Status update atop South Sister

*UPDATE*

Well surprise, surprise. Instead of updating this post one DAY later, I am finally getting around to updating it one WEEK later.

I'm sitting here on the couch, and I still don't think it's set in yet. We. Are. Getting. Married. How crazy!

Here's a little recap of how it went down:

My family headed to Sunriver for our annual birthday cooking challenge (as discussed in the previous post). Some left last Monday, others Tuesday, and the rest of us rolled into town Wednesday. Taylor traveled over the mountain ahead of me to get in a few extra mountain bike rides and days o' fishing before I joined my family.

We previously planned to climb South Sister Mountain, and we thought we'd do it Thursday. But, when Wednesday rolled around, and I finally got to town late, Taylor suggested we push out the climb to Friday. Quite a few things should have tipped me off before this climb. For example, my mom was acting a pinch weird. I mean, she didn't even have any decorations for her night of the challenge. This is the lady who bought out all discontinued Chinese New Year decorations from the party shop for her Asian-themed dinner last time.

Some things just seemed off. Well, it turns out she requested to have the dinner Thursday night because she knew Taylor planned to ask me that day...the scheduled day of the hike. Her decorations were all wedding-related...white tablecloth, wedding bells, mini champagne bottles, etc. These decos did make an appearance the next day at the brunch table.

All right. Back to the hike. We woke up at 5 and were at the base of South Sis by 7. Taylor had hiked this hike before, so I didn't think twice about my level of preparation. I knew I was in shape, and he told me I'd be fine with trail running shoes and a windbreaker. When we hit snow after less than a mile, I started to feel a pinch concerned. When we reached another group of climbers with crampons, ice axes, and helmets, I started to feel a LOT concerned. Yet, we kept passing anyone we caught sight of, and we kept inching our way to the top.

Just when I thought we were nearing the summit, I realized it was a false summit. "Morale was low," Taylor now says about the fake-out. He kept pushing me to make it to that spot. When I realized I had plenty more to go, there was no way I was going to give up. So, we kept on trudging to the top. It started getting colder and colder, and I kept slipping when I tried scrambling. My hands were fuh-ree-zing! My feet were killing me. I was pretty much done.

We hiked across the summit to the view of Middle and North Sister, which made me kind of sentimental. As a girl with two sisters, we are three sisters, and Bend is just such a special place for my family. The view was incredible as we were higher than Mt. Bachelor. There was another duo on the mountain, and we had one of the guys snap a pic of us before we scurried across the snowfield to a windbreak. We planned to eat some lunch, and Taylor sat down first. He stretched out his arms, and I kind of fell into him. He was proud of me for making it to the top. I was just relieved it was all down hill from there.

Just moments after I sat down he said, "I love you." I echoed his sentiment, but he wasn't listening. He kind of talked over me and said, "Will you marry me?" I can't quite remember everything that happened in that fifteen seconds, but I know I said, "Are you serious?" followed by, "Yes! Of course!" Then, he handed me a box along with a lengthy disclaimer. He knew my fingers would be super swollen from the hike, and he didn't want to ask me or one of my friends my ring size, so he just got the ring. It barely fit my pinkie, but that didn't matter. We were engaged. We were ecstatic! Some might say we felt like we were on the top of a mountain--oh wait--we were!

I dropped my camera on the way up, so it was acting kind of finicky. I pulled out my phone not thinking I had reception, but I did, so I told Taylor I just HAD to call my family since I knew they were all together. I figured my mom and dad kept the secret, so I was dying to tell my siblings. Sure enough, they were all together eating brunch. I hope I never forget the convo I had with my brother:

Me: Hi, Joe. It's Kate. We're on the top of the mountain.
Joe: Nice!
Me: Aaand...guess what?
Joe: Yooou have cell service! Nice!
Me: Yeah. We have cell service. Um. And. We're ENGAGED!
Joe: Nooo waaay! Congraaatulations!!!

Joe then called everyone in from the back deck, and they passed the phone around. Stefanie and Jordan were at the gym, though, so they didn't get to hear the news. We got to surprise them later, in the garage after a bike ride, which proved to be a funny moment, too. It's awesome getting to tell people big news first-person. Elizabeth said, "I bet you wish you had a helicopter to come pick you up now," and she was right. We couldn't get off that mountain any faster. We tried, but we failed and fell in the snow. Both of us came back a little cut up and bruised, but we didn't care.

I loved being able to call Taylor's mom as soon as we got to the car. Of course, she knew the news, but I guess one could say she was waiting to hear I'd said yes. :) I called a few friends, like Emily, who was on the bus riding home from work. She cried, which made me cry, and she was squealing so loud everyone on the bus congratulated me, too. What a fun feeling.

We proceeded to have a huge celebratory dinner, and it couldn't have been more special. Taylor waited for this special week when my entire family was together to pop the question. He asked my dad's permission about a week earlier, and I cannot believe my mom made it a whole week with the weight of that secret on her shoulders.

We are happily engaged, and we don't have many plans in place. OK. That is a lie. We have no plans in place, but we're hoping to have a better idea before the end of the month.

Thanks to everyone for all of the well-wishes. It's been so fun already. We are so lucky!

---

On Day 2 of the BBWCC, Taylor and I woke up at the crack of dawn to climb South Sister Mountain.

Little did I know it would be the most difficult "hike" I'd ever encountered. And, little did I know, we'd be coming back down the mountain as a newly engaged couple!!!!!

EEEEEK!!!!! We're engaged!

I can't write this post at 10:10 p.m. and give it the gusto it deserves, but I know he (along with my fam and the few friends who read this blog) wants to see the pics, so I am going to plop them on here and do a total recap tomorrow. I promise. Total recap. Most epic day ever!

I don't want to go to sleep and have this vacation come to an end...

So naive about what was to come...

Cute shorts, T! Go Cougs! 

Seeing snow early on was not such a great sign, but Taylor gave two thumbs up regardless. 

Happily posing.

Getting a little dicey. 

Closer...

The highest lake in the state and the real summit in the background...

Mt. Bachelor in the background. We were up way higher than that. Crazy. 

Just a little windy. A lot windy. Crazy windy.

On South Sister looking at Middle Sister and North Sister. 

My fingers were ultra swollen on the top of a ridiculously huge mountain. Taylor was so relieved. I said yes (I mean, of COURSE I did!!!). We really wished we had a helicopter at this point because we wanted to tell everyone we were engaged!

Scooting down the snow in a hurry!

BBWCC '12: Midwest takes the cake (pop!)

There's been a lot of hype for this year's Benz Birthday Weekend Cooking Challenge.

Team DeVries and Team Benz-Bethell had the honor of serving as judges this year. It was unbelievable. Un-be-leeev-a-bull!

I can't do this blog post justice. Let's cut to some bullet points:

• The theme was Americana, in honor of the Olympics. Each team chose (or should I say Hazel chose, as she picked the slips of paper out of a hat!) a region: Team Benz (my mom and dad) had Northeastern; Team Heit had Southwestern; Team Benzo (Joe and Sara) had Midwestern. 
• Not going to lie: No one really gave the Midwesterners the credit they deserved, and as such, they were the true underdog in this competition. 
• The secret ingredient was beer, and each team showcased America's favorite beverage in a (or several) unique way(s).
• The budget stopped at $100, making lobster a bit out of the question when considering the family headcount is up to 14 now.
• Campbell proved to be a tremendous waiter/bartender, ensuring no one's drink went empty. 
• Taylor was so spoiled coming into this competition as a judge. I've slaved away in the kitchen every year and never came away a winner. Our seats at the judges' table were pretty much by default. Oh well. We didn't have to cook OR do dishes all weekend long. 
• My mom decided not to take the easy road by making clam chowder because she said she could do that in her sleep. 
• Team Heit went a bit over on the beverage budget, but with very good celebratory reasons (details to follow in the next blog post).
• I need to close down the computer and will write more about this tomorrow. This is just a start. JUST a start.

The welcome banner.

My parents had these slick polos made up with the golden spoon embroidered. Fancy.

Cousins having a staring competition. 

Taylor and I took a trail run down to Benham Falls. I didn't bring my camera along, but I got this short of him on his last interval. I was in the car. Wimping out.

Then we took a little float trip down the Deschutes. As judges, we had plenty of spare time.

Leeeo and Uncle T.

Leo and chalk.

Little game o' baseball out front.

Night 1: Traditional Northeast Cuisine

Night 1: Nana and Big Poppi tore it up with the Northeastern cuisine. Beer-battered shrimp started things off right.

The Lady really did her research, checking out Northeastern cookbooks from the library. The appetizers hit the spot.

Kielbasa and cornbread, homemade hummus, and the shrimp. Each piece had a story as to why it was incorporated into the menu.

"Sara, do you need a refill?" --Campbell 

Hazel in her uniform just waving away.

Rum-roasted chicken, boiled potato, and some kind of traditional beer bread. Nana and Poppi also served a delicious Boston cream pie and a traditional Indian pudding for dessert. Where are those pics?

Night 2: Fiesta de la Team Heit 

Elizabeth jumped in the kitchen as soon as the breakfast dishes were cleared, it seemed.

A salsa sampler and this delicious Texas caviar donned the appetizer table. 

Great decos.

Team Heit kicked it up a notch for sure. Muy caliente.

The dudes.

Margaritas on the deck with sister Stef. 

My mom and dad were the original reason behind the competition. 

Time for a family photo shoot! 

Bird and Hazey D. 

It's hard to get all the kids and babies to look at the same camera at the same time. 

Nana B., Big Poppi, and their grandkiddos.

Back to the dinner at-hand: Beer-braised pork shoulder tacos (corn and flour tortillas), with cabbage slaw, rice, beans, and grilled corn with queso fresco. Oh man. SO good.

Team Heit sharing their explanation of their meal.

Campbell chasing deer. 

Churro cupcakes. OH. MAN! These were so good my mom got the recipe and made it into a cake the next day for my dad's bday.

Pinata time. Hazel's turn.

Then, Leo got a turn. And Campbell. Finally, J ripped the leg off the dude, and we all rushed for the treats. Great night of food and fun.

 Night 3: A Midwestern's Night Dream

Sara and Joe chose a theme within the theme: Wizard of Oz. This is the "somewhere over the rainbow" and "follow the yellow brick road" beer cheese fondue extravaganza.

Extra points for the cute mini-crock pot at the judge's table. 

More backyard deer.

In-between the bevvies, you'll find quite the condiment spread.

Perfect for a true Chicago-style hot dog.

This girl cleaned as she cooked, too, so there was no real mess in the kitchen. Amazing. 

Homemade fries, the hot dog, and a true Midwestern HOT DISH. Each of these had a cute Oz-related name, but my notes are packed. I will add that later. It really helped pull together their meal.

Haze was ready for dessert...and the awards show. 

Ruby red slipper cake pops...and, I must share these were some special Midwestern type of cake with red, glittery topping. More on that tomorrow, too. 

Taking a break from the competition to celebrate Big Poppi with a little cake. 

"Older than dirt, plus one."

Posing in her American pride outfit.

What about that coveted Golden Spoon trophy?!?!

My mom accepting her participation award, the golden TWINKIE. 

Without further ado...the winners of the 2012 edition of the BBWCC, Joe and Sara Benz! 

I promise to disclose more details, but I wanted to get this post up!