Sweet Family Campout

A day and a half after we got home from Portland (see below for details on that trip) we left for Zion National Park for the annual Sweet Family Reunion. Again, we had a great time. The Sweets are so fun to be around! Most of what we did consisted of hiking, eating, and visiting. Since Mark is from St. George, he knew of a hike that is really cool that isn't well known. We attempted that one on Thursday with a large group of hikers. However, we turned in to the parking lot just before the one we wanted and ended up doing a much harder, less pleasant hike... with a bunch of young children who kept falling into cacti. At the bottom of the hike we came to a small river where we played in the water and caught frogs. It ended up being a good experience and the kids got to build some character.
Friday Mark, Tyson (my cousin) and I went back to do the real thing. We got some pretty awesome pictures there, and had a good time.

Portland Vacation 2009

Our trip to Portland was SO FUN! We had a blast. The drive should have seemed quite long but time passed quickly both on the way there and on the way back, probably because I took naps while Mark drove. When I wasn't napping, I was reading aloud a book called The Elfstones of Shannara. It's a pretty good book. I would suggest it to anyone who likes things like The Lord of the Rings.

On this trip we

• did a lot of hikes
• played a lot of games
• watched a couple of movies
• ate a lot of good food
• went to the Portland zoo
• played at OMSI
  
• hiked to some waterfalls
  
• visited the aquarium at Newport
• saw the Oregon coast
• visited with Mark's brother and family
• went to the rose gardens
• went hiking
• visited old friends in La Grande

Portland Zoo

Newport Coast and Aquarium

OMSI

Multnomah Falls

Rose Gardens

Punchbowl Falls