Thanksgiving 2011

After originally plotting to go to Arizona for the Thanksgiving and then ultimately ruining plans for Julie and Jared, Shan & Ronnie and possibly the Godard's, we thankfully had the opportunity to go to the Browns in good old AV. It was an enjoyable experience. I do have to apologize for a little habit a formed while there, which Brian had to point out to me because I was to oblivious to realize it. On our 8 hour drive to AV, I started reading The Hunger Games....out loud...to Brian. We got 3/4 the way through the book when we arrived. Throughout our time there I found every lull in conversation, visiting, cooking, eating, etc. with family to drive back into the book. I didn't realize how rude this must have seemed. Sorry family, I do love you more than The Hunger Games....i think (j/k).

Brian and I are still getting use to the whole sharing-families-during-the-holidays-thing. This holiday wasn't too difficult because we were able to still pow-wow with the Murphy's at Dumont Dunes on the way back to UT, never mind the fact we were only there 3 hours. It is crazy there...like a whole other type of civilization. Brian and I are apparently bad luck because when we arrived and went to the drag races, 3 of the 4 sand rails broke; 2 of them even before taking off. After ditching the drag races, we headed to the old mines a few miles away from the main dunes. It was pretty neat. The entire time I was thinking of how things would be if the Hunger Games were in such terrain and what Katniss and Peeta would do with such limited resources. Such like a nerd.

Our last stop was hanging with Shannon and Ronnie in Vegas. We had Shannon take pictures for us to send out for Christmas, but I was having a "I hate my freckles,feel ugly, starting to see lindsay lohan in the mirror and overcompensating with too much makeup isn't working" hour. So, I don't think they turned out too well. Nevertheless, Shannon's mad skills with photoshop can be utilized in such dire cases...right Shan?

We finished the book on our drive back. Loved and hated it....assuming we are not the only ones either. I do want to mention that Brian read most on the way back, which meant that I got to hear his pronunciation of Peeta. I love it; it is like he is trying to say peter in a latin accent. It's adorable! His pronunciation for Greasy Sae and tesserae are fun too ;).

To the main point of this post: thanks giving. Like all of us, I have an exuberant amount to be thankful for. I just want to focus on one gift that I feel particularly grateful for this week, the gift of nature and its symbolism of the gospel of Christ. Every year I dread the season change of fall to winter. It is only when I step back and remember that all things typify of Christ, that I am able to get outside myself and realize that all the elements of nature have a purpose of bringing us joy and testifying of Christ. Genesis 1:10-25, God saw that all his creations were good.

Why were they good? Because he knew they would remind us of our need for a Savior, remind us the seasons typify of Christ's life and our own eminent death (winter), but hopeful resurrection (spring). It reminds us of our need of nourishment from the soil (or word of God) and from the Sun's rays (or the Son) to help us grow upward, to progress. God knows we understand the spiritual through the physical. I am grateful that he understands us more than we do ourselves and more than we acknowledge most of the time. He his our Father, why wouldn't he understand us perfectly and create an environment that helps us learn the truth of all things. I hope I can be like him as a parent. I hope I can use the beauty of nature to help my children learn through symbolism and learn truth.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving, thanks to Katie Winder for sharing this video.

I am new.

My last blog post: February 1, 2011

Explanation:

Whenever the thought to update our blog crept in my mind, I would experience an instant sense of dread. I have recently contemplated the cause of such dread and have found four reasons:

1.) I lack confidence in my ability to write and portray my awesome life

2.) My perfectionist desires prevent me from ever finishing a stupid post(aside from the previous two)

3.) I care way too much about what other people think of me (yes, I am a dubbie)

4.) I am LA to the ZY!

Conclusion:

I am new. Curbing self-conciousness, perfectionism and laziness. Writing what I want, when I want, even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else. Breeding a new form of self-expression for myself and liberating the secret desire to be an author of something, anything.

Here we go.

Nuestra Casa

Brian and I came to Provo around November to look for apartments for winter and were really unsuccessful and very discouraged. However, we knew things would work out. We did not know they would work out as amazingly as they did. His aunt and uncle, Tom and Shelly, own a house in Orem. Their daughter, Jenny, and her husband lived in the basement but were looking for a house. They miraculously found one just in time for Brian and I to move on in. The house is huge and beautiful. The basement is so perfect for us.

I remember thinking of what a poor, young newlywed couple's apartment would look like. Our home is definitely not what I had envisioned. We are so spoiled...and/or blessed! We love it! Hopefully you can tell from the pictures, just how awesome it is.

Oh, I have to give a shout out to Megan for helping me figure out the wall decor. Hope you like it as much as we do. Anyone is welcome to come and visit anytime...in fact, we need visitors....come, please! :)

This is the living room area. This is what you see right when you come down the stairs. The door is to a bathroom and their is a bunch of storage closets to the left.

After the living room, you enter our kitchen.

This is a product of our family home evening activity. Brian created this and entitled it "Brown Family."

Here is our beautiful bookshelf Ikea got us.

This is our front door.

Kitchen and hallway view from our front door.

Some wall decor.

Hallway to our bathroom and bedroom.

Our vanity area/laundry room.

New toilet and tub to the left. The picture doesn't show, but the tub is a good size.

Our room! Kimmy is letting us use the desk and the crazy lamp that's hanging above it.

We have not one, not two, but three closets in our room. Here is Brian's.

Here is mine. You can see that we uphold complete equality in our relationship and in splitting up closet space ;).

Come visit!

We're Married!

It is true: Brian R Brown and I, Shailynn Shurtz, are officially one in the same. We have tied the knot, hitched our wagons, linked, wedded and said adieu to being a bachelor and bachelorette for eternity. And we LOVE it.

We keep having these fun realizations that we actually got married. Every now and then, one of us will look at they other and say, "hey, we're married".

We are happy to say that despite living in Marriedville, UT and despite the fact every other person we run into is a newlywed, we are enjoying it. It is kind of a crazy transition. Crazy only because of how normal it feels to be married to my best friend.

Anyways, if you are reading this, we are excited that we can share the joy we find in "Our Lovely Life" with you. Here are some pictures of the beautiful event.