Wonder of the World

Hello, everyone!

Hope your Monday has started out without a problem. When I was going to school or working, I hated Mondays...and Fridays. Those two days in the hospital were murder, for some reason. I always a lot of new admissions and plenty galore of paperwork to weed through!  Now that I'm kind of "retired" so to speak and not working, I don't mind Mondays anymore. Just another day.

So have you been doing the relaxation tips I told you about in my last two posts?  Thinking pleasant thoughts of things that happened in the past and deep breathing?  If you don't mind, we'll reinforce those techniques for today's post and take another journey into the past.  :0)
 I've received some comments about people really liking the pictures. Yay! I love my pictures and I love sharing them.  So here we go...

In 2001, my mom and dad and Frankie and I went to the Grand Canyon.  We figured we lived in this state for a number of years now and still hadn't seen the magnificent canyons (Except for Frankie...he hiked down to the bottom when he was in Boy Scouts).  My grandpa, who was VERY sarcastic, always said,r "It's the 7th Wonder of the World....you wonder why the hell it's there!"  Very sentimental man, my grandpa!!  He had a rough exterior, but he was all heart inside.
Anyway, here some pics of our trip:

My mom, dad and Frankie on one of the bus tour stop-overs.  We had a lot of those so we could take pictures outdoors, instead of inside a moving van with all the jostling of the camera.  And.....at almost every stop there was a gift ship.  Mom and I tried to ignore the intense calling, but we failed at some of the pit stops and got a few stuffed animals and Grand Canyon books.  Not too bad, right?

My dad is such a goofball!  Only HE would get the bus driver in on the picture taking festivities too!!  I forget the driver's name, but he was very good and we tipped him well.  He actually lives up at the canyon with his wife and kids.

The whole clan got in on this one....taken by none other than our friendly tour bus driver!!!  It's a good family portrait of us, don't you think?

Isn't that gorgeous?  We were on the south rim somewhere and when I first saw it, it took my breath away.  It was sooooo QUIET. No sounds of cars or businesses going on, only the faint call of birds flying over the canyon.  We all four just stared at it mesmerized for a moment.

 Another breath-taking view of the canyon. Words just escape me when I look at the canyon.  All my stresses and problems just melted away at that very moment.  It was great to feel weightless for a moment in time!!

At one of the bus stops, we watched this lil' gal weave a blanket.  It was fascinating how she did it, and right before our very eyes.  I'm sure they cost a pretty penny, too!

This drawing was actually etched with sand! Can you believe it?  It's gorgeous!

Here's a picture of yours truly in front of one of the sand paintings.  I made sure my dad just got me from chest up and he actually listened to me for once.  If he would not have, you wouldn't be seeing this picture!!

 We were waiting for the IMAX theater to open so we could watch "The Grand Canyon".  It was like no movie I had ever seen before.  It actually felt like you were flying over the canyon and actually there with the ancient indians.  If you have an opportunity to see an IMAX movie, do it!!!

While we were in the waiting area, we saw a tourist machine that would put your picture on a cover of "National Geographic."  It looked like fun and we had time to kill, so we did it!  This is my hubby, Frankie.

My mom even got into the action, as she is like me and hates to be photographed.  You could pick out your own background and the step into the machine and it puts you on the cover!!  How cool is that?

And last, but certainly NOT least, is my dad and his chosen cover. Doesn't he look totally RAD with his sunglasses? LOL... These photo covers cost about five bucks each, but it was worth it, I think.  But we didn't do anymore tourist traps for the rest of the trip!!

I remember going home hot and broke.  The temps in Yuma were soaring in the triple digits and I was missing the coolness of Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. I wanted to turn the car around and go back to the canyon again!!

See how easy it is to get your mind off your pain or your problems by thinking back to family trips you had fun on or just good memories that make you laugh.  Try it.....you just be surprised to see that it works!!

God bless,
Until tomorrow,
Missy

PS....I had to make an emergency doctor appointment today.  My right leg is just absolutely KILLING me with thigh pain and that horrible fire on the top of my foot.  Damn neuropathy!  I hate it!  So wish me luck.  I don't know what more she can do, but it's worth a try.  :0)