Dodge Journey of a Lifetime Contest

We entered the Dodge Journey of a Lifetime Contest. We can win a new Dodge Journey minivan and an all expenses paid wedding and ceremony - including a Journey cover band.

Contestants have to submit a 500 word essay that answers the question 'Why should Dodge select you to start your Journey of a Lifetime together at the Chicago Auto Show on Feb. 14, 2008?'

Here's the essay we submitted:

My fiancee, Kaycee, was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease, in 2005. I met her in April 2007, after her cancer was already in remission, and she been through a harrowing treatment process. When we first met, she would tell me stories about what the chemo did to her body, how she was forced to continue at her job as a schoolteacher to keep up with her medical bills, and how the small town she was from in Michigan held a benefit to assist her with her bills, which kept her from going bankrupt. When we met, her hair was still relatively short as she was still growing it out. She still has to go in every few months for regular checkups, sometimes she cries because she is so scared of getting sick again.

I think having cancer made her realize how fleeting life is, which partly explains why we were engaged after knowing each other only 9 months. As for me, I do not at all mind being engaged so soon to the beautiful, brilliant, funny girl that came into my life out of nowhere and made everything better. We moved in together several months ago, and I don't think I've ever been happier. I try to take care of the chores around the house and make things easier for her, as she juggles the demands of working a full time job and two Masters degree programs.

Our family had a big scare when my dad went into the hospital in November due to health complications related to his heart disease. The doctors ran tests on him over several weeks and concluded that he needed a heart transplant. I remember sitting at my dad's bedside and telling him and my mom how I just asked Kaycee to marry me. I was unsure at the time if I should tell my parents about our engagement, as my dad was really weak, but I think in the end it was the right thing to do. His defibrillator had just gone off overnight and everyone was really worried about him. My dad had his heart transplant on Christmas Eve, he's fully recovered and doing great now, he's even talking about playing golf again in the spring. The doctors really saved his life. We spent Christmas break at the hospital, keeping my dad company as he recovered. I think one of his sons getting married gave my dad something to look forward to and strength during his operation.

It's unbelievable, but there's a third part to our story! The week after my dad came home from the hospital, Kaycee and I found out that we were pregnant! This was only last week, we're still sort of processing this new development. I feel a mixture of shock, profound happiness, and the usual worries about being a new father. There are so many wonderful things to look forward to in the future, we can't wait to see what comes next.

Bling bling

We figured you'd want to see a picture of the engagement ring. No wedding is complete without some sort of bling, and here's ours. This ring is very special to us, my only complaint is that it hurts Kaycee sometimes if I squeeze too hard on the last two fingers when I'm holding her hand because the ring is a little too large.

Our save the date card

Get to know Red

Tonight, I'm asking the questions. In the background, CNN is on and Hilary is speaking from her headquarters in Iowa. OBAMA ROCKS! Enough of that- here's a little information on the groom.

Q. Tell me a little about your parents?
A. My parents are doctors- they practiced here in Chicago for over thirty years... they retired this fall when my dad had a heart attack, he had a transplant recently- they're wonderful parents and terrific people.

Q. Tell me a little about your younger brother, Lloyd.
A. My brother Lloyd and I grew up together. He and J are my best men... Lloyd is married to a terrific girl, Michelle. I'm probably closer to my brothers than anyone else in the world (except you, of course, babe.)

Q. What were you like as a child?
A. When I was a kid, I was involved in the swim team, took Karate lessons, was in ice skating, and took piano lessons. I was in gifted classes, but got in trouble often and didn't do my homework. I was kind of a brat.

Q. Of what are you most proud?
A. The best thing I've done academically was getting my master's degree from Northwestern. The best thing I've done personally was starting to date you.

Q. What's your favorite movie?
A. The Lord of the Rings

Q. Where do you see us 10 years from now?
A. We'll have one of those nice houses we talk about, in Bucktown, you'll be done with school, either teaching or writing books, I'll have my MBA and will either have my on company or be working a good company. We'll build a cabin in the U.P, have traveled to at least 10 new places in the world. Also we'll have a dog. I will have kept learning continuously and hopefully will have done some good things professionally, read a lot of books. We'll have run a couple triathlons together, and I'll be at least on the way to writing a book myself. We'll have a couple of kids in school, and they'll be happy, loving, really smart- advanced in school. They'll be good kids who like to play sports and play with their friends. They'll spend a lot of time with their grandparents. Oh- and I'll be really good at guitar. You and I will finish recording our album, somewhere down the line. I want to be pretty good at golf in ten years too. I'll keep practicing. We probably won't sell the place we live in now, we'll probably rent it out. I also want to volunteer to help some young kids- like big brothers/big sisters or something. That's something I want to do at some point. I also want us to have a lot of friends that we hang out with weekly- having dinner, going to movies, playing boardgames, the kids can play together and stuff. I want to read a book a week, so that would be a lot of books in ten years. If we have a son, I want him to be on the swim team and to be an A student. If we have a girl, I want her to be captain of the debate team or something. Maybe a cheerleader. It would be really cool if we became really knowledgeable about real estate and investing, too.

Q. Tell me the qualities you have that will make you a good husband.
A. I have family values, Christian values. I'm forgiving, humble, sensitive to the needs of others. I believe in providing for others, taking care of my family. I'm good at communicating, well-mannered, not jealous or possessive. I'm responsible. I believe in equality between two partners- I'm frugal, good with money. I'm ambitious in my career. I'm attractive. I have good hygeine. I'm faithful. I'm not addicted to any substances. I encourage my partner to achieve everything she wants to in life, and will do anything I can to support her. I'm gentle, kind- not prejudiced against others' race or religion. I do half the household chores. I'm not egotistical or pretentious.

Q. What qualities does KayCee have that will make her a good wife? (Limit 5)
A. You're kind, rational, even-tempered, intelligent, and cheerful.

Q. What part of the next 6 months will be the most difficult?
A. Juggling the desire to do well in my career with all the time commitments for the wedding.

Interview with the bride-to-be

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.

Slideshow

Happy New Year!

We have 172 days to go before our wedding. Red and I started dating last March, and 2007 was a great year for both of us- we announced our engagement on December 12, and are getting married on June 21st in Iron Mountain. I'll start by posting a few pics from the past few months and giving a little background... These were taken during our trip to D.C. for the 4th of July, a baseball game in Milwaukee, our trip to visit my family, and around Chicago. That's all for now... Enjoy!

Guestbook

We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below to sign our guestbook- we encourage you to also leave requests for songs so we can build our playlist and fill up the dance floor!

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Thanks,
Love you all,
Kaycee and Red.