Kids
John Joseph Merlin, who was actually born Jean-Joseph Merlin, was a Belgian clockmaker, musical-instrument maker, and inventor. Born on September 6, 1735, in Huy, a town in what was then the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and is now in Belgium, Wallonia. His parents Maximilien Joseph Merlin (a blacksmith) and his wife Marie-Anne Levasseur. Merlin’s parents had married in 1732, and Merlin was the third of six children. Sadly, his mother died when he was eight. His father remarried at least once, to Marie Therese Dechesalle in 1743, and had another child, Charles Merlin. The family moved several times. From ages 19 to 25, Merlin lived in Paris, where he was involved in the Paris Academy of Sciences.
He moved to England in 1760. He began working with a man named James Cox in 1766, creating automatons such as Cox’s timepiece and the Silver Swan. He really took to the work, and by 1773 he was designing and making innovative keyboard instruments. In 1783, Merlin decided to do something new, so he opened Merlin’s Mechanical Museum in Princes Street, Hanover Square, London, which became a meeting-place for the gentry and nobility. At this point, Merlin expanded his horizons, and in addition to his clocks, musical instruments and automata, he invented inline skates…in the 1760s.
Merlin invented inline skates, which he called skaites. Merlin’s skaiteshad two wheels in the 1760s. The skaites were mentioned by Thomas Busby’s Concert Room and Orchestra Anecdotes (1805). The mention was not would have been exactly complimentary either, because it mentions an accident Merlin had while demonstrating his skaites.
“One of his ingenious novelties was a pair of skaites contrived to run on wheels. Supplied with these and a violin, he mixed in the motley group of one of Mrs Cowleys’ masquerades at Carlisle House; when not having provided the means of retarding his velocity, or commanding its direction, he impelled himself against a mirror of more than five hundred pounds value, dashed it to atoms, broke his instrument to pieces and wounded himself most severely.”
In case that all sounded a little confusing, let me simplify. Basically, Merlin didn’t practice using…or rather stopping, his skaites before he demonstrated them. His “stumbling” start aside, Merlin went on to invention other things, including a self-propelled wheelchair, a prosthetic device for “a person born with stumps only,” whist cards for the blind, a pump for expelling “foul air,” a communication system for summoning servants, a 
pedal-operated revolving tea table, and a mechanical chariot with an early form of odometer. Merlin died in Paddington, London on 8 May 1803. His collection was sold to Thomas Weeks of Great Windmill Street. Weeks died in 1834, at which time Merlin’s creations were auctioned off with Weeks’ other possessions. One of Merlin’s automatons, a dancer with an automated bird, was bought at the auction by Charles Babbage for 35 pounds. He had seen it as a child at Merlin’s Mechanical Museum.
My niece, Liz Masterson is without a doubt, one of the busiest people on Earth. Liz is a Journalism and English teacher at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper, Wyoming. By definition, that puts Liz in charge of the annual, the student news site (Kelly Kall), as well as taking pictures for all of the various events that go on. From, sports to cheerleaders, and from clubs to events, Liz is there. As a photographer, she also takes many of the senior pictures for the students. Her work is excellent, and word of mouth referrals have grown her popularity exponentially. Not only does she take the pictures, but she heads up the staff that put the annual and paper together. Of course, this means long nights of going through photographs to make any edits necessary. It is a process that takes weeks and months, and all this is in addition to her normal duties as a teacher.
As most people know, teachers don’t get off work at 3:00pm or whatever time school gets out. They have to grade papers, grade tests, create tests, hold parent/teacher conferences, back to school nights. Often, a teacher’s day doesn’t end until 10:00pm or beyond…and that is just for the class work. Any club work or staff 
work is extra. There is usually little time for anything of a personal life. Nevertheless, Liz is part of a book club and has set herself to the task of reading a book about each of our presidents. Liz is a Journalism and English teacher, but she is also a history buff. She has read books on the Holocaust, World War II (which her grandpa Allen Spencer, my dad, fought in), and the other wars too. She has also studied the presidents, as I said. In her “free” time, Liz spends a much time as her can with her fur babies, her dogs, Buffy, Scout, Holiday, and Gracie, as well as her cat, whose name is Piper, but she is always called Kitty.
As if that wasn’t enough, Liz is studying for her Master’s Degree. Normally this is a two-year program, but she has chosen to do it in one year…making it very intense. Part of the program required her to write a blog. She is then graded on the number of comments, and the comments themselves. The blog is called That’ll Teach You, and the articles are very good. I encourage you to read them, and please be sure to comment. It will help Liz a lot.
As if that wasn’t enough, Liz is studying for her master’s degree. This is a year-long process and very intense. 
She is required to write a blog and she is graded on the responses both the number of comments and the comments made. The blog is called That’ll Teach You and the articles are very good. I encourage you to have a look. Be sure to comment too. It will really help her a lot. Liz is a great teacher and writer. I am so excited for her to get her master’s degree. Today Is Liz’s birthday. Happy birthday Liz!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Amanda Reed and her long-time partner, Sean Mortensen love the outdoors and love to travel. Recently, they took a Winter getaway to south Florida to escape the cold of Wyoming and to visit Sean’s parents in Fort Meyers. They had an incredible time. and I’m sure they hated to come back to the cold, even though we have had a pretty easy Winter here in Wyoming. Nevertheless, Amanda and Sean have really enjoyed their early Spring getaway. They have been touring and even took a 98-mile boat ride. Now that’s a tour!! They saw dolphins, turtle, eagles, bar fish, and snails…just to name a few. Of course, they also got to hang out with family and friends, eat lots of great food, and then, come home with a tan that made everyone else jealous.
Amanda and Sean love everything “outdoors” and spend as much time as they can outside. They are not 
Summer people or Winter people…they are outdoor people. Right now, they are in the process of closing up their cabin in the mountains, and preparing to head to Seminole Reservoir, to start their summertime fun. They really do love the lake, and they will be out boating as soon as it’s warm enough. They love boating, jet skis, swimming, fishing, and of course, soaking up the sun. I hope they will have an amazing Summer. And the best news is that their daughter, Jayden Mortensen will be home from Laramie, where she goes to school. Amanda and Sean are great parents, and they raised a beautiful girl.
Amanda and Sean love to go to Las Vegas too. They really enjoy the night life and they love being with friends. 
Amanda and Sean are very social people. Oh, that I could be such, but I definitely am not. I’m rather introverted…a word that doesn’t at all describe Amanda and Sean. They have a great group of friends, and they love to get together to go to the lake or to the mountains. Amanda and Sean love hosting weekends at their cabin or the lake. The more people the merrier. They are true socialites. Today is Amanda’s birthday. Happy birthday Amanda!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Kellie Hadlock is one of those rare people who never seems to have a bad day. If she does, she certainly never shows it. She is always smiling and laughing. I remember my mom telling us that we shouldn’t frown because our face would get stuck like that. Well, Kellie’s face has certainly become stuck in a constant smile, and that is not a bad thing at all. Kellie shares her birthday with one of my favorite ancestors, my great aunt, Bertha Schumacher. I never met Aunt Bertha, but her journal has been a plethora of information on the Schumacher side of my family history for years now. Kellie isn’t a writer, nor is she specifically anything like Aunt Bertha, but they do share their special day…no charge for that tidbit…that was put in for free.
Kellie’s sister, Jessi Sawdon tells me that Kellie is the fun aunt. Jessi lays claim to being the cool aunt, but every kid loves it more when Aunt Kellie is around. It’s easy to love Kellie, because she loves to laugh and loves life. Kellie loves singing and is one of the worship leaders at church. She and her dad, Chris Hadlock practice many songs at te house, while he accompanies her on the guitar. Her mom, Allyn loves those practice sessions. It’s 
like having her own concert. Jessi’s daughter, Adelaide absolutely loves to sing like Aunt Kellie. As kids, Kellie’s older siblings, Jessi, Ryan Hadlock, and Lindsay Moore never missed an opportunity to tell Kellie to shut up, because she was always singing. Jessi has received a little payback these days, because now Adelaide is doing the same thing. The good news for Adelaide is that they don’t tell her to shut up. Jessi figures her mom felt the same way, you just can’t tell your sweet little girl not to sing…even if her siblings can. Kellie just does all the “Kellie things” and that makes her fun.
Kellie has become a knitting/crocheting extraordinaire. Jessi isn’t in to that stuff, so she isn’t sure she could tell the difference. Kellie learned a long time ago from her Meemaw (Ramona Hadlock), and seemed to like it, but she didn’t love it then, like she does now. These days, everyone enjoys watching Kellie as she quickly goes from start to finish of a project, and how great they look. Kellie has been doing a lot of crocheting. She has been considering starting a small business called Kingdom Crochet. Kellie makes hats, headbands, blankets, etc. And they are beautiful. This would be a “side gig” as she still 
works at American Title, where she has been six years.
Kellie has been dating her boyfriend, Tim Thompson for a while now, and they are doing well. Kellie especially loves Tim’s sweet daughter, Jolene Thompson. Kellie took a trip to Cheyenne for Jessi’s birthday, and they all went out. They had a great time, and Jessi especially enjoys those visits, because they get her all to themselves. Today is Kellie’s birthday. Happy birthday Kellie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Manuela Ortiz, has had a very exciting year. She and my grandnephew, James Renville are buying a house. The house belongs to his mom, Toni Chase currently, and it is the house where James spent much of his childhood, so it is really a cool thing for his to be buying this particular house. There are some renovations, repairs, and updates that they want to do, so they are working on those, and they aren’t in a big hurry to move in. They want it to be perfect for their move. It is a nice house, and we are all excited for 
them. James and Manuela met in 2019 and married in July of 2021. They have been living in an apartment, and now they are ready to have their own home.
Manuela has been working for the Wyoming Housing Network as a housing counselor. They have been so happy with her that she was recently given a promotion to the title of House Education Manager. We are so proud of her. Manuela immigrated to the United States from Colombia and had originally wanted to work in the United States to learn English. Her plan was to use English, as a way to be a more valuable asset to her employer back in Colombia, but God had other plans for her. Her Spanish and her mastery of English landed her the job she now has because she is able to be not only be a help in the housing market, but to cross a language barrier for people who really need that assistance. Of course, God also had the plan of a match made in Heaven for her and James…a match we are all very happy about.
This last summer, Manuela took James to Colombia to meet the new extended part of his family. It was his first 
visit to Colombia, and his first time to meet any of her family, except for on Skype. As it turns out, James and Manuela’s mother, Consuelo share the same birthday. That made a June trip to Colombia perfect, because they held a birthday party for both of them while they were there. The trip was so much fun for Manuela and James. James loves to travel, and Manuela had a great time showing him all the sights in her homeland. I’m sure there will be many return trips in their future, and before we know it, James will be as fluent in Spanish as Manuela is in English. I’m so glad they got to make the trip. Today is Manuela’s birthday. Happy birthday Manuela!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When you only get a birthday every four years, you realize just how special a birthday is. Most people get a birthday every year. It’s just expected, but when your birthday falls on Leap Day, things are different. Nevertheless, most people who have a Leap Day birthday really like it. I suppose that technically they have as many years behind them as the rest of us, but the reality is that their birthday is absolutely missing three years out of four.
As a little girl, my granddaughter, Shai Royce wasn’t sure she liked her day, or actually it was her brother Caalab Royce, and cousins, Chris and Josh Petersen telling her that they were older than her, when the only one who truly was older was Chris and that by only one day, which in her mind didn’t really make him “that much older!!” Now, I think she thought totally embraces the day, and on the off years, she celebrates for two days…the February 28th and March 1st. This year, she actually got to do a little celebrating all month long!! Shai’s friend Tia gave her a small gift for each day. Each gift was well thought out and it was obvious that Tia put a lot of 
thought into each gift, making them very personalized. It made Shai feel so special. Another thing that makes Shai feel special, is the dogs she takes care of for some of her friends. She loves the dogs she watches…and boy, do they love her. They have definitely stolen her heart.
So, for her birthday, Shai; her mom, Amy Royce; and brother, Caalab Royce and going to a Seattle Kraken hockey game tonight. I have been to games, but never a hockey game. I know they will have a great time, and I hope the Kraken win. I did a little research on them, and they are the newest team in the National Hockey League. It will be a great time, I’m sure. Shai is a very social person, but I never really thought of her as a big sports fan. Still, since her family moved to northern Washington, they have gone to a number of games…mostly 
local teams, but things can change quickly. Once you’ve gone to a game, most people want to go to another game.
Shai loves to go the casinos near her home. Somehow, she and her family do very well in the casinos. They come home winners quite often, and not just twenty bucks either. A few days ago, she was invited to her parents’ poker night for the first time, and to everyone’s shock, she won. Her mom doesn’t play poker, because in her own words, she has too many tells, but Shai certainly doesn’t. Like her dad, Travis Royce, she can totally keep a straight face. Some people have it and some people don’t. Today is Shai’s 7th @ 28th birthday. Happy birthday Shai!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandson, Chris Petersen was the child that made me a grandmother. As a matter of fact, he also made his mother, Corrie Petersen a mom, and his great grandmother, Joann Schulenberg a great grandmother…on her birthday. His dad, Kevin Petersen, grandpa Bob Schulenberg, and great grandpa, Walt Schulenberg also had some firsts when Chris was born. First time dad, grandpa, and great grandpa. We are all so happy to begin this new stage of our lives. Chris and our other grandchildren have been such a blessing to us.
Of course, Chris is an adult now. Why do kids have to grow up? Chris works as the store manager of Auto Zone in Casper, Wyoming. He really loves his job, which makes sense, since his favorite hobby is mechanics. Well, that and video games, but doesn’t everyone play video games. He is a great manager, and they are very happy to have him. I think he has brought with him, a 
number of new clients for Auto Zone, especially his dad and grandpa, who do a lot of business there.
The biggest part of Chris growing up, however, is that he is married to his beautiful wife, Karen Petersen. They have three beautiful children, Cambree, Caysen, and Cyler, and they are very happy and blessed. We are all very blessed, and of course, we know that if Chris had not grown up, we couldn’t have ever had these precious babies. His family is the most important part of Chris’ lives. They have totally transformed his life in every way. So, I guess we will just be happy that he did grow up, and now his family…and those babies. Chris is so settled now, and I can see that he is so very happy. Chris and Karen are a perfect match for each other. It’s definitely a match made in Heaven. They like the same things, and they are headed in the same direction. You can tell when a man is happy, when all he 
wants to do is get home to his family. As with most married men, that old lifestyle is suddenly not very important. That makes perfect sense to me.
I am so happy for Chris in his new life. I love seeing him and Karen so happy. They both have a great sense of humor, and their kids are happy and well rounded. It is such a blessing to see your kids and grandkids so happy in their lives. Today is Chris’ birthday. Happy birthday Chris!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When I met my mother-in-law, Joann Schulenberg for the first time, I wonder what she thought of me. It’s not that my mother-in-law was a snob or anything, because she certainly wasn’t. Nevertheless, I was just 17 years old, so I could have seemed like a frivolous teenager. As I got to know her better, she would say things like, “You have never canned vegetables?” or “You don’t make your own clothes?” Well, the reality was that I was a teenaged city girl, and she was a country girl. In addition, I was from a completely different generation than she was. She had lives through the depression era, when food was scarce, as were many other things. People did what they had to in order to survive. An experience like that is not something people forget easily. It wasn’t that I had never cooked or even helped make jelly, but living in town, we didn’t have the space for a garden, and so didn’t have the vegetables to can. I also knew how to sew, but I have never liked it. Hmmm…maybe I was a frivolous teenaged girl.
Nevertheless, my mother-in-law never looked down on me, but rather I think she had found a “new student” to 
teach. When I married into the family, I was introduced many new things. I learned canning, some gardening, and even raising cows for family use. Still, you really can’t take the city out of the girl, even if, for a time, you take the girl out of the city. Just like moving her to the city, didn’t take the country out of her. While I can do those things, I can’t say that I love doing those things. Sorry Mom!! Nevertheless, I loved reaping the benefits of her many talents, like knitting, crocheting, canning, baking (from scratch), sewing, and cooking.
When my mother-in-law began to develop Alzheimer’s Disease, we were all saddened. So much of who she was in the past, began to drift away. Still, some of the best memories of her life stayed with her, and for that we were blessed. True, most of the memories were from her distant past, but those were the ones that we didn’t know about. Her life as a girl, things her parents did, places she lived, horses she loved, and stories about her children’s past too. We found a new part of her and a new way to be blessed by her. Mom changed with Alzheimer’s Disease, but she did not get irritable like many people did. She was sweet and accommodating…if you didn’t ask her to get up and walk. She did require a lot of care and 
eventually we had no choice, but to place her in a nursing home. She didn’t mind. She was a “people watcher” and so it was a good fit. She didn’t walk the last 4½ years of her life, which might have contributed to her good mood. I think, in the end, she appreciated me more, because as her caregiver, I honestly did my best for her…as did our whole team. Today would have been my mother-in-law’s 93rd birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Mom. We love and miss you very much.
My grandniece, Christina Masterson is my nephew, Rob Masterson’s daughter from his first marriage. She lives in Colorado, but the whole time she lived in Wyoming, she and my granddaughter, Shai Royce were best friends. The girls were born five days apart, with my grandson, Chris Petersen in the middle four days after Christina. They were basically the triplet cousins, because they were born so close together. Of course, Chris had different interests, so the girls were friends…or more so than Christina was with Chris. Now the girls live too far apart to see each other much, but they try to stay in touch by texting, facetiming, and calling, and occasional trips to see each other.
For a number of years, Christina worked in a dental office, but then Covid hit, a lot of things changed. People were almost not allowed to go to the dentist, and in fact many dental workers had to go get other jobs. Christina worked from home for a while, and she might still…I forgot to ask. Recently, however, she got into medical billing and insurance, as well as dental billing and insurance. Both of those are excellent fields to get into. There is a high demand for them, and often people can work from home in those fields too. Christina also told me that she has taken up diamond art…a hobby that her aunt, Caryl Reed also does, and I’ll bet neither of them were aware that the other one did diamond art. If you have never seen diamond art, I’m telling you that it is stunning. You should check it out. Christina has also taken up cooking as a hobby. Prior to this, she cooked like 
many people do, with out of necessity, and nothing fancy. Now, that is changing. Christina also told me that she and my granddaughter, Shai have been BFFs for 16 years now. Somehow, I thought it was much longer than that, but they have had their quarrels too.
All that is interesting, but the big news is…that Christina got engaged this year. Her fiancé is Colin Hockenbrocht. They met through, Christina’s stepfather, Brian Beck, who works with Colin. Colin is a military operations analyst. I never expected Christina to become a military wife, but you just never know. They are super excited and looking forward to the future, and we are very happy for them. Today is Christina’s birthday. Happy birthday Christina!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My niece, Jenny Masterson is a woman of many talents. As many people know, she is a natural-born hostess. She loves to entertain. That is a rare talent. Most of us get stressed out when we have to host holidays, birthdays, or parties. It’s not that we don’t enjoy having the party, but rather that some of us are great at it and others of us simply throw it together. In reality, many of us would much rather have Jenny plan and execute the party and let us take the credit for it. Jenny is a natural, and her parties are fun. Jenny’s favorite parties are the holidays with family. That stands to reason, because Jenny is all about family. She loves them all.
Jenny also loves to hike the mountains, and since my niece, her cousin Andrea Beach moved back to Casper from Rawlins, she and Jenny have been doing a lot of hiking, even in the winter. Of course, you can’t hike some of the tougher trails in the winter, but they do what they can, in anticipation of the summer hiking season to come. The truth is that these two girls have really become close. They do a lot of things together, and they spend time talking, and just enjoying each other’s company. It’s been a really good thing for both of them. They are both social people, and it’s always nice to have a “bestie” to share things with. They have both been a blessing to each other. Jenny also loves taking her other hiking buddy along too. Bella the dog is always ready to go with the girls and the famiy on the next hiking adventure.
Of course, Jenny’s main “bestie” is her husband, Steve Spethman. They have been madly in love since the day they met some 22+ years ago. They are perfect for each other. They have like values and like interests. They 
love to travel and see new things. They love their family and watching their children grow up. They love God, and they love growing in faith every day. They stand by each other in good times and in bad times. Each of them knows that the other is there for them and will support them no matter what. They are totally committed to each other, totally happy, and they are best friends. Life just doesn’t get better than that, does it? Today is Jenny’s birthday. Happy birthday Jenny!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
