Meet Kaycee, our 28 year old bride-to-be. The first in possibly a series of interviews with our two lovebirds begins favorably, with Kaycee reclining elegantly on the living room couch on a cold night in January, while listening to Tesla.Q: Where did you grow up?
A: Honey you know these, you type these. You know where I grew up right? I grew up in Hardwood, you know that? 35 miles from a McDonalds in any direction.
Q: Would you say you grew up on the streets?
A: No.
Q: Would you describe your upbringing as happy?
A: Very happy.
Q: What is your favorite mythical animal?
A: Hm, the phoenix. because it can be reborn, it rises from the ashes, and it's pretty.
Q: What were some of the lessons that you learned growing up in the UP?
A: I learned that salt can take leeches off if you go swimming, I learned how to drive a car in the snow, how to pull off a wood tick...
Q: Name 3 of your pet peeves?
A: Talking with the mouth full, people who are rude to other people, and um, people talking too loud in public, like they want you to overhear them - you know what I mean?
Q: Yes. What do you think your life will be like a year from now?
A: Um a lot like it is now only I'll have adjusted to the routine for my new Master's degree.
Q: What is one thing you'd like to do before you die?
A: Use my passport, I'd like to have a family before I die. Publish a book.
Q: Ok that's enough. How many kids would you like to have?
A: 2.
Q: What is your favorite movie?
A: Bowfinger, no Elf.
Q: What is your favorite song?
A: Um, that changes all the time. I'll stand by you by the Pretenders is one of my all time favorites.
Q: What is the last book you read?
A: It's been a while. The last book I finished was Sideways Stories from Wayside School, that I read out loud to my class.
Q: What is your favorite restaurant?
A: My favorite restaurant is the El Capitan in Spread Eagle, Wisconsin. My cousins own it and it has the best Italian food ever.
Q: Describe yourself in 3 words.
A: Smart, Low maintenance, Ambitious.
Q: Who are the most influential people in your life?
A: My mom, obviously, who I still talk to every day. Dr. Reissner, my advisor from college, she and I are friends still too. And my little brother.
Q: What is your hometown like?
A: Everyone knows everyone, everyone's from one of 3 families - the Mattsons, the Dixons, or I guess in my case the Beauchamps - there's a few others too. There's no stoplights, no sidewalks, and it's hard to find a store open on Sunday. But people help each other out whenever there's any problem, and it's a wonderful place to grow up. Do you want to put in there that 2 years ago when I was living in Chicago I was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease, and I still regularly receive cards and calls and gifts from people in my hometown, and that they all came together to support me and that I'll never forget how awesome the people are where I came from.
Q: Ok, real talk. What were you like as a child?
A: Precocious. I was um, very outgoing, loved entertaining, total bookworm, I participated in sports but I was not a gifted athlete, and I was always very close to my family.
Q: What is one thing about you that people you meet may not immediately realize?
A: I dunno, I think I'm pretty much an open book. Do you think there's something about me that people don't realize?
Q: How brilliant you are. What was the one defining moment in your life?
A: Well my treatment for I guess my, um, my diagnosis. Because that's when I found out I was going to go through an ordeal I hadn't planned on, and I had to take on something tougher than I ever anticipated having to deal with, and that it made me learn a lot about myself and appreciate things I hadn't before.
Q: What things do you like best about Redmond?
A: He is a thinker, he's always thinking about something new which keeps me stimulated, he's ambitious, and isn't afraid to think big. He's incredibly intelligent. He shares my values, like health conscious, financially responsible, values education, he's easy to be with. He's cute, he's a very considerate partner and I think we make a great team.
Q: The Iowa caucuses are tomorrow - who do you hope will win?
A: Barack Obama, it creeps me out that if Hillary wins that it'll be over 25 years of Bushes and Clintons in the White House, but I don't think it'll be the end of the world if she wins.
Q: Apparently a fifth of America can't locate the US on a world map - why do you think that is?
A: Because geography isn't a core subject, and all of our energy as teachers is focused in improving test scores in reading and math, and social studies and science have really suffered.
Q: Ok, we'll stop here.
