St. George/Angels Landing

This past weekend we went to St. George to cheer on my sister Tamara in the St. George Marathon.  She did awesome!  On the way home we decided to hike Angels Landing, thanks to the recommendation of my sister Tiff and her husband Gregg.  It was an amazing hike and so beautiful!  It was super steep and hard, but worth it!

Go Tamara- You rock!

 Tamara and her running buddies!

Angels Landing in the background.  We saw that and knew that we had to get to the top!

 Look how amazingly steep it is!  The chains were helpful!

 What a view!

 Kolob Canyon- it was incredibly beautiful!

A Race, Braces, and an Award!

 Last Saturday I ran my first 10K!  That's 6.2 miles!  I am normally a 5K girl and that is all I ever ran for years.  Well, my sisters convinced me I could do more, so they convinced me to try a 10K.  I started training in January and was up to 5 miles in March.  Well, then I started having back problems with my SI joints in my pelvis.  Long story short I had to stop running completely for 5 weeks!  I finally started running again 1 month ago.  So, to be able to go from nothing to 6.2 is pretty good I think!  I had only ever run 6 miles once and it was a week before the race.  I had a goal to do it in less than an hour and I did it in 56 mins 05 secs!  Tiffany ran the 10K with me and Tamara, the crazy one, did the Half Marathon! 

 

Alyssa just got braces on TODAY!  I think she is adorable!

 At the end of the school year Alyssa got the Hope of America Award.  One boy and one girl from each 6th grade class is selected.  It is based on leadership throughout the year.  Alyssa's teacher and classmates chose her!  We are so proud of her!

Eagle Scout

 Bryson is officially an Eagle Scout!  We had the court of honor on Sunday!  I was such a proud Mama!  We had it in the Chapel so no pictures of the official ceremony, but we snagged some after!  Bryson's Scoutmaster is Colby Gibson and his dad came and spoke.  He is in the General Young Men's Presidency and a big time scouter!  In fact, he took Bryce to the National Jamboree in 1989!  It was a double ceremony with Bryson's best friend Ethan Hampton!  They went through the whole journey together!

The Eagle Scout

                                              

Brother Gibson      Bryson        Colby Gibson

                                

     Wearing a hat his Great-Grandpa Owen wore.

Grandma and Grandpa Sweeney

 The 2 Eagles and parents

 Best Buddies

 Proud Parents! 

(Look at how much taller he is than me! )

 3 Generations of Eagles with their Merit Badges

Arizona- Fall Break

This is only a month late, but better late than never! We went to Arizona to visit some great friends for Fall Break! We hit the Grand Canyon on the way down. Bryce and I loved it, but the kids weren't too impressed after the first lookout. They just wanted to get to the Allen's to swim!! We had such a blast with Travis, Michelle and their family! Thanks again!
Here are some pics of the trip.

Bryce must have taken this, I love how we are perfectly in step with our right foot raised!

Bryson at the first lookout

Bryce loved how this tree contrasted with the canyon

Ty enjoying the view before his MAJOR meltdown at the main visitors center

Alyssa- the Cactus Hugger???
My kids couldn't get over the cactus! The thought they were so cool!

Watch out McKay!

Enjoying the view and taking a break on a fun hike in Scottsdale!

Libby finally smiling! She threw a fit for half the hike and then decided she was okay and finished it off with a smile, running!

Bryce and Travis enjoying some time together!

Chicken Fights in the pool!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween! Here are some pics from the day!

Carving pumpkins!

Our "Scary" Ladybug!

The Jedi Knight- Luke or Anakin, he couldn't decide!!!
The Vampire!
Elephaba- The Wicked Witch from Wicked
The Grimm Reaper! (Bryce)
The "Pumpkin Man"
My Mom and her friend JoAnn served Homemade Rootbeer on our porch!
It was a hit!
My sister Tamara and her "dead" husband Brad
All the gang at the end of Trick or Treating!

End of Summer/School begins!

We had a great summer overall! Lot's of fun activities as a family! Here are some pictures of what we did!

Sweeney Family Reunion
We went to Starvation Reservoir.
It was super fun!
Brad gave the adults a ride on the water weenie!
Here is the result!

Our garden grew gigantic!
McKay, Jake, Ty, Jason, Brian, Libby
McKay's birthday party at Utah Lake!Happy 9th Birthday!We went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway
McKay rock climbing!

Checking out the Life Flight Helicopter
Libby, Alyssa, Bryson
Ty trying out the cow costume!First Day of School! Bryson must have been too cool for a picture cause I can't find one of him!
McKay, Ty, and Alyssa
Libby has been soooooooo excited for preschool! I only cried a little after dropping her off!

Labor Day- We took a drive up AF Canyon. It was a rough road, but the views were amazing!