JessiandMatt.net

Introduction

Jessi was born in Duluth Minnesota and raised in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I met her in 1990 at the audition camp for the Phantom Regiment. We’ve been married since 1995. She’s mostly a stay-at-home Mom, but she has lots of interests.

Jessi’s obsessions…Sea Otters

Sea otters have been a long time obsession. She still sleeps with her stuffed animal sea otter she got more than ten years ago. For awhile, when we lived in California, we even lived near the major refuge for California sea otters. Here’s a link to learn some more about sea otters.

Jessi’s obsessions…Drum Corps

Jessi started her marching career in the fall of 1984 at the age of 10 and marched junior corps until she aged out at age 21. In 2007, she started out in senior corps. Here’s a summary of her drum corps career:

1. 1985 - 1990 Americanos from Appleton, Wisconsin
   • 1985 Guard
   • 1986-1989 French Horn
   • 1990 Mellophone
2. 1991 - July 1994 Phantom Regiment from Rockford/Loves Park, Illinois
   • 1991-1992 French Horn (3rd place at 991 Drum Corps International World Finals - Division 1 and 8th place at 1992 Drum Corps International World Finals - Division 1)
   • 1993-1994 Mellophone (3rd place at 1993 Drum Corps International - Division 1)
3. July 1994 - August 1994 Pioneer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
   • 1994 DCI Divison 2 Champs!
   • 1994 Mellophone
4. 1995 - Santa Clara Vanguard from Santa Clara, California
   • 1995 Mellophone (6th place at Drum Corps International World Finals - Division 1)

Jessi’s Obsessions… SCA

What the heck is SCA? It is the Society for Creative Anachronism. This is from their website:

“The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating pre-17th-century European history.”

So what does that mean? It means that a bunch of modern folk get together to recreate the medieval Europe. You get dressed up in period clothes (called garb), and learn about life back then. There’s feasts, swordfighting, crafts, and more.

Jessi’s Obsessions… Cabbage Patch Kids

Jessi received her first Coleco Cabbage Patch kid when she was a young girl from her father. A few years back she began collecting them again. She originally started collecting the Coleco Cabbage Patch Kids, the ones that were mass
marketed in toy stores. Shortly thereafter, she began collecting Original Cabbage Patch Kids. These are hand made Cabbage Patch Kids with soft faces and heads.

She now has over two hundred of the kids, displayed around our house. She has also began collecting the next generation of mass market Cabbage Patch Kids. They are called TRU Kids (for Toys R Us) and for awhile were only available at the Toys R Us in Manhattan, New York. At some point, I’ll post some pictures of Jessi’s Kids. In the meantime, if you want to get some for yourself, check them out at Babyland General Hospital, the only place to buy new Original Cabbage Patch Kids.