Bryce Canyon

Admittedly, the kids were done by the time we arrived at Bryce Canyon so this may not be high on their list of happy things.  However, I loved it.  We'd seen so many rock formations already.  What more could there be?  It turns out some of the best were waiting for us in Bryce.  Beautiful!

Goblin Valley

I grew up in Utah, but I'd never heard of Goblin Valley.  Jeff has wanted to go there since he heard of it 20 years ago.  The kids loved it!  We even camped overnight.  A highlight for sure.

 Do you see the face in this one?  Cool.

Arches

Awesome.  The hard part was deciding which of the bazillion photos to post.

 

A huge highlight of our day came at dinner.  We went to Denny's in Moab for some real food.  When it was time to go, our server brought us our receipt.  A moment later he came back and asked to see the receipt for a minute.  When he returned, he said our bill had been taken care of.  My guess is the nice couple from Indiana a couple of tables over paid for our meal.  We had talked to them briefly while waiting for our food.  Regardless of who it was, it sure made us feel good.

The coolest potty break

It felt like we'd all gone potty 30 minutes ago.  Okay, maybe it was an hour.  So when Sadie announced she had to go, Jeff pulled off at the nearest rest stop somewhere in the Rockies in Colorado.  Not only were the facilities clean, the beach was a big plus!  If only all rest stops could be like this! 

Kansas

After successfully making our way out of Illinois and across Missouri, we drove all the way across Kansas.  It took forever.  We thought we'd never get through Kansas.  But we made it!  That's definitely something to be happy about.  We won't talk about the horrific hailstorm outside of Denver.  But the rainbow afterward was pretty cool.  16+ hours and just over 1,000 miles of driving today.  So far so good.

 The first big storm of our trip

Good for a laugh

Packing for 8 people to go on vacation for 2 weeks is a daunting task and it's taken all day.  So I thought I'd just quickly post this music video gem.  I hope you laugh.  We did! 

The Star Spangled Banner

During a recent visit to Maryland, Jeff and I went to Ft. McHenry.  In August 1813, when Francis Scott Key woke after the British withdrawal, he looked to the fort and saw the flag "still there".  Inspired, he wrote the poem that became our national anthem.  You can see that the flag flying there today is a replica of the one he saw, with 15 stars and 15 stripes.  We also saw the actual flag in the Museum of American History in DC.  It's in pretty rough shape but still inspires.

Green Tomato Salsa

We're headed out on vacation next week and I'm worried our tomatoes will be finished before we return.  This recipe is just the thing to use up some of the big green ones before we head out.  I made up a double batch today.  Yummy!!  

GREEN TOMATO SALSA 

•     5 medium green tomatoes

•     2 jalapeno peppers (I only used one, no seeds)

•     1 small onion

•     1 garlic clove

•     2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

•     1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I didn't add this)

•     Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.  It'll be thin, but oh so good!

Friday Funny

An ambitious young blonde woman, in need of money, decided to hire herself out as a handyman-type. She began, door to door, canvassing a wealthy neighborhood for work. She went to the front door of the first house and asked the owner if he had any jobs for her to do.

"Well, you can paint my porch. How much will you charge?"

The blonde said, "How about 50 dollars?" The man agreed and told her that the paint and ladders that she might need were in the garage. A short time later, the blonde came to the door to collect her money.

"You're finished already?" he asked.

"Yes," the blonde answered, "and I had paint left over, so I gave it two coats." Impressed, the man reached in his pocket for the $50.

"And by the way," the blonde added, "that's not a Porch, it's a Ferrari."
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Got a good (clean) joke?  Please share it in the comments section! 

Magic Water

My kids love the trick where I rub a coin into my neck and then pull it out of their ear.  One Sunday during that longish stretch of church, a thirsty Soren whispered in my ear, "Mom, what if you rubbed a cup of water into your neck and it popped out my ear and I could drink it."  Now there's an idea!