The Branding

In April of 2002, I believe, I went to my first ever branding. We went to Dusti's dad house in Cody. This apparently is a real branding because they don't run the calves through a shoot, you wrestle them. Seriously, I had no idea what was going on but it was one heck of a trip! The trip there, the actual branding and the "get together" after was an experience I am glad I didn't miss! We left North Platte some time in the morning and I think we arrived just in time for the branding - one or something!!

This is Rachel, Lorie, Tim-Bo, Dusti, me and Shawna. Lorie and Rachel were also my roommates my first year at college. Lorie played volleyball and basketball and Rachel played basketball.
Dusti and Shawna showing off their job. Dusti gave them the implant and Shawna marked them.

Here we are wrestling the calf. Okay, we already wrestled now we are just holding him down. That's Hoss on the end. Her real name is Jamie and she played volleyball with me at Mid-Plains. She was a year older and from Nenzel, close to Cody, so she was helping with the branding, too.

Oh my! This picture is just hilarious!!This is after the branding. Nobody wanted to walk back up to the house so we all jumped in the pickup and waited for someone to get in and give us a ride. Yes, that's me with the welding helmet on. Seriously, I can't even explain! It had been a long day!!

Me and Rachel

This is after the branding and after we ate. This is Tim-Bo, Dusti's dad! He is a lot of fun!!!

This is the next night. We stayed to hang out one more night with Tim-Bo!!

Dusti Hippen

This is my friend Dusti from Cody. She also graduated in 2001 like Shawna. Her and Shawna both were great to me my third year. I had wrecked my car and didn't have a mode of transportation. These two gave me rides to and from school, let me borrow their cars, anything. They were life savers! Anyway - Dusti and I have many memories together as well. Not only was she one of my roommates in North Platte but she also moved to Omaha and we lived together then as well. In April her dad does his branding in Cody and the next post I will be making will be of my first experience at a branding. That was so much fun that I don't think any other time will ever top it! It was quite the experience. Dusti also played basketball her first year at MPCC.

Okay, a story that I remember about Dusti and me. We were sitting outside some apartments picking up some friends. We are both on the phone and start to nudge each other, not even sure why - maybe we were talking loud over the other - who knows! Anyway, a little nudge turned into a little harder nudge, then a closed fist light tap and then we just starting whaling on each other and hung up on who we were taking to. I have no idea how it escalated to that point or why it did. We seriosuly wanted to get out of the car and beat each other up. Yeah, I have no idea and we still talk about that crazy night all the time. Good thing though, we resolved it that night and went out like nothing happened. It was just weird! Still makes us laugh when we tell the story though!

Dusti Hippen
My third year, Dusti and I decided that we would work at the Touchdown Club. I guess we just thought it would be fun. For the most part it was but there was also a lot of unwanted drama that went along with the job. I remember one time we went to work and it wasn't really that busy, yet. When we got to work and they didn't want you to clock in yet we had a table that you sat at until they wanted you to clock in. Okay, no big deal. Dusti and I sat down to wait because it wasn't busy. All of a sudden our manager/waitress boss came over and asked us to clock in. We both looked at each other like, really - there really isn't enough people yet for three servers. Okay, so we go and clock in and when we get back and she has two buckets of water and towels and tells us we need to dust all the pictures that are hanging up in the bar (if you have ever been there you know there are a TON of pictures) and make sure to wash down all the chairs in the place. Okay - just so no one takes this story the wrong way- we would have been glad to help do all this but not on a Saturday night before it's about to be busy. What would have been wrong with coming in early before we opened to do this - not while customers are there? We had customers that were in there asking us if we were in trouble and if the boss hated us. Finally, after much trash talking by Dusti and me, and our boss was done embarrassing us, we were able to quit. I just will never forget that night!

Probably getting ready to go out.

This was a time I came back from Omaha. Dusti was still living in North Platte and finishing up school. I am sure my brother Joseph also had a game and that's why I came back, too.

Dusti, Me and Shawna on her 21st in Kearney.

Shawna Fisher

I don't even know where to begin with Shawna! She graduated in 2001 from Arapahoe and played basketball with me at Mid-Plains. There are too many memories that I don't know where to start! My third year, her and Dusti (you will meet her next) and I lived in an apartment together. We lived in a two bedroom apartment and at one time Dusti, Shawna and I all shared a room. It basically looked like a room full of beds because there really wasn't much room even get around. It was such close living quarters that I can't believe we actually made it work! We never got sick of each other. It was strange.... :)

This was Shawna's first year and probably her first adventure to 80A.
This is me, Shawna and Codina on the basketball bus on the way to or from a game. Something was really funny and I can't remember it right now, but Codina was literally crying because it was so funny. We use to take our body pillows and tons of blankets and lay them down in the back of the bus so didn't have to sit the whole way and we could sprawl out after the game and sleep better on the way to or from a game. We thought it was genius and we stayed warm!
Codina and Shawna at 80A.

Lindsey, Roy and Shawna

This was at our apartment and it's Shawna holding baby Conner.

Me and Shawna sometime in Kearney. I thought it was her 21st but I guess not...

Codina (Oaklund) Schutz

This is my friend Codina that graduated from Elwood. Our senior years we played each other in the championship game of Districts; W-P won! (Sorry, Co!) Anyway - like Lindsey, I never really met her until college. Codina and I played volleyball and basketball for Mid-Plains.

Last weekend Alex and I stopped to see Codina and that was the first time I had seen her in probably at least two years! It was a long time. Last February, her and Shane had twin boys so Alex and I stopped to give them a birthday gift and to say hello to Codina, Wally, Conner, Parker and Grady! She has a lovely family and it was so nice getting to see them! I took pictures of our visit but I have to wait to take the film in to be developed before those will be posted, but don't worry they will be.

Codina and I really were trouble in college. If just the two of us were together you can pretty much bet that we were being mischevious! She got me in more trouble!!! LOL I remember one day her and this other person (Braden - remember Co?) were talking in class and I happened to be sitting between the two of them paying attention to the teacher (which I guess was probably actually shocking), and the teacher yelled at me and said I was being disrespectful and "don't you mock me". WHAT!??! Anyway - the dean got told about the whole incident and Coach had to talk to us and said that we had to apologize. I still laugh about it because Codina did apologize (and she said it sucked) but I never did - I didn't do anything wrong! That was just how things always went with me and Codina!

I think this was on our way to Hastings to see Rachel (another girl you will meet) and her brother. This was our second year and Codina and I would always, at last minute, just up and leave and go new places when no one else was in town. Not like Hastings was "new" to Nebraska when I was in college, but it was somewhere we didn't go that often...
In Hastings.

Co

This was at Codina and Shane's wedding in 2004. Lindsey, Shawna, Codina and me.

A picture of Conner with Mommy! I think this picture is so cute! Conner looks so young! When I saw him last weekend I couldn't believe how much he had grown! He just turned six in December and I bet he's almost 6 foot tall! Okay, a little stretch on that but he sure is tall!! I will post more pictures of the Schutz family when I get those pictures developed.

Sarah (Roy) Rasmussen

Oh, my roommate Sarah Roy (everytime I see her I have to say her first and last name together. Always happens, just ask her)! She graduated from Elba in the year 2000. She came to Mid-Plains to play volleyball as well and we were lucky enough to be roommates together our first year and our second year! This girl was crazy - but not like the flip-out on you crazy that most people are - the fun crazy!! She just cracked me up. Meet Roy through the pictures below - I have many memories!!

This is us in our dorm room with operation "No More Sun". I quickly learned that Sarah was not a fan of the mornings (and I can't say that I am much of one either) and would use any spare moment she had to sleep. The sun came though our windows and woke us up before either of us had class in the morning. I think it only took about two weeks before we climbed up on top of our closests and hung blankets to cover the windows. It was much better. Our naps in the afternoon were very productive as well!
Sarah Roy
Me, Roy and Lindsey. This was one of the first nights that the three of us went out together.

Lindsey and Sarah our first year.

This is Roy probably getting a glass of milk. Her and Codina could each go through a gallon of milk, by themselves, a week. We aren't talking a glass of chocolate milk here, a bowl of cereal there - no. It was at least two big 'ole glasses of plain milk a day! I was not so much a fan. Sounds disgusting to me right now!

This is our second year getting ready to celebrate Christmas.

This is the guys' dorm room and Sarah chilling on the couch. All of the volleyball girls had a team meeting/dinner at Coach's house. We all piled into our cars and took off, leaving our dorm "house" door unlocked. Alex, Nick and Collins went to the dorm that Sarah and I lived in (okay not exactly sure how much Koehn was involved, but enough that he didn't stop them!). For those of you that know me, I hate spit. Just do. Those guys took kleenex and soaked them with water and threw them on our walls so they looked like giant spitballs. They took Sarah's car and parked it so close to another car that we weren't sure she would be able to move it without hitting the other car. We arrive back from our meal at Coach's to find all this and the guys to be gone. We ran over to their dorm but the doors were locked. They forgot though, to shut their window. They had told us at the beginning of the year about how they had to break into their dorm one time and it was a good thing their window was open. Anyway - we broke in. This is a picture of Roy after we had rearranged their dorm "house". It was classic! We also took Collins' mattress and shoved it in his closet and took one of the small tvs and hid it in a cupboard. I do believe that Lindsey and Codina helped us with this - told you - partners in crime!

Sarah and I putting spitwads on Collins' car!!

Then we found Alex's spare keys to his car and we drove it over to the Vo-Tech campus!

Me and Roy at a friends wedding.

Sarah married Jared Rasmussen in August of 2007. They also just had a little baby boy, Rylan Jared, that was born in August of 2008 (or close to that date, I am bad, I can't remember for sure, but I know it was 2008). They are definitely on my list of "next to see" friends!!

Lindsey (Haag) Koehn

I first ever really met Lindsey at a volleyball try-out at Mid-Plains. We both graduated in 2000 and attended the same try-out. While we were there we met our other two partners in crime, Codina and Sarah (you will meet them here shortly). Lindsey and I were instant friends and we pretty much did everything together. There were lots of times that everyone at the dorms would go home for the weekend - not Lindsey and I! We would go and buy movies and stay up all night watching them. One scarey movie that we rented turned out to be even scarier because we lit candles and pretty much just scared ourselves. Every little sound we heard in the dorms we would freak out!!

Lindsey met her husband, Nick, while we attended Mid-Plains too, so this post is an introduction to him as well. Nick was from Ogallala and a year older than Lindsey and me. He played basketball with Alex at MPCC. Now, Nick and Lindsey live in Lincoln. Even though we don't talk as often or see each other as much we are still best friends! When we do get togther it's like we haven' t missed a day. It really is a lot of fun when Alex and I go to Lincoln to visit these two - we talk about all our old Mid-Pains days (MPCC 4 Life! ha) and the stories never get old! I just have to say, I have met some great friends from my Ju-Co days!!

Lindsey & me just hanging out.

This is Christmas our second year at Mid-Plains. Our first year Codina and Lindsey were roommates and Sarah and I were roommates. The second year we were able to talk Coach (we all played volleyball) into letting the four of us live together! It was a great time, but it took a lot of convincing! This is us celebrating our "first" Christmas together.

This is Lindsey with her first ever stocking!! (They rock don't they Linds!) Here's a picuture hanging out at the guys' dorm - Lindsey and Nicholasta. (I don't know why I call him that - but I do.)

Lindsey and Nick again at the dorms. Favorite memory about the guys' dorm is when "Jean" broke their clock!!! Okay, it really wasn't Jean but we let the guys believe it was for a really long time! Lindsey and I actually broke it! It was quite the production!!

One really nice day outside. Nick and Lindsey again.
At the end of the year party at Verb's. This is our second year. There really wasn't much that we ate except for chessys, grilled cheese sandwiches, nachos and popcorn. This picture just makes me laugh remembering those times!

This was our second year in college. Nick made a visit to 80A!!

Lindsey and Nick at Codina's wedding.

This was my third year at Ju-Co (yes, that's right, third year at Ju-Co). I had moved out of the dorms and was living in an apartment with Dusti and Shawna (whom you will also meet later). This is Lindsey with newborn Conner (Codina's son). Lindsey and Codina no longer where attending MPCC but made the trip down to see us! This was one summer back at home. The other girl in this photo is Theresa "Tree" Dolan. Lindsey went to high school with her and then I played basketball against Tree when she played for MCC. This is the summer I believe that we played co-ed softball in McCook! We had a lot of fun!
This is Lindsey and me in Kearney getting ready to go out for our friend Shawna's 21st birthday. I was living in Omaha at the time and Lindsey in Lincoln.

Alex continued....

Sorry for the hold up, folks! Before the days of digital cameras I used disposable cameras. Basically because I was irresponsible and I knew I would either leave the camera somewhere or drop and break it so it was cheaper to buy the disposable camers. Never in a million years would I have ever wished I had them all on a CD or want to put them up on a blog. That turned out to be the dilemma. All the pictures I had ever taken I had cut and put into a scrapbook. I had to take those pictures out of the scrapbook and then have them scanned to a CD. After that, I had to save them to a flash drive (thanks, Heidi) and then upload them to blogger. Anyway - long process! You will notice that some of these pictures don't have straight edges and that's because they were in my scrapbook. Okay - anyway, let's finish meeting people!!

My first year of college and Alex's second at Mid-Plains.
Over to a friend's house visiting - same year. It's kind-of different seeing him without his glasses on; in college he mostly wore his contacts.

Doesn't he look really scared of me? Messing around over at the guys' dorm room which was just across the street from ours (girls' that is).

He may be laughing at me here in this picture. That happens once in awhile.

Alex and me at our friend Codina's wedding in 2004 I believe.

This was taken at Nick and Lindsey's when they lived in their apartment in Lincoln. I was living in Omaha and Alex was in Lincoln for something so I went there to see all of them. Love Alex representing the Knights. Yay yay!

Here is a picture of Lindsey and Alex at the dorms having a spoon fight. I can't even explain really! We had fights with cooking spoons (in this picture it's a wooden one) and it was between the girls and the guys. Not sure really how it got started but it did keep us entertained for awhile!