About Us

Lanse began life as an Army brat and then became a normal angsty kid, born in Alaska, passing early elementary years in a farmhouse in Michigan, and then settling in Rochester, NY, with the rest of the Tryon clan. He graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois, where he met Jessica, married her, moved back to Rochester, and now they live in Charleston, SC. He's the oldest of three boys, works in the computer field (which was self-taught from childhood, along with most of his family), and enjoys reading and playing with metal toy soldiers. He also passes hours hitting weeds with sticks and throwing rocks into bodies of water.

Jessica had a rocky start in a Western suburb of Chicago, but managed to pull through just fine. In Second Grade, the family (Mom, Dad, she and her little brother) moved to Minnesota, where they stayed until after she had gone to college, met Lanse, got married, and moved away to New York. She enjoys reading books and blogs, hanging out at church, painting metal toy soldiers, quilting and knitting, playing the piano, and playing with kids. She has a degree in Child Development, with a concentration in Preschool, and is enjoying applying her knowledge to help her kids.

This family would not be complete without the "furbabies" they love. Colin is the oldest, but also the smallest; white, with orange spots and orange rings on his tail. He is very independent, but likes to curl up under the covers at bedtime and purr very loudly. He also has started to play more by throwing toys in the air and doing flips trying to catch them. He also plays soccer with Spook. [Colin passed away in December, 2010. We miss him dreadfully.] Spook is the middle cat, but he's the largest, grey and lightly striped. He's sort of like a clueless gentle giant; he loves being snuggled and loved, but tends to squish smaller things by accident while loving them. He's also the hunter, and likes to catch small animals if he has the chance. He enjoys being in the room with his people and eating. Spook will eat almost anything. Finally, Kira is the youngest. She's all black except for a white patch on her tummy, and a few white individual hairs around her neck. She's shy and likes to spend most of her time on the screened porch watching the birds, mostly because the old folks (boy cats) tend to smack her when she tries to play with them. She's delicate and prim, but does have times when she likes to interact with her people. She also likes to talk a lot. All of our cats are very gentle with the children, and grateful for having two such dedicated humans to be such wonderful servants, though sometimes they can be a little snooty about it.