Blast from the past

In a recent closet-cleaning I came across some old memorabilia.  One was a photo collage frame that hung in my college apartment.  With all of the things you can do with digital photos now, I'm not sure if you can even buy one of these.  Each picture brought back a whole bunch of memories and stories.  Some are just left to my memory, but I wanted to share a few. 

This is my roommate, Megan, her boyfriend, James, Brent and I.  This was at a social establishment (People's) in Ames to celebrate Brent's fraternity class graduation.  James and Brent were mistaken for each other a lot back in those days.  They both drove green trucks with ISU license plates, same size/build and hair color, each had a super-cute girlfriend... I'm pretty sure that our apartment building manager thought Megan and I dated the same guy. 

P.S. We both married our college sweethearts.

My baby nephew, Caleb and I.  He's not a baby anymore.  He's 9.  Nine and a half, actually.  Since this picture was taken, I have two more nephews and three nieces.  And much better hair. 

I don't remember this specific picture of Megan and I, but I can tell it was taken at her parent's house.  We weren't old enough to go to a social establishment, but I have a suspicion wherever we went involved boys. 

This, as you can tell, was the 1999 Iowa State Fair.  You can't tell from the distance of the picture (and if I got a close up, it would be too fuzzy) but I was real mad in this photo.  Just minutes before this picture was taken I was showing this heifer in the show ring when a ring helper's cell phone rang.  The heifer went crazy and ended up twisting around my body and kicked me square in the stomach and sent me flying through the air.  I landed in the sand and was fine.  I had a nice black and blue mark to show for it a few days later.  The part I was mad about?  The ring helper not being cautious enough to shut his phone off or turn off the ringer.  It didn't matter that I was covered in sand or bruised; showing cattle was always a rush of adrenaline for me.  Make the animal look its best to be the perfect fit for what the judge was looking for.  Every once in a while it was exactly what the judge was looking for, but I had so much fun doing it.

A funny side note to this is that Megan and two of our "town" girlfriends came to the Fair that day to watch me show.  I'm pretty sure Melanie and Sarah thought I was dead when I flew through the air. 

Aww, those cute lovebirds.  We did not always dress alike. 

If they are reading this, I'm pretty sure I might get harassed at the next family gathering.  But I'm brave.  This is my brother, Brian, my sister, Karen and me.  I have no idea where my sister, Ann, was for this fabulous photo shoot.  I think it was 1996.  I needed a makeover.  Bad.  So did the orange curtains. 

It was fun to find this collage frame, although, I did not keep it.  I just don't think I have the right place to hang it in our house.  I love a good blast from the past to conjure up fun memories.