He's Baaaaack!

Yup, that's right ... this past Monday my dad returned home from a trip I mentioned in a previous post.  He returned to us safely from his dream vacation: eight days in Arizona whitewater rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon!  (So, obviously, safely was a main concern for those of us at home waiting for him.)

The kids and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to help pick him up at the airport, and Baylor even went so far as to make a wonderful "sign" for his Grandpa E's homecoming.



After a slightly abbreviated nap, we met Mom at the airport, rode a couple elevators (of course), and waited for Dad to arrive.  Mom had informed me earlier that Dad hadn't brought a razor with him on his trip and had an update from him that he looked like Ernest Hemingway.  Still, I was not expecting to barely recognize him when he came down the ramp.  My dad has never been one for facial hair, so this threw me for a loop.

Now, when I say he returned safely, I do not mean that he returned without injury.  On one of the major hiking days of his trip, he had an incident getting out of the boat and injured his left big toe.  After hiking on it up and down hill - the latter of which he said was the painful part - he was a little worse for the wear.  Then he rafted and hiked a few more days and came home with this:

Yeah, not so good.  So, after my parents' neighbor, Dr. Bob Veenema took a look at it and recommended he go to the med center, that's just what he and I did.  It was actually quite a treat for me to get to spend a little alone time with my dad and hear all about his trip without my kids interrupting.  As he recounted his time on the river, I could tell that he had had an absolute blast and I was so very happy for him; if anyone deserves an amazing trip like this, it's my dad.

After getting a hole burned into his toenail to help with drainage of blood (though there ended up not being any because the blood in the bruise on his toe had already dried up), we headed back to the house to enjoy a little cookout with the rest of the family.  Baylor got to try a hot dog for the first time!  He seemed to like it enough, though I think his expectations of it were a little high.

Mollie entertained everyone by putting her sunglasses on upside down.  She's such a character!

Once we finished dinner and dessert, the kids got to play a little.  Then it was time to say goodbye, both to each other for the evening and to Dad's facial hair.  Here's one last look at that magnificent beard:

He certainly did look like a mountain man!

Anyhow, that's the story of Dad's homecoming.  I'm hoping (hint, hint) that I can get him to do a guest post about his trip ... or at least let me share some of his pictures. 

Regardless, Dad, we're so glad you had a wonderful time, but we're thrilled you're home!