Mexico

Not to make you jealous or anything, but we spent a FABULOUS week in Mexico last month. It was a vacation we both needed WAY more than we realized. Back in October, when I was having a rough time, Brady convinced me (trust me though, it didn't take a lot of convincing) that I needed to get away and have something exciting to look forward to. He had already booked a trip for the two of us to one of our favorite places. Isn't he great? I think so.

It might sound boring to some of you, but we spent 5 of 7 days on the beach in Tulum, Mexico (one day at Chichen-Itza and one day going to church and coming home) just relaxing! I read three books in those 7 days...that's how much R & R was happening.

Here are a few favorite pics from the trip...maybe they'll warm us up a bit! (We have a TON of beach pictures from our DSLR that I haven't converted to jpeg yet...I'll have to do that soon so you can really enjoy the beauty of this place!)

The view from our room

Brady playing in the ocean...isn't the water awesome?

Brady and our guide, Santiago, at Chichen-Itza. I swear, Brady practically converted his guy to our church. Santiago even asked us if we had a Book of Mormon he could have...talk about a perfect opportunity, but of course we didn't have one with us. It was still a cool missionary experience.

Natalie and Casey let us borrow their waterproof camera...it was fun!

Me at the beach

One day, Brady and walked up the beach as far as we could go before there wasn't beach, only rocks. We were a bit shocked to see that we had walked all the way to see the back-side of the Tulum ruins we had seen last time we were there!

Sunrise from our room

Last day at the beach

We came home the Sunday before Christmas. Our plane was leaving late in the afternoon, so we decided to go to church in Tulum. I couldn't understand everything that was spoken, but I knew that what was spoken was true. There were maybe 25 members there and I'm so grateful for that experience.

I loved hearing Brady speak Spanish, eating guacamole every day, eating THE BEST Mexican food from El Mariachi (almost every day!), sitting on the beach with my best friend and coming home with a tan for Christmas. :)

Thanks for a great trip, Brady!

Merry Christmas

Since I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards, can this count? Thanks to everyone who sent us a card--we've really enjoyed hearing from all of you. Hopefully I'll do better next year. :)

2009 has been full of ups and downs, good times and not-so-good times. But as we look back, we are so blessed in so many ways and also very thankful for our testimonies of the Savior whose birth we celebrate today.

We wish you all the best in 2010!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Shawnee & Brady

Thanksgiving 2009

Most years on Thanksgiving morning, Brady and his brothers/brothers-in-law/dad/sometimes cousins go shooting. I've honestly always thought it was ridiculous that they went to shoot plastic bottles filled with water, old computer monitors, and paper targets taped to cardboard. During this past year, Brady has really wanted me to go shooting with him. I keep making up excuses, but this time I had no excuse. So, I went with them. And, I'll be honest, it was kinda fun (at least to shoot the little stuff...I'm not a fan of the big ammo).


After shooting, we went to Brady's mom and dad's house for Thanksgiving. It was so yummy!

The famous self-portrait

The whole crew, minus Danny and Emily & Johnny & kids

Our nephew Benson, playing with the camera on the tripod

After hanging out with Brady's family, we went to see my family. Some of my extended family had Thanksgiving at my mom and dad's. Everyone got into Beatles RockBand.

I love this time of year. I'm grateful for so many things: Brady, our families, the gospel, our house, good jobs, good friends...the list could go on.

Now that's creativity!

This YouTube video is of our friends' little boy, Conner. Preston (Mr. Super Creative in my book), the dad, made this awesome costume for his son.



Plus, he was on the news.

Good job you guys!

Happy Birthday to Me

I turned 29 this week. (29!!! Suddenly, I feel old.) About a month ago, one of my patients found out that I was almost 29. He's in his mid-50s and told me that 29 was one of his favorite years and that I needed to "live it up" before I turned 30. It got me thinking about my life, where I was headed and where Brady and I were headed, what I wanted/needed to do in my life, my goals and our goals, etc. I was excited to turn 29.

Then, one of the hardest things (ok, probably THE hardest thing) I've ever had to go through happened. I realize that my trial might seem small compared to some and I certainly know people who have it much, much harder than I do. But for me, it was (and still is) really tough. While dealing with this over the past few weeks, I've done A LOT of pondering, reflecting, re-evaluating, crying, learning and praying.

So, in my effort to "live it up" before I turn 30, I'm making some birthday resolutions. I'm going to be better at a lot of things. (I'll write those specifics elsewhere so that I don't have to answer to the world wide web.) I'm going to be more grateful, because I've learned, despite my trials, that I have so much to be grateful for. I'm going to be more dedicated to the things I believe in. I'm going to have more faith, because sometimes, that's the only thing that gets me through. I'm going to trust that someone knows what's best for me and that someone isn't me. I'm not going to stress about the things that I have no control over (Brady's been trying to help me understand this for years and I think I might finally get it!). I'm going to love, serve and pray for others more because I have been the beneficiary of unconditional love, countless acts of service, and thoughtful prayer and know it has power beyond my understanding.

With that, here's wishing for a great year.

For my spandex wearing friends:

Or, just my bicycle-loving husband. :) This captures the personality of hard-core cyclists. I love it.

P.S.

The construction trailer is

GONE!!!

(There is one still nearby, but I can at least look out my north-facing windows and not see a gigantic trailer that advertises for the construction company. Instead, they put a chain-link fence right next to my vinyl fence, which looks a bit silly from my perspective, but there's nothing to be done there except plant something tall to try to hide it. Now if they will just put in the landscaping so I don't have to keep sweeping up inches of dust on the inside and outside of my house, I think I'll be much happier.)