Christmas Eve fun

 So, we have heard about "the waterfall" for many months and all the missionaries talk about how pretty it is and we have always thought that we should go there someday.  We thought it would make a good Christmas activity, so off to Nealtican we went today. 

 I know I take a million of these pictures, 

but I can't get over how cute they are!

 the entrance to where the hike to the waterfall starts.  We were lucky that it was open today.  The elders told us that it has been closed for a long time.

 After about 10 minutes of hiking, we came upon the waterfall and it was beautiful!

 Elder Goodsell, our guide for the day

 I thought the layers in the mountainside was very interesting.  

We saw this in several places as we drove down the mountain.

 

This is an old convent or monastery that was built into the side 

of the mountain.  It was very far away, so we couldn't see it too well, 

but if you look closely you can see a waterfall going down 

through the right side of the buildings.

 

Mom grew up in San Buenaventura (Ventura) in California, so when 

Elder Goodsell told us about this place in Nealtican, we had to take a picture.

 

  After the hike to the waterfall, the boys met up with some of the Elders to play a game of soccer.  Ben, Brian and Bradley played.  I'm sure Lindsay would have played, but she is expecting a baby, so she sat on the sidelines.

 It was tough playing for the boys because they aren't used to this much physical activity at such a high altitude, but they had a good time.