Vacation

Yes we know that there has been a big lag in our last posting.  It is due to many things, including we have been lazy, overwhelmed, have a sucky computer, Dena's grandmother passing, and a vacation.

Rigel unfortunately and fortunately got another trip to California.  He is a great little traveler. when we get on the plane people sitting near us roll their eyes in anticipation of a screaming baby sitting near them.  Then he looks over the seats and smiles at them, they smile back then start making silly faces at him trying to get him to laugh.  As they get off we hear compliments as to how great a kid he is.  (I, Boyd, think that Dena's needs much of the credit. She knows how to help Rigel have a good flight.)

California was as good as could be expected under the circumstances.  I think that it was very therapeutic having Rigel there.  For instance, during the funeral for his Great Grandmother Rigel was sitting on Granny's lap squacking and giggling while the priest was giving sermon. I don't know about everybody else there but I thought is was funny and a great reminder that life has so many phases.  Some at the end of the journey and some at the beginning.  I am glad that he got to meet his great grandmother before she passed even if he won't remember it. If you think about it, four generations in the same room is amazing.

We returned to Colorado and stared to get excited for our vacation.  We... and by we I mean Dena found some amazing prices to go to Oahu Hawaii.  Lets put it this way, it costed more to fly to California for the funeral then these ticket to Hawaii.  We had the gift of staying in a townhouse owned by my friends dad. He is planning to rent it out but not yet and he offered it to us.  Lets just say that if it was a hotel it would have been 5 star.  The hospitality that the Nakamura's showed us was beyond belief and it was so great to see Chris and Nina, along with Charlie and Carol again.  

This was Rigel's first trip to the beach.  He was not sure what to think.  First he did not like it at all, he screamed when I put his feet in the (cold) ocean.  He screamed when he put his feet in the sand too.  That was the first try.  He finally let us, with persistence put his feet in the sand. He began to enjoy it and would dig his hands into it.  He would not try to eat it unless he found a shell or piece of coral which he must have mistook for a Cheerio, we caught him most of the time before he got it to his mouth but he is fast and does not like sand in his mouth too much.

Rigel had some firsts in Hawaii.  He started scooting backwards on his stomach, went in the ocean, saw the remains of the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, had shave ice, climbed a volcano and heard some pigeon from uncle Aaron Yano. 

It was great for Dena and I to get away and play in the sand as well.  We are already looking forward to the next time and might have to look for a job out there and see if God wants us to live on the Islands.