boys
Many things changed on the day, Jennifer Schulenberg Parmely, my sister-in-law, was born. No, it wasn’t something that she or her parents did, but rather in the world. On this day, April 12, in 1961, the year Jennifer was born, the world saw it’s very first manned space flight. That was the day that the Race to Space ended with Russia putting the first man in space. That man was Yuri Gagarin. The United States had hoped to win that race, but we were not ready to put our first manned space flight into space for another month. I’m sure that all this meant nothing to Jennifer, or her parents, Walt and Joann Schulenberg, but it is, nevertheless, a historical fact, and it happend on the day she was born.
Jennifer grew up, and became the mother of three boys, Barry, JD, and Eric. There was hope that she would have a daughter, but that was not to be. It seemed to be some kind of tradition in the Schulenberg family…at least with the grandchildren and great grandchildren. Whatever the first baby was, the others in that family were the same. The only one to break that tradition to date is my daughter Amy Royce, who managed to have a girl and then, shocker…a boy. All the others in the family have one or the other. That didn’t leave Jennifer much hope of having a granddaughter either, but Eric and his wife, Ashley broke with the boy tradition in Jennifer’s family and had two girls, Reagan and Hattie. They still kept with the tradition of what the first one is the others are too, however. Of course, there is always a possibility that they will try again for the boy, and maybe…just maybe, they will succeed like Amy did. Until that time, Jennifer is enjoying the little girls she never got to have, and that is very nice for her, because they are little sweeties, for sure.
Jennifer is a nurse at Wyoming Medical Center, and has worked there since she was just seventeen. She 
started as a Candy Striper, and after college, was hired in the Obstetrics department as a nurse. She has always loved newborn babies, and this way she gets to see lots of them, but the good news is that she can hold them and then give them back to their mothers, because as most mothers know, there is a time to have your babies, and a time to be the one to just spoil those babies and let their parents handle the fallout. It’s called being the grandma, and believe me, it’s awesome, as any grandmother will tell you. Today is Jennifer’s birthday. Happy birthday Jennifer!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When my nephew, Barry Schulenberg arrived on the scene, on December 11, 1978, he brought with him, a definite culture shock where babies were concerned. Barry was the first grandson in the family, which already had four granddaughters, three of whom were still living. Now it wasn’t that those girls couldn’t be rough and tumble girls, but in reality, they were all pretty girly. Barry, on the other hand, was all boy. He liked things like tractors, trucks, helping his grandpa cut wood, and anything else that his grandpa was doing. The girls would rather sit and watch what grandpa was doing rather than be out there getting dirty with him. In many ways, Barry was just what my father-in-law, Walt Schulenberg needed. He loved those granddaughters, don’t get me wrong, and they were really his little princesses, but he needed a boy to do all the guy things with him, and Barry fit that bill perfectly. Nevertheless, for my sister-in-law, Debbie Schulenberg Cook and me, Barry was like an alien from outer space. Debbie had a bit of an advantage over me, in that she was raised with two brothers, but I had four sisters, and boys were very much a real culture shock.
For anyone who has boys, I’m sure you can relate to the difference between boys and girls very well. I only knew what little bit I knew from my nephew, Rob Masterson, my sister, Cheryl Masterson’s son, and at that time…well, he pretty much drove me crazy with his very much boyish ways. Nevertheless, I was about to get a whole new education in little boys, compliments of my nephew, Barry. As most of you know, boys don’t get embarrassed by things like the noises that can come from people, from running around nearly naked…which some girls do too, or from coming in the house covered in dirt or mud. To them, all this is a part of having a great day, and in fact, being required to mind their manners, stay clean, and stay dressed…well, that a boring day. Barry was a typical boy in every sense of the word.
Barry is a grown man now, and while he is still into trucks, tractors, and many of the other things guys are into, he has long since ceased to do the things that made him a culture shock for me. I can’t speak for his wife, Kelli, on any of his annoying ways, on the other hand, and I’m sure she could name a number of those right off the top of her head, but I think I’ll leave that one alone. Today is Barry’s birthday. Happy birthday Barry!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nieces, Machelle Cook Moore and her sister, Susan Cook Griffith have both always been very sweet, loving girls. They have tender loving hearts. Machelle is the older sister, and there are five years between the girls, but they are just as close as they can be. Both of the girls love to go camping and to be outdoors in general, which is nice for their families. The summers are filled with trips to the Big Horn Mountains in northern Wyoming, which is where they live.
It is there, however that many of the similarities between the girls end. Machelle and her husband, Steve have two sons, Weston and Easton, while Susan and her husband, Josh have a blended family with two daughters. I have found that when a woman has just sons, her life is much different than when a woman has just daughters. That is an observation that I have made from my own life, because I also have two daughters and no sons. Boys tend to change a woman…even if 
she is a girly girl. There is simply a culture shock that comes from having a house full of men. Maybe it is the same for the fathers of just daughters, and in reality, I’m sure that is true, but since I am a woman, I can’t speak to the culture shock a man of only daughters really feels, other than outnumbered. But then again, I’m sure that the mother of just sons, feels the same way. I know my own daughter, Corrie Petersen feels outnumbered a lot. I’m sure that Machelle has the same issues, and the older the boys get, the more they like to tease their mothers. That is a guy thing for sure.
Life with boys is rough and tumble, and in many ways a little bit gross. Because that is what boys do. It is filled with spiders, snakes, bats, and toads, or at least some kind of a mixture of these and more. The mother never really knows what she might find in the pockets of her little…angels. She can never be 100% sure that they won’t completely embarrass her with their noises, because to them that sort of thing is…well, funny. For most 
girls, these kinds of things would be more embarrassing to the girl than to her parents…not so with boys. With boys, all bets are off, and their mom had better expect the unexpected…at all times. I know that those who have boys know exactly what I’m talking about.
Machelle and Susan are alike in many ways, but their lives are very different. I know that they wouldn’t trade their lives for anything, but I’m sure that they’ve had a few conversations about just how different their lives are too. I don’t think either of them could fully believe the differences unless they see it for themselves, however. Today is Machelle’s birthday. Happy birthday Machelle!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, Steve Moore, who married my niece Machelle Cook Moore, is a gun enthusiast…and that is putting it mildly. Steve has a real passion for gun making, and in all reality, wants to make guns for a living. According to Machelle, he has a real knack for it. One of my Spencer ancestors made a rifle that ended up making a huge difference in the Civil War. I have to wonder if someday, we won’t have a well known gun called the Moore Special or something. Now, I can’t say whether the Moore Special would be a rifle or a hand gun, and I can’t tell you what caliber it would be, but I can tell you that it would either come equipped with a silencer, or a silencer would be an add on option, because Steve is a big fan of the silencer. Steve struggles with his hearing because of the noise guns make, and he doesn’t want his boys, Weston and Easton to have the same problems. For that reason, and the fact that both of his boys are becoming total gun enthusiasts too, Steve wants to do everything he can to protect their hearing, while allowing them to enjoy guns as much as he does. So, Steve has made sure that he has enough silencers so that they can practice their shooting without having to change out the silencers all the time. The silencers have also earned him an A+ with his mother-in-law, Debbie Cook, who doesn’t like the loudness of the guns when the guys are shooting, which she feels disturbs the serenity of their camping spot, which is the main reason people go camping, right.
Steve has set a goal for himself to open his own business. He wants to build guns for people, and eventually also repair guns for people. Of course, there is a lot of legal red tape to go through in order to be a gun builder and seller. The first step is FBI approval of Steve’s form 4s, which allows him to sell to people. There will be more forms to fill out in order to repair guns. Of course, Steve will also be making other types of parts for people too. He is very talented when it comes to building parts for just about anything. They recently bought a lathe to start preparing for the business to come. In the meantime, Steve can make just about anything on it. All of his friends know that if they need a part made, Steve is their man. He recently build a part for Machelle’s Uncle Ron’s lift. The request came on one camping trip and the part was ready by the next camping trip.
Camping is, of course, Steve’s favorite thing to do whenever he is off work. He and Machelle bought a trailer and pickup from Ron his wife Rachel, because their boys were getting too big for the little camper they had before. Whenever Steve isn’t working on guns, he is thinking about camping and shooting contests, or going camping and to shooting contests. I guess that just stands to reason though. When guns are your passion, guns are what you think about. In the end, I think it will be a good business for Steve to get into, because I think as time goes on, more and more people are going to be buying guns. It is an unfortunate side effect of the world we live in. People need guns to protect themselves and their families. Today is Steve’s birthday. Happy birthday Steve!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand niece, Aleesia Spethman is a child who can steal your heart. She has a smile that can light up your whole day. Aleesia has spent a lot of her life posing for pictures for her parents, so now, when someone pulls out a camera, she automatically goes into pose mode. Aleesia is such a girlie girl, and when I think of her, the word princess comes to mind. She loves to dance around the room. She loves all things bling…from nail polish to back packs that light up. She likes things that catch the eye. At three years of age, she already knows so much about who she is and who she wants to be. No, I’m not saying that she already knows what career she will choose, but she knows what kind of girl she is, and that it’s ok to blend girly with tomboy.
Now, just because Aleesia is a girly girl, does not mean that she can’t keep up with the boys. You can’t be born the baby girl in a family with three boys, and not figure out how to handle yourself around those boys. Aleesia can easily rough house with her brothers, Xander, Zack, and Isaac at one moment, and then totally turn around and run things like a queen. Even though her brothers are older than her, Aleesia is definitely the boss when it comes right down to it. Quite possibly that is because Xander, Zack, and Isaac love their sister so much, and they are so protective of her. I suppose that they let her run the show to some degree, but it’s only because they love her so much.
If there is an area where Aleesia is just like any other three year old child, it is in the area of her cartoon choices. Aleesia loves Despicable Me. Minions are her favorite people. I had never really had a chance to watch Despicable Me, until Aleesia started spending Thursday evenings at my sister, Cheryl Masterson’s house. Cheryl is Aleesia’s grandma, so it stands to reason that she would be there at times. The rest of her family goes to an event in downtown Casper on Thursday nights, and it’s a lot of walking, which is not so easy for Aleesia, so she spends the evening with my sister and me, and sometimes, Cheryl’s daughters, Chantel Balcerzak and Liz Masterson, and granddaughter, Siara Harman. We have a really great girls night. We watch movies, and we have been scanning pictures…as well as just enjoying each others company. If Aleesia had her way, we would watch Despicable Me every night, and for the whole evening, but she is good about letting us have a say in the 
movie we watch, as long as Despicable Me is on sometimes. She just can’t get enough of that show.
Aleesia is the kind of girl who draws you into her world. She giggles, smiles, and laughs her way into your heart. She likes to pose, because she knows how cute she is…and yet she isn’t prissy. She is almost an actress, because she really knows how to play a part, and she knows how to capture an audience. She’s cute, and she knows it. Today is Aleesia’s 3rd birthday. Happy birthday Aleesia!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
I think it’s a good thing that my niece, Machelle Moore likes to do a lot of outdoor, tomboy kinds of things, because with a husband and two sons, she is pretty much surrounded by those things. Her family loves to go camping and recently purchased her parent’s old travel trailer. They love spending time up in the Big Horn Mountains. The boys get to have lots of time to get out of town and do something different, and for Machelle, that is what it’s all about…spending time with her family and watching her boys grow up. Of course, being married to, Steve, the love of her life is one of the things that is closest to Machelle’s heart, and something that has made her life wonderful for the past fifteen years. Doing things with her three boys is what she most likes to do.
Machelle also likes to get away once in a while and go to Las Vegas with her sister, Susan Griffith or her aunt, Rachel Schulenberg. The fast paced party lifestyle is fun to go participate in once in a while, and since her husband, Steve doesn’t like to rally travel much, he stays home with the boys so she can go and have a good time. She also likes to come to Casper sometimes to visit family members here, and while the boys come with her about half the time, they don’t always. Since she and Rachel were good friends before Rachel married her Uncle Ron, and moved to Casper, it is one way to spend time with her friend.
Machelle always liked to come to Casper to visit though. When she came down with her mom, Debbie Cook, to visit her grandparents. As a little girl, she always seemed especially excited to come and spend time with them. As they grew older, she would come and cut their hair for them. She was their personal hair stylist, and that is 
not an easy thing to have these days, but nevertheless, they had their own personal hair stylist…their granddaughter, Machelle. I suppose that the fact that she loved them with all her heart, did have something to do with that privilege. Machelle would do just about anything for her grandparents. And that has endeared her to many of us in the family. Machelle is simply a good hearted person, and the kind of friend you want to have. Today is Machelle’s birthday. Happy birthday Machelle!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Through the years, I have seen many changes in my nephew, Steve Spethman. As a young boy, he…like all boys, was mischievous and full of good natured teasing. Since Steve is my nephew, through his marriage to Jenny, my niece, he has only been a part of our family for twelve years. That said, most people might not have known what kind of boy he was, but I knew him, long before Jenny knew him. Steve wasn’t a bad boy…just a boy, and since I had girls, boys were a little foreign to me. Steve also grew up in a family of girls, since it was his mother, sister, and him. Maybe he got away with more than he might have, but he was the little man of the family, and with that came a lot of responsibility too…or at least Steve decided that it was his responsibility.
When he met my niece, Jenny, and then they got married, he took that new responsibility, of being a husband and later a father, very seriously. He became the head of the family, confidently leading his family in the ways they should go…teaching his children what was right. His years of being the little man of the family, had prepared him for being the head of the family. He confidently stepped into the job of being a loving dad to his kids. They meant the world to him. Steve and Jenny were the parents of three sons, Xander, Zachery, and Isaac. Then finally their next baby was to be a daughter.
Losing their daughter, Laila was probably the hardest thing that ever happened to Steve and Jenny, but instead of falling apart, he held them all together. Then after taking a huge leap of faith they stepped out, and tried one more time for a baby daughter, and were blessed with Aleesia. With their life finally filled to the full with a long awaited daughter, Steve began reaching out to other people who had lost a child. His comforting ways have soothed many a broken heart, and lead them to know that all hope is not lost.
I have seen Steve go from being a tough little boy, to a strong man, to a broken hearted man, to a man who can help others heal. The changes have been astonishing. I am quite proud of the many changes that have occurred in him. I’m sure most are the normal changes that occur, but some of them are changes that he has allowed the Lord to make in him. Those are changes of opening his heart to wise teaching, and that is something that has to come from within the man himself. No one can make us accept wise teaching, but us. And that is probably something in Steve that has never really changed. Today is Steve’s birthday. Happy birthday Steve!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand niece, Jala Satterwhite is growing up so fast. I still picture her as a girl who is her sister, Kaytlyn’s age, but that just isn’t so. This past year, when Jala was in 5th grade, she participated in the science fair, and did a great job. She did her project on salt, which is something I personally like a lot of. Jala has always liked grade school and has done very well in it, but the time has come for her to move on. With her twelfth birthday, comes middle school. She will no longer be one of the big kids on campus, but she will be moving into the world of the older group of kids in school.
We will have to see exactly what that will mean for Jala, because at this point, she is quite proud to call herself a tomboy. Her favorite game is football, and I don’t mean to watch. This last year found Jala playing football with…and besting the boys…at every recess. She is one of the fastest of them all. She likes football so much, that she told everyone that she wanted a football for her birthday, and ended up with three at her party. I guess she is set in that department. With the coming of middle school, comes also co-ed flag football…with Jala ![10441077_299355706897558_2146958624341205832_n[1]](https://carynschulenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/10441077_299355706897558_2146958624341205832_n1.jpg)
on the team. She is so excited about playing on a real team…and not just recess fun. She starts in a couple of weeks, and she can’t wait. Hey, I say go for whatever your heart desires Jala. Those kids need you on their team! They want to win…right!!
The summer found Jala taking swimming lessons…an excellent idea. I think every child needs to know how to swim. Jala excelled at swimming too, passing the hardest level a week faster than was required. She is a great swimmer, but swimming simply cannot compete with football…at least not right now. You never know what the future might bring. She may end up on the swim team someday. As kids grow up, their focus often changes and new ideas present themselves, and before your very eyes, they are a changed person. It’s hard to say what Jala will want to do in the future, because she has so much changing left to do.
Jala has grown in maturity in so many ways. She wanted an iPhone this past year, and while 
her parents wanted her to have it, they also wanted to teach her about things like responsibility, and making your own way in this world. Of course, Jala isn’t old enough to totally make her own way in this world, but she can learn about earning something she wants, so she will be sure to take care of it when she gets it. That said, her parents decided that if she wanted an iPhone, she should save up for it. A very wise idea. Once you know how expensive it is, and how long it took you to save up for it, you tend to have a greater respect for it…and Jala does. She also loves her iPhone, and did from the moment she got it. I can’t blame her there. The iPhone is the best phone there is, if you ask me. It’s also a great phone for taking all the selfies that Jala likes to take, but then why should she be different than anyone else. Today is Jala’s 12th birthday. Happy birthday Jala!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
It seems that little boys are always getting into some form of mischief. That is not to say that little girls don’t do so as well, but this story is about two little boys and a certain episode of mischief that was never forgotten. My nephew, Eric Parmely and my first cousin once removed, Brian Kountz were second cousins, and sometimes they played together, because they were so close in age. As little boys, your first friends are often your cousins, and that was the case with these boys. These two little boys seemed to get along real well, so it was nice for both of them to get to play together.
On this particular day, they were at Eric’s house with my sister-in-law, Jennifer, who is Eric’s mom, watching them. The boys, being 5 years old were old enough to play outside without much supervision…or so Jennifer thought. She was checking in them often, but as most of us know, kids can get into lots of mischief in a matter of minutes. The boys decided that they needed to go for a walk, but they forgot to check with Jennifer first. That was their first mistake. Their second was a little bit more alarming to Jennifer, and Sandi, Brian’s mom, when she found out.
For any of you who do not know it, 2nd Street in Casper, Wyoming is a really busy street. The thought of two 5 year old boys crossing 2nd Street unsupervised to go to Kmart is…alarming to say the least…especially when they have never done it with supervision. Kids don’t often even think of 
using the cross walk, especially when they are only 5 years old. When Jennifer realized they were gone, she panicked. When she located the boys, she wasn’t sure whether she should laugh, cry, or beat them half to death. My guess is that she opted for a little laughing and crying…accompanied by a little yelling, of course.
The boys lived through the experience, both the crossing the of the street and being found by Jennifer, and I’m sure they learned a valuable lesson in the process. Never leave the house without telling your mom or aunt where you are going…at least when you are just 5 years old…or until you are 18 years old. It’s whole lot safer that way.
Marrying someone that you grew up with is not something most of us really expect to do, but that is what my Aunt Jeanette did, when she married my mom’s brother, my Uncle Larry. Mom said it was strange to have someone that had been an acquaintance suddenly become her sister-in-law…especially a high school acquaintance, because we just never really think those people will be in our lives much after graduation. Nevertheless, it does and did happen.
Over the years, Aunt Jeanette has become such a special part of this family. I love her laugh, and her special way with people. Until more recently though, I didn’t realize that she also shares her birthday with my husband, Bob. As our family grows and grows, that is becoming increasingly more common.
Aunt Jeanette joined our family as it hit a pretty major growth spurt. There were five or six of the kids who were having children at the same time. I was born into that bunch, having three male cousins born in close proximity to my birthday…Elmer was born in March of 1956, I was born in April of 1956, Forrest was born in July of 1956, and Larry was born in February of 1957. I’m not sure how I managed not to be a serious tomboy being surrounded by all of those boys, but somehow I really wasn’t so much.
When the Texaco Refinery closed and Uncle Larry decided to take the transfer to New Orleans, Louisiana, we were all very sad to see them go. It had been a number of years since any of Grandma and Grandpa’s kids had lived outside Wyoming, and it just seem like it was going to 
be forever, even though they assured us that it was just until his retirement. I just remember thinking that it was really sad, because they would be gone a long time. I’m many ways it was good for Grandma and for my family, because both went down to Louisiana to visit them, and had a very nice time.
Finally they returned to Wyoming for good, and Bob and I loved running into them every once in a while. It always seemed to be in someplace like Home Depot or Menard’s or something like that, but that’s ok too. When you have a big family, that is sometimes the best way to see each other. Today is Aunt Jeanette’s 78th birthday. Happy birthday Aunt Jeanette!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
