sinking in

Yes. It is sinking in. Today Wes left for his weekend-long bachelor party/camping extravaganza. Tomorrow night my sister is putting on my bachelorette party. I started this blog with the intention to record sweet memories of my engagement, as I knew it would be a chaotic part of our lives. I cannot believe there is only one week left of being "engaged", calling Wes my fiance, and bumming off the parents.

Although a bit nervous, I am excited to be starting this new chapter of life. Better yet, I like to think of it as an adventure. Wes and I love a good adventure. If marriage is an adventure, well then, I've got the best partner in crime a girl could ask for.

the small things

Life has been ridiculously crazy busy. So busy that I am literally taking what feels like my first deep breath of the last 24 hours. Yes those 24 hours include my sleep, which has also been infiltrated by stress and nightmares. The photographer not showing up to the wedding. Forgetting to go to work. Losing my homework. You name it, I've stress-dreamt it in the last 24 hours. No fun.

After spending a sleepless night having terrible dreams, going to work all day, rushing to school, and cranking out massive amounts of homework until the midnight hours, I'm just now realizing what people mean when they say I'm nuts for trying to plan a wedding while working and going to school.

I write this not for pity, but rather to remind myself of the importance of enjoying the small things. Like the other night. Wes and I enjoyed our first meal on our beautiful new patio table (compliments of the wonderful in-laws). Hamburgers, corn on the cob, beautiful weather, and Billie Holliday quietly singing to us in the background. A simple, yet perfect night. It is the small things like this that make life so totally worth it.

Even with his mouth full of cow, he's still such a cutie

(erg....or should I say stud?)

Silly boy.

camping 2010

Camping is one of my all time favorite things to do. So many of my childhood memories revolve around camping with the Griswalds (aka my family). This last weekend, I had the pleasure of taking my first ever Bryant camping trip. I overpacked my bag as always, left my make-up behind, and enjoyed a weekend in lot G15 of South Beach with my soon-to-be in-laws!

Here a some highlights of our trip.....

Endless badminton games. Wes was convinced he was going to school me. I humbly defeated him 21-7. Booya!

Creating our world-famous Bryant Biker Gang!

Biking over this bridge on a 1-speed Schwinn.

Don't underestimate this sucker, it's harder than it looks!

Going to the Rogue Brewery. Can you believe it?!?!? Bryants go out to eat while camping. This is a big DeBow no-no. I guess Bryants forget about that "roughing it and toughing it" camping mentality when they're camping with Martha Stewart (aka Melinda)

Sarah and I learned that we married into the wrong family. None of blood Bryants like playing games! Looks like Sarah and I have many two-person game nights ahead of us...

Overall the trip was absolutely wonderful.

It trips like these that make me more and more excited to be a Bryant.

domestic bliss

Inside the card my mom got me for my bridal shower it said, "Let the domestic bliss begin". If this picture below doesn't perfectly portray "domestic bliss", well then I don't know what does...

Let me explain the situation. It was the 4th of July. We signed up to bring cheesecake bars to the party we'd later be attending in Independence (what a great city to celebrate 4th of July, eh?) Anyways, minutes before baking I spilled my mom's boiling hot coffee all over Wes. Of course it happened to the 1 day of the entire year that Wes wore a white shirt. Into the wash it quickly went. As you can tell from the photo, I kindly provided Wes with a new shirt, complete with a homemade V-cut and a set of pre-teen Lindsay Lohans. Perfect! To top off the baking attire, I provided him with the floral print apron my aunt made me for my bridal shower.

And in no time ladies and gentleman, my man was domesticated, striking poses with the mixer and baking like a pro. Watch out Martha Stewart!

I couldn't help but think to myself, "Let the domestic bliss begin!"

Dear Pollen....

Dear Pollen,

Please go away. You make Wes' life (and subsequently mine) absolutely miserable. Let me give you an example.

Last night, after finishing my mother-load of a research project, I had the brilliant idea of celebrating with Wes over ice cream a nice sweet trip to the park. My favorite childhood park to be precise. I unexpectedly even happened to have a blanket in the trunk. Perfect. Yes, it was like a scene directly out of those ridiculous chick flicks that I somehow get sucked into. TWO bites into my ice cream, I look up and there's poor Wes. Sniffling nose. Watering eyes.

For the sake of Wes' health and sanity, I decided to ditch our picture-perfect park date. We headed home and enjoyed our ice cream indoors.

So there you have it pollen, please go away. We really don't like you.

Sincerely,

McKenzie (& Wes)

blessed

Just this last Saturday my wonderful aunties hosted my very first bridal shower. This event marked the first time Wes really freaked out and reminded me, "Holy crap....we're getting married". Yeah buddy, glad you're now just figuring this out. I'm kidding.

Although the gifts were of course wonderful and will all be so helpful in getting our marriage off to a great start, I can honestly say that far beyond the gifts, I came to a serious realization......

I AM SO INCREDIBLY BLESSED.

Here's just a few reasons.

a. I have a truly amazing family. Although a bit large and crazy, they are truly the greatest.

b. I am marrying into yet another truly amazing family.

c. From my EB baby days to now, I have been surrounded by so many amazing women who loved and cared for me through it all.

So ladies, of course thank you not only for the gifts, but more importantly for making me feel so loved and cherished. I cannot say it enough, I am so incredibly blessed.

san diego

A couple of weeks ago Wes and I took a wonderful road trip to San Diego to attend a friend's wedding. I originally had marvelous plans to blog all about the trip, but well....let's face it, school, work and wedding planning pretty much took over my life these last few weeks and I literally haven't had a spare minute to blog. Overall, the trip was truly amazing and it was nice to get away from Eugene where life gets consumed by homework, coaching soccer, and planning our own wedding.

Here's some highlights and funny moments of the trip....

1.Wes is seriously the funnest boy to road trip with. He's got some serious air guitar skills. Check it out!

2. We made a trip to the USS Midway to kill time before the wedding. I was a bit hesitant about this trip since I'm not a history buff and know nothing about the navy and/or planes. Wes had a ball and surprisingly I did too. Thankfully the headsets had a kids version of the audio tour, which made me a happy camper. Check out these audio tour nerds!

3. Saturday evening....WEDDING TIME. My curls were moody and my high heels severely uncomfortable, but the wedding was beautiful. The pastor was a bit strange, convincing us that macho-man Kelly was capable of crushing Tristen's ring. I'm convinced Kelly must've gone to each pre-marital counseling session with a wife beater and a wicked sweet mustache. I mean how else did the pastor get this idea of macho man Kelly? The reception was equally as fun and the Oregonians showed those San Diego-ans how real people party. Red cups and all!

4. Our hotel room at the golf course had crazy short counters. Being the engineers were are, we rearranged the furniture and made a three-in-one room....bathroom meets kitchen meets office. Sweeeeeeeet!

5. On the way home, we decided to follow the crowd and stick with Walt and Sarah and Dan and Jared. My little 'Rolla got the best gas mileage of the 3 cars. Driving behind Walt and Sarah, we caught them getting a bit lovey dovey at times. We made a traditional stop at In-N-Out. And we of course stopped at a million rest stops. Ironically, unlike the normal group of people who spend a few minutes at the rest stop, we'd always stay a bit longer so Rockhound Dan could gather some nice rocks. Here's Dan showing off his newest additions to his collection!

Well folks, there you have it. Although it was a quick trip that lacked surfing and our traditional venture into Mexico, it was fun and stress-free to say the least. Congratulations Kelly and Tristen!

Here's just a few more photos...

Motorcycles and Monsoons

Last weekend I had the privilege of accompanying Wes on a motorcycle ride to Corvallis. This was no ordinary leisurely motorcycle ride. Instead, we were headed to a motorcycle convention. Technically, it wasn't a convention. I just like making Wes' hobbies sound nerdy.

Anyways, the boys of our motorcycle gang thought it would be fun to ride the bikes to Corvallis, rather than drive. I mean, c'mon. You HAVE to ride into a motorcycle show on a motorcycle, right!?! It was a great idea. Almost as good as my idea to ride my bicycle to work one day. (See previous blog entry)

After waiting for slow-poke Walt, we finally made our way out of sunny Eugene. I hate riding through the residential roads making loud motorcycle noises. The boys love it.

Apparently the sun was as emotional as a pre-menstrual woman. In no time, our lovely motorcycle ride was amidst dark clouds and pouring rain. My wet jeans and butt tempted me to get grouchy and whiny, but for the sake of my loving fiance, I stayed positive and made my effort to enjoy every freezing mile of the ride. Thank God for iPods and my preppy girly music to get me through the rough ride.

We finally arrived in Corvallis. A bit soaked, but happy none the less. The boys showed off their bikes, we ate some hamburgers, and headed back home. Thankfully the way home was a bit sunnier and we were able to take a few pictures. Despite the crazy things I do for that boy, I sure do love him.

Pre Monsoon Pee Stop

Sweet tricycle my children will eventually have...

The cute fiance...

Another Milestone

Last night Wes and I did something we'd never done together as a couple....

WE WENT TO THE MOVIES

Although "going to the movies" is one of the most stereotypical things a dating couple does, in the over 2.5 years we've officially been together, we realized we'd never been to the movies!

I didn't drag Wes to a chick flick. He didn't make me endure a bloody gutsy action. No, instead saw BABIES, a documentary that follows 4 babies for the first year of life. It was wonderful. And although I can't speak on Wes' behalf, who can resist a movie about babies?

I loved it. Of course. Thanks Wes for our first movie date night. A memorable one indeed!

sniffles

Apparently the stress of wedding planning, going to school, working, and teaching have finally gotten to me. I'm sick. Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a wimp when it comes to stuffy noses. I'm overdramatic, as if the mucus flowing out of my nose is equivalent to a death sentence.

To top it all off, poor Wes is all stuffed up too. His diagnosis. Allergies. Wait....why in the world do we live in the Willamette Valley then? (Allergies are quickly become my newest great excuse for us to pack up and move to Mexico!)

Well 2 lovebirds with the cases of the sniffles makes for a pretty........drumroll please............

A PRETTY PATHETIC NIGHT

Yep. That's right. Uneventful evening for los future Bryants. Well, at least it gives us a glimpse into what married life will look like when we're both sickies. Lazy evenings and early bedtimes.

Thank goodness for shows like this that make us laugh even when we can hardly breath.

and the "Son-In-Law of the Year" goes to......

drumroll please.......Wesley Denis Bryant

Yes, that's right. Wes officially has won over my dad's heart (as if he hasn't already over the last 9 years).

Today was my dad's birthday. His 54th. We celebrated with a sweet family dinner at our ever-favorite Mazzi's. We laughed about quirky family traits. Reminisced on the way Grandma Phyllis warmed up her butter. Shared our Mazzi's memories (our engagement, my mom telling my dad she was pregnant with Matt, etc).

When we got home, Wes finally surprised my dad with his birthday present......his restored record player. My dad was more than ecstatic. An awkward handshake and hug later, my dad was already grooving to his new records (that came with the record player). He hadn't used his record player in years, but thanks to Mr. Fix It (aka Wes) he was rocking out as if he was back in the 1970s.

So there it is. Wes has done it again. Congratulations "Son-In-Law of the Year", congratulations.

"Son-In-Law of the Year" ruining pictures.

Christmas '09

Weekend Checklist

✓ Baseball game with Michael & Ellen

✓ Work

✓ School

✓ Bob’s “Celebration of Life”

✓ Church

✓ Coffee date with the parentals

✓ Unsuccessful bridesmaid dress shopping

✓ Auden’s 5th Birthday Party

✓ Dinner with Wright’s & Kammerzelt’s

✓ Soccer game

Whew.Busy weekend. Wait....shouldn’t we be wedding planning?

engagement is all about....

wedding planning while...

still finding time to be silly....right?

p.s. those are homemade orange juliuses. we of all people would be drinking out of wine glasses :)

you're just like my mother

This might be every soon-to-be married young man's nightmare....marrying their mother. Well, apparently Wes is in for a real nightmare, as last night he once again reminded me how much I am like his mom.

The scenario. It was 5:00 pm. We were having the Kammerzelt's over for dinner at 6:30. The house was messy. The food wasn't cooked. In my mind, it was GO time. Wes, on the other hand, thought it was a perfectly fine time to chat it up with his wonderful father and show off his most recent Buick parts. With little courtesy considered, I turned on the loud vacuum cleaner and vacuumed right around the two "chatty Cathy's". It was then that he uttered the infamous words, "Gosh, you are just like my mom".

Why? Because I'm hard-working, loving, and determined?

I finally took my eyes of the vacuum, looked up at him, and simply said, "Thanks!"

Like father. Like son.

Like mother-in-law. Like daughter-in-law.

clinton kelly and his tomboy

"Let's go shopping!" These are the infamous words Wes muttered this afternoon. Yes girls, be jealous! My fiance proposed the idea that we go shopping.

Unfortunately...anyone who knows me well, knows that I hate shopping. Despise it. Loathe it. Would rather do anything but it.

Yet somehow Wes miraculously convinced me that it was indeed time to restock my rather bare closet. After some serious arm twisting, my personal Clinton Kelly and I headed to the mall.

Wes and I are natural born deal makers. His deal...I needed to find at least two new tops. My deal...I would buy him his favorite mall treat, an Orange Julius.

Three shirts, one jacket, a pair of Jesus sandals, and an Orange Julius later we successfully made our way home.

I of course worked the runway and flaunted my new clothes off for the crowd. The audience: my uninterested dad, my opinionated mother, and of course my loving partner in crime, Wes.

my new Jesus sandals

fiance to the rescue

Wes: "Didn't you check the weather reports?"

McKenzie: "No. It was sunny when I left!"

This was the conversation that took place when Wes came to save me this afternoon.

This morning I had a brilliant idea. I'd ride my bike to work to bask in the morning sun and get some exercise. Brilliant idea, right? Without checking the tire pressure, I quickly put my spontaneous plan into action and rode my old school Schwinn to work. Yes, all 7.5 miles.

Within hours my brilliant idea was not so brilliant anymore. Sigh. Let me explain.....

Reason #1, Since it was the last day of this Lil' Kickers session, I was showered with gifts from my kiddos. A jar of Hershey kisses from Eli. An Itunes gift card from Desarae. A bouquet of flowers from my Jackrabbits class. I have such a rough job, eh?

Reason #2: I walked out of the soccer fields only to learn it was.....hailing!

This is where the hero enters the story. With my hands full of gifts and unwilling to ride my bike in the hail, I came up with brilliant plan number 2. Call the boy toy! After bribing him with a lunch date, Wes quickly obliged and was at my work in no time, strapping my bike down to his prized Toyota.

Not only did Wes laugh that I left my house without checking out the weather reports, but he also advised me that my handle bars were loose, my tires were flat, and my seat was bent.

Hail. Broken bike. Lack of storage. Apparently my brilliant idea was not so brilliant. At least I got a lunch date with a hottie.

sex wax

Late last night Wes handed me a strange soap-like looking object. The small label read "Sex Wax". I was completely confused. What in the world did you talk about at boys night out last night?!?!?!

After enjoying watching the many faces of my curiousity, Wes finally led me to the guest bedroom and muttered....

"Here, maybe it will work better with this...."

There before my very own eyes laid a surfboard. My very own surfboard. I freaked. Jumped up and down like a mad woman. Hugged and kissed Wes like crazy. And finally introduced myself to my new best friend, Harvey Mushman (my surfboard's name)

Our family is complete (for now). A boy. A girl. And their surfboards.

Vamos a la playa

It's Spring Break 2010.

I expect fun.

He expects a week to work in the garage. Ugh.

Compromise is made. Weekdays=time in the garage. Weekend=fun.

Wait....how did I get stuck gardening on a Saturday!?!?!?

Sunday finally arrives. Boy takes girl on trip to make up for an uneventful Spring Break.

Beach. Sand. Salt water taffy. Happy girl.