Las Vegas--Day 3

Day 3 brings us to Christmas Eve! By this point in our trip we've had some rough nights with a nasty stomach virus, but everyone seems up to going to Hoover Dam so we get up and go. Nothing says, Christmas Eve, like Hoover Dam, right? There is also this amazing bridge overlooking the dam that we visited. It is so high!

Anna, Ben and Lizzy on the tour at Hoover dam. I think these were turbines. Huge, right?

We wanted to have each of the kids get to do something special while on vacation. Adam got to go to the football game. Lizzy and Anna and I got to go on the extended Hoover Dam tour. We got to walk down this narrow tunnel to one of the air vents. This is a shot from out of the vent. We are down lower in the dam.

This shot, I just stuck my hand and camera out of the vent. This is the view looking out from inside the dam.

The girls on the tour with me. There were a lot of areas we weren't allowed to go. It's crazy too, because there are offices and things inside the dam. It is not a huge, solid mass of cement. There is a lot inside it. It really is a marvel.

Here's the family from the Hoover Dam Visitor's center. You can see the bridge we will visit in the background.

Here is Grandma and Grandpa with most of the kids. I was tending to a not feeling well, melting down Jacob at this point. Greg was taking the picture.

Seriously, we always have to take a silly one. I think Adam is trying to throw Ben over.

Here is a pic of Adam from atop the dam. Pictures just cannot convey the immensity of the dam. It is so big and so amazing. It is so amazing to think it was completed without so much of the equipment we have today.

I just had to include this picture. If you look above Jacob's head you will notice he is standing in both Nevada and Arizona. All the kids really wanted their picture taken here, but as you can see, the sun is a bit much for Jacob. He is trying so hard to smile, but the light is just too bright.

Next, we were off to the bridge overlooking the dam. This view makes me think man vs. nature. I know it has really helped with providing water to southern California, but it also makes me a little bit sad.

All the kids with one foot in Nevada and one in Arizona, up on the bridge.

I know the lighting is terrible in this one, but I still like it.

Another shot of the dam from the bridge.

Our last stop before going home was to feed some crazy fish.

These are the fish. Feed me!

That's Jake and I out on the dock.

After all the fun we went home and rested a while. That evening we enjoyed a wonderful time reading and acting out the Christmas story. We also sang some songs and watched the new Bible videos put out by our Church. Here is a link if you are interested: http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos?lang=eng I really loved the Wise Man video. Each Christmas my heart is so full of love and gratitude for the Savior, and what his life means to me and my family. We are blessed to know of him and feel his love in our lives. It was very enjoyable to spend this time with Greg's mom, Cherrie, and her husband, Jim. What a great trip!

Las Vegas--Day 2

Day 2 in Las Vegas was spent at Red Rock Canyon hiking area. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Everyone really enjoyed it. The first stop there involved a lot of climbing (not the hooked up and tied in kind). I don't know what it is about kids and climbing, but they love it and it can be a little scary for a mom. Dads like to encourage that sort of thing, though, so Greg took the lead and led all the daredevils one way, while careful Anna and I and grandma all stuck together. It is true of anything found in nature, but pictures just don't do it justice (especially mine). It is so awe inspiring and amazing in real life. Very fun.

Here is Greg with some of the kids

Anna and Grandpa. Look at the beautiful blue sky.

Hi Mom!

The kids had to wriggle through 2 holes to get here. No grown ups would fit.

Adam

Jacob

Ben, Lizzy and Adam

The second hike we went on was pretty rough going. The ground was scattered with big rocks so you couldn't really walk normally. It was a test to see how strong your ankles were. The bottom of my feet hurt by the end. It was supposed to lead to a waterfall, but we were limited on time so we didn't make it all the way.

Here are the kids taking a break.

Here is a pretty good view of the path. Pretty rocky, right?

Ben, grandma and grandpa all turned around. Then a little ways down the road me and Anna turned around. Greg, Adam, Lizzy and Jacob pushed as far as time would allow. Jacob was awesome. Unfortunately for Greg, Jake ran out of steam on the way back. Greg ended up carrying him on his shoulders most of the way back. No easy task with the terrain and the distance they had gone.

Here are the three go getters.

We are so proud how well Jacob did!

After we wore ourselves out hiking we ran home and showered. Grandma and Grandpa agreed to watch the kids for the evening. Greg got tickets to see "Lion King" that afternoon for our anniversary. He is so good about planning fun things for us to do. The costumes were amazing. The set and spectacle of it was amazing. It did seem a little bit juvenile to me and I wished that there was more original music. It was mostly the same as the Disney movie. My two favorite songs were original. It was so fun to do something like that with Greg. We enjoyed dinner together afterward. Thanks Greg for a great evening and for 14 wonderful years of marriage! We have come a long way.

This is the only picture we got of us that evening. No awards for this one, but hopefully it helps us remember the feeling of the night.

Las Vegas - Day 1

During Christmas break, our family traveled to Las Vegas to visit Grandma Cherrie (my mom) and Grandpa Jim (her husband). It was the first time we've gone with the kids there and we had a great trip. We found an awesome price on plane tickets, so we were able to fly there ... first time flying for most of the kids.

The journey there involved a car ride (to the airport), a bus ride (from the parking lot), a plane ride (to Las Vegas), a train ride (from the terminal), and a van ride (to Grandma's house). It sounds like quite a journey, but it was really nice and quick (compared to driving all the way there). Here the kids are on the bus, ready for a great trip!

The next day was the Las Vegas Bowl. We hadn't really planned on going, but Grandpa Jim managed to get free tickets for Adam and I, so, being the ultimate sports fan that he is, Adam was quick to jump at the opportunity. The game was Boise State versus Arizona State. We borrowed some Boise State shirts from Grandma and Grandpa (they have a grandson that wrestles at Boise State) and tried to blend in with the Boise crowd. Other than being a little cold, we had a great time.

During the pregame, they brought out this giant flag that covered the whole field. It was pretty impressive. This is a picture from our seats. We could see the game fairly well from here, but a lot of people left after halftime (it was quite a blowout) so we got to move down a lot closer to the field during the second half.

Here's Adam posing with the ASU cheerleaders. :) This is pretty close to where we sat in the second half ... a few rows up from the south end zone.

After the game, since we were pretending to be die-hard Boise State fans (we actually were cheering for them) we stormed the field with the rest of the Boise fans.

Adam grabbed a random Boise football player and asked for a picture. No idea who he is, but he was nice to Adam.

Adam and Grandpa...

It was actually really fun to be down there on the field after the game. There was a lot of excitement and energy and I think we actually enjoyed that more than the game itself. Here's Adam chilling at mid-field after the game.

While Adam and I were at the game, Grandma and Tammy and the other kids went to see a movie, "The Adventures of Tin-Tin" at one of the IMAX theaters. I think they had a good time, but I guess the movie wasn't great for the kids. And sorry, no pictures of that outing. It was a great way to kick off the trip.

December-- before Christmas

December proves to be a busy month most years. This year was no exception. Singing concerts, band concerts, a Ward party, along with our usual busyness makes for a busy month. It is all good stuff and so enjoyable to see the kids do their best at something. I will cover Christmas and our trip to Las Vegas in other posts. Here are some highlights for the month:

Here is Ben performing with his 1st grade class. Sorry about the quality of picture. I forgot the camera, so we only had Greg's I-phone. Ben is second row down, second from the left.

Usually Jake really enjoys being dragged along to everyone's events. It is cool to have big brothers and sisters. He particularly enjoyed this song at Ben's concert. They asked everyone to take out their keys and shake them like Jingle Bells.

Our wonderful Home Teacher and his wife gave us a homemade gingerbread kit to decorate. The kids did great working on it together. They also gave us the yummiest cheese ball on the planet. Thanks!

Here is Ben with Santa at the ward party. Every year before this one he has been terrified of Santa.

Here is Jacob with Santa. It is pretty funny because Santa is not a big deal at our house. We don't talk about him much and all he brings us is our stocking stuff. Yet every kid knows about him.

It seemed like the kids had a million friends over all month long. I have really enjoyed getting to know some of them better. This is a picture of some goop Lizzy and her friend made one day. Fun to make, not so fun to clean up.

Here is Anna's first band concert. She has REALLY enjoyed playing the flute this year. She is getting quite good at it.

A distant shot at the band concert in the elementary gym.

Here is Jacob dressed as one of the three wise men for his Christmas program at preschool. His best buddy is next to him.

Jacob at preschool again.

One day the girls decided to "do" Jacob and Ben's hair.

I know we already posted video of this, but this is Adam performing with friends at the Waukee Idol competition. December is crazy!

Ebbert Reunion--Saying goodbye and the drive home

Saturday morning we all got up and got on the road (or the plane). Here is the only pictures we took of all of us together. Really it's not even everyone. My dad and his wife Nancy are already gone. It is always so fun to be together. My kids think I am much more light hearted and fun when I am with my siblings. I suppose they are right. It is almost like going back in time a little bit when we are together. It's also wonderful to see how they have all grown and what great families they have. Thanks for a fun time everyone. Can't wait for the next one!

The whole gang minus Dad and Nancy.

Does your family have to do this every photo shoot?

On the way home we took a little detour through Joplin, MO. It was absolutely unbelievable. I have never seen anything like it. The devastation was so wide spread. There had already been a lot of clean up done, but it is still heart breaking. The pictures don't even come close to doing it justice.

If I am not mistaken this is where one of our churches used to stand in Joplin. It is completely gone now. It is not on the news anymore, but so many people will be dealing with this for years to come.