Family Time!

Last week we got to have our first visit of family from home when Lauren, Cody, Asher, Liam and Luna came to see us!

They flew to Austin and we met them there so that we could stay at the amazing Law Law Land ranch in Salado, Texas, with Scott and Jessica and family. Salado is about an hour north east of Austin. 

It was the first time on a plane for Asher, Liam and Luna so that made it extra exciting for them!

On our first day together we drove to Waco to the Magnolia Market! Lauren and Cody and I had seen all of the seasons of Fixer Upper and John has seen a few, so it was fun to be here in person.

It was a cold and rainy day but there were still a lot of crazy tourists like us.

They have done a beautiful job renovating this property. I was worried about trying to get in to the restaurant, but then realized that there are food trucks all around, so that is were we ate lunch!

Luna was unimpressed by the juice bar bearing her name, but we thought it was cute.

It was nice for everyone to choose what kind of food they wanted. The boys knew they had to eat lunch before they got to have a cupcake -

 and they were ready to choose one when the time came! 

Luna thought they were a little too sweet!

This is Malo, the Law family dog. This photo shows just how big he is compared to little Luna! She was unfazed by his size and she laughed when he licked her face. He is a Dogo Argentino, and he keeps a close eye on the property and especially on the children. 

Daddy was able to keep little Luna warm when needed!

We like this "Life is Better in Salado" sign they have - it is a pretty magical place!

Luna turned 1 the day before they arrived. She is not quite walking on her own yet, but she loved walking around with this toy.

It was so great to be with these kids again!

Asher made friends with his cousin Wesley and they had a great time together.

Luna wasn't too sure about riding in a wagon until Liam climbed in with her. She sure loves her brothers! We visited the chicken coup and fed them while we were there.

On Friday night we did what you do in rural Texas - we went to see Katie Law's Salado High School team play a tough opponent. And they won!

I love the huge eagle painted on the wall - it looks like he's going to swoop down and pick up one of the players and carry them off!

Luna saw us all cheering and clapping so she joined in!

This trampoline was the center of fun during our visit. The boys were out there every chance they got!

Asher and Wesley were a great team!

The little ones had fun watching from the side - Luna is 1, Red is 2 1/2 and the twins on the back row Andy and Bertie and 17 months. 

Red is close to Liam's size and loved following him around and having fun.

Malo on duty making sure Liam is ok.

I have wanted to try out this massive swing since I first saw it - 

It was just as fun as I thought it would be! Nothing brings back the feeling of childhood like swinging.

We went on a fun hike with the kids one day. Even though Luna isn't hiking, she had the appropriate foot wear on!

This is a fun-but-scary, rickety old bridge that swings, sways and bounces a little as you walk across.

Lauren was not a fan as you can see in the next photo!

It is only about four or five feet above the water,  even if you fell through the missing slats you probably wouldn't be hurt......much.

This is Chalk Creek Falls - the water was beautiful!

Every good hike has a steep hill to scamper up if you're an 11 year old boy!

Luna finally got to try out her shoes.

We learned that this is called Ball Moss - we saw a lot of it in the trees who had lost their leaves for the winter. We also saw a lot of Mistletoe in the trees as well.

While you are in Texas you must try the local barbecue! This was at Rudy's - this one is located inside a Texas size gas station and the food is so great!

They win my vote for best barbecue so far - mainly because of the delicious side dishes.

On the last day of the trip we went to Louie Mueller's - a local favorite. They serve these enormous beef ribs - each one weighs 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds! Cody was impressed!

Asher loves barbecue so he was in heaven!

Every barbecue place serves pickles, raw onion and airy white bread with the meal. Oh, and really great barbecue sauce!

Lauren mad a feast while we were at the ranch! She made carne asada tacos, homemade tomatillo dressing and the most amazing street corn! I made Chile relleno casserole and jalapeño popper dip. Quite a meal. Even though the Laws have a big family, we still had enough for left overs.

Luna liked having some friends to eat with, although we should have known she was getting a stomach bug when she didn't eat much. She usually loves to eat!

We took Luna to an official boot store and got these cute little cowboy boots for her birthday. She'll be running around in them before we know it!

On the way to Austin we saw a huge flock of birds and it was kind of spooky - like something out of the old Hitchcock movie! We had to look it up and found that they are called Grackles.

Lauren and Cody hand delivered their Christmas present to us - this beautiful metal sign designed by Lauren which their talented friends made. Now we have it up in our living room to remind us of Ian - our Golden River Bear. 

It will also look great at our cabin in Pine Valley. 

We had such a great time with family, then came home and I promptly got sick with a 24 hour stomach virus, but we are back into our missionary routine.

This were the alerts John saw on his phone today. It rained hard on and off all day and during some of the heaviest rainfall we were driving on the freeway. Not fun - I had forgotten how hard it rains here!

We are excited to be able to drive some missionaries to the Houston Temple tomorrow and do a session there with them along with the Mission President and his companion, Sister Hewlett. I think the young missionaries get to go twice a year, so it is something they really look forward to. We are grateful to be here and love serving here down in Texas....including when it's very rainy or even floodin'. We love you all - until next time!