Monday, July 27, 2009

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




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Rose Gardens









Punchbowl Falls