oregon bound

two giant pieces of big news in the los bryants household...........

1. I was offered and accepted a teaching job at Prairie Mountain School in Eugene, Oregon.

2. Due to giant piece of news #1, WE ARE MOVING BACK TO OREGON!

After two amazing years in Yuma, we are moving back to Oregon this fall. I will be teaching first grade at Prairie Mountain School, ironically the same school that my dad just recently retiring from....I guess I'll be carrying on the "Mr. DeBow legend"!

In so many ways this exciting news is SO bittersweet. We are ecstatic to be moving back home, close to our dear family and friends, while at the same time we are torn about leaving all the things that have made Yuma so special (the new friends we've made, the adorable house we've owned, the wonderful jobs we've worked at, the amazing weather we've enjoyed, etc, etc, etc).

Yuma, thank you for being so wonderful to us. We couldn't have asked for a sweeter adventure. Oregon, watch out, the Los Bryants are coming back expecting more exciting adventures ahead!

thank god for mama

Seriously. Having an amazing mom is one of the best things in the world. Even 2+ years into marriage, Wes has learned that there are some situations in life where I just need to talk to my mommy. Today was one of them.

Unfortuanately, I had a horrible experience at the dermatologist. No major health issues, but simply unfriendliness and insensitivity to my awesome EB.

So what is a girl to do when she is sad and discouraged.....no the answer is not consume a pint of Ben & Jerry's, it's call her mama who lives 1200 miles away. Mamas just somehow magically know how to speak to their babies when something in life has knocked them down.

I hope that when I have kids I can do the exact same for my babies. Speak love, patience, and understanding into their lives when life gives them crap.

Rather than ending the day still discouraged, I was gracefully reminded of the bajillions of things I am SO beyond thankful for...my husband, my family, my health, my friends, my home, my sweet Benny pup, my students, etc., etc., etc. Seriously, I am so beyond blessed.

THANK GOD FOR MY MAMA!

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of my mom. You don't understand, she truly is the BEST!

we're guest bedroom official!

the last two weeks have been oh so busy, but oh so fun. basically, we finally caved in and bought and guest bed and next thing you know we have visitors from Oregon. We had back to back weeks of parental visits. I'm one of those nerdy people who could happily live next-door to my parents for the rest of my life. ironically, somehow I decided to be all "independent" and move 1200 miles away. Anyhow....we had a great two weeks playing tour guide.

here's what our two weeks...

1. we did plenty of hiking

boys making dirty jokes about rock formations...typical!

2. we did touristy things

castle dome mining town

territorial prison

3. bird watching with the bird whisp (aka my mom), of course!

4. principal wally even came by my classroom for a visit! the minute I told my student he was a principal, they were perfectly well behaved and dead silent

thank you mom, dad, wally, and melinda for a wonderful two weeks. WE LOVE YOU!!!!

outdoorsy oregonian

here is my somewhat cheesy "deep thought" of the day: I am SO beyond thankful that I was born and raised to be an active, outdoorsy Oregonian. Since I can remember, my family always hiked, biked, swam, camped, ran, walked, played soccer, basketball, softball, tennis, badminton, fished, etc. etc. etc. 

I feel so blessed that this active lifestyle was instilled in me (and thankfully Wes too) from such a young age, as I realize it has made us who we are today. 

This "deep thought" occurred to me today, as Wes and I were once again driving out into the absolute middle of nowhere to hike around and explore Tumco, a historical gold mining ghost town from the late 1800s. 

I simply love being outdoors and spending the day exploring something new with my handsome h-band. So......as cheesy as it may sound, thank you Mom, Dad, Wally, and Melinda for raising us right!

from the first time i caught a fish (1991)....

to the first time i climbed in a gold mine (2013)

Oh...and here a few more pictures of our Tumco adventures.....

Benny the Jet

first comes love. then comes marriage....then comes the baby in the baby carriage....ugh....I mean....DOG!

That's right! We are officially the happy owners of the the cutest little pup on earth. (Don't worry Kierra, Sugar is in a close 2nd). Ever since moving to Yuma, we've been keeping our eyes peeled on the far too many dogs who arrive at the Humane Society. We visited the Humane Society on various Saturdays (convinced that we'd come home with a dog), but something always would happen (the dog we thought was "oh so cute" in their picture would be too jumpy, too yappy, etc., etc.)

And then, on MLK Day, I just happened to scroll through the Humane Society's website and stumble upon this picture.....

c'mon. who can resist that little face!?!!?!? I e-mailed the Humane Society, put Benny on hold, and we rushed out the Humane Society immediately after work on Tuesday. 

He is just the sweetest little thing. He's the most easy-going dog, but so loving (at least so far). He is already becoming Wes little garage buddy and just loves to follow us around. 

Welcome to the family Benny!

lost in the desert

Yesterday, my adorable husband asked if I'd like to go for a hike. Sure...why not? I love to be outdoors and it sounded like a great way to spend the last day of my wonderfully long 3 week Christmas break. Without any questions asked (as to where we were going, how long it would be, etc), we simply headed out the door and drove off for our little adventure.

What I have learned in 2.5 years of marriage is that I really trust Wes...perhaps occasionally even a bit too much. 

Back to the hike....We headed out into the middle of absolutely nowhere and began hiking around the very large Muggins Mountain. The trail quickly and unexpectedly faded away. Not after long, we were miles away from the car, hiking through canyons and ravines on the complete backside of a ginormous mountain.Frankly, as much as men like Wes hate to admit it, we had no clue where we were or where to go. This was one of the instances when I realize how much I trust Wes. He ALWAYS knows what he's doing and where he's going, right? Wrong. Perhaps, he was a bit too confident in his internet-based info of the area, it was entertaining nonetheless to realize how many times I have simply trusted him and tagged along in his wild adventures. 

We made it out alive. Thankfully, some genius had made rock structures around the entire mountain, so we simply followed her rock formations and footsteps....of course, I'm assuming the genius was female :) We laughed A LOT and learned a few solid lessons along the way (for example, never simply trust the internet about a hike and head out the door). 

the beginning...when we thought there'd actually be a path. LIES!

sun ray ruining our self-time pic

thank god for these rock formations around the entire mountain. genius!

canyon/male model awesomeness

I wasn't joking when I said we were in the middle of stinkin' nowhere

I love you Wesley....even if you get me lost in the middle of the desert. At least we packed water.

love actually is all around

(forewarning: this post may be un poco cheesy, but it is oh so true)

I absolutely love going to weddings. I swear, weddings are the best thing for already married people to attend. They truly remind you as to why you married your spouse in the first place.

 Let me explain.....

Today, my dear friend Amy was getting married after 2+ years of waiting to bring her fiance here to the States from El Salvador and we were invited to join in the exciting event. Literally 15 minutes before we were supposed to arrive at the wedding I was "griping" (actually....more like throwing a giant 5-year old tantrum) about how fat and ugly I looked in my dress (ugh...lady drama). As I whined away, Wes was patiently trying to iron his clothes and continually compliment me and avoid getting sucked into my "negative Nancy" trap.  My not-so-niceness continued, as I yelled, "HURRY UP, WE'RE GONNA BE LATE AND I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!"

And then.....we went to the wedding. We saw two BEAUTIFUL people who are madly in love gaze into each others eyes, hug, kiss, and proclaim their love for one another in front of their dearest family and friends. It's truly a beautiful thing. And while I am sitting quietly in the third row watching all of this beauty occur in front of my eyes, I daydream about my perfect wedding day, where I did the exact same thing and looked at Wes the exact same way Amy looked at Raul. And suddenly those ugly moments (just like the one 15 minutes prior to the wedding) start to drift away, as I remember that I am lucky enough to have married my best friend who will stick by me through thick and thin. That life with him is better than anything else in the world.

So....to Amy and Raul, I say CONGRATULATIONS and thank you for reminding me of the joys of marriage.

And to Wes, I say...sorry buddy for my ridiculousness this morning. Thanks for sticking by me and making me laugh even when I have my not-so-pretty moments. I love you more and more every day because of it.

Finally, since I am in a major mushy mood and my husband is out for a much-deserved evening with his car buddies, I shall finish the evening with my favorite Christmasy movie of all time, Love Acually, because c'mon people, "If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around. "

october

holy moly. time is flying by. I cannot believe that October is almost over! We've had a wonderful month. Here are some of the things that have been keeping us busy.....

room 100

I am absolutely loving my second year of teaching kindergarten. I am teaching an ELL kindergarten class, which means nearly all of my students started the school year back in August speaking little to no English. Their progress is jaw-dropping and I simply feel blessed to be their teacher. And...they say some pretty funny things when attempting to speak English. 

painted walls

After nearly 7 months of home-ownership, we finally painted the walls....sandstone cove and garden meadows (aka, grayish, brownish, beigish, neutralish) This picture doesn't really show much, but oh well...perhaps you'll just come have to visit. 

Funny story of the day: Today we hiked Telegraph Pass. I was wearing a bright green Duck shirt (typical Saturday attire in October) and the bees were just loving serenading me with their presence. After a while, I was started to get a little tired of them and told Wes to "make them go away!". He followed my directions and decided to kill one with the water bottle. Thankfully, he killed the bee attacking my calf, but gave me a wonderful Charlie Horse. I limped down the rest of the trail, laughing and wondering what the people around us must have been thinking.

note to self: I just used the phrase "followed my directions" when telling a story about my husband. poor guy. I am such a kindergarten teacher. 

fall and football

I never really realized it until this year, but I absolutely love fall....and football. I guess you learn things about yourself when you move away from everything you know. 

Although, I will be loving Yuma in about a month or two...when all of you back home in Oregon are freezing your tushies off and I will be basking in the warm 70-80 degree weather, for the time being I miss the way Oregon so beautifully transitions into fall (my goodness, I am starting to sound like my mama). 

Not to mention, I especially miss watching Duck football games with our family and friends. A Yuma bar atmosphere just cannot offer the hilariousness of my dad and the females of the family having repeated battles over the amount of lights to turn on during the game. In a public place, I cannot do my best " Let's Go Ducks!" cheerleader voice impression. And high-fiving Wes over and over again gets a little old. Ok, I'm kidding about that last one. 

This year especially, the TV broadcasted games have especially been against us. The first game we watched on a the tiniest TV you ever did see at Buffalo Wild Wings (simply because none of our favorite local spots had the Pac-12 network). Last night's game we watched at a local bar. The first half (yes nearly all 2 hours worth) we had to watch standing in the entrance of the building as the entire place was packed for some stupid cage fight. The second half, we finally got a table, but had to crank our necks just to see the one TV that was playing the Duck game. 

Oh well, as my dad would say..."Quit your whining and GO DUCKS!"

Thankfully, we have been able to watch one game live-streaming on the internet thanks to our friend Jamie. Wes watched it on my interactive board at school, while I did school prep. What a perfect way to spend a Saturday.

To commiserate our recent and unfortunate football viewing experiences, I decorated for fall, just to make it feel a little bit more like we were back home, watching with our wonderful family and friends. Thankfully, I never get tired of watching the games on whatever form of media with handsomest Duck fan of them all :)

I'm famous!

Yesterday, I got the sweetest most unexpected text from my old boss (side note: my school closed down and I have moved to a school just down the street. Yes, I'm still teaching kindergarten and school started this Wednesday).

Anyways, the text read as followed: "Great picture in the paper. I miss seeing that beautiful smile of yours everyday" Awww, how sweet. Thanks Becky.

Wait, what? My picture in the paper!?!?! I drove down to the library to get ahold of a Yuma Sun and see what in the world she was talking about. Sure enough, smack dab on the front of the local paper, there I was, greeting one of my sweet new students. Ironically, I didn't even see the photographer at the school and would've never known about my newspaper debut, had it not been for the text. Now I know why the neighborhood paperboy, Robert, has been leaving that "Free 14 day Subscription" ad on my doorstep.

So, thanks to 13 years of orthodoncia and a hidden cameraman, I'm famous. Ha ha.

P.S. Even though my kiddos hardly speak of word of English (another side note: I'm teaching an ELL kindergarten class), I love them already!

date night

This last week was a bit of a rough one for Los Bryants. My car and the house A/C both managed to break down on the same day. As my dad would say...groovy. So, after spending some unexpected money to fix both the car and the house, two nights of sleeping in a 97 degree house, and learning to laugh at our circumstances, we thought it was time for a little date night. Nothing keeps a marriage hot and steamy than an occasional date night....oh wait, a lack of A/C in 110 degree weather keeps you plenty hot and steamy.

For our date, we dressed up in our nerdiest golf clothes, went golfing, and tried to pretend like we knew what we were doing. Wes is such a good sport putting up with my shenanigans. Golf was followed by a nice dinner (thank you Mom & Dad for the gift card!), and a midnight showing of Will Ferrell's latest comedy, La Casa de Mi Padre (by midnight showing, I mean a redbox rental viewed via laptop.) We are such old people, that we fell asleep trying watch the movie. Note to self: Don't rent a movie with subtitles after 10 pm.

check out those golf clothes!

another date night in paradise

life is rough

my handsome date

home sweet (overcast, rainy, green) home

When I left Oregon last July and moved myself, my husband, and all of his possessions to the sunniest place of earth (aka Yuma, Arizona), everyone kept telling me how much I was going to miss the green that Oregon has to offer. Perhaps because I was a bright-eyed first-year teacher desperate for a job or desperate for some much needed sunshine, I refused to believe that I would miss the green. I was determined to get out of the rain and cloudy skies, that I simply didn't think I would "miss" it.


But here it is people. For all of you who told me, "You'll miss the green", YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. Don't get me wrong. I have thoroughly enjoyed our adventure in Arizona. I've learned to appreciate the desert for its unique beauty, I love traveling to Mexico bi-weekly, and I love teaching kindergarten.


However, now that I've been visiting Oregon for the last few weeks, I must fess up.....I love the green.  I love the smell of crazy fresh Oregon air. I love hiking in the trees. Well, technically not in the trees, but I'm sure plenty of Oregonians do that too. I've been snapping pictures left and right of "green things". Oh great, have I become a tourist in my own hometown? Crap. 


Ironically, as I write this post, it's pouring down rain on this June "summer day", but for the sake of this mushy-gushy environmentally romantic post, let's just say...I LOVE YOU OREGON! 


Here are some of my touristy shots....

I made Wes park at the very top of a parking garage so I could take this shot.(Eugene, OR)

view of Portland from Pittock Mansion

(Portland, OR)

My sister is one lucky gal. 

This is the view of Mt. Hood from her bedroom window.

(Portland, OR)

hiking Spencer's Butte

(Eugene, OR)

hiking Spencer's Butte

(Eugene, OR)

DeBows in the Desert

This last week, my wonderful sister and momma came to visit Wes and me. It was a best treat after finishing my first official year of teaching. Even though Wes spent a week outnumbered and surrounded by girls, we had a wonderful week.

Here are some highlights.....

1. We birdwatched, and birdwatched, and birdwatched some more (My mom is the Bird Whisperer and Yuma was a perfect place for her to come visit)

2. We hiked the Grand Canyon

3. We enjoyed simply being outside and letting the Oregonians soak up some heat and defrost their frozen little bodies :)

4. We enjoyed many delicious meals (thanks for spoiling us Mom!)

5. We did plenty more, but frankly Wes old brick of a computer is starting to bug me, as it takes minutes to load each picture, and I need to go jump in the pool. I lead such a rough life, huh?

P.S. Please come visit us! We love having visitors! Thanks Mom and Kierra for a wonderful first week of summer.

bienvenidos a mexico...apparently not

So, Los Bryant's have done it again. We've officially been kicked out of Mexico twice. See the first time here. Only this time included a high speed car chase. We decided to bring the dirt bike again today, but we thought we had dotted our i's and crossed our t's by bringing the bike's registration. Apparently not.


Ironically, we were given the green light when we passed through Mexico's border patrol and cruised right on into San Luis. Just as we got ready to crank up our favorite local Mexico mariachi radio station, we start to hear sirens. Sirens? Behind us? I looked at Wes and said "Are you being pulled over?". Apparently so.


A "lady on a power trip" (according to Wes) from the Mexican border patrol chased us down Calle 2 (aka Street 2) and told us we needed to go back to customs. I didn't know you could be given the green light, only to be chased down and told you need to go back. So, we diligently followed the border patrol agent, as she caused a dozen traffic jams just to make sure we followed right behind her. We showed her the registration and thought we'd be good to go in no time. Apparently not. Today, they decided that we couldn't have the gas can, that was accompanying the dirt bike. We are learning that Mexico's border laws tend to change daily hourly. We laughed and decided just to go home for the day.


So, instead of a relaxing day in Mexico, filling my tummy with homemade tortillas and deliciousness, I am sitting at school filling out report cards. Back to the life of a nerdy teacher.


At least I can cross off "Being chased down and kicked out of a country" off of my bucket list. Yes!

random road trips

Yesterday while hiking Telegraph Pass, midway up the trickiest part of the hike, I blurted out, "Let's go on a road trip today". An interesting fact about Wes and I is that we have an uncanny ability to hop in the car and go on, shall we say, "random road trips". The kind of trips where you don't necessarily have a planned destination, you lack any form of an itinerary, and you simply go where the wind blows you (or rather, where the car drives you).


So, after a great morning of calf-killing hiking (leg calves, not to be confused with baby cows), we literally jumped in the car and drove north on highway 95. Thankfully, we ended up in Lake Havasu City, a great little touristy town, located perfectly on Lake Havasu. We enjoyed a day of exploring, swimming in the lake, and laying out in the good ol' sunshine. I am so thankful I have a husband who is just as spontaneous as I am.

the real london bridge

lake havasu

swimming

view from the towel. life is rough.

just another az sunset

FUNNIEST STORY OF THE DAY: for all of you who made it to the bottom, this is by far the best part. on our way home, we stopped at a mexican restaurant in a little podunk town. as you can tell from the video below, here are some of the locals at their best. awesome