camping
Kids grow up so fast. It seems like yesterday that our family welcomed my grand nephew, Easton Moore. In reality, that was twelve years ago today. Easton is in his first year of middle school this year, and he is having a great time. Kids do so much changing in that first year of middle school. It always seems like they literally go from being a little kid to a young adult…overnight. Easton is still too young to participate in sports, because the kids have to be in 7th grade for that, and he is in 6th grade, but that hasn’t stopped Easton from practicing his moves. Easton spends a lot of his spare time playing football, swimming, track, and basketball. He wants to make sure that he knows a lot about every sport…keeping his options open, don’t you know. As with most middle school kids, Easton really loves having his locker. It’s such a grown up thing for kids to have a locker that they can have their own things in, and it’s all safe, because it locks. Add to that, the newness of going from class to class, rather than staying in one room all day, and you have a whole new experience.
Like his dad, Easton is very much an outdoors kind of guy. Whenever the family goes camping, his dad, Steve Moore, brings his guns and works with Ethan and his older brother, Weston, teaching them how to shoot, as well as gun safety. Easton has become an excellent shot. Last week, Easton’s parents took him to Cody, Wyoming from their home in Powell. They had had found a good deal on a 22 long rifle, and the told Easton that it was to be his birthday present. As you can imagine, and see from this picture, it was as if they had handed him the moon. I seriously doubt if he could sit still the whole drive over to Cody. Getting your first gun is so cool. All you can think of is the next time you can go out shooting. He will have and even better time now, when they go camping and shooting, because he will be shooting his own gun. Of course, that makes you a better shot too, because you learn how the gun is going to react.
Easton is still into Legos too. That has amazed me over the years. Not that Easton is still into them, but rather what Legos have become. Whoever thought up Lego Robotics, had a really good idea. Many a child had learned from that. Like most kids his age, Easton also likes video games. His favorites are Legos and Mindcraft on Xbox. The family got a new Xbox Live for Christmas, so he can really expand his building abilities.
Easton is a good helper around the house too. Many kids whine and cry about having to clean, but he and the rest of his family have taken a pitch in and get it done attitude, so the cleaning gets done really quickly, leaving 
more time to play. He is also a snuggler, and believe me, every mom or grandma who has one of those, is very blessed. Lots of kids, especially boys get over that pretty quickly, and when they are done, it’s a lonely sad feeling for their mom or grandma. Easton’s mom, my niece, Machelle Cook Moore, takes all the snuggles she can get, while she can get them. She knows that all too soon, he will be too “old” for snuggles. For now though, he’s still her snuggly boy. Today is Easton’s birthday. Happy birthday Easton!! Enjoy that new rifle, sharp shooter. Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, Chris Iverson is a dedicated dad. When his son, with his wife Cassie, was born with Downs Syndrome he stepped right up to the plate. Lucas was his boy, and that was the greatest thing ever. Chris and Cassie have also taken up the cause to bring awareness to the world about just how amazing these children are. Lucas is such a happy boy, and while he can have his moods like any other kid, he smiles a lot. I think that is partly due to the amazing parents he has. Of course, becoming a big brother this past summer was great for Lucas and his parents too. Chris and Cassie’s little girl, Zoey arrived right on schedule and she thinks her big brother is pretty great. She thinks her parents are great too.
Chris loves the outdoors, and wants to teach his kids to love it too. He and Cassie like to go camping in the Big Horn Mountains. Chris loves to fish and just enjoy the great outdoors. I’m sure that as time goes on, he will be teaching his kids the ropes, thereby setting the stage for the next generation of nature lovers. I can’t blame Chris for loving the great outdoors, because I feel the same way. My big thing is hiking, and I don’t really know if Chris shares that with me or not, but to each his own. I’m not into camping. I guess that after spending the day hiking in the woods, I want the comforts of a motel. Nevertheless, I have a lot of respect for people who get out and rough it.
One of the things I like the most about Chris is that he is a patriot. These days, we need every patriot we can get. With the government trying to take our rights away from us every day, America needs people who will stand up for those rights, whether it is fighting or being very vocal about what is going on. Either one takes real guts, and Chris has guts. We really need more people like that in our country these days. I like that Chris stands up for our country. He is a good man, dedicated dad, good husband, and a patriot…what more could a family ask of a man. Today is Chris’ birthday. Happy birthday Chris!! 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 niece, Susan Cook Griffith, spent a number of years working in the area of graphics. Then, she decided that it was time for a change. Susan accepted a position at Powell Valley Healthcare, where she works in Medicare Insurance billing for the nursing home. She also does bookkeeping for Body and Paint by Tait, which is where her husband, Josh works. I think that job has been a great blessing for Susan too, because she told me a while back that sometimes Josh has to work late into the evening, so she doesn’t get to see him as much then, and it makes it hard.
Susan and Josh are very much in love, and theirs is really a storybook tale of romance, so time spent apart is hard. I think those of us with a blessed, loving marriage can certainly relate to that. Theirs was a blended family, as Susan had a daughter, Jala when they met. Their marriage has been blessed with a second daughter, Kaytlyn, and now their family is complete. A couple of years ago, they moved to a piece of land by Josh’s parents, where they get to enjoy his parents’ horses. There are magnificent views and sunsets there, and Susan often posts pictures of them on Facebook. Being a sunset person myself, I can appreciate her great pictures of them.
Susan is very close to her sister, Machelle Cook Moore, and the two of them can often be found teasing each other on Facebook. It is a traditional sister thing, I think. Having come from a family of girls, and having two daughters myself, I can totally relate to the close relationships of sisters. Sisters are a unique group of people. There is a camaraderie there, that lasts a lifetime, and they usually share so many likes and dislikes that they are often more like best friends than sisters. That is how Susan and her sister, Machelle are. They often talk about what a great sister, their sister has. A comment that sounds so typical of my sisters and me, as well as my girls.
Susan loves being a wife and mother, and considers those jobs her main calling in life. She loves doing things for her daughters, such as the birthday party she threw for Jala this summer. Having a sleepover birthday party involves a lot of planning, and all the girls had a great time, so I know that Susan did a great job of 
planning it. Kids get bored easily, and you have to be on top of your game in order to have a successful party.
Susan and Josh love to take the girls camping, hiking, and fishing and do so as often as they can. They love being outdoors, which is probably one of the main reasons for the move to the country. Of course, for most campers, by this time of year, the camping is pretty much over for the season. I don’t camp anymore, but I hike, so summer ending is never a good thing. For Susan, it means no more camping though…until next year anyway, unless Josh likes to hunt. Today is Susan’s birthday. Happy birthday Susan!! 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!!
Our family always loved having our Aunt Ruth Spencer Wolfe, her husband, Uncle Jim Wolfe and their kids, Shirley, Larry, and Terry come to visit. We always had so much fun when they came. It didn’t matter if we were playing with the kids or sitting around listening to the many stories Uncle Jim or Aunt Ruth told. There was always so many fun things going on when they were there. My dad, Allen Spencer and Uncle Jim kept us all laughing with their antics. Dad and Uncle Jim were always coming up with some new thing…from wild recipes to crazy challenges. There was never a dull moment when our two families were together.
When we were kids, the two families took trips together. A favorite was the South Dakota trip. Our parents were great campers, and they always made it a lot of fun. I also remember several trips to Casper mountain. The mountain was a long standing favorite, because it was close and yet we got to 
get out and camp, or at the very least, go for picnics. For a number of years, however, their family lived here in Casper, and that made it much easier to get together.
I gave us kids lots of time to play together. They had chickens, ducks, and geese, and for my sisters and me, all city girls, that in itself was a novelty. Of course, we didn’t have to clean up after them either. I think we were pretty prissy, and we would have probably freaked out at the site of the coop. They also had a garden, and in it was just about everything you could imagine, so I’m sure Aunt Ruth and Uncle Jim found a few things missing from the garden after we all spent time outside at their house. They also had a tractor that Shirley would hook the wagons up to and take us all for rides. It was a great time. Of course all too often, it was more fun to be inside with them. Our dad’s kept things lively, whether they were together or all by themselves.
For Uncle Jim’s kids, he was a role model. He taught them how to shoot a gun, and go hunting, so they could provide meat for their families. Their training started as young as two years old, and that is something I agree with. If children know what a gun can do, and they are taught the value of life, they will gain a healthy respect for both life and gun. Shirley recalls fishing, hunting and camping with her dad, and with that came a great 
sense of camaraderie between the two of them. He was her hero, and she knew that he could do anything. I suppose that is part of what made it hard for her when his mind started to go. Suddenly the dad, who had always taken such good care of her and the family, needed her to take care of him. I know how she feels about that. It is a hard thing to know that your parents are aging, and all you can think is, “How can I stop this? I want to go back in time!!” Unfortunately, that can never be. We live the life we have been given, in the time we were meant to live in, and when it is time to go home to heaven, we must go, whether our family is ready or not. Today would have been Uncle Jim Wolfe’s 94th birthday. He left us almost 3 years ago, and we’ll always miss him. Happy birthday in Heaven, Uncle Jim. We love you.
For most of us, life is busy. We all have our own goals and dreams, and we just go along with our lives without thinking about it very much. That is the case with my nephew, Jason Sawdon, who married my niece, Jessi Hadlock just over three years ago. They are very social people, and they love to entertain. That said, they have been busy working on their back yard this summer. They put in a fire pit so that they can enjoy the peace and quiet of the fall evenings around a cozy fire.
As homeowners, they have singled out several projects that they want to take on this year. Remodeling one or more rooms can bring new life to a home. Jessi and Jason are remodeling one of the bathrooms in their home. Jason plans to do the manual labor, while Jessi designs the plans. I’m sure it will turn out great. Jessi is pleased with the fact that she is designing her dream bathroom, and Jason is agreeable to building what she had envisioned.
Of course, no one can just work on the house all the time. Jessi and Jason have been going camping too. Not as much as they would like to go, but unfortunately work and the house have kept them at home a lot of the summer. Jason is originally from Michigan, but has a real love for Wyoming. In August, Jason and Jessi had the opportunity to go camping in the Big Horn Mountains with his parents and four of his nine nieces. They had such a lovely time. I don’t know if Jason’s parents do much camping, but whether they do or don’t, the Big Horns is a beautiful place for a camping trip. They all had a great time. They rode the RZR four wheeler, and got to see a variety of weather types, from hot to cold, from rain to snow. That’s one thing about the mountains. You never really know what kind of weather you are going to have.
One of their favorite places to go is to Savery, Wyoming, which is south of Rawlins, Wyoming. I haven’t been there myself, but Jessi tells me it’s really pretty. Jason discovered the area when he first moved to Wyoming. He has friends in the area, and they like to go hunting there. Jason doesn’t hunt, but he likes to hang around with his buddies, and the Savery area is great for that. There is no cell service there, so he can really feel like he is in the wilderness. It’s a great way to disconnect with work and reconnect with self. Today is Jason’s birthday. Happy birthday Jason!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Since her marriage on February 14, 2014, my niece Lindsay Moore has been a business entrepreneur at Moore Healthy Living LLC, which is her own business. She is also a part of the South Dakota State University Extension program, where she is a Grants Consultant. All this allows Lindsay to work from home and who wouldn’t want that if they could. Lindsay’s husband, Shannon Moore is the Special Teams Football Coach at Miami International University, and a part of his job includes a lot of travel. The could be hard if it weren’t for the fact that Lindsay works from home. A laptop can travel, and it is all she needs to do her work. That allows Lindsay to travel with Shannon wherever he goes. I think that is important in any marriage, but especially in a young marriage. Of course, since Lindsay and Shannon live in Miami, Florida, their lifestyle of much travel also allows them to come home to Wyoming and South Dakota periodically to see family, and I know that means a lot to their parents.
The nice thing about being free to travel, and having the ability to do so, is that you tend to be gone for extended periods of time…at least in the off season for football. This year’s summer tour included a trip to 
South Dakota to visit Shannon’s parents, then the whole crew continued their visit with a trip to the Black Hills, where they connected with Lindsay’s parents over the Independence Day holiday. Then, Shannon’s parents headed home, and Lindsay, Shannon and her family headed to Cooke City, Montana and other areas of the state for a week. After that, Lindsay and Shannon headed to Las Vegas for the wedding of friends, before finally heading back home by way of Arizona. In all it was quite a trip. I’m sure they were happy to be home in the end, but the trip was nice too.
Lindsay and Shannon are so perfect together. They both have such great personalities, and such outgoing spirits. They have had the opportunity to live in a variety of places, and while Lindsay credits Shannon for making it easy to make their moves and settle in, I know that because Lindsay never met someone she didn’t like, making new friends wherever she goes is a breeze for her. They both love camping, which is perfect for spending time with Lindsay’s parents, and probably Shannon’s too. Lindsay loves almost any form of exercise, being an exercise science major in college, so hiking or jogging on the many trails that crisscross our country is something that I’m sure will be on the agenda for many trips they will take.
While it would be nice to have them live closer to home, I’m sure that is not to be…at least not anytime soon. So, if we can’t have them closer to home, it is really nice that they do get lots of travel time so we get to see them, because as Lindsay always says, “I miss your face!” Yes, Lindsay and Shannon, we miss your faces too. We are thankful for Facebook so we can see your faces there from time to time. And as always, we can’t wait to see you the next time you come home. Today is Lindsay’s birthday. Happy birthday Lindsay!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
The other day, as my husband, Bob Schulenberg and I were out for a walk, I noticed that the crickets were chirping all around us. Now, I’m not a cricket fan, because they are, after all…a bug, but hearing them was not an unusual event in the summertime. On that particular evening, I guess I just noticed them more than usual. It was a beautiful summer evening, that was cooler that the really hot days we had been having, and with the crickets, it took me back to the summers of my youth. It didn’t matter if we were in the back yard or on a camping trip, the crickets chirping was just a classic summer sound. Then, when you add the birds and sometimes even frogs…well, it’s like going back in time to my childhood.
Summers in my youth were always carefree days with relatively few chores. We used to lay out in the back yard sunning ourselves, walk to the pool to swim in the afternoon, and then play games with our friends until it got dark, and sometimes even later. The sound of kids yelling, laughing, and talking seemed to be everywhere…like we were trying to live a year’s worth of life in three short months, because then school started again, and there was homework to be done at night. It left a lot less free time. Then, before we knew it, 
we were grown up, and our lives took on work and family obligations I wouldn’t trade my life now for those days, because lets face it. I love my life, but those memories are sweet, nevertheless.
I lived such a wonderful childhood. My family has always been very close. Our parents gave my sisters, Cheryl Masterson, Caryl Reed, Alena Stevens, Allyn Hadlock, and me so many great memories over the years, whether in travel or just at home. I can’t fully explain just how blessed we were. We had all the same obligations as kids, that most kids have. We weren’t spoiled children of privilege, we were just blessed…and I’ll take blessed over privilege any day. We took evening drives sometimes just to look at the lights of the city from lookout point or Event Center Hill…although the Event Center wasn’t there then. My sisters and I called the city lights, spread across the valley where Casper is nestled, the Jewelry Box. I have seen them so many times that I can picture them exactly in my head to this day. Those were such glorious, carefree days, of crickets and evening drives, and sometimes I miss them. We didn’t realize then how blessed we were. We just thought all kids 
had that kind of life. We later found out just how wrong we were. If I mention some of the things we did as kids, people seem surprised…like it was unheard of. Maybe it was, but my parents just showed us the things they liked to do, like going for evening drives.
Those days are long gone now. They live only in my memory files, to be brought out when something like the chirping of a cricket, the smell of a campfire, or a drive down the mountain cause them to come to the forefront once again. The memories are a little bittersweet these days, because both of my parents are in Heaven, but they still remind me of what a blessed childhood I was given, and they make me thankful for the wonderful parents God gave to me and my sisters.
My grand niece, Jala is getting ready to start her second year in middle school. Like most thirteen year old girls, that is beginning to open a wide variety of options to her world. Jala is looking forward to the new things she can do at school, such as sports. She has decided on volleyball, basketball, and track. Volleyball practice starts Monday. Her mom, my niece Susan is hoping that she will find a sport that really suits her. Jala is very athletic, and good at gymnastics, so these sports will be something new for her. Her little sister is trying her best to keep up with her big sister’s abilities…typical of little sisters.
Interestingly, the school that Jala went to last year for her first year of middle school, has been torn down. Her first year of middle school was spent in the same middle school her mom and Aunt Machelle went to. It’s sometimes hard to see your old school torn down, and that is what has happened for both Jala and her mom. I’m sure that the new school building will be an excitement for Jala, and her cousin Easton as well, because it’s always cool to be the first class to be at a new school. Her 
cousin, Weston will not have that pleasure, since he is headed for high school now.
Jala is very much into technology…sounds like me, except that her favorite thing and apparently the thing that is the rage among the kids of her generation is Instagram. Now personally, I don’t do Instagram…I’m a Facebook person, but each generation has their own thing it seems…and some things cross the generational lines. Either way, we are all moving more and more into the technological future. It’s inevitable. Jala likes her technology, but she also likes her privacy, so, she is very careful with her information. It’s a good way to be in this day and age.
Jala has had the wonderful opportunity to live in the country, and be around not only the normal pets, but horses too. Jala is old enough now to help with things around the house, like washing cars and cleaning house, and taking care of the pets. She and her sister, Kaytlyn have hamsters now, and Jala keeps the cages clean. In 
all, the family has two dogs, two cats, two hamsters, and one horse. She also loves to ride her horse. Jala seems to have a natural love for animals. And she loves camping with her family.
This year Jals’s birthday falls on Saturday, so she gets to have her party on her actual birthday. The plan is a special one. Her parents are going to set up a big tent. Jala and a few of her friends are going to camp out in the tent. They are all looking forward to it. There are good things about having your birthday in the summer. After all, you can’t camp out in the yard in December. Jala is pretty excited for her special day. Today is Jala’s 13th birthday. Happy birthday Jala!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
