Wowing over Wonderful Wyoming

Here we are on the Jenny Lake trail to Inspiration Point and beyond!

Hi all,

What a wonderful trip to Wyoming we had! I'll be trying to break down all of our wilderness adventures into their many chapters and post them here on John's blog in the coming days and weeks.


To John: Thanks for inviting all of us on this fantastic trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. This precious bastion of American wilderness is truly inspiring and worth preserving and protecting forever.

And, to all who joined us on this trip: Thank you for being there. It was truly awesome to share this beautiful place and time with all of you.

There will be many more photos posted here. You won't believe how many we all took. I'll upload the Swick's to an online photo site later today. If you don't have authorship privileges and have some photos from your collection that you'd like to have posted here, please send them to me. I'll even give you credit for taking the picture! :)

This week John enters his third round of pulse chemotherapy. Please keep countless thoughts and prayers pouring out for him. We are all grateful for your support and encouragement during this time.


Greg

3, 2, 1, Wyoming!

Hi all,
Preparations for the Grand and Glorius Tiffany Reunion in the Grand Tetons and Glorious Yellowstone are definitely in full swing! While we were in Topeka last week, we spread the maps and tourist information out and imagined what our days there will be like.
A dip in the pool helped us to prepare for the relaxing time in the American West and the reality of nightly lows in the 30's and 40's, with daytime highs in the 70's.

I suspect that these swimming suits will not be a common sight out there!

John is the quintessential hiker on this trip. See his sporty look as he showcases his fine new Keen hiking boots.

Yes, even Bob is looking forward to strolling the beaches of Yellowstone Lake. With Photo Shop, I am sure we can transport him to Atlantic City in no time.

And, Laura has decided to join in on the fun! I believe that makes 14 of us converging in the wilderness.

Finally, the libations of the Big Sky Brewing Company, including the one and only Moose Drool, await us all.
Cheers, all. We can't wait! See you soon!
Greg

My Birthday

Thanks to you all for all the kind cards and 50th birthday wishes. My 50th birthday was Saturday (July 26) and was a close-knit family affair with Justin and Ashley here to join in the celebration. Thanks Ashley and Justin. Dan, I know you wanted to be here but we understand your dedication to your Bar Exam study. Best of luck to you. We have every confidence you'll do very well.

To all of you, wour thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated. Remember, 50 is the new 30. I am going to try to live that motto. You all make it look easy with your graceful way of aging and of growing up (for you youngsters - that's everyone younger than me!).

Dan and Ashley, I love the bicyling singlet you got me for my birthday! Here I am dressed as the Lion of Flanders. C'est tres formidable! I think it looks good on me.

Thanks for the birthday dinner, Justin. It is always very special when you're here.

Thanks to Martha and Greg for our Anniversary Dinner. We loved having you and it was fun watching the Alp D'Huez climb with you live. We always love your visits.

Thanks and love to you all!

John

Anniversary/Birthday

Thank you for the Anniversary and birthday wishes, especially to you, Martha, for your kind post. Karen and I are truly looking forward to seeing you and Greg soon. It is hard to believe that as of Wednesday, Karen and I will have been married twenty years. How quickly the years have passed. There are many happy years ahead too, with God's help.
Karen and I are still active in the very beautiful church in which we took our marriage vows. I have a meeting at the Church Wednesday to discuss the Church's financial picture. It's always tenuous, but that's a modern church for you. 1st Presbyterian is a special place architectually. It is one of only 11 churches in the United States with a complete set of Louis Comfort Tiffany windows and the only one west of the Mississippi. They are amazing. I should blog them, no?
We're also looking forward to celebrating my birthday Saturday with Ashley and Justin. I hope Dan can be there too. I know he's really busy with his Bar review.

Milestones in July

This next week will be a big one for the John and Karen. On Wed, they will celebrate their 20th anniversary. I do remember that day as we all were in the First Presbyterian Church to share that special time with them. It was rich with history as our grandparents and our parents attended that church. Our parents also getting married in that church with the beautiful Tiffany windows. Greg and I have gone to church with John and Karen several times and it is easy to get lost in the sun coming through those windows and thinking about our past sitting in those pews as well.

John will also turn the big 50 on July 26th! Now, I have slipped on past that half century mark and it was a bit daunting as you think you can't be "that" old. Little brother, I wish for you a wonderful birthday. I wish you a week that you feel stronger every day and many more birthdays. Greg and I will see you and Karen on Tuesday to help celebrate. I know that Ashley and Justin will be up to help celebrate later in the week. We are all looking forward to spending time with you in the mountains during that first week in Aug. The emails are flying in daily to hammer out the final details of moving around a dozen or so people through their flights and hotel reservations. It has been a blessing.

Everyone out there who reads this blog, please send some anniversary and birthday wishes to John and Karen. It has been a very big year for us all!

Ashley's New Wheels

My 2nd round of pulse chemo has ended. Give me a couple of days to wake up and I'll tell you about it. I am glad to be back to the hiatus stage for the time being.


Ashley got a new bike. It's a great little Trek IOOO. It is a great looking little rig. I am sure she'll get a lot of satisfaction from riding it. Let me know when you're ready to ride, Ashley. I am ready to school you on riding skills. It looks like you selected a really quality machine. I hope I
can attach its pic to this comment.

Lets Ride!

Pulse Chemo - 2nd Round

Hi. I began pulse chemotherapy 2nd round today. It was a bit rough. There was considerable nausea today. Let's just say I purged my tummy about as well as it can possibly purge. This happened with round one too and it passed quickly and didn't really recur. We hope for a similar reaction this time. Karen had our doctor fill a prescription to treat my nausea related to the chemo today. It really helped. If this medicine continues to work like this, the rest of the week will get easier and easier. We'll let you know how it does.

Check out the pics we took of the 4th of July celebration in Collins Park, here in Topeka. It was very good to see some old friends like Mary Anne's friend Brent, Ann, the McInerney's and their families, Noel & Scott and some friends from our church as well.

Katy got a star turn at the 4th of July celebration as well. There was a French film crew taking video of American small-town neighborhood festivities. I think they caught a couple of shots of Katy. We hope so!!