The McKenzies

Dallas Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:21:00 +0000

Mandie and Cara outside of the Blue Goose Cantina in Dallas

We went to Dallas last weekend for a super-fast whirlwind trip for the wedding of two of my best friends from Baylor, Ryan and Tara. We flew out of Atlanta (which is a four-ish hour drive from our house in Statesboro) late on Friday evening, and were graciously hosted by my sister Amber, whom we were very glad to get to see. On Saturday, we got up and had breakfast tacos at a fabulous local joint with Amber, and then were super excited to get to have an impromptu lunch with Cara, another Baylor friend, and her husband Robbie, who we haven't seen since their wedding (which I was in, see post here) at the Blue Goose Cantina (seriously good Mexican food--if you live in Dallas and haven't been there, we highly recommend it!). I miss her so much, so I was so very happy to get to see her and catch up!! Then, we were off to the nuptials of Ryan and Tara. The ceremony was beautiful and we were so blessed to be able to be there for their special day! Ryan was actually a groomsman in our wedding and Tara was one of the very first people that I ever met at Baylor--both of them were in the Golden Wave Band with Colin and I, so it was fun to be able to see their romance blossom into a marriage. Plus, many of the wedding guests were people that we knew from our time at Baylor, so it was like a big reunion and a fun time to catch up with old friends who we don't get to see very often now that we live out of state. We had a blast, but then had to get on a super early flight out of Dallas on Sunday morning so that we could drive back to Statesboro from Atlanta for Colin to get ready for work on Monday. So, sorry any Dallas friends that we didn't get to see this time around--we will hopefully be back to Texas soon and be able to see you then! :)

For an album of pictures that we took at the wedding, click here.

For a bonus album of pictures that I FINALLY got off of my camera from our trip to Texas over Christmas from the Alamo Bowl and from New Years, click here. (I know--I have been a slacker blogger)

Mandie and Colin at the wedding reception

Mandie with Ryan, the handsome groom!!

Football Season Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:17:00 +0000

Football season has been super crazy! We have not had a weekend off since it started as the Southern Pride Marching Band has taken at least a pep band to every away game, and I have traveled with Colin to all but one of the away trips. The band kids have been really great to both of us, and even surprised us by bringing a pep band to our house one night to play the fight song in our front yard! It is has been a super fun but busy time, and was made extra exciting this weekend when the GSU Eagles traveled to South Carolina to defeat Wofford in their conference closer for the season to become the Southern Conference Champions! We will be traveling to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, this weekend with the full marching band as GSU takes on Alabama (YIKES!!!!) in our closing game for the regular season, and will have a weekend off (FINALLY) for Thanksgiving where we will be traveling to North Carolina to spend the holiday with the McKenzie family. After that, we will have FCS playoff games that will hopefully be at home. So, that is why we have been the worst blog updaters ever this fall, and I will leave you with some of our favorite pictures from the football games so far.

To see a complete album of pictures from the fall, click here.

Beautiful mountain scenery at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina

Colin and Mandie at the Appalachian State v. GSU game (it was snowing!) in Boone, North Carolina

Mandie with Freedom, the GSU mascot

Mandie and Colin at the GSU v. the Citadel game

Southern Pride Marching Band "Script Eagles" Show

Pep Band that surprised us by coming to play the GSU fight song at our house

Dr. Colin McKenzie and the Southern Pride Marching Band featured on Georgia Public Television (Colin's name on T.V.!!)

New House Pictures!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:51:00 +0000

I FINALLY took some pictures of our new house--these are not all of them as we are still working on put the finishing touches on some of the rooms. Enjoy!

Click here the view photos.

Moving Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:59:00 +0000

We are now settled into our new home in Statesboro, Georgia. We left over Memorial Day weekend and took two days to drive from Michigan to Georgia. The move was very long and stressful--our GPS led us down an off-the-beaten path route (meaning no interstate travel) through the mountains in Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, which would have been beautiful if it hadn't added five extra hours to our trip and if Colin wasn't trying to drive a twenty-six foot Penske truck with a car trailer attached to it on windy mountain roads. We had a hotel reservation in Charlotte, North Carolina, where we were going to stay the night. We originally thought we would be there by 10 PM, but did not arrive until 3 AM, where Colin promptly fell down a hill and bruised a rib and scraped up his \face. After a terrible day of driving, we went to sleep and finally got to Statesboro the next day where we unloaded the truck at our beautiful new house! Special thanks to my sister Amber for helping me drive the Honda and for enduring the move from hell with us. I would have fallen asleep at the wheel multiple times were it not for her accompanying us. Colin and I have since decided that the next time we decide to move, we are hiring movers! :)

Once we had unloaded the truck, we got into the car, dropped the puppies off at the kennel, and made our way to Columbus, Georgia, for Colin's youngest brother Andy's wedding. We were so blessed to be able to see most of the Garcia and McKenzie relatives including both sets of grandparents and some cousins from North Carolina. We were also super excited to get to hang out with Ian, Colin's middle brother, and his wife Meredith. We always have a great time with them and do not get to see them often as Ian is in the Army. It was a great time to see family and congratulations to Andy and Renee, the newest addition to the McKenzie family! We then returned home to start the task of unpacking and setting up the house. We were happy to have Colin's mom come to visit us this week and had fun showing her our new hometown. Now we just need to finish unpacking everything!

Andy and Renee, the Bride and Groom

Mom McKenzie, Ian, Meredith and Mandie at Andy and Renee's Wedding Reception

Colin and Mandie at Andy and Renee's Wedding Reception

Mandie and Mom McKenzie at Andy and Renee's Wedding Reception

I am going to Texas to visit family and friends next weekend and will be there for a week and a half or so, so Colin will be enjoying the bachelor life while I am away. He has plenty to keep him busy as he prepares for marching season with his new band! Colin officially starts his new job on July 1, and then we will be back in the swing of football season before we know it! I will post pictures of the new house as soon as we finish putting everything away (probably early next week).

Moving Day is Drawing Near...

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:25:00 +0000

All of the moving boxes stacked in our guest bedrooms

We are in the final stretches of our moving preparations! Colin and I have been packing diligently and trying to get rid of most of our pre-marriage stuff that still lurks in our house and have been squeezing in meals with all of our friends here in Michigan. We also went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie in IMAX 3D--it is super fun and you should all go see it this summer! We pack up the truck on Saturday, and then my sister Amber comes in from Dallas to help us with the drive down to Georgia on Sunday. And then we leave for our new home in Georgia on Monday (yes, we know it is Memorial Day and that we will be driving along with everybody else!). :) We are super excited to be in our new home and starting the newest chapter of our lives in the South!

And...I leave you with this super fun giveaway from Sara at the Crazy Cozads blog. She is offering a beautiful notecard set from Cambria Cove, so go check it out!

Dr. McKenzie and New House!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Fri, 13 May 2011 22:29:00 +0000

So many exciting things have been happening in our lives lately! On May 2, Colin successfully defended his dissertation and is now Dr. McKenzie (he will not walk until December but is Dr. on paper). We immediately left for Statesboro, Georgia, to look for a place to live and so that Colin could meet with some students and faculty before GSU's semester was over. We found a wonderful house and are so excited to move there! It is the nicest place we will have ever lived since we have been married, and, for the first time, we will have a walk-in closet! For more pictures of the new house, click here. We also were able to spend a day in Savannah, which is a super fun city, and even got to walk on the beach at Tybee Island. We are so excited to be moving to such a vibrant area and cannot wait to move. Now, we just have to finish packing (yuck!) and then will be ready to move over Memorial Day weekend!

New house in Statesboro!

Charlotte featured online through Bark Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:19:00 +0000

Charlotte has been chosen as one of the Bark Magazine's smiling dogs! Check out her photo at http://www.thebark.com/content/weekly-smilers-4-25-11. (She is listed under week 4-25-11). The dogs are listed alphabetically so her photo is at the beginning of the array! YAY for our beautiful, gorgeous girl!

Moving Countdown!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Things are coming to an end quickly here in Michigan! I have only three weeks of work left, so have been busy trying to wrap things up there. I will be sad to leave a job that I love and all of the wonderful co-workers I have, but am looking forward to our next adventure!

Colin has submitted his transcription of John Corliagno's Tournaments for band as well his document to his committee. His dissertation defense is scheduled for May 2. Hopefully, if all goes well, he will have finished all of his requirements and we will just need to register for his remaining dissertation hours this summer (why we are still required to buy those after he has defended, I don't know--graduate school can be a racket!) and then he will be Dr. McKenzie in August! Please keep him in your thoughts as he tries to finish up his last class and prepares for his dissertation defense.

We go May 4 to Statesboro to look for a place to live, so wish us luck! We are hoping to move over Memorial Day weekend.

Mandie

Puppy Dog Easter Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:34:00 +0000

Last weekend, we took our puppies to Petco because the Lansing Jaycees were having a fundraiser for the Capital Area Humane Society and the Animal Placement Bureau by taking pictures of dogs with the Easter Bunny (CAHS is the animal rescue where Colin and I volunteer, and one of my co-workers helps run the Animal Placement Bureau, so we like to support them!). We have never taken our dogs to have pictures taken like this before, so it was a little bit of an adventure. Charlotte is apparently scared of people in costume and originally started growling at the Easter Bunny, but we finally got her settled down with lots of treats! Beauregard just wanted to escape and run around the store (true to form) and Savannah, as usual, was our best dog, sitting still for the camera. Overall it was a fun experience and gave us some cute pictures while we supported a good cause!

You can view all of the Easter pictures as well as other puppy pics by clicking here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2332887&id=9203837&l=f6f5504c5d

Beauregard

Charlotte

Savannah

Please vote for Beauregard!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:53:00 +0000

Beauregard, our beagle, has been entered in Bissel's MVP pet photo contest! If he wins, we could win a number of prizes, including money for our favorite pet charity! Please vote for him everyday this week! Thanks

Click on the following link to vote for Beauregard:
Beauregard

Click here to learn more about the Bissel MVP pet photo contest:
http://bissell.promo.eprize.com/mvpcontest/?cid=p1core-tbx07.f.1800/b08a5/557/eaed585e.5af59c261f5849c6da6a8b5c54f4dc93

Giveaway on Unruly Things

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:40:00 +0000

One of my very favorite blogs to read, Unruly Things, is hosting a giveaway of a year-long subscription to super cute Parchment Post greeting cards! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on the Unruly Things post saying what you would do with the cards by Friday! Just thought I would share--enjoy!

Exciting News!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:07:00 +0000

We have some very exciting news! Colin has accepted the Associate Director of Bands position at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA (which is just outside of Savannah). He will be the marching band director there as well as coordinate the basketball band, teach classes, and have a performing ensemble in the Spring. His start date at GSU is July 1, so we will be moving to Georgia sometime mid-June. We are super excited to know where we will be moving and are so happy that it is in such a beautiful area of the South!

Dreaming of Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:08:00 +0000

The past few days have been a giant tease of what the warmer weather of Spring will bring. We had temperatures in the fifties and all of the snow finally melted, leaving us with green grass and a big yard for the dogs to play in without snow on the ground. I could even see the baby shoots coming in our front yard flower bed where daffodils will be when winter finally disappears. And then, yesterday at three o'clock, a blizzard hit Lansing. In about four hours, all of the snow that had melted was back covering everything in a foot-thick blanket. Colin made his flight from Atlanta to Detroit, but his flight from Detroit to Lansing was cancelled because of the weather, so he had to take a bus from Detroit to East Lansing, where I went to pick him up. The roads were horribly icy and I had a really bad spin-out where I narrowly missed hitting two other cars by inches by the grace of God. After sitting in the parking lot of the Haslett Animal Clinic and having a panic attack about my narrow escape from a car wreck, I trucked on to East Lansing from our home to pick up Colin...

Whose bus took forever to get here. After my harrowing driving experience to East Lansing, I spent a long time in Barnes and Noble browsing for books and then spent even more time talking to my mom on the phone in the parking garage while watching the gale winds blow and the blizzard snow fall. Finally, Colin arrived and I made him drive home! :) Today, the city has yet to plow our neighborhood--Colin got stuck four times trying to get onto a main road and some neighbors kindly helped to dig his car out. I could not get out of the neighborhood to go to work tonight. When will winter ever end here? Can we please move somewhere warmer soon? I am dreaming of weather in the seventies and the beauty of Spring!

Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 03:59:00 +0000

Valentine's Day has always been difficult for us to celebrate because it usually falls in the middle of the week instead of on the convenient weekend. This year was no exception, so we celebrated Valentine's Day the Saturday before by going to see The King's Speech (which is absolutely fantastic if you haven't seen it yet) and going to have a nice romantic dinner at a local restaurant. We also exchanged gifts:

Colin got me this beautiful ruby bracelet to match the ruby necklace he got me our first Valentine's Day that we spent together as a married couple and some ruby stud earrings he got me last Christmas (he fondly calls it the "Ruby Collection").

Ruby bracelet from Colin

I opted for a more traditional love letter for Colin. Any of you who know me know that my handwriting is atrocious and akin to that of a small child's, and I really wanted Colin to have something heartfelt and special as well as beautiful, so I enlisted the help of my friend Anna who has her own calligraphy business at http://calligraphybyanna.com/. I sent her what I wanted the text of the letter to be, and she wrote it out on heavyweight paper and mailed it to Colin in time for Valentine's Day. I know that this is a shameless plug for my friend's business, but she makes beautiful handcrafted paper gifts and calligraphy and I just love her work! You can check out her website or also check out her Etsy store. Doesn't her Shakespeare font just say "LOVE" to you??

Love letter

Colin has since traveled to Atlanta where he is spending the whole weekend clinicing Harrison High School's band as they prepare for the Georgia music festival. He is very excited to be asked to clinic this group as it is the school at which he student taught and has great respect for their band program. My loving husband, knowing that I am very sad when he leaves, surprised me a super cute flower arrangement delivered to the house today! He is so thoughtful and I will be happy to have him home again on Sunday!

Flowers from Colin!

Colin passed his Comps!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:31:00 +0000

We just got word that Colin has passed all of his Comprehensive Exams with flying colors! WOO HOO!! One more thing that he can check off of the list as he moves closer to his doctorate completion date in the spring! YAY for my super smart husband!

Giveaways!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:16:00 +0000

Two of my friends who also blog are giving away free things on their sites, so I thought that I would share with you!

Win a free $35 CSN giftcard from Cardigan Junkie (a fashion blog):
http://www.cardiganjunkie.com/2011/02/35-gift-card-giveaway-from-csn-stores.html

Win a giant Gummy Bear from the Crazy Cozads ( a family blog similar to ours)--you have to love the factor of whimsy provided by this:
http://crazycozads.blogspot.com/2011/02/massive-gummi-bear-give-way_07.html

Happy entries! :)

Snowcalypse!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:35:00 +0000

Colin and Mandie in the snow in front of our house

So, while all of my Texas friends in Dallas were iced in for four days, we had our own Snowcalypse here in Michigan! Last Tuesday, the weather forecast for our area simply stated "Blizzard," and Colin and I said "why do we live here?!?" We received about a foot of snow over the course of the evening (which Colin promptly had to spend hours shoveling the next day), and MSU actually cancelled classes on Wednesday, which was only the third time that the university has closed in thirty years! Colin and I enjoyed our snow day, but were grateful that we didn't have the nasty ice that our Texas friends had!

In other news, Colin has taken his comprehensive exams and will find out if he passed them soon. One step closer to being Dr.! He has also set his doctoral chamber recital date for March 20, which is required for graduation from the program. The fact that we will be finished with our sojourn in Michigan by the end of the semester is beginning to set in, and we are starting to plan for the next chapter of our lives with great anticipation! Keep us in your prayers during this exciting, yet stressful time.

You can view our whole winter album by clicking here. Photos include the bowl trip to Orlando, our friend Armand's conducting recital, and our snow pictures.

Savannah and Charlotte digging in the snow in the backyard


Our Christmas penguins buried in the snow!

Photo album link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2413787&id=9203837&l=5e1b5d714b

2011 -- New Year, New Resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:45:00 +0000

2011 promises to be a year of great change and (hopefully!) lots of excitement for Colin and I. Colin will be finishing up school, we will be moving to an unknown destination, and will be able to experience all of the anticipation and enjoyment that comes with those experiences. The turn from the previous year to the new year is always one of my favorite times as it allows one to reflect on the happenings of the previous year and make decisions to direct one's life onward and ever upward in the coming year. That being said, I thought that I would share some McKenzie New Year's resolutions as we prepare to make the most of 2011:

*Lose weight :)
*Find jobs
*Move successfully
*Walk the dogs more and live a generally more healthy lifestyle

What are your New Year's resolutions? We wish you the best of luck with 2011!

Leaving for the Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:34:00 +0000

Hello friends and family! We are getting ready to leave tomorrow for Georgia to spend Christmas with the McKenzie family, and then will head to Orlando to watch MSU play Alabama in the Capital One Bowl (it will be televised on January 1 at 1pm Eastern Time--look for Colin on the sideline by the band!). We wish all of you a Merry Christmas, safe holiday travels, and a Happy New Year!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:43:00 +0000

Colin and Mandie on our way to cut down our Christmas tree

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the McKenzie home! Even though we will be spending the Christmas holidays with the McKenzie/Garcia family in Georgia, we still wanted to decorate our home for the holidays to enjoy before we travel! The first decoration that we decided to put up was the Christmas tree. While we own a cute little pre-lit fake tree that we usually put up, but this year we decided to have a true Michigan Christmas experience and venture out to a tree farm where you can cut your own tree. Last weekend, we went to Peacock Road Tree Farm in Laingsburg, Michigan, and are now the proud owners of a beautiful Fraser Fir that we cut down ourselves.

Colin cutting down our Christmas tree at the tree farm

It looks beautiful decorated in our home!

Colin also put lights on the outside of the house so that we could be festive like our neighbors.

And then, this weekend, we got a foot of snow!! Everything is snow-covered and beautiful!
To see the full web-album of our Christmas photos, click here.

Our snow-covered backyard

Snow-covered tree in our backyard

Fall pictures on my camera!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:27:00 +0000

I found extra pictures from the beautiful fall that we had here in Michigan on my camera when I was trying to upload Christmas pictures (oops!) and have uploaded them to our fall Facebook album. You can access the album and view all of the photos by clicking here. These pictures include MSU football games, Colin's concerts, pictures I took of the leaves changing on campus, and Spartan Spectacular, a concert that the Spartan Marching Band does every year indoors. Happy viewing!

Budget Travel Magazine Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:43:00 +0000

My friend Sara is giving away a year-long subscription to Budget Travel Magazine, a great magazine for people who want to find new places to visit while staying in a budget! To win, all you have to do it leave a comment on her "Crazy Cozads" blog. You can enter the contest and find out more about the contest by clicking here.

CSN.com--a great place for one-stop holiday shopping!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:30:00 +0000

For those of you who know me well, you know that I love to read blogs about multiple topics and follow several. For those of you unfamiliar with the world of blogging, stores will often offer to give freebies to blog readers if you sign up for email updates from their websites, share their information with your friends, etc. I enter these contests all of the time hoping for free things and of course, never win. Until recently.

A fashion/style blog that I follow recently had a give-away for a free $75 gift certificate to CSN.com and I won! I was unfamiliar with this store until the giveaway post, and wanted to share with our readers because it is really great. It is comparable to a Bed, Bath & Beyond, but with more selection, especially for home products. And right now they are offering free shipping and freebies on lots of housewares before Christmas. If you are looking for a one-stop place to shop for family Christmas gifts, I would recommend visiting http://www.csnstores.com.

And for what am I going to redeem my free gift certificate??? I am not sure yet, but this cute red tea kettle by Le Creuset: http://www.csnstores.com/Le-Creuset-Q3101-67-LEC1609.html

Job Extension

noreply@blogger.com (Mandie84) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:08:00 +0000

For those of you who do not know, my faculty library position here at MSU has been a temporary appointment dependent on funding (the economy here is not so great). Last May, the administration extended my contract to the end of December, and we have been anxiously waiting to find out if they would be able to extend me through the Spring semester of 2011. Yesterday, they approved my appointment through May, which is when Colin should be finished with his coursework and we would be looking to move on to wherever he finds a job. What a blessing and relief!

Sad Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 21:10:00 +0000

I never post on here, but thought that I would write this one in Mandie's stead.

On Saturday, November 13, 2010 Robert "Bob" Rhodes, Mandie's father, passed away. I do not have the words here to express the deep sorrow, pain, and grief that we all feel over his loss. His obituary may be found here:

http://obit.navarrefuneralhome.com/obitdisplay.html?id=856664&listing=Current

Mandie and I traveled to Baytown to be with her family on Sunday (11/14) and, after spending a week there, are returning back to Michigan. We'll head back to Baytown on Wednesday to spend the Thanksgiving holiday there.

If you did not know Bob, you truly missed out. He was a fantastic person, and someone that I am so very glad to have had the chance to spend some time with. I know that I will miss him.