editor’s note
H
Life has been like that the last few years. In June 2014,
we bought Laramie Dance & Arts Center because it
was going to close and we wanted to keep the arts going
for our kids and others in Laramie. With that purchase
came naming us as defendants in a lawsuit over the
sale of its building. We won that lawsuit in June of
2015, but those eleven months came with a very heavy
emotional toll. 2015 & 2016 we focused on healing and
growing. We ended up expanding in 2015 into a bounce
house center on the weekends and added a dance &
active retail store in 2016 as Laramie really needed
that option – and, turns out, Wyoming was receptive
as well, and we’ve spent many fun days working with
dancers all over the state. As you can imagine, the
search for a home for all this activity was a challenge
(bounce houses require high ceilings, naturally), and
Levi excitedly shared with me a new listing last winter
– right on the edge of downtown Laramie, big, open
ceilings … nearly perfect. I’m going to skip over the
process of commercial building purchasing and make
it sound super easy – we closed in May of 2018 – but
it was far more complicated than I have space to
write. (Another “blip” in the story was a second failed
purchase attempt in fall of 2017. One note about “failed
real estate purchases” – they still cost lots of money.)
The next step in last year’s saga was a HUGE
renovation that my husband, Levi, took on himself
due to budget. He’d work all day at the office, swap
clothes and spend all evening and weekends building.
appy…Summer? As I write this,
that spring wet snow-rain combo
is falling outside my window. My
friend shared a great meme of a kid yelling
at the sky for it to stop snowing. My
sentiments exactly. Yet down it still comes,
disregarding my sentiments entirely. This
morning while looking out my kitchen
window, I thought, “Boy I’m glad I
haven’t uncovered the poppies…” Yet they
are growing beautifully through the bed
of mulch and leaves from last fall, seeming
to disregard the snow entirely. I think on
how quickly summer is approaching, how
I’m always behind in getting our summer
dance schedule out and getting our kids
signed up for things … yet summer
is barreling towards me, seeming to
disregard my time crunch entirely.
We received access to our new building on July 2, my
40 th birthday – funny coincidence, we thought – and the
process stretched through and past our self-set deadline
of August 31, hit snags in September, then October …
and I had to make tough decisions. Levi was working
and stressing himself to the max, had lost 10 pounds in
the process, and he needed my undivided attention. I
had begun work on the fall/holiday WLM and decided
that of anything that could be put down, that was it.
It was a decision that was heart-breaking, but life and
time were barreling on, seeming to disregard entirely
my dilemma. We wrapped renovation in time to make
our 2019 Wyoming Weddings Magazine in November/
December and begin 2019 winter bridal expos, which
were, thankfully, among our most successful years
yet. I’ve had many people ask where WLM went after
summer 2018, and that’s where – to my husband, who
needed me. I know I failed many people when I made
that decision, and I sure am sorry. I couldn’t fail my
husband in that moment, and I am so excited to be back
in the swing of things now. Thank you for being our
valued readers – my goal this year is to find my groove
again because life barrels on, and I don’t disregard that
fact for one moment.
Thanks for reading,
Kati Hime
www.wyolifestyle.com
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