Maggie did a report at the end of of 4th grade on Hoover Dam so it was fun for all of us to go see what we had all been learning about. She was our personal tour guide - spouting off facts she remembered from her report.

Did you know over 100 people died in its construction? Workers called "highscalers" would suspend from cables from the canyon walls to chisel away and blast out rock. When the dam was completed in 1936 it began providing electricity to Nevada, Arizona, and a huge portion of the southern half of California.

And if the dam itself isn't amazing enough, in the last year or so, a bypass bridge was built next to the dam to help alleviate all the traffic jams that would occur due to too much traffic on the small two-way highway crossing over the dam.

Look at this crazy high bridge!!!

It's 900 feet above the river! We didn't have a chance to go up on the bridge. We want to do that next. I think...if I can find a way to chain all my babies to the railings first.

Lily really wan't as miserable as she looks. She was just mad at me for picking her up for the picture. She was loving the walk and feeling oh so independent.

This next picture makes me so happy. Maggie and Claire adore their big girl cousins. If they turn out anything as sweet, kind, and good as these girls I will be forever grateful to my nieces and their incredible parents. To Mailee, Hailey, and Brenna (and Emily, who couldn't be here) you will never know how much your example means to my little girls. We love you!!

It was a little nerve wracking being at the endge of sheer cliffs with 17 kids. If only I had a nickel for everytime I heard one of the adults yell "Keep both feet on the ground!!!" Here's more of the clan... and the cute boys who took years off their parents' lives while trying to get a better view of the river at the bottom of the canyon.



We all made it out intact and no one passed out due to heat exhaustion, so I'll call the day a success.