Congratulations, Kristin!

My sister, Kristin, received her Young Woman Recognition Award on Wednesday night. I am so proud of her! This award is comparable to the Boyscout Eagle, so she definately has had to put in a lot of hard work.

Kristin - we love you and are so proud of you!

Get Your Black and Gold On!

I just have to take a minute to say how proud I am of my Commodores! Historically, they have not been known for being great at football, but they are doing great. So far this season, they have a 4-0 record, which includes an upset over South Carolina!

They started the season outside of the rankings, but they are now ranked 21 in the AP Top 25 and 25 in the USA Today Poll. Maybe those aren't the greatest rankings ever, but I sure am stoked! GO DORES!!!

Enjoying the Scenery

We had the opportunity to spend some time outdoors this week, and I loved it!

*MUELLER PARK*

On Monday night, we went with my family up to Mueller Park. Mueller Park is this picnic/camp area in the Bountiful foothills. It is great because it is so close, it is beatiful (the mountains are thick with foilage), there are lots of places to hike, and they allow dogs. We hadn't had a cook out in the canyon all summer, so I wanted to make sure that we got at least one in before it got too cold. The night was so nice...a few of the leaves were starting to change and there was a slight crispness to the air. We dined on roasted hot dogs, chips and dip, and smores...it was delicious and everybody had a great time!

David with the dogs: Abby, Mookie, and Faline

Our family picture: Mike, Faline, and me

*OKTOBERFEST*

We went to Oktoberfest on Saturday with my family on grandparents on Saturday afternoon. This has been a tradition with the Swain family for as long as I can remember! This was Mike's first experience.

When I was younger, my grandparents brought my sisters and me each a dress from Germany. We thought it was so cool that we could get dressed up and look "authentic" while we danced to the German music and ate the food. Things have changed since then...we no longer get dressed in costumes and dance, but we still enjoyed the food, the scenery, and the time with family.

After lunch, Mike and I decided to take the Snowbird Tram. I had never been on it before, and he wanted me to see the view from the top. I have to agree with him - the views were amazing! You could look in one direction and see Heber, then turn and see the Salt Lake Valley. I think that we could have seen further, but it was very cloudy. The only problem was that it was FREEZING! It was about 45 degrees at the peak, plus it was windy and a little rainy. We stayed long enough to take a few pictures, then headed down the mountain.

This is the view looking west, towards Sandy. When the weather is clear, you can see the valley and beyond. This picture shows the clouds and the rain. It was cool to see it raining in the distance.

We also had the opportunity to go down to Beaver this weekend. Mike's cousin, Cory, just came home from his mission in Macon, Georgia, so we headed down for his homecoming. We had a great time visiting with Mike's family. Congratulations, Cory!

Our Visit to the Utah State Fair

Attending the state fair is something that I look forward to every year. I love to see the animals and exhibits, but I especially love to "people watch". All I have to say is that there are some very interesting people at the fair.

This year's visit started out like any other. We went to the fair with our friends Lori and Kevin and Ashley and Taylor. When we first arrived, we decided that we wanted to make the most out of our visit by feasting on some good old, greasy fair food. Mike chose to eat a brick (yes, I said brick) of cheese fries, while I chose to have a Navajo taco. After dinner, everyone bought funnel cakes for dessert.

Mike's brick of cheese fries

After everyone had finished their funnel cakes, us girls decided that we ought to go on at least one of the carnival rides. We chose a ride called the Tornado. While we were in line, Lori made a comment about how she thought it would be hilarious to see someone spew all over while they were riding...This ride consisted of four-person carts that were attached to these arm-like things that moved up and down while you moved in a circle. Each cart could add additional spin for some more fun. We decided that we wanted to have as much spin on our cart as possible.

At first, everything was going really well. We were all working together to spin, but soon Lori and I started saying that we were feeling a little queesy. Soon, Lori and I stopped helping Ashley spin the cart, and I was starting to feel pretty sick. I just kept thinking to myself that as long as I could make it to the end of the ride, everything would be okay. Well, I almost made it. Just as the ride was starting to slow down, I felt a gag reflex that I couldn't hold back. Before I knew it, I was leaning over the side of the ride and had vomited pretty much everything I had eaten that night. Needless to say, greasy fair food and rides called the Tornado do not mix. I guess you could say that I was able to provide the nightly entertainment for our little group.


Fortunately, the rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. We checked out the livestock, which included seeing a HUGE steer and pig. This trip to the fair was probably the most eventful I have had in a while. We'll see what happens next year...

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! :)