Kids
My nephew, Eric Parmely is a busy man. He is husband to his wife, Ashley, and daddy to his three kids, Reagan, Hattie, and Bowen. A while back, Eric and Ashley bought a piece of land west of town, and while they have always been farmers and always had their animals, now have more room to grow their farm and add the animals they want. The kids love having all the space they have at their new place, and they love taking care of their animals. Eric and Ashley stay busy keeping the farm running, and taking the kids to their various activities. If you ask them, they will tell you they are simply living the dream. They really never have wanted anything else but the dream life in the country, surrounded by their kids and a boatload of animals. Now, I’ll grant you that living in the country is peaceful, but having lived there myself, I can’t say that I miss the muddy dirt roads and the long drives to town. It’s just that extra inconvenience that I don’t like much, and I think maybe their dogs agree…at least where the mud is concerned. Odd really, when you consider that most dogs couldn’t care less about mud. Nevertheless, these dogs seem to have a bit of an aversion to it…which strikes me as rather funny.
Eric and Ashley especially love the peaceful days in the country, because lets face it, if you don’t have to go to town, it is really peaceful. They get to enjoy the wildlife, such as sage grouse, deer, and antelope, and they thoroughly enjoy the many visitors to their farm. Lots of birds hang out there, and the lack of traffic noise is nice too. For me, the winter would be the worst, but then I don’t like winter anywhere, so I guess it doesn’t matter. On the farm, and this is one of the things they like most about farm life…you have to go outside everyday, and actually be outside. you can’t take care of the animals from the house. The family has learned to love all kinds of weather, including snow. Eric and Ashley actually have to bribe their kids to come into the house at night. Absolutely amazing!!
Eric, like all of the men in the Schulenberg family, loves to work on cars. If mechanics can possibly be in the blood, that is where it is in these guys. In fact, one might wonder if they don’t have oil in their veins, instead of 
blood. You never have to wonder where they are, because if they aren’t working on a vehicle, they are at the parts house getting parts for a vehicle. Of course, the great thing about having a mechanic in the family is the lack of vehicle maintenance expense. Mechanic work can get really expensive, and if you have a mechanic in your life, you don’t have to pay someone else to do the work. A great savings for sure, and that is a great blessing…as the women in the Schulenberg family will tell you. Today is Eric’s birthday. Happy birthday Eric!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Naming your baby is a big job, and not one to be taken lightly. The name you bless them with, or sometimes stick them with, is very important. Of course whether the name is a blessing or a curse is a matter of opinion. Some people think you should give your children common names, while others don’t want their child to have the same name a dozens of other kids born that year.
My parents were of the persuasion that their kids were unique, and so their name should be too. If not in pronunciation, then in spelling. Every one of their daughters’ names are spelled in an unusual way…Cheryl, not Sheryl; Caryn, not Karen; Caryl, not Carol; Alena, not Elena; and Allyn, not Lynn. While our names don’t necessarily sound different, very few people spell them correctly.
In my family there are a number of unusual names. Chantel, Corrie (for a girl), Garrett, Lacey, Keifer, Siara, Shai, Caalab, Aurora, Reece (for a girl), and Jaxx. Some are hard to pronounce and some are hard to spell. Either way, they are all unique. We also have some in my husband’s family that are unique…Corrie and Shai (who are in both sides of the family), Machelle, Weston and Easton (who are brothers), Marlyce, Jala, Kaytlyn, Hattie (it’s making a comeback), and Bowen (which I hadn’t heard before). I guess there are a number of us who like the unique names.
Every year lists come out to tell of the most popular baby names. The celebrities are famous for giving their 
children unique names. Moon, Apple, North are just a few that are easily recalled. Some of them make you wonder just what they are thinking, but apparently they all have their reasons for the unusual names. Names are important as they help to create our identity to the world and to ourselves. Unique Names Day takes a moment in the year to celebrate those who have these interesting names. We are the people who can never find our name on souvenirs, and other personalized items. We have to create our own, have it spelled wrong, or just skip it. We are never on any lists that are produced with all the common names that are out there depicting funny situations applying to names…sometimes that may not be a bad thing.
Someone, at some point realized that unique names was something of some significance, and Unique Names Day came into being in 1997. Since then it has been a yearly occurrence. There are some things that people with unique names go through that those with common names never think about. As children who want keepsakes with their name on it, visiting a tourist attraction or taking a trip there is rarely an item that people with these names will ever be able to have. While that may seem like a small thing, for a child trying to fit it, it’s a big deal. When there is nothing that they can ever find with their name on it, they feel like they don’t really belong.
Unique Name Day is the perfect chance to embrace those with unique names. Having a day just for those who put up with repeating their names, spelling it, teaching people how to say it and rarely having any of the fun trinkets with their name on may not take away any frustration, but it can help make new memories! Find out is their name from their cultural background? If you are the one who walks through life with a unique name, you 
can take this day to revel in your uniqueness. This day can be used to find out the story of how your parents picked this name for you. My own mom liked the name Karen, but didn’t like the spelling, since they wanted their kids to have names beginning with “C” for my mom and “A” for my dad. So, they came up with ways to make the chosen names fit the categories. As for Caryl, I think they liked the “y” in my name and continued it with her. The funny thing about that is just how easy it is for Caryl and me to type our own name when we mean to type the other name…thereby misspelling our own sister’s name. Do you have a unique name? what is your story? This is your day, and your chance to tell the world.
Forty-four years is a long time, but for my husband, Bob and me, it doesn’t seem like long at all. That is the number of years that we have been married. It’s over half of our lives!! We were just two kids back in 1975, when we said “I do” on March 1 of that year. Of course, we “knew” that our marriage would last a lifetime…doesn’t every married couple? Still, in reality, you hope your marriage will last a lifetime. You don’t know for sure until many years later, when that lifetime is in it’s golden years. If you are still together, then you know that yours is a marriage that will last a lifetime.
We were one of those blessed couples, for whom marriage stood the test of time, and still together, and still going strong. For us, the “mountain” has been filled with lots of trails and hikes, and mountains within mountains, and I many ways, that is what has given our marriage the color that it has been filled with. Every trail, whether outdoors, or just a “virtual trail” in a marriage taking us on a different path than we had intended to go before, or one that we had been working toward for a long time. Every trail, and every path became the journey our lives were meant to take.
With every passing year, our marriage becomes more and more precious, but this past 
year took a turn that made it even more precious, when my husband, Bob had a heart attack that was deemed the Widowmaker. At the time, God provided us with all the right people in all the right places to save Bob’s life, and I still find myself thinking about how very blessed we were and are. Our marriage could have ended that October day, but instead, everything was restored to us and Bob continues to be healthy, and our lives have continued on as before, only better. I guess that when you have a serious event take place, you discover just how precious the love of your life is, and that is a discovery that has not been lost on me. I know that I am very blessed to have Bob in my life, and I will love him for the rest of my life. I couldn’t be happier with my choice of a lifetime mate. Happy 44th Anniversary, my love!!
Following her graduation from the dental program in October, 2017, my grandniece, Christina Masterson took a job as a dental office administrator doing insurance billing for the office. She worked there until just recently, when she took a job at Gleneagle Dental in that same position, while continuing to work as office administration at the other office on a part time basis. I’m sure the people at Christina’s old office were thankful to have her there, even if it was only part time. When you have someone who knows their job and does it well, you hate to lose them, so keeping them, even if it is only part time is a definite plus.
Recently, Christina decided that the time had come for her to get a new to her car. She 
chose a 2013 Ford Focus hatchback. Buying a new car is always a cool thing, especially for a 23 year old to get a such nice car for themselves. It’s an accomplishment to be proud of.
It was also time for a change in roommates. Christina moved in with a girl who has a little boy. Christina loves kids, so it is a great arrangement. The fact that Christina has one whole floor to herself is a definite plus too. While she loves kids, there are just times when a girl needs her own space.
Christina has 6 half-siblings. She has 3 half-brothers, Bradon, Brycen, and Carter in Colorado, and 2 half-sisters, Raelynn and Anna; and a half-brother, Matthew here in Casper. She doesn’t get to see her half-siblings in Casper very often, due to the distance and the cost of traveling here, but this past summer, she was able to come for a visit. It was a joyous reunion for all of them, and while they wish she could come more often, they really had a great time while she was here. Her Dad and Step-mom, Rob and Dustie Masterson were so happy that she could make the trip, as they all miss her very much. Today is Christina’s 23rd birthday. Happy birthday Christina!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand nephew, Jake Harman has really come into his own over the past few years. We have watched Jake go from being a footloose kid, who didn’t really have any definite direction in life, to a family man with three kids who absolutely love their Daddy. Jake and his wife, Melanie are perfect for each other. Their personalities are quite opposite of each other, and maybe that is part of why their relationship works. As to the children…Jake loves kids, and they love him. He can get them laughing in an instant. I think that is mainly because Jake is a big kid himself.
Speaking of kids, Jake is now the assisting the youth pastor at Mountain View Baptist church. As I said, Jake 
is great with kids, but as we all know, teenagers are a different thing. Teenagers take patience, tempered with stubbornness. It isn’t that teenagers are bad people, but just that they are growing up and they want to show that to others. Teenagers love to show their teacher, or in this case, youth leader, that teenagers run the show. I know this, because like Jake, I was a Sunday School teacher for the teenagers. I’ll never forget my first day. The students told me, “We have gone through a lot of teachers!” They were proud of that, but unfortunately for them, they hadn’t met me…yet. My comment was, “Well, you won’t go through me!” And they didn’t. So Jake, if you want to use 
that one, it’s on the house. Teachers of teenagers need all the help they can get. Just ask your Aunt Liz. That’s why we start with babies.
In Jake’s case, I think the teenagers will find that he is really a lot of fun. He loves being goofy, and laughing, as well as making others laugh. That gives him an edge when it comes to handling kids, and even teenagers. He can make even studying fun, and the fun activities even more fun. When you start the day out with humor, it’s always going to be a sunny day. And Jake has that funny bone trait going on, so I know the kids he works with will be blessed by him. Today is Jake’s birthday. Happy birthday Jake!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My uncle, Bill Beadle spent much of his working life in the pipe yards. Later, he owned his own rathole drilling business with his sons, Forrest and Steve by his side. While Uncle Bill was a great machinist and general all around mechanic, he really loved fishing and bird hunting in the Worland area with his son, Steve. I’m sure that was also why Uncle Bill was content, in his later years to be living with Steve, his wife, Wanda, and their family. I can imagine they spent a lot pf time talking about their fishing trips, and walking the fields hunting for Pheasant and Chukars. Uncle Bill liked hunting them, because it was so exciting to walk the fields waiting for that unexpected bird to fly up out of nowhere. The hunter had just seconds to respond, and would be successful, only if he was a great hunter.
Uncle Bill always felt an obligation to try to keep the nephews on the right track, and if they had problems, or it looked like they were heading in the wrong direction, he was sit down with them and after talking to them a while, he could have them turned around and back in line. It was this aspect of Uncle Bill’s personality that endeared him to my cousin, Elmer. Uncle Bill, like many men enjoyed his pipe, for quite a few years, and his chew. That prompted Forrest and Elmer to think that chew was very cool. They got into a big block of chew when they were kids, and didn’t know not to swallow it. So when they were chewing it, they swallowed it, causing them both to turn about three shades of green. While the memory of it makes Elmer cringe, he had no desire to chew tobacco.
Uncle Bill was a great guy. He always had a way of making the kids laugh. There was always a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and plenty of mischief behind his smile. He loved to tease the kids, and all the kids loved it. Then he would laugh with his infectious laugh, and we all had a thoroughly great time. Uncle Bill was really not serious very much, at least not around most kids. That just wasn’t in his nature, at least not unless the kid was headed for trouble. Then the mood changed right away. He wasn’t mean, just matter of fact, and when all was said and done, the kid knew the right way to go. Uncle Bill was an interesting character, and we loved him. Today would have been Uncle Bill’s 90th birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Uncle Bill. We love and miss you very much.
As long has there have been road trips with children, there have been bored children, asking, “When do we get there?” They don’t understand that one of the best parts of a road trip is the time spent on the road. The destination is the end of the adventure, not necessarily the adventure itself. Invariably, after the ten time that those precious little ones ask that dreaded question, tempers begin to flare. These days, cars come with built in DVD players to occupy the kids on the road trip, but back when I was a kid, those things didn’t exist.
Somewhere along the way, someone…probably a frustrated parent…came up with the idea of allowing the kids to participate in the trip by giving them a steering wheel of their own, so they could help their parents drive. I do know that in January of 1955, a 
man named Jack Fletcher of West Covina, California installed a plastic windshield and three miniature steering wheels in the back seat of his car to entertain his children, Janie, Johnny and Ricky, who were 3 years, 21 months, and 21 months respectively. Apparently, it was a good idea, at least for those children, because, the idea has hung around ever since. In fact, for Christmas, we got our great granddaughter a version that can sit on the floor in front of her, or even on her highchair tray. Now she can “help” her daddy drive too. As children get older, I’m sure that the novelty of a steering wheel wore off, but if you 
got a year or so of peace in the car, it’s worth the effort.
Of course, when I was a kid, there were mo car seats, and it wasn’t illegal to drive with your child on your lap. Many a child, me and my sisters included, learned to steer the car while seated on our daddy’s lap. It was great fun, and a memory we will always have. I suppose that today’s drivers, police officers, and child safety advocates would cringe at the thought of a child on the lap of the driver, and maybe it wasn’t the safest way to do things, but I don’t recall hearing about dozens of children dying in that manner either, so maybe the parents of yesteryear weren’t so careless after all. All I know, is that we had a great time on those road trips.
My grand-niece, Hattie Parmely is the middle child of my nephew, Eric Parmely and his wife, Ashley. Hattie and her siblings are being raised on a little farm outside of Casper, Wyoming. I am amazed at how well Hattie and her siblings get along with the animals in their care. Children are not always careful with animals, but those who are raised around them, have a heart for their animals. Hattie is a soft-hearted girl anyway, and I think her animals know that about her.
Hattie and her siblings have a trampoline, and they love spending time on it. Most of us would just love to have the energy to jump on a trampoline for hours at a time, but lets face it, most of us would get tired after 5 minutes. It is the common problem that adults have when it comes to kids, and their endless energy. Of course, kids get lots of sleep with naps and all, and I don’t know how well Hattie naps, or anything, but if sleep has anything to do with her energy level, I would say she naps or sleeps pretty well.
Having a big sister, Hattie had a helping hand in learning all the cool things to do around their place. Reagan, Hattie’s sister, has taught Hattie and their little brother, Bowen many things about life on the farm. Things like milking the goats, or just playing with the goats, in general. The girls totally love the goats…especially when they are babies, and Bowen is quickly becoming a big help with the animals too.
Life on the farm is not only active, but is usually spent mostly outdoors. We hear about kids today being couch 
potatoes, but Hattie and her siblings don’t have time for that much. They are always busy doing things out in the yard or with the animals. Cleaning out the pens and feeding the animals are high on the priority list, and they like that very much. Animals depend on their owners to take care of them, and the Parmely kids are great animal owners. Their parents are proud of all the help their kids give them in running the little farm. Hattie is a big part of that, and will be an even bigger part of it as she grows. Today is Hattie’s 4th birthday. Happy birthday Hattie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand-niece, Melanie Harman, who is married to my grand-nephew, Jake Harman have been busy moving into their new house. They are very excited to finally have a house. They really needed a place that was big enough for their family of five. Their kids, Alice, Izabella, and Jaxx get to have their own rooms now, and that makes it even better…and those kids are beyond excited about it. Anyone who comes over to the house gets the grand tour, starting with the kids bedrooms…specially if the kids are giving the tour. Melanie’s husband, Jake did a lot of his growing up years in that house, and he has wanted to raise his family there for a long time. For Jake, moving into this house, is like coming home again.
Melanie has been very busy settling into their new home and taking care of the children. She is a great mom, and the children are well taken care of, well behaved, and totally happy. Melanie has been so blessed with such a sweet family. Their little Alice is growing up so fast, and she is totally loving being her mom’s little helper. Izabella is Jake and Melanie’s sassy girl. She is a bit shy until she gets to know you better, but she is definitely full of spunk. Jaxx, being the youngest and only boy has learned quickly to be very laid back. His sisters were probably rough at first, but they learned to be more gentle. Nevertheless, Jaxx did well, 
and Melanie can’t imagine her life without her kids, and her husband Jake, who works hard to support his family and loves them completely. They are truly Melanie’s blessings.
Melanie and Jake are good together. They are, in many ways opposites, but then most of us know that opposites attract, and that is likely what brought the two of them together in the first place. They have created a wonderful home, filled with laughter, for their children, and I believe that they were a match made in Heaven, and they will live happily ever after. Today is Melanie’s birthday. Happy birthday Melanie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
A few years back, I connected with a member of my Schumacher cousins, Tracey Schumacher Inglimo, in what would become a quest to get to know all of my Schumacher cousins, and like my Byer cousins, there were lots of them. The journey has been a wonderful trip, as my sisters and I have cultivated friendships with these precious cousins, some of whom we met on our 2014 trip back to our roots in Superior, Wisconsin. Now, four years later, my sister, Cheryl Masterson; her daughter, Liz Masterson; and I have returned to Superior, Wisconsin for a family reunion. We have been so excited for this reunion to happen, and in fact, have looked forward to reuniting with all of our cousins since we first met or found each other on Ancestry and Facebook.
The reunion took place today at Pattison Park, and it definitely lived up to every hope we had for it. These precious cousins were friendly, hospitable, and informative, while also being curious about us too. We all shared tons of stories about our families, and of course, pictures of our kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. We hugged on the little ones, most of whom looked at us with a sense of wonder as to who we were, and maybe even wondering if we should be hugging them at all…at least until their parents said it was ok. We moved from group to group, and person to person trying to get to know everyone, all the while knowing that there just wasn’t enough time. We found out who the jokesters were too, because what family would be complete without those wonderful people who keep us laughing. We built bonds that will last a lifetime, and parted ways with expressions of sadness that the time had passed far to quickly. We tried to see how soon we could feasibly do this again, knowing that for most of us Facebook would have to suffice until the next reunion.
The time went by far too quickly indeed, and while we wish we could have had far more time to sit and talk, we all knew in our hearts that we had been given a precious gift…a gift of family, friendship, love, and a sense of belonging, because after all, that is what family reunions are all about. Families grow quickly, and the numbers can quickly grow to a point of losing sight of the ones who started the family in the beginning, but at reunions, 
those who have left us are remembered and discussed, because everyone is trying to put into context, just exactly where they fit in with all these people. We talked of those who weren’t with us with love and sadness, because they would have really loved that their families have made the effort to keep the closeness going. To all those who made this reunion so very special, we love you and thank you for making our family reunion amazing.
