Class of 1987 Rules! UPDATE!!!

Union High School

Class of 1987 RULES!!!!


This was my name tag. Don't laugh too hard at my Senior Picture! We were laughing because the hair of all the girls wouldn't fit in the frame!

It was definitely big 80's hair!!!!


This ice sculpture totally Rocks!!!!

Isn't it pretty? This was the centerpiece of the hoers derves table on Friday night. I joked with Michele, that the price of our 2 tickets at $100 each probably paid for this ice sculpture! Although, I'm sure it was expensive, it was cool!
(no pun intended.....)



Speaking of cool...... This is me and my BFF, Michele!

Michele is totally cool! She and I have been best friends since elementary school....she grew up right down the street from me. She is the only person I have truly kept up with out of those who I grew up with.


Let me tell you about her. She's sweet, kind and loyal. She's super funny! She remembers EVERYTHING!!!! (which is a good match for me, who can't remember a lot of things--even things I should remember.) Seriously, if I need to know anything...I call Michele, because she probably knows.


Michele has been married for 19 years to Brent and she has 3 beautiful girls....2 of them being teenagers! Eeek! She lives in Olathe....which luckily, isn't too far from Topeka!


Down thru the years, things haven't always been easy for Michele and Brent, but these two are steadfast in their love and they are 2 of the most positive and resilient people I know. And Michele never, ever gives up! She inspires me to be better.


I absolutely love this girl and I'm honored to call her my friend.



So, this is me and my friend Brad.....

Brad lived across the street from me growing up. He was the hot, tall, very cool basketball star! When he first moved into our neighborhood....everyone was totally in *love* with him, including ME. But, somewhere along the line (like my Junior year) that changed and I was no longer infatuated with Brad, we just became closer and closer and he and I became more like brother and sister. (but all my friends and pretty much every other girl in my class was in *love* with him. And who could blame them? He was definitely a hottie! (and still is.....)

***side note: at the 10 year reunion, he was not married and he was voted the Most Eligible Bachelor!!***


So, Brad taught me how to shoot hoops. He taught me to play HORSE and he even let me win from time to time. He helped me perfect my *signature* backward shot from the bottom of the driveway. (Believe me, I had no idea how useful this would be in impressing guys while in college!!!!) Thanks, Brad!! :-)



It's been a while since I had seen Brad.....and I was SO HAPPY to give him a great big hug!!!! He and I have always kept in touch and seen each other over the years, but I hadn't been able to see him since I moved to Georgia....but we have kept in touch on the phone.

More on Brad in a minute....along w/ his family......


This is me, Michele and our friend Nelson!

Nelson is one of the most positive and happy people I have ever met! He is so funny and full of love! He lived in our neighborhood and we grew up together, as well. He was always such a good friend. It was great to see him and meet his family!


His wife, Jennifer, is beautiful! He has two handsome teenage boys (who are incredibly somehow bigger than him!) and a princess daughter who's not much older than my daughter. They all had fun playing in the sprinklers at the park.....

And this is Adam R w/ Nelson. They were good friends and did gymnastics together. Adam is now a commercial airline pilot.



This is Steve. He grew up at the other end of my street and we've know each other since 2nd grade!

It was nice to see him. Steve lives in Arkansas and he has worked for Wal-Mart for like 18 years. During that time he had advanced to the head of public relations for Wal-Mart and had the opportunity to work with many famous people. It was cool to hear his stories. He recently left Wal-Mart for a new and different opportunity. His wife is really sweet and he seems very happy......and that makes me happy for him!


(The funny thing about Steve and I is this. When he was the manager of the Wal-Mart in Tahlequah I ran into him one day. Well, long story short, we hung out and ended up making out! Ha! Ha! I hadn't seen him in years! How embarrassing!! Of course, neither one of us mentioned that at all!!! Ha ha ha!!!!!!)


The energy on Friday night was awesome! There was literally excitement in the air!! I saw and talked with so many people, it was two hours before I even made it in the door of the room!!!


After the reserved hotel time was finished at 11pm....a group of us were invited to Mike G's new bar that's opening up at the end of the month. It was a private party, since the bar cannot exchange money because of the "permits." Anyway, Michele, Christy and I were not drinking (well, diet coke and water....) so we were just hanging out, talking and watching others make fools of themselves....... Parts of it were funny...but parts of it were just sad. I'm just glad we weren't doing it, too.


We saw someone bow to "peer-pressure" and take a shot he didn't want to....and immediately puke.



We saw two people making out at the bar....than move the "party" to the bathroom. And within 5 minutes...they got "busted" by someone who actually needed to use the bathroom.


It was so hilarious! P and H were both people we knew who they were, but we weren't friends with them in high school. Anyway, P and H were making out on the bar stools. Then H told P to follow her into the bathroom and he did. Then, Jeff went to use the facilities and came flying outta there laughing his butt off and saying, "whoa...do not go in there!" Three minutes later, here came P flying out of that bathroom with a BRIGHT RED FACE!!!! HA HA HA!!!! But, the girl, H, didn't come out for another 20 minutes. And when she did.... she gave us the dirtiest looks....which only cracked us up more! WHATEVER....like it was us making out in the bathroom!!!



This behavior only continued the rest of the night, even down to when we left and P and H were making out in their car!


So, after Friday night I learned:

• Sadly, some things never change.
• I guess some people are never going to grow up.
• I guess there will always be cliche's at the class reunion.
• Some people will always bow to peer pressure.
  
• I guess some people will never realize that driving drunk is a realllllly bad idea. I can't believe how irresponsible a group of people who are almost 40 can be.

~SATURDAY PICNIC~


Saturday at Noon we had a picnic at Hunter Park. It was really fun to see everyone's kids and watch them play together!


Here's Brad with his wife Shandra and baby girl, Emerson. Isn't she a sweet baby girl. I'll have to admit it...I hogged that baby and loved her up! She's such a beautiful baby!!!


I am so happy for them, to see my childhood friend as a
Father and Husband...really warms my heart!


My kids really enjoyed the sprinkler park, too!

Jensen

Griffin

Marinne

Logan


We didn't think our old friend Katina was going to come...so I was super happy when she showed up at the picnic. Michele, Katina, Dana and I used to be our "group." We went out to lunch together everyday....running around trying to go eat and get back to school on time! Our favorite past time was jammin' to ZZ Top at the top of our lungs and doing air guitar in the car! We always had a great time!! (don't laugh at us because we are lame.....) Anyway, it was so nice to see her. She has 2 teenagers and she's a single mom. She didn't come Saturday night because she had a HOT date! You go girl!!!

So, here we are.... Christy, Michele, Katina and myself at the picnic! I think we all look pretty darn good for almost 40!!!


~Saturday Night~

This is my friend, Janie. Isn't she just a doll?!

We actually weren't really friends in high school. I guess we just didn't really cross paths. That happens alot when you go to a large high school. I knew who Janie was, though, because we had a mutual friend named Lisa.


At the 10 year reunion, I saw Janie and I honestly didn't recognize her. She had lost alot of weight. (you see, in high school she was a little fluffy.......and believe me, I'm not judging her, just pointing out how great she looks now!!)


At the 10...she was single and a flight attendant. We enjoyed talking and becoming friends. We promised we'd keep in touch, but within a matter of weeks.....we lost touch again.


Well, a few weeks ago, I got an email from Janie. She wanted to be sure that I was going to the 20 year reunion. And I was really happy to hear from her.


Well, she's been married now for 9 years on Aug. 1st to a terrific guy named Louis and she has 2 gorgeous little boys! She's no longer flying and she's now a stay-at-home mom and she's so happy! I was really happy to hear about her life!


We spent a lot of time hanging out both days....and she stayed out with me until 5am on Saturday Night/Sunday Morning.



This is my friend Shannon. She's adorable!

She's an artist. She's always been such a free-spirit. The kind of girl you want to be like....unafraid to do anything. I loved hearing about Shannon's family. I enjoyed telling Shannon about my "artist" Jensen and hear her advice about how to encourage him in developing his art skills.


We enjoyed laughing about Shannon going over to Brad's house when she had a crush on him and Brad's mom saying, "Hey Brad, that girl with the combat boots is outside!" Ha ha!! Like I said, she was a free spirit...and unafraid. I love that about her!!



This is me and Jimmy! Isn't he such a cutie?!?!

And he looks EXACTLY the same.....

Not only were Jimmy and I friends in school, but we grew up going to church camp together, as well. He and Paul G. and Jock D. were the 3 hot guys that hung out together and EVERY SINGLE GIRL was in love with one of them! (But, seriously, can you blame us? I mean...look at him!!!!)


The first night, Jimmy had a little too much fun, so the poor baby was still nursing a major hangover in this picture!


I enjoyed hearing about Jimmy's children and his wife was such a sweetie! Jimmy's an attorney now...so I guess I know who to call when I need legal advice!!! Ha ha ha!

This is Jamie. She's so funny! We went to high school, church camp and college together. We have had some really fun times together. And I just love her confidence!

She's married now and has 2 kids. She lives in OKC and works at a bank.


This is myself, John L. and Janie. John came *dressed* for the 80's! He bought this wig and then took it and had it cut into a mullet!! HILARIOUS!!! (By the way, nice Led Zeppelin t-shirt!)

John is *hilarious*....seriously the life of the PARTY!! He went to college with me too and was always having these massive Pi Kappa Alpha Frat parties at his house. We had some fun times at his house.....ah, those were the days....


This is Todd Cotten. He's a musician and a darn good one, too!

He played a few sets at the Saturday night event. It was the best part. He kinda saved the day......

You see, we had hired a DJ and had kareoke, but lightning hit the transformer and the hotel was not able to dim the lights, so we could have our "mood lighting" for the dance. So, people didn't want to dance.... Believe me, we tried to get them to do it, but with the lights on full.....people were just embarrassed or whatever..... I guess still worried about what people think, which to me, is so stupid! But, anyway, that's what happened.


So, back to Todd. He was great! I really enjoyed it. I had no idea he was so talented. He played some older stuff and he played some current stuff.


Todd came down from Toledo, Ohio. He brought his super-cute girlfriend, Tenley. She was such a sweetie!!


Here's Todd's website....go check it out!!



This is another cute group pic......

Shawn H, Me, Michele and Nelson.....


You've seen everyone in the pic already, except Shawn H. He's such a great guy! I enjoyed hearing what's been up with him. Michele got to spend a long time catching up with him!!!



This is Brad's wife, Shandra. Isn't she gorgeous?!

I had wanted to meet Shandra for quite a while now. As soon as I saw her I gave her such a great big hug!! She is just a beautiful person, inside and out! Brad's a very lucky guy!!!


Shandra took this picture of Brad and I. It's a really good one. Brad, Shandra, Michele, Steve, Shannon, Scott S., Scott A. and I were sitting around reminiscing about old times and teasing Brad about his questionable prom date choice......and laughing!! Man, that was funny! I was teasing Brad about having to push down his date's hair so I could be seen in the picture.
Ha ha ha! But, it was true!!!


(Well, I tried to find the pic of Brad, his date, me and my date, Matt in front of Brad's house, but this was all I could find.... anyway, once I found my prom pic....I had to post it!)


Shannon claims he broke the hearts of every girl in our class with the questionable prom date choice....and he DID!!!!


Good Times!!!!


I remember when we turned 16 (Brad is 2 weeks younger than me) and he got his suh-weet Porsche. (yep, his dad got him a red Porsche and it was awesome!) Well, that night, he loaded me up in his new car and took me to 31st Street, where he floored it....taking us from 0-60 in like 3 seconds!!! Seriously, my head slammed into the headrest and it was so exciting!!


Good thing he took me out that night, because the Porsche was only his for about 3 weeks.....since he got 4 speeding tickets in that time. (hmmm.....wonder why?!?!) Ha ha ha!!!


These are some of the cheerleaders from high school. I'm not going to say anything bad about them, they were all very sweet to me at the reunion and I liked them all in high school. But, to understand this next story....I had to show this picture.....

So, in high school, my friend Janie tried out for cheerleader every year! She could do everything these girls could do....but because she wasn't just the right "type," she never made the squad.


So, Janie, being as drunk as she was, had just enough courage to walk up to these girls and tell them how hard it was for her in high school and how she always felt like a failure since she never made the squad. And how they always made people like her feel inferior.


Then, she challenged them to a contest.....a "splits" contest.....she said, "I can still do it, can you?" Not one of the cheerleaders (who were as drunk or more drunk than Janie would do it.)


But, Janie didn't back down. Yep, she said, "Roxann, please hold my drink." Then, she handed me her purse, then took off one strappy sandal, then the other strappy sandal and handed me those as well. And as about 25 people watched in the hotel bar....Janie took her stance and..........BAM........

SHE DID THE SPLITS!!!!!!!!


Everyone in the entire bar was cheering, whistling and laughing!
It was hilarious!!!


Afterwords, Jane told me, she had to do it. She had to prove that she had the athletic skill, they just wouldn't give her a chance because she wasn't the perfect "stereotype."


And haven't we all felt that way in high school?!?!



So, after people started leaving the hotel....we all went back to Mike G's bar again. It was the same fun as the night before, but we had some different people that came this night, as well......

Michele and I

Christy and I --- Michele and Christy were good friends in high school, but honestly, we weren't really friends. But, I gotta tell you, this girl is awesome!!! She is freaking hilarious!!!!! But, not only that, she is practically a saint!


She is raising her sister's 2 grandsons, since her sister's death. The parents of the boys were not appropriate parents, so Christy did what she needed to do to get these boys thru the court system and now she is raising them. It even broke up her marriage, but she kept on.


Now, I am here to tell you that this girl knows what the meaning of family is and she's given up much to "do the right thing."


She inspires me so much....to do more....to do better....to be a better person. Christy, you are AWESOME!!!! I so enjoyed seeing you and getting to know you so much better! Now, I know why Michele loves you so much! And I am glad to call you my friend!!!

This is Shana and I. I didn't know her in high school, but she, Michele, Christy and I had a really long conversation. She is so sweet!!! I really enjoyed getting to meet her.....

Janie and Mike G.


When we finally left the bar it was after 3am, then Michele, Janie and I sat out in the parking lot and talked till almost 5 am!!

All and all---the reunion was a blast! I had so much fun. I hope we have a 25 year.....instead of waiting till 30!!!