Ashby, Julie (Swindler)

Hmmm. How does one cleverly summarize 20 years? No idea. I'm just glad high school is over and that most of us have grown up a little.

After high school, I went to BYU and lived at home. I started my studies in Electrical Engineering and then switched to English. (Yeah, I know, kind of a stretch. But my emphasis was on techincal writing.) I graduated from BYU in 1994. Sometime before that, however, I was introduced to Phillip Swindler, the man I would marry. My dad actually picked him out for me when we were all in 8th grade, but it was years before we finally met. (Phil was one of my dad's students at Timpview High.) My parents arranged for a blind date and even came with us on the date. Surprisingly, it still worked out. We were married in July of 1992.

Phil's first job (post graduation) was with Orbit Sprinklers in Bountiful, so we moved to Layton. I worked as a technical writer for Shipley Associates (later acquired by Frankly Covey). While we were in Layton, our first son, Alex, was born in 1996. I became a stay-at-home mom. When I was pregnant with our second son, Phil found a different job in Orem for Mity Lite. We moved back to Provo (about half a block from my parents' home) and have been here ever since. (Fall of last year brought a job change again for Phil, but it did not require a move.) Our second son, Sam, was born in 1999. He was followed by our third son, Tom, in 2003. In April of 2008, we defied the odds and got a baby girl, Jessie. Each child brings challenges but also provide us a lot of joy. (It is somewhat surreal to have my oldest going to Dixon, however.) On the journey from then to now, we've experienced heartache along the way, but we've managed to survive with, mostly, grace and good humor.

Currently, I fill my life with my family, blogging (www.biffytalk.blogspot.com), and, when I can, friends. It has been fun to occasionally run into a familiar face from high school. May the next 20 years bring joy and satisfaction to all of us.