Christmas 2009

Dax and Katie had a beautiful tree for Maicey's first Christmas. All of her grandparents/aunts/uncles and cousins came for the day
Dax and Katie finally found something to read....hope they read them to Maicey and not just look at the pretty pictures.

Dax thought he hit the jackpot but soon found out all of those gifts were for Maicey......
Katie Uncle Matt and Uncle Aaron
Aaron, Alicia and Amanda Christmas 2009.
Maicey Christmas 2009
Amanda Christmas 2009

Crystal Cave

Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of Crystals), Chihuahua Desert, Mexico

Among the largest crystals known to man, the beams of selentite found deep below Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert are breathtaking. Nearly a thousand feet below the Earth’s surface and in one of the country’s most productive silver and lead mines, Cueva de los Cristales was discovered by a pair of brothers working for the Naica mine.

The glistening beams are the product of calcium sulfate saturated groundwater filtering through the numerous limestone caves of Naica for hundreds of thousands of years, warmed by the resonating heat of the magma below. Preliminary research suggests the crystals to be at least 600,000 years old and the process of accretion was only halted in 1985 when, unbeknownst to cave workers who lowered the water table with industrial pumps, drained the cavernous cathedral of crystals.

Over 140 of the expansive crystals have been documented with estimations of their numbers around 170. Along with the cave of crystals, the mine is also home to others caves named for their peculiar formations: Eye of the Queen, Cave of Candles, and Cave of Swords. The largest crystal discovered to this point was a massive 37.4 feet. Good luck finding a museum to fit any of these examples in. Efforts are being made to preserve the cave to prevent looters and such from ruining its pristine formations.

Ice Palace

26th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival at a park in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China.
Visitors to Harbin's popular ice and snow festival should dress in layers -- and don't be surprised if you're digital camera acts up because of the cold weather.


The buildings seen at Harbin's annual snow festival celebrating snow and ice are made from blocks of ice.

Tallest Building in the World.....

Today Dubai hosted the inauguration of the tallest building in the world, Burj Dubai. The building is 168 stories high and reaches 2,684 feet into the sky.

This is truely an amazing building.....over 1billion dollars to construct.

Burj Dubai is the world's tallest building, tallest free-standing structure, boasts the highest occupied floor, the highest outdoor observation deck and the world's longest-traveling elevator (1,640 feet in 2 minutes). (excerpt from CNN).

The building includes 5-star Armani Hotel which offers 160 guest rooms across 10 floors. The 430,000-square-foot hotel, designed and furnished by Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, features eight restaurants, a spa, swimming pool, library, fitness center and business center, as well as 30,000 square feet of conference and banquet space on "mirror-smooth marble floors," according to the Armani corporate Web site.