So, Thanks!

When I think of my Uncle Robby Ray I think of

• playing Legos in my scrubs a long time ago.
• that weird guy at the family reunion, who I think spent more time with the kids than with the adults.
• "hiding" from and teasing him.
• Katie's favorite uncle.
• how awesome his kids are, although he has to share most of the credit for that with Aunt Val.
• not leaving without my hug at Grandpa's 70th birthday. (Or his 75th.)
  
• feeling more comfortable than I ever had with an "adult".
• keeping that towel away from Tary. (I totally owned that.)
• messy hair, complete with whatever kind of hairspray was in the back seat of the car.
• Barbecue.
• cameras.
• not watching Bill and Ted's excellent adventure because we were talking.
• how the only t-shirt I ever remember him wearing has hiking boots on the front.
• root beer and root beer floats.
• how I've improved.
• stickers.
• what he said about airplanes and Jen at Jason's wedding.
• a picture of my feet because my toes are "cool".
• big letters in the sand.
• a hard working guy.
• him frowning whenever he thought I wasn't looking. (He had good reasons. Besides, it was more of a thinking hard frown than an angry one.)
  
• sitting around and saying nothing and how that was time well spent.
• laughing so hard I cry.
• actually liking a dog.
• the best pizza and oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipes.
• my cool clear rock.
• checking my quarters, even though I never remember what he needs.
• the count down. (By the way, it's currently at -295. We NEED to fix that.)
• a home that's not a building.
• other people my age who he has been there for.
• that goofy smile thing he does where he closes his eyes and turns his head sideways. (Actually, if he ever reads this, I'm going to insist that he does one of those.)
• Mountains.
• the first male who ever told me I was beautiful.
  
• doing things I shouldn't be able to do.
• Uncle Wall.
• how cool he says my parents are. (And it's all true.)
  
• peeling my socks off of my feet after our hike.
• snacks and how we like the same things. (Except he eats black licorice, and I don't.)
• Almond M&Ms.
• hugs. The best ones.
• his blog and reading every post as soon as I hear about it.
• lightning.
• that REI.
• basement bedrooms.
• fetching cinnamon bears.
• no judgments.
  
• the gorilla and sopapillas and general fun at Casa Bonitas.
• his huge sighs that are contagious like yawns.
• movie quotes.
• Tour Guide Barbie and all the random facts a mind could boggle.
• waiting for him to respond to an "important" question.
• being a kid and more mature than other teenagers.
  
• all the times he brags about how many girls he kissed.
• eighteen bowls of Cold Stone at Marie's reception.
• carrot cake even though it wasn't my birthday.
• how he thinks of everything.
  
• love.
  
• my stomach tying itself in knots (and sometimes worse than that) when I get to see him.
• How he can turn a umpteen hour drive into a 7 hour drive and how we somehow manage to stay awake and hold a conversation for the majority of those drives.
  
• "stay off my tundra, you moron!"
• The Court Jester and The Scarlet Pimpernel.
• those weird names he comes up with for me.
  
• how he would tell me I should go to sleep.

Actually, I should go to sleep. I promise there's a lot more. A whole bunches more.