Sweet Campout 2009 - Zion National Park

It sounds weird to say "Zion" I think it should be "Zions". I feel better getting that off my chest.

I think this was my 8th or 9th "Sweet Campout". I've missed a few due to pregnancy sickness over the years, but overall, I've been there and have really enjoyed myself. The Sweet's are a fun crew to hang out with, never a dull moment. How could there possibly be a dull moment when there are almost 50 people camping together for 4 days?? In fact, I'm still recovering. I'm so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. I guess that's the sign of a good time so I'll take it and be happy about it!

First of all, this is Ginger. Isn't she a cutie? Ginger is Rod's dog. Rod is my brother-in-law. Rod put the end of Ginger's leash around Cameron's wrist while Cameron was sitting on my lap. Ginger layed at my feet for so long I forgot the leash was attached to Cameron. Suddenly, Ginger sensed a squirrel or something nearby because she BOLTED away from me and you should have SEEN Cameron shoot off my lap and onto his belly in the dirt! Sadly, I was laughing so hard my niece had to pick Cameron up for me. I'm laughing right now thinking about it. Oh man, it was awesome. Cameron is fine, and he still loves Ginger so life is good.


Then there was another time that Cameron was in a canoe with Sam and he decided to be an acrobat and flip over the bar that he's holding onto in this picture.


He flipped okay, but he didn't stick the landing...he kissed the bottom of the canoe pretty hard and got a bloody nose. Poor buddy.


I think he still likes canoe rides, so again, life is good. Carson has always loved the canoes but during this trip he learned to love being in a canoe by himself and rowing all over the pond that was by our bunk houses. It was kind of trippy to see him out there by himself but at the same time, I could see him grow in the "independent" area of his life and it was fun to watch.


The first day we were there was just set up camp, played in canoes, a visited around the campfire.


The next 2 days we ventured through Zions. I have never been there before and it was beautiful! It would have been nice if it were about 30 degrees cooler, but nonetheless, it was beautiful!





We had a few injuries and we teased my niece's husband constantly (we love you Mark). Most of all, we laughed and we made lots of memories. Yes it was hot and I got cranky a few times, but I survived and ended up having fun. A huge "THANK YOU" to everybody who helped with Cameron. I was still recovering from my hurt back while I was there. Everybody helped keep Cameron happy which helped my experience turn out even better. You guys rock!

Here are a bunch of pictures that I like:




















And just remember...at the end of the day, all that matters most is that you surround yourself with good people who love you....no matter how white trash you look!

The Basement

BEFORE:







AFTER:








We have hung a few more things on the walls since these pictures were taken. We're pretty much done now. PHEW! Quite the project. Sam celebrated by sleeping on the tramp by himself one night:

Girls Camp 2009

Last night Sam and I were able to attend Girls Camp in our ward for the Bishopric night. This was our 3rd year attending camp and it was lots of fun, as usual!

Here's our experiences at Girls Camp in 2007

And here's our experiences at Girls Camp in 2008

Our girls were given the color orange to wear during Girls Camp week. They tied it into "Tigger" from Winnie the Pooh. The leaders gave us tigger ears, a tail, and a bowtie to wear. As a bishopric (and wives) we tie dyed orange shirts earlier in the week so we could match our girls. Orange is my favorite color so I was happy!

The bishopric: Sam Sweet, Davis Strong, and Stewart Brennan (bishop)


I don't know why, but this is probably my favorite picture of the night. I asked these guys to turn sideways so I could see their tails. Here's the result. Bishop: perfect form! Davis: Look at me, I'm over here! I know Bishop's tiger tail is awesome, but look at me! Sam: Uhhhhhh, what part of "stand sideways" didn't you understand??


Sam took over with the camera from here on out. During the Stake Presentation, he was trying to get pictures of our girls and their cat-like profiles. It turned out to be lots of fun! We were sitting behind them all so they didn't really know what he was doing.







This is our Stake Presidency: Hansen, Linnell (pres.), Rowland. they sing a song every year for the Stake Program. They are brave. I would be running far far away if I had to sing in front of all those people! They did a great job!


These traitors (I say that very lovingly) are now in the neighboring ward due to some boundary shifts 1 1/2 years ago. I still miss them very, very, very much! Jene' and Wendy! You guys rock!


Love ya Park 2nd ward!


We are so cute in all our orange tie-dye glory!


The leaders...AKA...the Hostess' with the Mostest! Heather Ellison, Stefanie Dennison, Leslie McNaughton, Holly Nesbit, and Marci Nicol. They cooked up a grubbin' meal of BBQ chicken and cheesy potatoes. Delicious!


We had a touching testimony meeting and then some fun around the campfire. It was perfect!





Sam was messing around with long exposures to capture as much light as possible. The fire and glow sticks were a nice touch to the lighting effects!




S'mores faces!


Anywho, we got home around 1am. Then by the time we cleaned up and Sam took the babysitter home (his mama), I think it was about 2:30am. Poor Sam had to get up at 6am for work. Can you say blood-shot eyes? :)

In other news, I got my hair colored. Nothing too drastic, but the gray is covered. Dang gray, it's really persistent!

Before:


After:


Aren't you glad I share everything with you? Hey, at least I won't look like the oldest person in my family pictures in a few weeks! Thank goodness I'm not a pioneer. I'd have gray hair that is super frizzy because I'm pretty sure the hair products I use now weren't around back then!