BRYCE + HAILEY
hey friends. i suppose we should introduce ourselves a little bit so you can get some insight into our story and how it all started. let’s rewind back around late summer of 2013. it was that summer that changed everything.
bryce and i had been solid friends for quite awhile. we would talk here and there while he was away at college in the big city pursuing independant film studies. but it was after those months away at college, that he returned back to town for summer break. that sparked a huge start to our friendship. hanging out and catching up in person was the best. we could talk for hours on end. we had a total blast hanging out in our group of friends making the best memories. going on road trips, concerts, midnight bike rides, skatepark hangs, photography collab projects, cliff jumping… the list goes on. in the midst of all these wild summer adventures, i got to see a side of bryce i had never seen in person before until that summer. he was adventurous/hilarious/ thrilling/attractive. he very much caught my attention. and by that i mean, i was falling for this dude hard. he was the definition of my dream guy. BUT, i was timid about things…..he was way too out of my league and there was no way i had a chance with that stud. towards the end of this incredible summer, i got to go on a road trip with bryce and some of his best friends. i was just excited to get out of town and hangout with these rad people and explore minneapolis with them. little did i know, there was a background plan to this trip that i didn’t know about whatsoever. he had a plan secretly named “project ice-man” behind my back… what that name means, i couldn’t even tell ya to this day. but anyways, i just figured i was tagging along with a car full of guys to hangout in the city. that is, until the ferris wheel moment happened. while we were all roaming the mall of america bryce had two free passes to use for the huge indoor amusement park there. i assumed we were all going to share them as a group and rotate in-between rides, but nope. all the guys quickly mentioned to bryce “ohh! you and hailey should just go use those passes, we have a few more stores to go to!” …..so that was what happened. my stomach filled with butterflies. i got to separate away from the pack of dudes to spend time with JUST bryce?! this crazy good looking stud? like what!? talk about stoked. so we spent a couple hours just free roaming the whole park going on every possible ride. almost peeing my pants on quite a few from terror. then the park closing time quickly approached. bryce mentioned to me that we should run across the WHOLE park to the ferris wheel quick to see all the rides inside the mall from the highest point to end the night. so we did just that. basically sprinted across the whole place and made it to the ferris wheel operator with 2 minutes to spare until it closed. the lady let us on and we were the only ones on the whole entire ride. talk about a perfect day. i couldn’t help but fall for this guy more than anyone i’ve ever been around before. but i was always thinking to myself, “how could i even tell him these feelings? he’s intimidating, in a very good way.” …as we were on this rad ferris wheel checking out the amazing view, bryce looked up at me and said that he had something he’d like me to read. i was kind of caught off guard… he then opened up a long note/letter that had been saved on his phone for like a few months. i started to read it and as i read further my stomach turned into a freaking tornado of butterflies. it was a love letter. written for me. GAME CHANGER. my dream guy is into me!!? i continued reading more and it was sweeping me off my feet every second. as i got to the end of the note, it ended with, “…and i was hoping to give the girl of my dreams, the first kiss she really deserves” …..reading that last line made my heart rate skyrocket. i looked up from his phone and there was bryce, standing up and reaching his hand out to me. he took my hand as i stood up next to him, we made this intense eye contact that made my heart beat even faster than before, and right there in that moment he leaned in and kissed me right at the very top of the ferris wheel. moments after, i heard a bunch of yelling and cheering… i looked down at the base of the ferris wheel and there was the rest of the guy-pack. they were in on it the whole time. needless to say, best day ever.
we started dating september 12th, 2013. the many more crazy adventures that we have shared together up until today are countless. our interests blend so perfectly that everything we find ourselves doing is always an amazing memory. bryce’s passion is everything skateboarding, snowboarding, and filming. my passion is everything photography, fashion, and outdoor activities. we have both been lucky enough to go on many road trips, camping on the beach in duluth, sharing our similar thrifting “treasure hunting” addiction, running photography/social media together backstage for a huge music festival, learning more about film/super 8 photography together, spending countless stargazing nights with long talks that i’ll cherish forever, the many drive-in movie dates in the back of his jeep with blankets and our own homemade popcorn, bryce teaching me how to both snowboard and skateboard, me teaching him ukulele, building a polaroid collection, starting a small clothing company together, and so much more around here in our home state of minnesota.
the next big goal on our list together is to branch out. we want to cross the minnesota border and explore the unknown. this will be something so new to both of us. one of our biggest dreams is to experience a cross country road trip in a VW bus. even back before we dated, we used to always daydream and chat about that whole concept and think about how sick that would seriously be to see the country and experience it all in such a timeless vehicle. well, that dream has started to become reality when late summer 2014 rolled around. bryce made the most exciting purchase of his life. through some great connections, he got a dark green 1970 VW bus to call his very own. it had been sitting on some country land for quite some years with no attention given, so it required some much needed TLC. but, from the second bryce saw it, he saw the potential it has and was up for the challenge… so he began the restoration process! over the fall/winter 2014 bryce and his dad began stripping the bus/engine of old parts and ordered all new fresh parts to start the rebuild…..all on their own. i have never seen anyone do more research online on a specific vehicle than bryce has for this bus. i can truthfully say he has studied up on more reading and countless hours of online videos than i have ever done in my whole life. the dedication he has for this project is inspiring. through blood sweat and tears. he has so much faith in it. we both share this huge belief to invest our time in traveling. loving jesus. putting ourselves out of our comfort zone. experiencing new things. eating great food. seeing different cultures. and capturing moments through our lenses to document our little journys. life is too short. welcome to our adventure blog!
this is where our story continues… ☮
Adventure Vibes 