state of Wyoming
For a number of years, my nephew, Barry Schulenberg’s story has been life as usual, but recently all that has changed. Oh, many things are still the same. Barry still loves to go hiking, bicycle riding, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing with his wife of almost 18 years, Kelli Schulenberg. They also enjoy traveling and attending concerts. In addition to that, Barry is a hard-working man, taking care of their place in the country, splitting wood, watering their many trees, and taking care of their dog, Scout…or maybe, Scout takes care of them. Those things haven’t really changed in his life in quite a while.
The big news is that Barry’s work life is changing. Barry has worked for the State of Wyoming for a number of years now, as a field mechanic. That means that Barry goes to the truck that have broken down, instead of the 
trucks coming to him. That has meant overtime at times, because the truck, especially the snowplow trucks are a vital part of road maintenance in the Winter. Barry has traveled to several towns and sites around the Natrona County area to service the equipment used in these areas. All that is about to come to an end. Barry was recently offered and has accepted a promotion to a supervisory position. His boss is planning to retire soon, and they have asked Barry to replace him.
That said, Barry has been busily training for his new position, as well as training his own replacement who will be taking over when Barry moves up. For Barry, the promotion is with mixed feelings, because he has really enjoyed his job, but looking to the future, he knew that there would come a day when he would really need to come off of field work and have a job that has less travel, less time in the freezing cold, and less heavy physical 
labor. No, at 44 years old, Barry is not at that point yet but there will come a day, and if he doesn’t take the opportunity currently being offered, he could miss the opportunity all together. Being wise, Barry saw that, and so he decided to take the promotion now. I really couldn’t be happier for him. It will be a different kind of work, but I think he will find it interesting, and he is well like at work, so I know that the other men all wish him well as he moves up the ladder. I’m really excited for the next part of Barry’s future. Today is Barry’s birthday. Happy birthday Barry!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, Barry Schulenberg is a very driven man. He is always busy doing something. If he’s not working at his job as a mechanic for the State of Wyoming, he is taking care of his property east of Casper; helping his Uncle Ron Schulenberg with things like cutting wood for his wood stove; or hiking with his wife, Kelli and their dog Scout. Barry is pretty much always busy.
Barry is the field mechanic for the State of Wyoming in Casper. Being a field mechanic is far more interesting than just your average everyday shop mechanic, because…well, you aren’t stuck in the shop. Barry travels to several towns and sites around the Natrona County area to service the equipment used in these areas. It really isn’t feasible for these areas to bring their equipment all the way to Casper for servicing, so, the mechanic goes to the equipment. Also, whenever a truck or other piece of equipment breaks down, Barry goes out to where it is to fix it. This can mean some overtime, and some long drives, but for the most part it really is an enjoyable job for Barry. The state depends on his expertise and his loyalty to keep all the equipment up and running, and Barry likes to be out on the road sometimes too.
Barry and Kelli love to be in the mountains. They love to go camping, skiing, hiking, and snowshoeing. Their dog, Scout is their best companion, although if you ask Kelli, Scout is convinced that he is the boss of the family, and since he’s a dog, it’s hard to argue that point. Really, I think that most pets consider their humans to be their pets. They feel about their humans the way the humans feel about them. Barry and Kelli got scout after their first dog, Dakota passed away, and while they are two very different kinds of dogs, both in breed and personality, Scout has been a good fit, and I’m sure that Dakota is happy that his parents are happy. Scout 
loves to be beside Barry in whatever he is doing, and then keeps watch over the place while Barry and Kelli are working.
Like most of us, Barry and Kelli work to live, not live to work. They have many things they would much rather be doing that working. They really love going to concerts, and often travel to see their favorite singers. Of course, it’s not all about the singer, but also about seeing the country around them. That’s what makes the journey fun. Today is Barry’s birthday. Happy birthday Barry!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
As a boy, my grand nephew, Keifer Balcerzak was totally his daddy’s boy. He and my nephew, Dave Balcerzak were and still are very much alike. They like the same things…mostly sports, but they also have the same temperament, sense of humor, and to a large degree, personality. They have always loved to hang out and do things together, especially watching sports. Theirs was a wonderful daddy/son relationship. Of course, nothing stays the same, and all kids grow up and start to lead their own lives, but that doesn’t mean that the daddy/son relationship must end, and for Keifer and his dad, it certainly has not ended. Now that Dave has a “man cave,” Keifer and Dave watch the games there.
Keifer is married now, and is going to become a daddy in February, so I don’t know how that will change things, as far as the sporting events he watches with his dad, but I suppose that if Keifer and Katie were to have a boy, he could just start him out right by making it a daddy/son/grandpa relationship. It makes sense. If Keifer took the baby with him, Katie could have a nice quiet afternoon to relax, because as we all know, babies are a lot of work, and it often falls to the mom, who often stays home with the baby. Just 
giving you a suggestion there, Keifer. I think that Keifer will be a dad like his own dad is, and that means that this little baby is going to be very blessed. Keifer has a kind and loving heart, and he has grown up with a great example of just what a dad should be like, so he will translate that into being the best dad he can be.
Keifer is a lot like his dad in his work ethic and abilities. Both of them are computer techicians, and both work for the State of Wyoming. They are great at what they do, and they stay very busy, because as we all know, in this age of computers, technicians are a vital part of keeping information safe and yet accessible. Not everyone has the ability to repair computers, or even fix the many issues they can have…all while making sure that they stay safely protected from the many hackers out there these days. Keifer is going to have a long and prosperous career in computer technology. Today is Keifer’s birthday. Happy birthday Keifer!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, Dave Balcerzak is a likeable guy, who is highly skilled in computer technology, but never acts like a know it all. Dave just isn’t wired that way. He isn’t the snobby type, who like to tell everyone how great they are…whether they can back it up or not. The way he sees it, and I would agree, is that if you know your job, you don’t have to tell everyone how well you know your job, because people will be able to see that for themselves. Arrogance never was a skill…it was rather an insecurity. Dave is a IT technician for the State of Wyoming, and they know how blessed they are to have him, because…Dave is great at what he does. He won’t blow his own horn, so I’ll do it for him!!
Dave has been a part of our family since he married my niece, Chantel on June 22, 2002. They had known each other since they were both kids, but both went their separate ways as adults…until God brought them back together, and they have been happily married for 15 years. Dave has been a wonderful dad to his kids, Keifer and Katy, as well as to Chantel’s kids, Jake and Siara. And he has become a wonderful grandpa to Jake’s children, Alice, Izabella, and Jaxx. Now, in February of 2018, Dave will become a grandpa again, as his son Keifer, and Keifer’s wife, Katie have their first child. It is an exciting time for Dave, who loves little kids, and is just basking in the role of grandpa. Dave’s personality is such that the kids love to be around him, and that makes life even better, because he loves being around those grandbabies too.
Dave is a sports guy. He likes all kinds of sports, and loves to hang with his kids and watch sports. Dave plays darts, and while I have never watched him play, I hear that he is very good, and very competitive. That’s ok, because the only way to get good at a sport is to be competitive, either with others, or against yourself. Dave has his own “man cave” and Chantel is ok with letting his have his sport sessions down there, and she might 
even join in…once in a while. Watching sports with the kids has been a way to keep them close, and for Dave, who is a family guy, that is very important.
Today, Dave joins the ranks of the 50+ club, as he turns 50. It is hard for me to believe that Dave could be 50. He doesn’t act like it, and in reality, it just doesn’t seem possible that I could have nephews in their 50s…even though it should, because Dave isn’t the first one. Still, I don’t know where the time has gone. Happy birthday Dave!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
For much of her life, my Aunt Virginia Beadle was a working woman. She spent time working for the telephone company, and also for the State of Wyoming. I remember seeing her sometimes all dressed up for work, and thinking that she looked so sophisticated. I wanted to dress up like her…to look like a real lady, and as an adult, I have spent many years in the working world too, where I have always remembered just how nice my Aunt Virginia looked. I have tried to keep that picture of the sophisticated lady that she always was in my mind in my own career. I have felt that a successful working woman was always stylish, whether wearing a dress or pants. For some reason that stuck out more to me than the actual work the woman did. I suppose that was the little girl in me remembering how stylish Aunt Virginia was.
Of course, Aunt Virginia’s look and her clothes were not what made her a great employee, but rather the fact that she was very good at her jobs. I can’t say that I know all the details of what her job entailed, but just the fact that she held her jobs so long and that she was very much respected at her workplace, tells me that she was an amazing worker too. People don’t have respect for a worker who doesn’t do their job, and I happen to know that she as a hard working woman. She was respected and well liked at her job, so that tells me that she was very good at it.
Aunt Virginia has always been a stylish woman, whether at work or at home, and while she was very good at her jobs, her real life was her family. She loves her kids, and she has been very blessed with many grandchildren and great grandchildren. I really love seeing her with those babies, because her eyes just sparkle. Being the second oldest of my grandparents’ children, Aunt Virginia will also, at this birthday, become the one who has lived the longest. That has afforded her the great pleasure of lots of new babies to cuddle with. I love seeing her with all of those babies, because she just seems to be totally in her element. It is a sweet thing to watch, as is her interaction with all of her nieces and nephews. Today is Aunt Virginia’s 87th birthday. Happy birthday Aunt Virginia!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand nephew, Keifer Balcerzak joined our family on June 22, 2002, when his dad, Dave Balcerzak married my niece Chantel. Kiefer was fourteen at the time, and while he was close to being grown, I had the chance to get to know him during the time that Dave and Chantel were dating. He was a great kid then, and is a great young man now. Keifer’s personality is a lot like his dad. He is outgoing and a fun person to be around. It’s strange to think of all the grand nieces and nephews being grown up now, and starting lives of their own, but that is what is happening.
Keifer has always been a worker. He worked for Charter Communications for some 
time, but recently left there to take his dad’s old position at the State of Wyoming, which Dave vacated when he was promoted. So now Keifer is on the IT Help Desk. I always though his technical capabilities were far above the level it takes to install and repair cable lines. I think Keifer probably got his technical capabilities from his dad, but he has studied and earned his place in IT by his own hard work. Fixing technical issues on computers is no small job. There are enough hackers out there to put any business at risk. The big corporations have to have their own dedicated personnel to keep their computers running with a minimum of downtime. They can’t wait for someone from a tech company to show up to help. Too many people and programs depend on computers that run and run properly.
On May 9, 2015, Keifer married his longtime girlfriend, Katie Davidson. They have been dating for seven years, 
and so they almost seemed married already. They are a great couple, and I know that their marriage will be very blessed. Even though they have been together a long time, marriage is still a wonderful new adventure, and I know they are having a great time. I don’t know Katie very well, but from what I do know, I like her very much. The main thing is that she makes Keifer happy. That goes a long way in our family.
Keifer is a lot like his dad in computer capabilities, but I’m sure he also got his looks from his dad too. The older he gets, the more he looks like Dave. In fact, there are pictures of him that I have almost mistaked for Dave. Today is Keifer’s birthday. Happy birthday Keifer!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
