birthday
Since moving from Powell, Wyoming to Butte, Montana has changed many things in my grandnephew, Weston Moore’s life. Weston is enjoying his life in Butte. He is working for a company that installs music sound systems in vehicle. This was a new line of work for Weston, and he is learning so much, and he can now figure out problems with electrical that we all dread on working on in vehicles!! He really enjoys the work, and his new life in Montana. Of course, with his family living so far away, he doesn’t get to see his parents, Steve and Machelle Moore and his brother, Easton Moore, as often as he used to. That makes it hard, and the weather in Montana and Wyoming doesn’t always make visiting home an easy thing to do. 
Nevertheless, Weston managed to get home for his brother’s graduation, Thanksgiving, and Christmas this year. Weston loves to surprise his family. They ask him when he might be coming home, and he does his best to make them think it will be a long while…and then he shows up. Weston loves it when they are all surprised to see him. Weston’s family was hoping to go to Butte for his birthday, but unfortunately, this trip is going have to wait a little while, because the car needs new tires, and it gets better gas milage. It’s a struggle for a lot of people this year. Hopefully prices go down so they can get together and do more things this summer.
While all this has made for an interesting year, it’s Weston, himself that is the biggest news. Weston has been working for a while now to become…less!! Weston decided that he wanted to lose weight and get healthy, so he set out to do just that. I’m not sure how long he has been working on it, but I can tell you that 100 pounds doesn’t come off overnight. Losing that kind of weight takes hard work and determination. Weston had made up his mind, and he wasn’t quitting until he succeeded. We are all so proud of his success. He looks great, and 
he decided that to complete his transformation, he needed a haircut too. Well, he succeeded in a complete transformation, and I can happily say that today, we have less Weston. Today is Weston’s 23rd birthday. Happy birthday Weston!! Have a great day!! We love you and we’re so proud of you!!
Since buying their family farm, my nephew, Eric Parmely and his wife, Ashley have had a number of daily duties that are different from people who dwell in the cities and towns. Of course, there are the normal duties that go with a farm…everything from feeding animals, helping with births, gathering eggs, taking care of the land, and repairing fences. This year has been a little unusual in that like many areas across the United States, Wyoming has received an extra-large amount of snow, meaning that the rural roads, which are not always plowed by the county or state, are left buried in 3 to 6 feet of snow. That means that nothing is moving, and those people who happen to have tractors, will likely have to go out and help with the “digging out” process. That was the position Eric and Ashley found themselves in. One storm found them waiting for 3 days to get out, and then it only happened because Eric got out and became a snowplow. Of course, the whole thing didn’t totally hurt Eric’s feelings, 
because he loves his tractor, and this was a new way to use it. Men and their toys…right? The main thing is that they were finally able to get out and get back to the business of life.
Eric is a mechanic by trade and loves his work. That means that tinkering with anything mechanical is not really work. Getting on the farm equipment is that way exactly. When they bought the tractor, there were many evenings spent in the barn with his father-in-law, Albert Eighmy, son Bowen Parmely, and often Ashley and their daughters, Reagan, Hattie, and Maeve all watching as the work was done to this fantastic piece of equipment, so that it would be ready to be a regular piece of the menagerie of farm equipment necessary to run a farm. Bowen especially loves the tractor, because, being a boy, it seems to run in his blood. He is his daddy’s boy. The girls like to ride on it too, but they aren’t as interested in the mechanical side of things as Bowen is.
Eric has become a wonderful family man…a great husband and daddy. He and Ashley are doing the things 
necessary to raise responsible, decent, and well-rounded kids. Their kids are homeschooled, which is becoming more and more necessary these days, given the radical activities in the school system now. And the kids are happier too. Ashley teaches school, and Eric brings home the bacon…back to old fashioned values. Not every family is run this way, but it works very well for them. Today is Eric’s birthday. Happy birthday Eric!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
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 sister-in-law, Rachel Schulenberg joined our family when she married my brother-in-law, Ron Schulenberg on June 2, 2010. It was a match made in Heaven. Rachel was introduced to Ron by his nieces, Machelle Moore and Susan Griffith. She was perfect for Ron. She was kindhearted and sweet, and a blessing to all who knew her. Rachel was a Christian girl, who worked at a church in Powell, Wyoming, when she was introduced to Ron. She was dedicated to the Lord, and witnessed to everyone she came across.
Rachel was a wonderful mom to her kids, Cassie Franklin, Riley Birky, and Tucker Schulenberg. She is also an amazing grandmother to her grandchildren, Lucas and Zoey Iverson. I just wish she had known her grandkids, Ryder Birky and Alicen Burr, as well as bonus baby, Jace. She would have absolutely loved these new little ones. Rachel really was a great mom and grandma. It really blessed her heart to become a grandma. I think that quite often, when we are done having kids, we almost immediately start to look forward to having grandkids. After all, it’s all about the babies. Who doesn’t love babies? No one, I know anyway!! 
Rachel was a part of our family for the last ten years of her life. Like her mother, Connie who died in 1985, when she was 35 years, Rachel passed away at a young age. Rachel was just 45 years old when she passed away. It is always so sad when someone so young leaves us so early. Rachel died of a stroke, which is, I believe, how her mother also passed away. Looking back, so many of us wish she was still with us today. Rachel had such a sweet way about her. Kindness radiated from her, because she was kind deep down in her heart. How can someone so young, leaves us so soon? When Rachel left us, she left a huge hole in the hearts of everyone who cared about her…and believe me, that was a lot of people.
Rachel changed everything in Ron’s life, and in the life of her kids and grandkids. My only wish is that their time w
ith her hadn’t been so short. They all really needed her in their lives for many more years. Rachel’s influence in their lives was beyond huge. Everyone needs the influence of their mother and grandmother, but sadly, when they are gone, you really find out how badly you missed them. There are countless number of times that all you want to do is pick up that phone to ask them a question or tell them about your day. Today would have been Rachel’s 48th birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Rachel. We love and miss you very much, and can’t wait to see you in Heaven, when we all get there.
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!!
Yesterday, one of my granddaughter, Shai Royce’s co-workers, mentioned that her birthday was missing this year. I guess you could say that, but I told her that is just another Nano Birthday. Of course, that is when your birthday falls on that nano second between 11:59pm and 12:00am. That can only happen is you are a Leap Day Baby, which is exactly what Shai is. She didn’t know how she felt about that for a long time, mostly because her younger brother, Caalab told her that he was older that she is, which is technically true, because she only gets a “real” birthday every four years. She didn’t want him to be older than she was, because obviously, she was born first. She finally began to feel better about her birthday when I told her that the boys were older that she was, but they had to wait until they were 16 to get their driver’s license, but she could get hers when she was 4, and even then, she got to get it on the 28th rather than waiting until the 1st of March. So, it was earlier all the way 
around. These days, like many Leap Day Babies, Shai has a two-day birthday, and sometimes she has a birthday week.
Shai is an insurance agent for Rice Insurance in Bellingham, Washington, and she is seriously the youngest insurance agent they have. While she is “technically” 27 years old today, in reality, she is 6¾ years old. I would say that is the youngest agent in Rice Insurance history…unless they have another Leap Day Baby in their midst. Either way, they take pretty good care of Shai, birthday or nano birthday. The have given her candles, which she loves, and one co-worker bought her pizza and a brownie for lunch today. Her parents threw her a party over the weekend, so it looks like she’s been pretty spoiled. I just wish we could have been there for it. Maybe next year.
Shai is a very social person and is well liked by everyone she knows. She makes friends easily, and often keeps 
them for life. She has followed in the footsteps of her grandma and her mom, who are both insurance agents. In fact, I had the great privilege of training both of them to be insurance agents, and if I do say so myself, they are among the best in the business. I am so very proud of both of them. They even get to work together at Rice Insurance, although they often work from home these days, which is very cool too. Today is Shai’s 6¾s @ 27th birthday. Next year you can have a real birthday, Girlie. Happy birthday Shai!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandson, Chris Petersen was the first one to make me a grandma. It was a wonderful day. Amazing, he managed to accomplish two great things that day making my goal of being a grandma by the time I was 40 and being born on his great grandmother, Joann Schulenberg’s birthday. I was privileged to be in the room when he arrived, and it was a wonderful blessing to me…one I will never forget. Chris was a wonderful and silly boy. He made the greatest faces and totally loved making all the animal sounds, and he knew them by heart.
These days, Chris is all grown up, married to a wonderful girl named Karen, and has two wonderful babies of his own named Cambree and Caysen. He is the assistant 
manager at Auto Zone in Casper, a job that is right up his alley. Chris is a car fanatic, and truly loves everything about his job. For a time, he was in food service, and while it was a job, it was not his heart. Since moving to Auto Zone, I have seen that happy boy come back. Chris is funny and loves to joke around. He is witty, and quick with a great punch line. He loves playing with his kids and making them laugh. When he is with them, he is a kid at heart. I love when he sends me funny texts or call to see if he can fool me, which he and Karen seem to be very good at. Hahaha!! It makes my day, when my kids and grandkids still want to talk or text me every day. It warms my heart to see Chris so happy with his life. He is very blessed.
Chris has a Camaro, and he has decided that he is going to wrap it with Rhino, which I think looks very cool. He 
hasn’t said if he will go black or choose a color, but I’ve seen some of these done, and it is cool. His car has won him awards, and he is very proud of it. His kids love to be in the car too, so I guess they know a hot rod when they see one. They are their daddy’s kids after all. Of course, the Camaro is a summer car. Chris and Karen have 4-wheel drives for the winter weather, and this year it has been a good thing. We have had a banner snow year in Casper, and 4-wheel drive is essential. Nevertheless, Summer is coming, and it will be nice to take out the old hot rod sometimes. Today is Chris’ 27th birthday…how can that be already?? Happy birthday Chris!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My mother-in-law, Joann Schulenberg was stay-at-home mom for most of her life. She cooked and baked, as well as sewing, knitting, and crocheting, in addition to the normal stay-at-home mom duties. She was an excellent cook, and the thought of her baking prowess still makes my mouth water. I came across some Cinnabon sticky buns at Walmart the other day, and it reminded me of her Carmel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls. Nobody…and I mean nobody, made Carmel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls like she did. They were amazing!! She also made Murder Cake, which was like a chocolate cake with pudding dumped on it. It was so rich and yummy!! She also canned vegetables and meats for many years. Raising a cow at their property in the country made that feasible.
She spent her life perfecting her knitting, sewing, and crocheting, and she could make just about anything. Many people have been the beneficiaries of her work, and she made money on her things too. Craft fairs were her main selling place, but once her name was known, she got lots of calls for her crafts too. She could knit and crochet in her sleep and never miss a stitch. When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, and later when she moved into a nursing home, her knitting and crocheting went with her…in her mind anyway. She would see her oxygen tubing or a string on a blanked of piece of clothing and she would pick it up and “pick up” where she left off.
She was always cooking when she was at home, and so when they would tell her it was time for dinner at the nursing home, she would often tell them that she would get the potatoes on. All of the CNAs got a kick out of that, and then, they would tell her that it wasn’t her night to cook. That always put a smile on her face. If someone else did the cooking, that meant she could relax, for once. Never one to complain, she was a favorite out there. She was a people watcher, so being at the nursing home was entertainment for her too. She couldn’t 
quite figure out the relationships there, and often thought that the CNAs were spouses to the residents. Then, when they would go help a different resident, she would ask me why that “girl” was sitting with that man, when her husband was this other man. It was really quite comical. I never thought of Alzheimer’s Disease as a curse, like many people do. My mother-in-law didn’t grieve, because she didn’t realize they were gone. They would always be back soon. Today would have been my mother-in-law’s 92nd birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Mom. We love and miss you very much.
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.
