Kids
One thing I never knew about my niece, Kellie Hadlock, is that she is the Hadlock Family Fashion Source. Of course, I know that Kellie is very fashionable, but I didn’t know that she was a “go-to” fashionista for them. When her sister, Lindsay Moore comes for visits from Laramie or Kellie goes there for visits, the girls often find themselves in the bedroom in front of the mirror, going through the clothes and putting things together to decide what looks best to wear. Lindsay told me that when she goes through pictures from their conversations, she finds that they are mostly of herself in different outfits. She wants to remember just how to wear things and what goes together, do she can look as fashionable as Kellie always does.
Lindsay tells me that Kellie is her “go-to” source for fashion advice. I see Kellie every week at church, where she is one of the worship leaders. I know that she is very fashionable, but I wasn’t aware that her family counts on her fashion sense to make sure they look pretty and up to date. Still, I can’t say that I’m surprised, since I have found myself following Kellie’s fashion leads too. Lindsay was going through pictures and could that most of the pictures from their conversations were of herself in the styles that Kellie suggested. She wanted to make sure that she remembered the looks, so they could be repeated later. Lindsay says, “I can always count on her to tell it to me straight and that I will look cute by asking her!! She is truly the most fashionable in our family.”
Kellie continues to grow spiritually, and Lindsay has really loved their talks about God. They have started a new 
study, whereby they try to read a chapter of the Bible each week and then they have text discussions about it. The Bible is so much more than the words on paper. There are much deeper meetings, when people take the time to search them out. Lindsay says that these have been rich discussions in which they have both learned so much. The Holy Spirit reveals different things to each of them, which is of course, awesome!! Lindsay says, “She is a wonderful sister, daughter, dog mom, aunt, and girlfriend. She is a cut above, a true gem.” I totally agree.
Because the Hadlock family is spread out over Wyoming now, they have decided to meet in Wheatland this year for Kellie’s birthday lunch. Kellie really misses her sisters, Jessi and Lindsay, so her dad, Chris Hadlock suggested that we all meet in Wheatland which is the same amount of time away for each family. They plan to go this Saturday and have lunch at Guadalajara and have her little party for our family there. Kellie is so excited. Her whole family will be there, including her brother Ryan and his family. Then, the family here in Casper will have another birthday dinner for her on Sunday night. Kellie has chosen her favorite fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn. In the Hadlock family everyone gets to choose a birthday meal, or they can choose to go out to whatever restaurant. This year will be special for Kellie because the other girls could 
not come up for her birthday. So she basically gets two parties…well, actually three, because her boyfriend, Tim Thompson is in town from Gillette to take her out for dinner today. Kellie gets to feel really special this year, with all this attention, and I think she has earned it, because she is a very special girl. Today is Kellie’s birthday. Happy birthday Kellie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Manuela Ortiz joined our family on July 18, 2021, when she married my grandnephew, James Renville. Manuela is such a happy person, and she brings so much sunshine into the lives of our family. She is an excellent dancer, and James is learning to dance too. They have even done some videos of them dancing and placed them online. Not everyone has the coordination to do things like Salsa dancing, but Manuela certainly does…and I’ll have to leave that to her. It’s best that way.
Speaking fluent Spanish makes Manuela as asset to Wyoming 
Housing Network, where she is a housing counselor. When Manuela first came to America from Columbia, it was with the intent to study English, so that when she went back home, she could move up in her company. Things changed as time went by, and before long, she knew that she wanted to immigrate to America permanently. That was in the works, when she met her future husband, my grandnephew, James Renville. They met in 2019 and have been inseparable ever since.
Recently, Manuela decided to write an e-book called The Stages of an Immigrant: Stories of an Immigrant. In her book, she tells about her own experiences as she navigated the immigration system of the United States. We are all very proud of Manuela and her journey to become an American citizen the right way.
This past Christmas, Manuela got to go back to Columbia to visit her family for the holidays. Having been here when Covid hit, she hasn’t been able to go back home, and that has been so hard. Manuela has embraced her 
Wyoming family, and totally loves her Wyoming Cowboy (her husband, James), but this was a special trip and very fun for her. Aside from the climate difference, there are many different customs that go along with the holidays too. The decorations alone are very different. I’m sure that as the years go by, Manuela will incorporate some of her family’s traditions into Christmases here and maybe some of ours in future Christmases there. Today is Manuela’s birthday. Happy birthday Manuela!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My cousin, Darla Stanko passed away on February 26, 2023, at 63 just years old. As I think of Darla, I remember her laugh, which was just like her mother’s. It was sweet and a little shy, but when they laughed…you laughed, because their laugh was contagious. As kids, we would all go down in Grandma Byer’s basement to play, while the grownups visited upstairs. Grandma’s basement was a little creepy and worked well as a “haunted” house…if the kids liked that sort of thing. Some did and some didn’t. I preferred other games. I think Darla did too. She had asthma and scary stuff could trigger things.
As kids do, we all grew up…quicker than we would ever have dreamed possible. Before long, babies were coming along. I remember talking to Darla once. She told me that without a doubt, the best thing she ever did was JeanAnn, and of that I have no doubt. For a mom to look at the beautiful little baby they have just given birth to…there is no greater honor. Kids are a big part of our lives, and games are a part of kids. JeanAnn told me about the times she and her mom played cards. Their favorite game was Speed…which is a high drama card matching game for two players. It was perfect for them.
The other thing that JeanAnn and her mom loved to do was to spend time jumping on the trampoline in their yard. I can just picture it now, a summer evening in the back yard, just the two girls, jumping and giggling the hours away. Of course, there was also their dog, Nelly with them too. Now Nelly was a different sort of dog. She was very gentle with JeanAnn, but then she was JeanAnn’s guard dog. She was also gentle with Darla too…except for that one time. JeanAnn could make Nelly mad and then point at a new person, and Nelly would go get that person. That was all well and good…until JeanAnn did that to her mom. My guess is that JeanAnn had no idea what was about to take place. Darla saw it coming, and she jumped on the furniture to get away from the guard dog that was now hot on her trail. She almost knocked herself out jumping down. JeanAnn 
says, “It was great” and maybe it was…for her anyway. Darla…maybe not so much, but I’m sure she laughed about it later.
Now, for me, possibly the funniest story about Darla’s life was the “fateful” trip to Denver. Darla decided to take her daughter to Denver, and to take her mom, my Aunt Delores Johnson with them. She needed a “navigator” and while I can’t picture my Aunt Dee in that capacity, maybe Darla thought map reading was like breathing…anyone could do it. My thought is, “Have you met your mother?” Anyway, off they went, and to make a long story short, they ended up on a one street in rush hour traffic, going the wrong way!!” Oh yes, that’s the Aunt Dee I know, and I can totally picture that whole situation…once I can stop laughing!!
My niece, Kaytlyn Griffith is in middle school now and she has done an amazing job with her grades. Her mom, Susan Griffith tells me that her grades are definitely better than Susan and Kaytlyn’s dad, Josh Griffith ever did. When the honor roll was released the last time a couple months ago Kaytlyn was on it with a 4.0 grade point average. Per parents were so proud, and she truly is an inspiration to them.
Because they live in the country, and her parents work, Kaytlyn qualifies for a restricted driver’s license. Kaytlyn is so mature and smart, that even though she barely studied for the written test, she got a 100% on it!! She is very smart. Once a driver passes the written test, they have 30 days to take the driving test. Unfortunately, when Josh went to take Kaytlyn for the driving test, they were told that she had to have an appointment, which we didn’t know before, because it never was that way in years gone by. Anyway, they had to reschedule the test. They couldn’t get an appointment until the 30 day…talk about cutting it close. They were all quite stressed. If she didn’t pass, she wouldn’t be able to try again another year.
Then, they found out that the test in was in Cody, rather than Lovell because that was the only option. Well, that added another stress factor because the traffic in Cody is very different than the traffic in Lovell. So, they spent the Thanksgiving holiday break making trips to Cody, so she could practice there for 2 to 3 hours a day.
To make matters worse, it snowed quite a lot on the day of the test. Nevertheless, they had to go or Kaytlyn would have to wait for another year. Then, the lady asked if she wanted to reschedule, to which Kaytlyn answered, “Absolutely not!!” Kaytlyn took the test driving her mom’s Tahoe which had 4-wheel drive, thankfully with an inch of snow on the ground. Kaytlyn did amazing. She didn’t slide at all in the intersections…pretty good for a 14-year-old girl!! It helped that she got to drive slower because of the snow. In the end, the snow, which they thought was a negative factor, ended up helping her a lot. Kaytlyn passed!! Her parents were quote proud and relieved. She only did one thing wrong during the test. Not bad for a young, first-time driver.
Her parents were so proud of her, and her dad fixed up a little car for her. The front end had been wrecked, but 
Josh had some new parts for it. Because it was two different colors, Josh, who is pretty innovative, made the color change a little more interesting by putting flames between the colors. It fits perfectly with Kaytlyn’s sense of humor.
Kaytlyn has grown up so fast. As her mom was looking through pictures from the past couple years, she was shocked at how much she had blossomed into a beautiful young lady. With her grades and everything else in her life, Kaytlyn has a bright future ahead of her. With her grades and everything else, her parents are beyond proud of her. They love her so much that words don’t cany begin to explain it. And we are all very proud of her too. Today is Kaytlyn’s 15th birthday. Happy birthday Kaytlyn!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
With each passing year, I find myself feeling more and more blessed with this husband of mine. Bob and I met while I was working at Kmart, where his sister, Debbie Cook also worked, 49 years and 4 months ago. We have been married for 48 years as of today. There were people who didn’t think we has a chance for a lifelong marriage, but they were all wrong. I guess you could say that we are both stubborn…in a good way. We made a commitment, and we were determined to stay committed. The rest, as they say, is history. We have been blessed with two daughters, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce; two sons-in-law, Kevin Petersen and Travis Royce; four grandchildren, Chris Petersen, Shai Royce, Caalab Royce, and Josh Petersen; a granddaughter-in-law, Karen Petersen and soon to be granddaughter-in-law, Athena Salazar; and three great grandchildren, Cambree, Caysen, and Justin Petersen. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Through the years, our lives have taken a number of turns. Things we expected and things we didn’t. We have made major job changes, to jobs we didn’t expect, Bob working for the City of Casper and me at The Stengel Agency, from which we would both retire. Of course, our family has grown and continues to grow. We began 
our married life living in a mobile home, which we moved several times, and finally in 1995, we moved into town…the best move we ever made. I guess it took us that long to realize that we really didn’t like country life. We became caregivers in 2005, an eventually would take care of all four parents until each one passed away, the final one in 2018. That was probably the biggest, unexpected thing of all. When you are young, you naturally think your parents will live forever. We miss them very much and consider ourselves blessed to have had them with us for so long.
The future is bright, and with retirement, we have more time to be together. I suppose some people think that all that time together would get…complicated, but for us it has not. We have always enjoyed our time together and have found that working different shifts at times was one of the hardest things we endured. I’ve heard people say that we should have fought less in those years, but we actually fought more, so there is another myth shot down. These days we like to travel, hike, spend time with our family. Of course, Bob still keeps busy 
working on cars in our garage, and I have my writing. We find too, that we are homebodies to a degree, with Bob needing to be out and about more than I do. So, he runs to the parts house several times a day, hahahaha!! It’s his social life. I like to walk on the trail near our home, and the Carpet Trail (inside our house) in the winter. I always look forward to the warmer weather, because the Carpet Trail can get boring after a while. I would say that we have led a very blessed life!! Happy 48th anniversary, Bob!! I love you more each and every day!! Here’s to many more years of wedded bliss!!
My grandma, Hattie Byer was never a tall woman. I like to say that she was 5 feet…in her tall days, because most of us remember her as being more like 4 foot 10 inches, give or take an inch. Don’t let her short stature fool you, however, because my grandma was a capable woman in every way, especially in the handling of children. She raised nine of her own, and the grandchildren were no match for her either. It wasn’t that Grandma was mean, but rather that Grandma didn’t take any “guff” from the kids. I can attest to that, because I made the mistake of going up against her once. Yes, I said once. After that, I decided that going up against Grandma wasn’t in my best interest, hahahaha!!
Whenever one of her kids got out of line, Grandma was very likely to turn them over her knee. Everyone’s views on spanking children are different, but in those days, everyone spanked their kids. My personal opinion on that matter is that in the days of spanking your kids, the children were much more well behaved, but that is my opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Grandma was one who believed in spanking too, and I’m pretty sure the boys might have been a little more mischievous than the girls, with the possible exception of my mom, who was right in the middle of the two boys, and very loyal to both of them. Mom made the mistake of voicing her displeasure to her mom once concerning the spanking of her brother. Grandma let her go on, while she finished the spanking, and when both of the kids started to run outside, Grandma grabbed my mom by the hair, and proceed to give her a spanking to, for “improperly interfering with the discipline of her brother.” I think Mom got the message…loud and clear, and I don’t believe she ever did that again.
Grandma was well able to handle her adult kids too, as my Aunt Bonnie found out one time, when she 
mistakenly told her mom that she couldn’t spank her these days. Well, Grandma quickly reached out, and grabbed Aunt Bonnie by the feet, taking her swiftly to the floor. While she didn’t turn Aunt Bonnie over her knee, I think they both knew that she probably could have. Aunt Bonnie sat there on the floor with a shocked look on her face, and after the shock wore off, everyone in the room laughed hysterically, including Aunt Bonnie. Grandma never lost her touch. Today is the 114th anniversary of my grandmother’s birth. Happy birthday in Heaven, Grandma Byer. We love and miss you very much.
My grandniece, Christina Masterson has had a pretty busy year. She switched jobs. She had been working from home, calling people for collections. As we all know, that is a really difficult job to have, and Christina is a soft-hearted person, so I can see how collections would tear her up. Now, she is working in a doctor’s office doing the billing. That is really a much better job to have, if you ask me. Christina also works as a hostess for a Chinese restaurant on the weekends.
Christina lives on her own, with her little dog, Athena. In reality, Athena isn’t really a bad dog, but Christina’s cousin, Shai likes to tease that she is. She liked working from home, but that can get a little bit lonely sometimes. Being out in public is important too. Christina has also joined a bowling league and has really enjoyed that. Chritina is a people person, and she loves lifting people up and making them feel good about themselves. After a while of working from home and being more isolated, Christina is really enjoying the idea of branching out and getting back out in the world again. I think a lot of people are feeling that way after the “Covid Lockdowns” and the job losses many people faced. Thise who could work from home were ok, but many who had to go out to work, lost their jobs. It was a sad time for many.
Christina is close friends with her cousin, my granddaughter, Shai Royce, who is just five days younger than Christina. They try to spend some time together around the time of their birthdays, whenever they can. They take lots of pictures, and Shai calls them the “Adventures of Shai and Christina” and labels them with the year it is. They have been doing that for years, since they don’t live in the same state anymore. The girls have been 
close for most of their lives. Of course, they went through times when they weren’t around each other much, but they have always loved each other and wanted to have more “adventures” together.
Probably the biggest excitement for Christina though was becoming an aunt recently. Her niece, Jocelyn, whom she calls “Josie” was born to her brother, Bradon and his wife. Christina told me that she has been waiting a long time to be an aunt, and now she finally is. Today is Christina’s birthday. Happy birthday Christina!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My sister-in-law, Debbie Cook is my husband, Bob Schulenberg’s older sister. When they were younger, they were good friends, mostly I suppose, because of their closeness in age. Debbie was just 17 months older than Bob. I don’t know how close they were as kids, but as adults, they got along very well. In fact, it was because of that closeness that Bob and I met at all. Debbie and I were both working at Kmart. She had graduated from high school, and I was a senior in high school. She worked in the Deli, and I worked in the Millinery Department (handbags and wigs, for those who don’t know). I had a display by the Deli, and we became friends. Later, we would double date, and eventually, I was the maid of honor in her wedding, and she the matron of honor in mine.
After we both had children, the cousins became good friends. When Debbie and her husband, LJ Cook moved their family, including daughters, Machelle Moore and Susan Griffith, to Thermopolis, Wyoming from Casper, 
Wyoming, our daughters would take turns spending a week with each other in the summers. Those were special times for everybody, and times I miss very much. I think we all do. Of course, we would not choose to go back, because we would miss out on so much, like grandchildren. Debbie has two grandsons, Weston and Easton Moore; and two granddaughters, Jala Satterwhite and Katlyn Griffith.
Debbie and LJ have suffered some health issues as they have grown older, but they are working very hard to get themselves back to health. LJ had back surgery, and now, he feels so much better. Debbie has been trying to get healthy, and with the encouragement of her daughters, she has also done such a great job losing weight. She has realized that with age, can come decline, so Debbie has decided that she doesn’t want that to happen to her and LJ. So, she has been going to the senior center for exercise classes a few times a week, and as an added perk, getting pedicures there as well. She has been eating better and cooking more health-conscious meals for both her and LJ.
Debbie has been trying to get involved with the Powell community in the past few years, where they now live.
She’s joined the “Giddy Up Gals” too. They are a part of the Red Hat Society. She has really become involved with the local senior center, including some of their trips to Cody. She also enjoys getting out of the house and making friends. These are things that Debbie hasn’t been able to do in recent years. I’m really happy for her and for LJ, because it’s been a long hard road, and now there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Today is Debbie’s 70th birthday. Happy birthday Debbie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandnephew, Easton Moore is pretty much all about his Bronco…except for his girl, Brionna Petrich, that is. For the past year, Easton has been busy working and fixing up his bronco. A year ago, he took his Bronco to Billings on his birthday weekend, and the alternator went out on the interstate by Laurel, Montana. Funny how stuff like that always seems to happen when you are out of town. The breakdown meant that he had to have it towed to get it off the interstate. Then a call to his parents, and they helped him get it home. That episode inspired Easton to replace the old alternator with a bigger alternator. Easton had put new subwoofers in, and the bigger alternator would help out with power for that. In the end, Easton’s dad, Steve Moore had to do a little engineering for it to work, but now, it works great!! With the power problem handled, Easton moved on to his next project, the carpet and a new muffler, or that’s what he thought was going to be the next project, but because some other things came up that needed done first, those would have to wait.
Easton graduated from high school in May of 2022. With apartment rent as high as it is, he is still living at home, which doesn’t hurt his parents’ feelings any. He is enjoying the freedom of not having schoolwork to do, and his mom is too. Its not that she had to help him so much, but there is always that push to get your kid to study, and get their homework done. While he did well in school, parents still have the job of chief encourager and supervisor. Now that is behind them, and if Easton decides to go further in his education, it will be on his own. Time will tell, but he happy with things as is for now.
Since graduation, Easton and his dad have collected all the parts to add a lift to his Bronco, so that he can use the tires he got from his friend…big wide tires. I don’t know what it is with guys, but the mor a vehicle looks monster truck like, the happier they are. Easton hated the wait to get the money together and then the wait to have the lift installed, but he persevered, and saving the money for your purchases is a great financial lesson to learn. Once the lift was all done, Easton couldn’t wait to take it for a drive, and wouldn’t you just know it…the starter quit working. That was odd, because he had just bought the starter, but it wouldn’t stay tight. As it turns out, there was a crack in the bell housing to the transmission. Oh, the joys of vehicle ownership!!
Thankfully, Easton has a good friend that actually found a replacement bell housing, located just a half a block away, and for just $100!! He was back in business. Easton and his friend finished taking it out of the Bronco, and Steve got it all taken apart and put all the parts into the new bell housing. The new on was perfect, with no cracks and nothing previously repaired (rebuilt). Finally, after all the parts were put back in, they took it for a drive. That first drive showed that there were still problems. It would only work in first and reverse. Now, that makes it difficult to dive it very far. A couple days later and lots of research, Easton took it back out and “Gave it the Onion.” Now, all the gears work great!! He then took it down to get the tires aligned right, since installing the lift. The carpet and the muffler will still be in the future, having been push out for other things.
If there is one thing that can be said about Easton, it’s that he is ambitious. He decides that he is going to do something, and he sticks to it until he accomplishes what he set out to accomplish. He has the determination to meet his goals even when life throws him a bunch of lemons!! His parents are so very proud of how he has worked through the hard times to make it to the good times! Easton has found a great supporter through it all…
his girlfriend, Brionna. She makes him happy, always smiling, and the two of them together makes everything good. When you have a good support system, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to!! Everyone needs a great support system. Today is Easton’s birthday. Happy birthday Easton!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandnephew, Jake Harman is quite likely one of the happiest people I know. He spreads happiness to everyone around him. Jake works for the City of Casper, as a bus driver for the Link public transportation system, and all his riders absolutely love him, and he loves them too. He’s got nicknames for a lot of them as well, because that is what Jake does. He loves people and often “adopts” them as a part of his “family.” No, he doesn’t take them home with him, but Jake really has never met a stranger. He is a people person and makes friends very easily. His upbeat personality puts a smile on everyone’s face. I know this to be a fact, because whenever I am around him, I can’t help but smile. He always makes me feel like I am his favorite person. I think that is how he makes everyone feel, even though, I like to think I’m his favorite great aunt. Doesn’t every aunt want that?
Jake is one of those guys who will always be young at heart…or as his wife, Melanie says a “big child” at heart. In reality, he probably is a big kid. Like many men, I don’t think he will ever really grow up, and maybe that isn’t a bad thing. Growing up…or growing old, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and I think those guys who stay a big kid have the most fun in life. Jake is dad to Alice (his bonus daughter), Izabella, and Jaxx. They have benefitted greatly from Jake’s “young at heart” ways, because he still gets down on the floor and plays with the kids all the time. They love to tackle him…when they can get the better of him. It’s just as fun when he wins 
too, because the whole goal is to have a big wrestling match with their daddy…and Jake never minds the noise.
Melanie tells he that he is “an amazing dad and husband. Don’t know what we would ever do without him in our lives! God put him and me together and I am so grateful for it every day! We have our scuffles, but we are perfect for each other.” Every marriage has its “scuffles.” It’s the rest of the marriage that really matters. She tells me that “his smile is for sure my weakness, lol!” I think anyone who knows Jake can say pretty much the same thing. Jake’s smile is his greatest asset, without a doubt. It shows how joyful he is. His smile always leaves you smiling too. Today is Jake’s birthday. Happy birthday Jake!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
