Really over the rainbow!

Riley and I are in Hawaii. Or on Hawaii, to be exact. We are on the big island of Hawaii for nine days. We only have four days left. Time flies when you're in paradise. We've seen at least six rainbows since we've been here. Real ones. All the license plates have them too but I'm only counting the ones that rise up from the island into the clouds, some with colors more intense than others.

We've seen many other things while we've been here - whales and dolphins in the ocean, turtles and dolphins in the hotel's lagoon, mongeese (plural of mongoose) - little ferret-like animals that look at you and scurry away, wild turkeys and skinny feral cats who have wonky eyes and might want to kill you. We've seen para-sailers, surfers, yachts and kayaks. And helicopters - which we will go up in on Saturday. I'm a little nervous about this but I will swallow my nervousness, take a Dramamine and hope for the best.

We have four days left - we are going to see a lot more of this island and hopefully see a rainbow as we head east, back to our other end of the rainbow.

Riley at the speed limit

Riley is 55 today. I met him when he was 23. He was kind of skinny, kind of nerdy and wore Chukkah boots. Within 10 months of meeting Riley, I married him. That was not the plan when I moved to Logan in the fall of 1979 but Heavenly Father had other ideas. He knew Riley would be my perfect match. Thirty-two years later I wholeheartedly agree. I told him the other day I could probably count on one hand (OK, maybe one hand and a couple more fingers) how many times I've been mad at him. We just get along. We value each other's perspective. We trust each other. We allow each other to be and do whatever we choose, a part of that trust. We don't keep score. If something needs to be done, it gets done. Sometimes he unloads the dishwasher or mends a shirt. Sometimes I take the trash cans to the curb or fix a loose hinge. Yet we know we can ask each other for help and we'll get it.

Today I'm thankful for Winston and Aileen Nelson, Riley's parents. Thank you for bringing Riley into the world. Thank you Heavenly Father for setting us up (it's a long story but He really did). Thank you Riley for the best 32 years. I gave Riley a pair of Chukkah boots for his birthday today. I hope he wanders the earth in them for the next 32 years. And we have all of eternity after that.