denver zoo
My grandnephew, Jaxxon “Jax” Killinger, is a sweet little boy who is going to be in third grade in the fall. Jax is growing up fast, and he has started to show his own likes and dislikes, as well as the interests he has. Jax is interested in art, coloring, and drawing. Who knows? A love of art could develop into many things, including traditional art or graphic art. Time will tell. While Jax loves art, that is not all he loves. With his dad, Chris Killinger’s engagement to my niece, Lacey Stevens, came additional aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. Jax and his sister, Brooklyn love their cousins, Elliott and Maya, and those 
girls love having cousins too. They all play together very well, and they have a great time. They are all great friends.
Jax also loves hanging out with his dad and his uncle, Matt Miller and his aunt Michelle Miller. They all love riding on the side by side, and Jax is pretty sure he is ready to drive a truck too. The Stevens family has taken several camping trips this summer, and Jax has had a blast camping this summer and going swimming!! The family has done a lot of camping this summer, and Jax has just reveled in it. It’s like he in in his element. My sister, Alena Stevens, also likes to take the kids to the 
Rec Center pool. They have such a great time. The slide at the pool is a kid favorite, and they can spend hours going down it if you let them. Jax, his sister, and cousins are definitely “water babies.”
In May, Chris and Lacey took Brooklyn and Jax to Denver for a trip. They went to the aquarium and the children’s museum. They had such a great time. Jax had never been to a big city before, and he was in awe of everything. Jax was so in awe that he told his dad that “It was crazy!!” The big city can be a lot to take in, but for a young boy, it’s really a lot!! I’m sure it is a trip he will remember for a long time. Today is Jax’s 8th birthday. Happy birthday Jax!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, Chris Killinger is the office and purchasing manager for Atlas Aero Service, located at the Casper-Natrona County International Airport, which means that he gets to see all to planes that come and go from the airport, some are military, some are private jets (often from celebrities), some cargo planes, and others are commercial liners. A lot of these planes land for fuel, but a large number also land to go through customs, because the process is faster in a small airport, and with the international status of this airport, comes that coveted ease of the customs process. That doesn’t mean that they don’t get a thorough inspection coming through, but rather that the lines are shorter.
Chris and my niece, Lacey Stevens, who are engaged to be married in the fall, took his kids, Brooklyn and Jaxon Killinger camping at Pathfinder Reservoir over the 4Th of July with the 
Stevens family. Chris and their brother-in-law, Matt Miller taught the kids how to drive the Rangers, and of course, that set off a whole new experience for the kids. And they loved it. They wanted to be on the Rangers the whole time they were there. The whole family was there and they got a kick out of the kids’ new-found love of “driving!!”
Earlier in the summer, they took the kids to Denver for a Memorial Day/birthday trip for Brooklyn. They went to the Denver Zoo and did so many other fun things. Chris is a great dad, and his family is very blessed to have him in their lives. He has also been a great blessing for my sister, Alena Stevens’ whole family too. They all really love Chris, with his kind and his gentle ways. He is a perfect match for Lacey and that makes the whole family very happy.
Chris has been so supportive to Lacey as she embarked on a new endeavor…her own hair salon. He often posts 
little “ads” to let people know that Lacey is out there and encouraging people to give her a call. He is without doubt, her biggest fan, well, maybe it’s a tie between him and her parents. Starting a new business is never easy, and it’s so nice to have the full support and even free advertising from the love of your life. That’s what Lacey had, and the whole venture has been a great one. Today is Chris’ birthday. Happy birthday Chris!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Brooklyn Killinger is such a sweet little girl, and she is growing up so fast. Today, she officially hit the double digits in age, reaching the age of 10 years. While she is growing up, she is still a little girl, and as such, she loves her dolls. In reality, the dolls are probably an interim replacement for the real thing. Brooklyn loves babies, and while she plays with her dolls, she would much rather have the “real” thing when it comes to babies. It helps that she has a baby cousin…Maya Stevens, because while Maya lives in Sheridan and Brooklyn lives in Casper, she gets to see her quite a bit, and when she does, everyone else might just as well understand that Brooklyn will be holding Maya as much as is humanly possible. In fact, I’m told by her bonus mom, Lacey Stevens, that Brooklyn is “still obsessed with Maya.” She will let her little brother, Jaxon Killinger hold Maya, but he must understand that she will be supervising this process and giving him pointers on how to properly hold a baby. So, Jax has to get used to hearing things like, “make sure you hold her like this” or “you’re not doing it right.” She’s very motherly, and Jax is a pretty good sport about it…understanding that being motherly is her thing. It’s super cute, and it helps that Maya seems to be obsessed with her too. Maya doesn’t let a lot of people hold her, but Brooklyn is always allowed to hold her, and that is totally ok with both of the girls.
Brooklyn really does love babies, and since she can’t always be with Maya, she chooses to improvise, by giving her dolls the very best of care. Brooklyn has two baby dolls that she treats like real babies. The dolls are named Navy and Seth. Brooklyn has car seats, highchairs, and strollers for them. She gets up to get ready for school, but she needs to be up in time to allow for feeding them before she leaves and making sure they are set for their day before she leaves. She is just a loving and motherly toward her little brother, Jaxon. Like all siblings, she sometimes gets annoyed with him, but she does not get overly angry or speak harshly to him. That is just not in her nature. She is a sweetheart who is so kind and gentle.
For the Memorial Day weekend, Brooklyn’s dad, Chris Killinger, took the family to Denver. They are having a 
wonderful time. It is the very first visit to Denver for Brooklyn and Jaxon, and as a very cool sidenote, her first visit included her birthday. Chris and Lacey took the kids to the Denver Zoo, and they had a great time seeing all of the animals. Brooklyn liked the elephants, but she was a little bit scared of them too. They are, after all huge!! Thankfully, there was a safety divider between the elephants and the people. I’m sure that…and the ice cream…eased Brooklyn’s jitters a little bit. Nevertheless, she was pretty wide eyed while they were watching the elephants. They are having lots of fun, and I’m sure she will have lots to tell everyone about all the animals they saw, and I’m sure Chris and Lacey have lots more super fun plans for the weekend. Today is Brooklyn’s 10th birthday. Happy birthday Brooklyn!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand-niece, Aleesia Spethman is a bubbly little girl, who loves life. She is going to be in 2nd grade this coming school year. She is the youngest child of her parents, Jenny and Steve Spethman, and the youngest grandchild of her grandma, Cheryl Masterson. She is a girl who is full of personality and energy. She is always on the move, doing something…from playing with her big brothers, Xander, Zack, and Isaac, to showing them who the boss is in this family. The boys humor her for the most part, but she gets a lot less “princess treatment” from the youngest of the boys, Isaac, who thinks maybe he is the boss. Aleesia would disagree.
Aleesia and her mom love to do girly things together. Shopping is a big favorite, because they are both fashionistas. Jenny has great fashion sense, and she has passed that to Aleesia, along with how to be in style, and still be yourself. Being the youngest does afford Aleesia some special treatment. She was the last one home all day with her mom, and being the only girl, eliminates the whole “hand-me-down” thing too.
Last week, Aleesia, Jenny, and Aleesia’s Aunt Liz took girl trip to Denver for Aleesia’s birthday. They got to go to the Denver Zoo and Aquarium. They had a great time watching all the animals. Aleesia loves to go to the Science Zone in Casper. The zoo and aquarium are along the same lines too, so it’s right up her alley. She really isn’t afraid of any animals…even bugs, which make me cringe, so she had a great time checking it all out. She takes after her mom in that respect. Jenny has had just about every kind of animal, including an Iguana…which really creeped me out, because it would appear next to you, when you least expected it…usually scaring the daylights out of you.
Most evenings find Aleesia visiting her grandma, and Cheryl is quite happy about that, because this is her last granddaughter, so she wants to make the most of the time she had left before Aleesia decides that she has other things to do. It is inevitable with all kids. Grandparents have them for a time, and then they are pushed out of the way for friends, sports, and after school activities. Aleesia does enjoy her girl nights, and I have had the opportunity to be a part of her girl gang, which has been great. On Thursday nights, Cheryl, Liz, Aleesia, 
and I go out to dinner, and then to Cheryl’s for a movie. Aleesia and Liz don’t always go for the movie. Liz has papers to grade, or photos to edit, and Aleesia either has homework, or she just missed her family, and wants to go home. She is a bit of a homebody too. Today is Aleesia’s 7th birthday. Happy birthday Aleesia!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
