the chapel:

Here's a shot of the group of us from the night: Christian as a stormtrooper, Ben as Kylo Ren, Graham with the extra-large helmet as a stormtrooper, Kenzie as Captain Phasma, and yours truly.

And so, the evening was enjoyed by all.

My Dinner with Jackson 2018

My incredible nephew Jackson turned ten years old last week. So, on Saturday, I took him out for our annual birthday dinner outing, because Fun Uncle and all that.

After a good meal at Pizza Pie Cafe, we went to the store, where he picked out a LEGO Minecraft set. He was pretty happy about that.

Isaac Jeffrey

Nibling #14, Isaac Jeffrey Wood, was born Wednesday, October 25. Both baby and mother are doing well, and Kate is taking great care of her little brother.

JB and I got to meet him for the first time last Sunday after church.

My Dinner with Kira 2017

My wonderful, very cute, never-a-dull-moment niece Kira turned nine years old last week. Naturally, that led to last Saturday's birthday dinner outing with her very own Fun Uncle Paco and JB joining us, as well.

She chose Chuck-a-Rama for dinner, where we enjoyed a lovely meal together. After that, we headed to Build-a-Bear to pick up some accessories for her new favorite toy, Vampirina.

Adventures in Babysitting

Though I bear the burden of being the Fun Uncle, I don't often get called upon for babysitting duties. That is, until last night.

JB and Mom (let's be honest, they did most of the work) came with me for an evening in with Christian and Graham at their house while their parents went out to movie. We enjoyed our time together, watching Moana and playing video games and doing a bunch of other fun stuff.

My Dinner with Jackson 2017

My nephew Jackson recently turned nine years old. So, being the Fun Uncle that I am and all, I took him out to dinner at Sill's Cafe, because it was his choice, and he made it abundantly clear he wanted one of their scones.

Well, the story checks out. Sill's' scones are quite amazing.

From there, we went to Toys R Us, where he picked out a combination Nerf dart gun/zombie "brainsaw" (get it? like chainsaw, but for brains?). When it comes to zombie knowledge, fewer if any nine-year-olds can hold their own with Jackson.