Christmas 2005

The family Christmas tree. Isn't it beautiful?
Sam, Jache, Joseph, Miriam, Tony, Brianne, Dena and Keith opening presents early on Christmas morning
Jache opening his present from Keith and I. I think he likes it. :)
Keith and Grandma Alma
Keith E in his Christmas apron.

Jacob and Ann on Christmas Eve
Ann in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve
Miriam and Joseph
Miriam in front of the Christmas tree. Look at all those presents!
Dena and Grandma Alma

Keith and I had a great Christmas with his family. We decided to open gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve (which is *technically* Christmas morning) since Christmas day was going to be so busy and we wanted everyone to be together. So we opened presents from 12:30 am to 3:00 am on Christmas morning. It was unconventional, but lots of fun.

Christmas party

Ann and Madison (Keith's step-brother's daughter) playing at the Christmas party
The Christmas party food Keith E and his brother, Kerry
Miriam and Ann
Sam with his Christmas dinner

On Christmas day we went over to Keith E's parent's house for dinner with the extended family. Every inch of the house was decorated for Christmas.

Thanksgiving in Las Vegas

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving in Las Vegas this year. We didn't get much sleep and enjoyed every minute of it.

The Las Vegas Strip

We had a great time on the Strip. We spent days walking around and still didn't get to see everything. These are some of my favorite sights.

Thanksgiving - Vegas style

For Thanksgiving dinner we decided to go to a buffet instead of cook. We went to the Rio, which has the best buffet in town. We stood in line for 2 hours to get in and we spent about equally long eating. The food was great. Not only did they have the traditional Thanksgiving foods, but everything from sushi to crab legs. Delicious. My favorite part was the dessert buffet. :)

The Stratosphere

We got an amazing view of Las Vegas from the top of the Stratosphere. It stands 100 stories (1,140 feet up) and is the tallest building in Las Vegas. There are some rides on top and we decided to go on The Big Shot, which shoots you straight up in the air. It was super scary, but really fun. The view was amazing. I loved it.

Accident Report

Our first night in Vegas a car raced passed us on an off ramp, lost control and smashed head on into the cement barrier. The whole front end of the guy's truck was smashed in and his bumper came off and lodged itself under Jache's car as we drove behind him. We pulled over to make sure the guy was ok and to get the bumper out from under the car (we had to use a jack in order to get it out). We spent over an hour on the side of the freeway filling out the accident report. It was an exciting start to our Vegas vacation. I am really glad that no one was seriously injured. 

Off-roading on Rocky Gap Road

Sam took us off-roading in his truck and we got to see the less traveled part of Las Vegas. It was beautiful, but super cold in the mountains. We had a great time. I was a little scared at first because the road was really rocky and I was sure that we were going to get stuck, but Sam and his truck got us though without problems. I'm really glad that we went. I loved it!

The Drive Home

Our Vegas vacation had to come to an end eventually. Keith and I started the drive back to CA around 1:00 pm. The drive should have been 9 hours long, but instead it took almost 15 hours. We got home at 4:30 am. The traffic was stop and go for over half the drive. I thought I was going to go crazy. Once we passed Bakersfield the traffic cleared up and we finally got out of second gear. I was sad that our trip was over, but glad to get home and into bed. 

POP QUIZ!

Why you don't post comments on my blog:
a) You follow the mantra "If you don't have anything nice to say..."
b) Only Mickayla looks at my blog and she can't type
c) Crazy computers! How do you work this thing?
d) You wish you could comment, but you've taken a religious vow of blog silence

Mouses ready? You have 5 seconds. Go.

Sunrise, Sunset

Keith and I went "midnight golfing" with some friends of ours from our ward. We didn't get to the golf course until 4:30, so by the time we finished the third hole we couldn't even see our golf balls or the flags anymore. Since it took us all almost 10 strokes per hole, I think we would have ended up playing in the dark before we finished the 9 holes no matter what time we started. :) Even though none of us have made plans to go pro after our game, we all had a great time. The course was a little ghetto, but it only cost $6 to play so it was a great place to practice. It was great.

Keith took these pictures from our living room window. The city looks so beautiful at sunset. (That bright dot below the moon is Mars.)

Keith also took this picture of the sunrise. No, there wasn't any sleep involved between these pictures.