15, 20, 25...

The second week in September is always a busy one for the Swain Family. It is always busy because there are three birthdays within four days: mine, and my sisters', Beth and Khemia. Growing up, this always meant three birthday dinners, three birthday cakes, and tons of giftwrap within a short amount of time. By the time Khemia's birthday came, everyone was sick of birthdays. This year, we decided to try something different: we would celebrate all three birthdays on one day.

Mike and Lisa

We decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. As usual, it was delicious! Amazingly enough, they were able to seat our entire party immediately. It had been a while since we were actually able to get a table for dinner there, so everybody was glad.

Lisa, Khemia, and Beth; I turned 25, Khemia turned 15, and Beth turned 20

My mom decided to bake a layer cake, but use each layer for each day. This way, there wasn't so much of a cake overload.

I would have to say that this was a good birthday. To be honest, I was not looking forward to turning 25 - I have been dreading it ever since I turned 24. I felt like I was too young to be turning 25 and that it would be the end of my youth. It was almost like I have been experiencing a "mid twenties" crisis. Maybe that sounds strange, but I have talked to a few other people that have said they had similar feelings about turning 25, so I know I am not alone. It just makes me wonder...if I had such a hard time turning 25, what am I going to do when I turn 30???

Sweet Home, Alabama: My Adventures in the Yellowhammer State

During the past week, I had the opportunity to attend a training that is conducted by the Center for Domestic Preparedness and is sponsored by FEMA and Homeland Security. The training was located at an inactive military base (Fort McClellan), which is located in Anniston, Alabama. The purpose of this particular training is to help healthcare providers, emergency responders, community leaders, and others prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic.

I was a little nervous about attending this, but everything went really well. I flew into Atlanta, Georgia, where they had a bus that drove everyone into Alabama. The drive was so pretty! I just love the green, which is something that we don't have a lot of in Utah. The trees were dense everywhere - they are so thick on the side of the freeway, that you could hardly ever see what you were passing. There is also some type of an ivy-like vine that grew over everything. There were some places where it was so dense that it looked like someone had spread an ivy blanket over all the trees and shrubs. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture from the bus.

All of the training and accomodations were on the military base. I stayed in a dorm, which allowed me to have my own room, although I did have to share a bathroom.

This is the room that I stayed in...it was pretty nice considering it used to be military housing.

This is part of the base that I stayed on. It is hard to see from this picture, but in the distance, you can see the Appalachian Mountains in the distance. They look like hills compared to the mountains here, but they are completely green. In the evening, it would almost seem like there was a mist that settled, and it looked really cool around the trees on the base.

Each day was spent in a classroom setting learning about pandemic influenza. Everything was so interesting, and I learned a lot! The class ended by breaking up into groups and doing a drill that put everything we had learned into practice.

We had the evenings to ourselves to do whatever we wanted. The base provided a shuttle that would take you into different places around town. One night, some of us asked the shuttle driver to take us to the most exciting place that would be open, and guess where the driver went...WalMart! We asked if there was a Main Street or some type of historic district or anything like that, and we were told that was the "dangerous" part of the city. So, we spent the evening wandering around WalMart and the Tractor Supply Company. The Tractor store had these really cute cowboy boots, which I thought about buying, but I didn't have room in my suitcase. The next night, we decided to go golfing. We golfed eight holes, and honestly, my golfing ability has not improved. But, it was still nice to get out and enjoy the course.

I took this picture at the golf course. The picture is dark, but it shows the mountains in the distance. You can also see how there are trees everywhere. Seriously, everywhere you looked, it was green.

I would definately recommend attending a training here if you are involved in any type of emergency response/preparedness. They offer several classes besides pandemic influenza, and everything really was beneficial.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

Our ward was split during church today. The split two wards (1100 people total) to make three. This meant that we lost about 1/3 of the people in our ward, including some of our friends. It is sad to see people go, but it will also be easier to get to know people in a smaller ward. Needless to say, I am sure that there will be a lot of future changes...we'll see what happens! :)

Happy Anniversary!

Mike and I celebrate our two year anniversary today, and I have to say that it has been an amazing two years! Our first date was August 2005...Mike was instantly smitten, but things didn't quite click for me. So, we became close friends. However, it was always apparent that Mike was ready to take things to the next level. By the end of March 2006, I was ready to give a relationship a try, and things rapidly progressed from there. We were married that August and have never looked back. We have had a lot of crazy adventures together, and we are definitely a stronger couple because of each one.

Here are a few highlights from the past two years

(in no particular order)...

Ending the "Lori, I need you to sit between us" phase

Moving into the house on York Drive, then selling it nine months later

Lisa getting accepted into grad school

Mike opening the Quarry Bend Branch

Visiting California, Mexico, Lake Powell, Nashville, and a few other places

Becoming the proud parents of Faline

Moving into the house on Alton Drive

Weekend stays in Park City

Cafe Rio and movie nights

I really am so lucky to have such a great husband!!! I don't mean to sound cliche, but it is the truth. I am so fortunate to have Mike as my best friend and eternal companion. The best is yet to come!!!

Soaking Up the Sun in Lake Powell!

Mike and I just came home from a great trip to Lake Powell. Everything went great - we could not have asked for a better getaway!

We left on Wednesday afternoon and went with Mike's dad, Derek, Jess, and Trevor. Mike's dad was great to arrange the trip for us. We stayed in these family units which are within walking distance of Bullfrog Marina. Our unit had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a stocked kitchen, air conditioner...everything we needed for a comfortable stay. However, we did not spend much time on the shore. We spent nearly all day every day out on the lake wakeboarding, skiing, and exploring the canyons.

One of my favorite parts was when we found this slot canyon that was practically hidden. Jessica's parents had mentioned to her that they found a slot canyon that had recently become accessible enough to walk through. Unfortunately, we did not find the one that they had described, but we found this cove area that we decided to explore. The area started to become too narrow for the boat, so we decided to swim ahead and see what we could find. What we found was this area of the canyon that got so narrow that we had to swim in a straight line - the canyon was literally not more than two feet wide, but the water was deep enough to where we couldn't touch the bottom of the lake. We kept swimming and swimming, and the canyon never ended. We eventually had to turn around because the canyon was so narrow that we couldn't fit through it anymore. It was quite the adventure! Unfortunately, I couldn't bring the camera back to this canyon since I didn't want it to get wet while we were swimming.

Mike and Lisa on the boat in Bullfrog Marina

Mike wakeboarding in Bullfrog Bay - Mike hasn't wakeboarded or skied the pass few times that we have come to Lake Powell, so I was so glad to see him out on the water. He capped of his boarding time by letting go of the rope and sliding up on to a sandy beach. He thought that was quite the trick.

Lisa, Derek, Jess, Trevor, and Jace cliffjumping in Lake Canyon (ya, I know it is hard to see us). Trevor was definately the daredevil of the group and could not get enough jumps in.

Trevor, Jace, and Mike during a lunch break in Lake Canyon. What can I say? Mike reacted very enthusiastically about having his picture taken!

Jace - thanks so much for the great trip! We had so much fun!!! Also, thanks mom and dad for watching Faline!

A Work in Progress

One of our biggest summer projects has been landscaping our yard. Fortunately, the front yard was landscaped with a sprinkling system and grass when we moved in last September, so we did not have to completely start from scratch. Even so, it has been a big project.

We decided to have someone grade and install sprinklers into our backyard. There is no way we could have done that on our own - there is some crazy type of weed that grows in this area, and it is huge! Some of the weeds were as tall as me, so it felt like you were walking through a jungle. Mike ended up burning out our weed-whacker trying to chop them down. We had curbing poured in the front and back yard to mark off some flower beds, and that looks really good. The curbing is the color of the brick on our house, so it really matches nicely. Last week, both of our families came and helped us lay sod. We still have quite a bit of work left, but the yard is looking better and it is nice to see how different it is from when we first started.

The front yard before

The backyard before

The front yard after. I was able to plant a few flowers, but I will have to wait to plant the rest next season.

The backyard after. We planted two quaking aspens, a maple tree, and a douglas fir. I haven't been able to plant any flowers in the backyard at all. The selection is horrible since it is so late in the season.

Mike attempting to use the 4-wheeler to pull out our fence post. We had to take out the front part of our fence so that the landscaper could get his trailer into our backyard. Needless to say, his plan did not work, and we had to pull it out by hand.

Also...a BIG THANKS to both of our families for helping with the sod. We couldn't have done it without you!!!

Intuition?

I was reading a magazine article a few days ago that talked about following your intuition, and it got me thinking. The article said that research has shown that relying on your intuition can be as important as using logic and reasoning to make decisions. This was interesting to me because I have made some big decisions based on intuition, and I feel like I 'have to listen to my gut', while Mike wishes I would sort things out logically.

So, I got to wondering if anyone else is like me and tends to rely on their intuition...if you have a story that you would like to share, that is great...but if not, that is fine too. I am interested in hearing if you agree with the article or if you prefer to rely on logic. :)