Kids
When a kid is fresh out of high school or just starting college, you really don’t know what kind of an adult they are going to be…much less what kind of parent. That all comes later, when you start to see how their kids turn out. My niece, Chelsea Hadlock is no different, but she has certainly proven to all who know her, just where her priorities lie. She is a great wife to my nephew, Ryan, and a wonderful mom to their kids, Ethan and Aurora, both of whom are sweet kids, and both of whom are well behaved and smart.
My sister, Allyn Hadlock tells me that Chelsea is their favorite daughter-in-law. Now while Chelsea is their only daughter-in-law, and technically they are joking about it, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t the truth. Allyn says that when they say that, they really mean it, because she is a perfect fit for their family, and her love for her husband, Ryan, endears her to the whole family. In reality, she is more like a daughter to them, than a daughter-in-law.
Chelsea is quite talented. She is a great baker, and has sold her baked goods. Since I’ve had her baked goods, I can attest to that. Chelsea started making jewelry a few years ago, and her work is beautiful. For a while she sold her jewelry online, but lately she has been taking it to Comic-Con to sell it. She will be attending Comic-Con in Denver, Colorado this weekend. She has also attended in Cheyenne Wyoming and Portland, Oregon, where she also sold her jewelry. She has been quite successful, and in reality, her jewelry sells itself.
At church, Chelsea sings as a backup singer, and teaches her children to love the Lord, as she does. She is nurturing their relationship with God, and has made all of us so proud of her love of God. She also has a great 
sense of humor, and loves to tease her family. She is also a good sport when being teased. She and Ryan have been best friends since the day they met, and were instantly inseparable. I think it was love at first sight…or, more likely a match made in Heaven. Ryan has never been more happy than all the years he and Chelsea have been together. She is just a loving girl, and she makes Ryan and all those who know her very happy. Today is Chelsea’s birthday. Happy birthday Chelsea!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When a parent has their first child, they always expect…perfection. Of course, no child can ever fully live up to that expectation, but I can say that I have been very blessed with the children I have. I know…every parent says that, but I seriously can’t think of anything I would change. I won’t go into all the things my youngest daughter, Amy Royce has done here, because that is a different story, and this story is about my oldest daughter, Corrie Petersen, but suffice it to say, they are both awesome.
As a little girl, Corrie was one of the most organized kids I ever saw. She could organize just about anything. As an adult, that talent has served her well. She is an organizer at work, when she was the president of the Pineview POPI (the parent teacher group), and many other events that she has organized. She learned whatever it took to achieve the organization she needed to achieve. When her sons, Chris and Josh were getting ready for college, Corrie organized the biggest scholarship 
search I have ever seen. Other parents may have done the same thing, but she seemed to pull scholarships out of thin air. That’s my Corrie…very thorough!!
It’s funny how some people like their world to be ordered, and others just take it as it comes. That is one thing that I have to say Corrie and I differ at. I’m not saying one way is better than the other, because sometimes, I wish I could have order in my life. It just never seems to go that way. I’m ordered in some things, but with my job, you take things as they come in. Corrie, on the other hand has specific things that have to be done at specific times, so I guess her job has made things right in her universe. All is right in my universe, if all my technology works properly, so I can handle the chaos.
I think that one of the most special things about her birthday for Corrie, was that she has always shared her special day with her great grandmother, Nettie Knox. They both loved that fact, and they reveled in it. Their birthday parties were always the greatest day ever…because it was their very special connection. From the very first 
moment of Corrie’s life, she was a gift to her great grandmother. Not everyone can be a gift to someone, but she was. Grandma came in to my room, and proudly told me that Corrie had been born on her birthday. She was beaming…absolutely beaming!! It was a special connection for them for the rest of Grandma’s life, and always will be to Corrie too. Corrie thinks about Grandma every day. I just wish Grandma could have met Corrie’s family too. Today is Corrie’s birthday, and her grandma’s too. Happy birthday Corrie, and to Grandma in Heaven too!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandnephew, Topher Spicer is a sweet boy, who is a great surrogate big brother to his mother, Andrea Beach’s friend, Nikki Vigil’s son, Marcus. They are both an only child, so their friendship is very important to them. He also has some best friends, Elias and Ethan, that he really enjoys hanging out with. His mom has taught him to play Uno, and of course he plays video games. Summertime is a great time to go swimming, and Topher goes just about every day.
Since Topher’s uncle, Allen Beach was stationed in Japan for part of his time as a corpsman in the Navy, Topher has become interested in Japanese culture. I don’t know if Topher is considering joining the Navy, or not, but if he did, he would follow in a line of Navy men in his family. Whether or not he is in the navy, Topher like some of the culture, and most likely the buildings and such.
Topher loves animals, and I’m sure that he hopes to have a pet some day. When he was visiting his great grandma, my mom, Collene Spencer, her cat was totally taken with him. That was an amazing thing, because Lewie, the cat, doesn’t like to be around most kids, but was totally content to sit beside Topher, and watch what he was doing…no matter what it was. I can understand that, because Topher is a child who is not overly rambunctious. He is content to sit and play a video game, and Lewie felt comfortable with him.
This past week, while my sisters, Cheryl Masterson, Caryl Reed, and I were on a trip to Washington, Topher 
spent quite a bit of time with his grandpa, Mike Reed, while his mom had to work. They were just two men, batching it together, and supposedly waiting for Caryl to get back home again. I’m sure they missed her, but guy time is fun for them too. Sometimes having a guys week can really be a lot of fun, so I know that they had a great time. Whenever two guys get together and do all the things that only guys would appreciate, it’s a good time. I suppose you would have to be a guy to understand the guy things. Today is Topher’s 12th birthday. Happy birthday Topher!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
As a little kid, my grandson, Caalab Royce, like most kids was a typically goofy kid. He always had a great sense of humor, and loved making people laugh. He didn’t even have to try to make jokes, it just came naturally…and it still does. Caalab loved long hair, and even as a little baby, he carefully played with my hair every chance he got. As a little bit bigger boy, he caught the attention of everyone at church when he would climb up on the chair whenever we stood to sing, and started to play with my hair. It really was the cutest thing, and very endearing. Caalab was the kid who always loved to come to his grandparents house to spend the night. He stayed with us longer than any of the other grandchildren. It did make it hard to have him and his sister, Shai move away when their parents, my daughter Amy and her husband Travis moved to Washington.
Now that Caalab is a grown man, turning twenty today, he is proving to be a wonderful man. As his mom said, he is getting really good at adulting. Amy tells me that Caalab has done very well at doing all of the things that adults should do…paying his bills and never borrowing money, going to work on time and doing his job, and being a responsible adult. Caalab and Shai, his sister, got an apartment together about six months ago, and they have been exceptional roommates and friends. I remember how much they fought when they were little kids, and even as teenagers, and I wondered how well they would do as roommates, but I can proudly say they have been stellar roommates. Shai has even told me that Caalab has become a very clean adult. Most kids, and especially boys, are messy, and some never get out of it, but Caalab grew out of it, and Shai is very thankful.
Caalab, Shai, and their parents, Amy and Travis have started bowling on a league together. It is really the first 
time Caalab has bowled very much, and they had a great time. Caalab ended the year with a 127 average, and that is really good for a new bowler. Bowling is a traditional sport in our family, so it’s fun to watch the next generation coming into their own in the sport I grew up loving. I know that they will have a great time. In everything Caalab has done in his life, I can say that I am extremely pleased with all of his accomplishments. He is a wonderful young man, and I am very proud of him. Today is Caalab’s birthday. Happy 20th birthday Caalab!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandnephew, James Renville is a quiet sort of guy, but let him decide that he needs to tease his dad or his step-dad, and he’s anything but quiet. He not only loves to tease them, but he loves to video the whole process. I’m sure he has two reasons for the video…re-living the moment, and re-torturing the victims. James isn’t being mean, he is just enjoying the moment…and you have to admit that once you have teased someone you love, you have to laugh about the moment for the rest of the day. James is also a great friend to his cousins, many of whom are much younger. He plays with them and teases them as well, and they all love it, and have a great time. That’s the funny thing about little kids…they love to be teased by their older cousins and such, because they know that it’s all in good fun, and they always love the attention.
James enjoys lots of fun activities with his parents. He loves to travel and they have gone to many awesome places. It has been educational, enlightening, and very fun for James. I’m sure that is why he loves to travel…especially in Europe. James as taken a couple of European trips already, and had a great time on both trips. James reminds me quite a bit of my dad, his great grandpa, Allen Spencer, in that way. My dad loved to travel and loved showing his family this great country. My dad, like James also did some travel abroad, but his travel was during World War II, so I’m sure that many things were different then.
James is in college now, attending Casper College here in Casper. He isn’t sure what field he wants to go into yet, and that’s ok. He is going to get all of the required subjects out of the way, and then he can fully focus on 
the career of his choosing. James is also a huge fan of and awesome participant in the sport of inline rollerblading. When he puts on his rollerblades, he is in his element. He loves all things rollerblades. James spends quite a bit of time watching YouTube videos of rollerblade tricks and crashes to learn new tricks…and maybe to avoid crashes. He enjoys perfecting his moves, and learning new ones from the videos he watches. His mom, Toni Chase, says he is amazing at rollerblading. Some day I will have to see him for myself. Today is James’ birthday. Happy birthday James!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Since my nephew, Garrett Stevens’ wife, Kayla was hired to work as a social worker in a therapy clinic in Sheridan, Wyoming, they have been busily planning their move. Garrett is still working here in Casper, and will start looking for work in Sheridan when they get moved up there. Kayla has been house hunting, and has found a great house for them to buy, so everything is falling into place for their move. I know that they are going to be very successful living in Sheridan, and since Kayla’s family lives there, they already have some leads for Garrett in his job search. Garrett is a great welder, and will be an asset to any company. I’m sure that he will find a great job quickly. I know that with this move comes the excitement of a new adventure…a new chapter in their lives.
The first years of their relationship, and this first year of their marriage have been spent with Kayla as a student. As anyone who has a masters degree knows, that means lots of studying. Of course, Garrett was supportive of Kayla in her studies, but now that the education time is behind them, I think they will have lots more time to do the fun things they like to do, and for starting a family in the future. That makes the next chapter of their lives very exciting. Things like becoming homeowners, and working in the careers that they have both studied for and enjoy, will make this new chapter very exciting for them.
Garrett loves doing outdoorsy things like camping, hunting, and fishing. He loves sports…all kinds of sports. But he is also very much a family sort of guy. He has been a great older cousin to all of his cousins. They love to hang out with Garrett, because he isn’t too “old” to play with them. So often, people who don’t have children, 
would rather that other people’s kids would just stay away, but not Garrett. He would love to have a dozen kids around him at any given moment, and it’s ok if they are crawling all over him too. He just takes it all in stride, or maybe like most kids, rough housing is the order of the day. And he loves babies as much as the older kids. Crying is not a problem. He will sooth them and before you know it, they are calm or sleeping. Garrett will make a great dad some day, but that is a completely different new chapter. Today is Garrett’s birthday. Happy birthday Garrett!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
For most graduated college students, the next step is to look for a job in your field, and my niece, Kayla Stevens is no different. Since her graduation Kayla has sent résumés to several places in Casper, and in Sheridan, where she is from. It didn’t take very long for a therapy clinic in Sheridan to grab her up. When you have the grades she did, you become the pick of the litter of graduates. Things are happening pretty fast now. Kayla starts her new job in just ten days, and so she is working on finding a house for them to live in. I am not sure when her husband, Garrett, my nephew will be joining Kayla in Sheridan, but since she starts her job on June 19th, she will be in Sheridan before we have hardly had a chance to blink. I know how hard this will be for my sister, Alena Stevens, and her husband Mike, but of course, Kayla’s family has been missing her since she came to Casper for college. Kayla and Garrett decided that she would apply in both cities, and go where God led them, so I know that this move and this job will be a great blessing for both of them.
Kayla has such a caring heart, and the patients whose lives she will impact are among the most blessed people around. She loves working with children, so I hope that she will be able to have some kids in that group too, because they would be very blessed to have her helping them with whatever they need. I don’t know what Kayla’s job will entail, but I know that with her abilities, she will be very successful at it, and I look forward to hearing more about it as time goes by. Of course, with social work, as with 
any medical profession, privacy is the word of the day, so mostly we will hear about the general day to day work, and not about specific patients.
Sheridan is a beautiful town, and since Kayla and Garrett love to camp, they will really enjoy the easy access to the Big Horn Mountains, and all the other outdoor activities Sheridan has to offer. The future will be a very exciting one for them as they settle in to their new jobs, and I’m sure someday soon, start a family. I know that my sister, Alena and her family will also have a lot of visits to Sheridan in their future. Kayla and Garrett will come to visit too, but we will all miss them very much anyway. Today is Kayla’s birthday. Happy birthday Kayla!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My sister, Alena Stevens, is the refocus room coordinator and an educational support staff member at Verda James Elementary School here in Casper, Wyoming. The resource room is really where children are sent when they have a learning disability or in some way need a little bit of extra one-on-one time with an instructor. The student getting this type of support will receive some time in the resource room, which is referred to as a “removal from the regular education environment” portion of the day and some time in the regular classroom with modifications and/or accommodations which may include specialized instruction with their non-impaired peers. It isn’t a punishment, but rather a way to enhance their education, by allowing them to relax, outside of the view of their peers who do not struggle, and get the assistance they need to succeed. Besides helping children who have a special need, Alena is the playground supervisor, so she get to spend time with all the children in the school…and they all totally love her and want to stay friends with her all of their lives.
It seems odd to me that I would have any specific knowledge of the on goings of the elementary schools, because my children are grown and so are my grandchildren, so how would I really know what is going on in the elementary schools? Well, in most cases, I wouldn’t, but because I have become friends over the years with some of the students who came in contact with my sister, and because our grand nephew, Ethan Hadlock and our grand niece Aurora Hadlock, go to the school too, I have seen what a wonderful, positive impact Alena has had on their lives. These kids remain friends with her, years after they leave elementary school, and the ones I know have become such wonderful people, and many of them say that Alena had a big part in that, because as we all know, when kids struggle in school, self esteem suffers, but with the help of wonderful people like Alena, there are a bunch of kids coming out of that struggle on the winning side of life, against all odds.
Not everyone has the ability to look back on their life and see the positive impact they had on the lives of others. Many people even wonder if anyone will remember them very long after they are gone, but when an elementary student remembers a teacher when they are married and have children of their own, you know that teacher was a very special person. That is what I hear about my sister, Alena Stevens, and it makes me proud. Today is Alena’s birthday. Happy birthday Alena!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When my daughter, Amy Royce and her family moved out to the Pacific Northwest, it was initially to get away from the cold Wyoming winters, but it has been an amazing adventure for them in many ways. Amy always loved the rainforests and the beaches too, so the Pacific Northwest was the perfect location for her. In the two years since they moved to Washington, they have been hiking the amazing trails in the area, and of course, enjoying the sunsets by the water. Amy also had the opportunity to go to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which is an awesome spring display of tulips…acres and acres of tulips. It is a beautiful sight. I got to see it years ago, when my sister lived in that area, but I look forward to seeing it again with Amy.
In the two years that Amy has lived in Washington, I have seen her creative side simply blossom. She has done 
a few sessions at one of the places where you paint and have wine, and she liked it so much that her husband, Travis bought her a set of paints and an easel. Amy’s creative side just bubbled out of her. Every new painting is better than the last. I wish I had such talent. She and her sister Corrie Petersen, both seem to have inherited that talent…but they did not get it from me, hahaha!! Amy also loves to take pictures of the area she lives in, and posts them to her Facebook. They are beautiful, and since I love photography, I’ll take a little credit and say that she inherited that ability from me…whether it’s true or not. The pictures she takes while hiking are amazing, and the subject matter doesn’t hurt anything either. Still, the eye of the photographer is the main part of great photography.
While we wish that she lived closer to us, we always look forward to the trips we take out to see her and her 
family. Since we love to hike too, we went on a few of the trails while we were there the last time, but the next time we go, it will be in the summer, and we are going to have her take us to some of the places she went last month, because those places were stunning. It’s funny, because Amy was never so much the hiker. She usually went to the gym for her exercise, and suddenly she likes to get out in nature too. Something I find totally awesome. Today is Amy’s birthday. Happy birthday Amy!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Very early yesterday morning, a little boy named Jaxx David Harman was keeping his parents up all night. That may not seem like a strange thing to the parents of little ones, but little Jaxx had a very good reason for keeping his parents up…it was going to be his birthday, and he was excited. It wasn’t his birthday yet, and no one knew for sure if his birthday would be May 29th or May 30th. It depended on just how much of a hurry Jaxx was in. As it turned out, Jaxx wasn’t in a big hurry, and by the time he made his entrance, it was 4:15am on May 30th. Let’s hope he doesn’t make a habit of being up so late.
Jaxx is the youngest child of my grand nephew, Jake Harman and his wife, Melanie. They have two daughters, Alice and Izabella, both of whom are very excited to have a little brother. Alice, being the oldest understands all this better than Izabella, but Izabella is quite interested anyway. Oh, I know that as little Jaxx grows up, he will most likely torment his big sisters, as most little brothers…or brothers in general…do, but they will love him anyway, because he is their brother, and nobody gets to be mad at him but them!!
I’m sure little Jaxx didn’t mean to keep his parents up all night, but I seriously doubt if it will be the last time. I 
hope that starting out this way is not indicative of how Jaxx will be in the future, because as we all know, parents need their sleep too, especially parents of little ones. But then again, I would much rather have a baby keeping me awake than a child out on a date, and running late for curfew. I’m sure Jake and Melanie don’t even want me to think about those days yet, but as we all know, time flies quickly by, and those days will be here before they know it. Until then, Jake and Melanie, enjoy that sweet little boy. He is so precious and we are all very happy for you. Congratulations!!
