reading
My grandniece, Aurora Hadlock is growing up before our very eyes. She is in her second year of middle school this year and it is her first year in middle school without her brother, Ethan, who is in high school now. Aurora will be playing volleyball at school this year. She really loves playing and is good at it. I know it’s going to be a great year. While Aurora loves summer with all its free time and fun, she really never gets tired of school, with its activities. She is a social kind of girl, and likes being around other kids…especially her cousins.
Aurora loves school, and in her mom, Chelsea Hadlock’s words, “She is still devouring books and going into her second year of Advanced Placement English.” Aurora loves anything with that has to do with words. Who knows, maybe she will become a writer. Aurora is a smart girl, and she gives things a lot of thought. That is likely why she loves English and 
reading. Of course, when she was little, her big brother loved practicing his reading, and his favorite audience was his little sister. Ethan loved his baby sister so much, and while little girls might want to “mother” their siblings, Ethan really just wanted to make Aurora happy. He liked seeing her smile and laugh. Of course, he wasn’t above a little teasing either. It didn’t matter, because Aurora thought her brother was the “best thing since sliced bread.” And, she isn’t above teasing him either.
Aurora’s aunt, Lindsay Moore always has a unique way of thinking and speaking about people. Of Aurora, Lindsay says, “Aurora! Notorious for leaving a sock everywhere she goes! Aurora is the sweetest Aurora! Mackenzie and Adelaide delight in being with her! She and Ethan came to volunteer for vacation Bible school for a week! She got to help me with the preschooler group, and she was such a good little volunteer! She is fun loving, goofy, sweet and kind!” Aurora, Ethan, and cousins, Adelaide Sawdon and Mackenzie Moore have gone to Vacation Bible School each year, in Laramie with her 
aunt, Lindsay Moore for a while now. Aurora and Ethan are too grown up now to go as a student now, so they go as volunteers, and this year Aurora was assigned to her Aunt Lindsay’s class. Aurora has always loved being a helper, and as a volunteer for the preschool group, she had a great time. Plus, she was working with her Aunt Lindsay, and that made it even more fun. Aurora is a sweet, happy girl and very good with little kids, so I know she had a blast. The preschool class might just be the most fun, because they got to play in soap bubbles. Entertaining preschoolers is harder, but I don’t know of a kid that doesn’t like to play in soap bubbles. Aurora had a great summer, and now she is ready to get this back to school. Her next journey is just beginning. Today is Aurora’s 12th birthday. Happy birthday Aurora!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When Audrianna “Anna” Masterson was born, her mom, Dustie Masterson, knew that the baby girl completed their family. Now, 12 years later, her mom says that Anna’s very presence makes her smile. Anna loves cheesy jokes as much as her mom, so they laugh and joke off of each other a lot. Still, those 12 years weren’t all carefree and easy…just mostly. Once, when Anna was just three years old, she gave her parents quite a scare. They were freaking out because she had buried herself in a pile of clothes and fallen asleep. Anna slept so soundly, that she did not hear her family yelling and screaming her name. Still, if that is the worst thing Anna ever does, I’d say she’s a keeper. Her parents, Rob and Dustie are finding it really hard to believe Anna is 
turning 12 this year.
Anna is very into Anime…which is hand-drawn and computer animation game out of Japan. I’m told that her sister, Raelynn can be held responsible for this. Apparently, she doesn’t love board games…or so she says, but when the family sits down to play, she has a blast. The same applies to bowling. The latest thing these days is Comic-Con, and Casper is holding their very first Comic-Con. Raelynn and Anna are going this weekend. Anna graduated from elementary school this year and her graduation gift was a ticket to go to Comic-Con with her best friend Julie. She was also invited to go with a close friend of the family and his daughter who is a 
good friend of Anna’s too.
Anna loves to read, and can often be found reading on her phone. I can relate to that. There is a whole world of stories and information out there. All we have to do is pick up a book, or even our phone. Anna is a very soft hearted girl, and she depends on her siblings, with whom she is very close, whenever she is upset…which isn’t really very often, but she counts on them when she is. She looks to both of them and will call them on the phone, if they are not home. While she depends on her siblings, Anna really enjoys having her own room for the first time ever. As she grows up, she is finding out that having your own space is really cool too. Today is Anna’s 12th birthday. Happy birthday Anna!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand-niece, Aurora Hadlock is growing up so fast. She is a girl of many talents. Of course, having a big brother, Ethan, who loves his sister and hangs out with with her, helps Aurora to diversify in her choices of activities. Ethan has taught her to play Minecraft,and they play together. Also,having a big brother who likes football has made Aurora like the game too. So it seemed only logical for her to decide to sign up for Flag Football. I know that she will have a great time with that. She is athletic,and while she has a girly side, there is a little of a tomboy in her too.
Aurora still loves to read and has since the day she learned how. Reading has always been a big part of her life. Her parents and grandparents read to her, as did her big brother. Books have long been a highlight of Aurora’s life. She also likes art…a trait that she gets from her mother, who is very crafty. They love to make beautiful things for their home, and as in her mother’s case, selling them. I don’t think it will be very long before Aurora’s mom can include some of her artwork for sale too.
Something I was not aware of is that Aurora is actually a chip off the old block…or as in her case, two blocks…her dad, Ryan Hadlock and her grandpa, Chris Hadlock. Both of the men play the guitar, and now I have learned that Aurora plays too. She is learning from them, and loves to have jam sessions as a threesome. Really, that is pretty impressive for a 7 year old girl. Of course, when you look back in her genealogical line, she comes from a long line of guitar players, that include her great grandpa, Allen Lewis Spencer, and 2nd great grandpa, Allen Luther Spencer. With all that talent (and maybe more for all I know) in her lineage, it’s no wonder that Aurora is a guitar player at the tender age of 7 years. I think it is sad that her other grandpa’s didn’t get a chance to jam with her too, but
maybe they can in Heaven when we all get there.
Aurora is such a sweet little girl who is always smiling. She is getting ready to start 2nd grade this year, and I know she will do very well, because she is a good student who loves to learn new things. She has enjoyed her summer, and has done some great things, including a family vacation to Disneyland, where she met lots of Disney characters, and especially loved the rides…if I know her. But then, the princesses and mermaids were probably highlights too. Aurora has had a great year, and I know the coming year will be even better. Today is Aurora’s 7th birthday. Happy birthday Aurora!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandnephew, Ethan Hadlock is a sweet boy. He is always ready to hand out the hugs to all the people he cares about. Ethan is the oldest of my sister, Allyn and her husband, Chris Hadlock’s grandchildren, and the only boy, so he is pretty protective of his little girl cousins, Adelaide Sawdon and McKenzie Moore, and his sister, Aurora Hadlock. It’s what being the boy in the family is all about. Ethan has a soft heart and it shows in everything he does. Ethan turned 9 years old today. I have a really hard time thinking that he could possibly be 9 years old already. He is a good student and works really hard in his classes. He is a really great reader, and he has been known to practice his reading on his little sister, so as he practiced, and she got to hear the story. She is learning to read too now, so I don’t suppose he has to read to her much these days. Ethan is such a kind boy that he won the Kindness Award at his school.
Ethan has lofty goals for a boy in the 3rd grade. He has decided that he wants to be a Marine, so he can kill 
bad guys. I never would have expected the Marines, but his desire to fight crime and terrorism is not surprising, because Ethan’s grandpa, Chris Hadlock is a retired Casper Police Department Lieutenant, and his uncle, Jason Sawdon is a Wyoming Highway Patrol Officer. Both of them are decorated, and I know that Ethan is very proud of them. After his time in the Marines, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Ethan become a cop in some branch of law enforcement. Sometimes this kind of thing runs in families, and it almost like it is in their blood.
Of course, Ethan doesn’t spend all his time working toward becoming a Marine. He does have to spend some time being a kid. Ethan, like many kids, likes video games, and his favorite is Minecraft. For those, like me, who had no idea what the game is all about, it is a game about digging (mine) and building (craft). Basically you build buildings, so similar to construction. Maybe Ethan will become an architect. I think he would be good at that too. Ethan is really a kid with a wide variety of interests. I suppose that comes from being such a good student. He has taken the time to broaden his horizons, so to speak.
Ethan has a great sense of humor, and loves to pick on his Great Aunt Caryn, by flipping my long hair on top of my head from time to time, and then pretending that it wasn’t him. When I can’t catch him at it, he just laughs and laughs. I’m quite sure that he uses his teasing prowess on his aunts, uncles, and grandparents too, if I know him. In all, Ethan is probably a normal 9 year old, but in many ways I think he is pretty exceptional. Today is Ethan’s 9th birthday. Happy birthday Ethan!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When a girl turns nine, things really start to change. For my grand niece, Kaytlyn Griffith, that means that she is on the big kid side of the school. That brings back so many memories for me. I hadn’t thought about the big kid side of the school in years. I think I almost thought it was only something that was a part of the school I went to, so to hear that it is still such a big deal is really amazing. It takes me back in time. Kaytlyn really likes school, and does especially well in math and reading. This year she is learning cursive…more things that being on the big kid side of the school is all about. It’s almost like a secret club that kids get to join when they enter the third grade.
In recent years, a new phenomenon has come into being. Or maybe it was a thing before and has now made a comeback, but when I was a kid and when I was raising my kids, there was no such thing as a Daddy-Daughter Dance. I kind of wish there had been, because it is really a cool way for dads to bond with their daughters. Kaytlyn really wanted her daddy, Josh Griffith to take her and her sister, Jala Satterwhite, last year, but something came up and he couldn’t go. This year Jala wasn’t interested, but Josh and Kaytlyn went to the dance, and I 
think Kaytlyn looked just like Cinderella with her Prince Charming. The coolest part of the whole thing was that their picture turned up on the front page of the newspaper. I guess they thought the same thing I did about this royal couple. For Kaytlyn, being on the front page of the paper is the epitome of fame…and she has arrived.
I imagine that the reason she feels that way is that one of the commercial loan officers at the First Bank of Wyoming in Powell, Becky Duran is on billboards all over town. Everyone knows her name, and to Kaytlyn, that makes her that most awesome celebrity ever. Sometimes she is even in the paper too. Every time they pass a billboard with her name on it, Kaytlyn shouts, “There’s Becky Duran!” Kaytlyn has loved this celebrity for over a year, and her mom, Susan decided that it was time they met. She made an appointment with Becky, and had her mom, Debbie Cook take the girls in. They were both very excited. She gave them bags of promotional bank 
items and they got to have hot chocolate with her. It was a day to remember for both of the girls, and how sweet of Becky to make it such a wonderful memory for them to cherish.
Living in the country has it’s privileges…especially when it comes to pets. Kaytlyn loves her pets. The family has 4 cats and 3 dogs, which might seem like a lot to city dwellers, but in the country, you can do that. Two kittens and a puppy were added to the family in the same weekend. They were all 8 weeks old in November. Since then, it has been pretty crazy around their house. The puppy is named Trump, and I love that. A couple weeks later they found out that he is deaf, but he is the sweetest dog, and well behaved, which is uncommon for a dog that cannot hear commands. Kaytlyn has nicknamed him Truck. Today is Kaytlyn’s 9th birthday. Happy birthday Kaytlyn!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When most kids lose their teeth, they put them under their pillow for the tooth fairy to come and retrieve in exchange for money, but once in a while…things just don’t go as planned. Such was the case for my grandnephew, Ethan Hadlock. Ethan recently lost a tooth, which is perfectly normal, but not with Ethan, who was eating Mini Trix at the time. I’m sure you can guess the rest. Yes, Ethan swallowed the tooth. This is a serious problem for a kid who is expecting a visit from the tooth fairy for that tooth. Nevertheless, Ethan went to bed that night hoping the tooth fairy would understand, and in the morning, he found out that she absolutely did understand. I guess maybe Ethan isn’t the only kid to swallow a tooth…so it stands to reason that the tooth fairy would have a Plan B…just in case, because she simply couldn’t leave a child unpaid for a lost tooth, just because it got swallowed, now could she. Kids have to have a way to make money…right!!
Ethan is in first grade this year, and the change from Kindergarten is amazing. He has really matured, which often happens as kids become seasoned students. Ethan is, of course, a part of the latest Star Wars craze. He loves almost everything about it, but please understand that Clone troopers are way cooler than storm troopers or Jedi. If you don’t know that, you aren’t with it. For Christmas, Ethan got a light Saber and other star wars stuff including star wars monopoly and star wars Disney infinity games. Those should keep him busy for a while. Ethan has taught his little sister Rory to play Monopoly, and they love to play it together. Ethan loves to be the banker, and Rory loves moving her game piece around the board. Ethan is very adept at Legos, and puts together complicated Star Wars sets in about an hour. It would take me hours!!
Ethan loves school, and is doing second grade work in reading and mathmatics. His favorite subjects are math and music. Ethan he has a best friends club at school. I used to love being a part of the clubs in school, both 
the school oriented ones, and the ones the kids set up themselves. It’s funny that a Best Friends Club is something the kids do nowadays, because this was something my Aunt Evelyn Hushman was a part of, and everyone thought it was so cool then, and really wanted to do it too. Of course, Ethan is not all about school either. He loves to play the guitar, like his dad, Ryan Hadlock does, and like any daddy’s boy, he wants to go duck hunting with his dad. As with any family with more than one male, and sometimes even the females, there must be battles. In the Hadlock household…it’s nerf battles. These battles happen randomly, but there is a battle at least once a month. If you are at the Hadlock house, watch out for flying nerf balls. Today is Ethan’s 7th birthday. Happy birthday Ethan!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
We all have memories of home…the home of our childhood. Most of those memories are as sweet as they can be. Memories of laughing and playing with our siblings, or special dinners with the family…always bring back the warm coziness of those carefree childhood days, when your dad and mom were there, taking care of you, and you knew you were safe, because their love surrounded you and every part of your world. As a kid, I experienced a closeness with my family. Dinners were eaten together, and we talked about our day. It was our way to reconnect with each other after a busy day at school or work. But, while we had a close family life that was far different from many families of today, it was nothing like the evenings that my mother and her siblings spent at their home, and in many ways, I feel like it was I, or rather our generation, who missed out. We may have had things like movies and television, but the closeness they had, and the stimulation of their imaginations…well, our world just couldn’t really compare to theirs at all.
The hours after school at my grandmother’s home involved getting dinner ready for the family, eating dinner, washing the dishes, with everyone singing while they worked. Finally, the work is done, and the evening turns cooler. Grandma and Grandpa, George and Hattie Byer would sit together on the couch covered with a blanket. All the children would get a blanket of their own, and sit around the floor and their parents feet. Everyone was cozy and warm. Then, Grandma Byer would read to the family. It was like the movies of today, except that the screen was in your mind. It was a nightly tradition, and since there was only a certain amount of time to read, a book could take weeks to read. The family never seemed to mind that, however, because the result of stopping for the night was a curiosity about where the book was headed and what would happen the next day. Every night was much the same, with the children listening intently to their mother’s voice telling them the story of cowboys and Indians, or sailing ships from far off places.
As my Aunt Sandy Pattan, who is my grandparents’ youngest child, told me about this nightly tradition from her childhood, I could hear in her voice that the thought of it was taking her back to a time when all was warm 
and cozy in her life. I could picture just how much fun it must have been to sit there at Grandma Byer’s feet listening to her voice reading the story, and creating a picture in your mind that was almost like being right there, in the story. It was such a pleasant story, that I began to wish that it had been a tradition in my own life, or that I had thought to start such a tradition in my own family. The mind is such an amazing part of a person, and to think that it could create a movie like story from the reading of a book, is really amazing. I think that the cozy scene I pictured in my head from just hearing Aunt Sandy tell of it, probably paled next to the reality of just how amazing a tradition it really was to listen to her mother read while sitting at her Momma’s feet.
Kelli is my nephew’s wife, and has been a part of our family for almost 10 years now. She has always liked the idea of living in the country and raising donkeys, but lately she is focusing her interests on country music and traveling to concerts. Kelli has a blog, called Thoughts From A Gypsy Soul, and she writes about her travels, and her latest favorite songs. Check it out if you get a chance.
I think Kelli is right when she calls herself a Gypsy Soul, because she really wants to live somewhere in the South, probably Texas. Some people just don’t like the cold weather of the north, and Kelli is one of those people. I don’t know if her dreams will ever be realized, because, somehow we seem to end up where we are supposed to in life, I think, but time will tell how this turns out for Kelli.
Kelli is a kind soul too. During my sister-in-law, Brenda’s recent hospitalization, that lasted about a month, Kelli was a regular visitor. Her smiling face brightened Brenda’s days, and mine too. Whenever we were there together, we shared many laughs, and it was a lot of fun. Kelli has a great laugh…it’s fun to be around her when she is laughing a lot.
Kelli has a fascination with celebrities, and the royal family in particular. She would love to be related to them, and recently with the connection I made to the Schulenberg family to the Spencer family, she can now say that she is a cousin of Princess Diana and the rest of the current royal family, so that dream has finally been realized. I am still looking for a connection from her own side of the family, but haven’t found one as yet. Maybe, I will soon. Kelli hails from Reading, Michigan, and my family came from the Great Lakes area too, so you just never know. Today is Kelli’s birthday. Happy birthday Kelli!! Have a wonderful day!! We love you!!
