'94 '95 Reunion

Steve had to work today, so we made a quick trip to Burns yesterday for the '94 and '95 high school class reunion. We brought Morgan, of course.

I'm so glad I went! Others had made me nervous about going, but I don't know why I listened to them. If I know that I have changed a lot since high school, I don't know why anyone would expect classmates to stay the same. We all grow up and change!

Let's see...... except for Heather Howard's youngest, who's 14 months, Morgan was the only other child there. Several had brought their children, but later decided to send them to a relative's home so that they could enjoy themselves without the hassle. I somewhat wish we had done that, as we were there until 10pm which was 3 hours past Morgan's bedtime, and she was starting to have a meltdown, but I wanted people to meet her, and in the glad I am glad she came. I may never see some of these people again.

Okay, it'll be hard for me to keep most of this straight, as there were several people with several children, but here's an update.

The first person I saw was Philip. He still looks the same, he's just filled out a little. He's married, his wife was very nice, and they have 2 children. He is a history teacher in Ontario, I think his wife is a teacher too, and they organized a nice event. After dinner they passed around pencils and we did some games for prizes. The first was a matching game of the top Country/Rock songs of '94 and '95. Jill won that one. We were timed and the first one to finish, and finish correctly, won a prize. The second game was the top movies of '94 and '95. I was a top finisher in that one, but again, Jill was number one. We were supposed to be playing individually, but I think she and her husband collaborated. Cheater! Each line gave a little clue, and you had to guess the movie.

I saw Olin Sitz and met his wife. They have two daughters and live in Sisters. He works in construction and seems to be doing very well.

Katie and Dan Otley are still in the Crane area and they have four sons. I don't know their names and ages, but they still look exactly the same. Dan is even more shy, so I didn't really talk to him much. Apparently Philip was visiting them last year when this idea came about, so it was mainly the Otley's that inspired the whole reunion in the first place. It was a '94/'95 collaboration!

Wilson Lay was there. He is HYSTERICAL. He looks exactly the same except he has his ears pierced and has a full red beard. His "lady" as he referred to her, seemed a little older and... a little rough around the edges. I'm not sure if she's his wife or not. They were driving an old, beat up, Chevy Nova, I think. He didn't seem to fit in with Crane anymore. It was cool! He lives in Phoenix, and actually builds Choppers for a living. A real biker dude. Alyca, he asked about you. You should have came!

Matt Adams was there with his lovely wife. They have a boy and a girl, with another baby due in November. He's a woodshop teacher in Elgin, which is near LaGrande. He is still as nice as ever, and I LOVED his wife. I think she was missing her babies, because she was fairly taken with Morgan and spoiled her with attention and fruit snacks the entire time we were there. I remember meeting her several years ago. She's very tall, and she coaches volleyball at the high school. They were a very nice couple. Matt asked after Alyca, Sabrina, and Jobie. Very nice. Matt looks exactly the same. I think he works at a mill during the summers, so he is still fairly buff and trim. We were talking about kids at one point and he said "look at what I did!" and put his hands on his wife's belly. She blushed and was embarrassed. It was really cute.

Jill was there with her husband Wes. She still looks great. They are currently living in Forest Grove while.... she?.... finishes schooling. They are doing great.

Jeremiah showed up and he looks exactly the same except he has facial hair. He has two daughers, one 4?, and the other, 17 months. The youngest one, Mya, I think, is one month younger than Morgan and has RED hair. Interesting..... He works for Cummins Diesel in Elko Nevada.

Let's see..... Heather Howard showed up with her 14 month old. She also has a 3 year old son named Preston, and she is 10-12 weeks pregnant with #3. She does daycare and lives in Vale. I think her husband does something with wildland fire.

Mandy (Rutledge) Dowel came with Greg, and she is also pregnant, just barely. Apparently they have been trying for a while. She also looks exactly the same, but where before I thought she was snooty, now, I feel sorry for her. I don't think she's really happy. Greg Dowel, who is very round, is an avid drinker, and I think it has been causing some problems....

I saw Chet Smith, but didn't talk to him. A little rounder, but the same. Howie Rozenboom came with his wife, I think they have 2 children... but I didn't really talk to him either. He has a mustache.

Chris Howard was there. Apparently a few years ago he was in a few accidents that at one point required the use of a cane to walk, but he seems to be doing well now. He is currently working at home for his dad.

Kandy came with her husband Dave. She is still as spunky as ever. No kids yet. She wants to finish her master's degree in teaching/ESL (english as a second language) before any kiddies. But she's a teacher in Caldwell Idaho.

Ty and Angie Temple came. They have two daughters, Sydney and Macie. Very cute. He looks a little filled out, but still the same.

Zach and his wife came. He's still as hot as ever. They have two sons, John Michael, after their dad's, and Tate Mitchell, which Zach got to name. Very cute. His wife said they are done having children. Okee dohkee. I think he was enamored with Morgan, because he kept saying he'd like to have a girl.

JR Dowell and his lady came from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He looked very... Top Gun?, with his short cropped hair, and button down shirt open over the white tank top. He's in the military.

Shawneen Hamilton walked in at one point and looks EXACTLY THE SAME. Same 4 inch roots, with the same bangs, and the same bright pink cheek blush and western wear. It was WEIRD.

He wasn't there but I heard that Vern was married and had a daughter in January. I think someone said her name was Riatta?

Chris Richarz was there with a rather young looking girl, but they didn't really talk to anyone.

We were a popular event, because several Crane alumni stopped by to say hi. I saw Bret Jenks, Martin Thompson, Chance Miller, and a couple more whose names just left me.....

It was a fun event and I was glad to go. I wish we could have stayed longer to visit, as I don't know when we'll ever see one another again, but Philip was able to provide us with the addresses of everyone in our two classes save 3 people, so we can now make contact.

Alyca, you should have gone. Several people asked about you.

Steve had to work at 6am this morning, so we left around 10pm and raced home. Morgan woke up a little bit and had a minor melting, vomitting on herself as we turned on Negus because she was so upset. She was overtired, and she wanted me to pick her up. I felt terrible because there was nothing I could do. But when we got here she settled down, ran around for a minute, and then went to sleep. She woke up again at 1am, but I quickly settled her down, and except for a peep at 5:30am when Steve left the house, she let me sleep till 9:30am, the latest I have been in bed since January 2004. True, we went to bed late as well, but I was still grateful.