Summer Lovin'

Well we finally did it: We graduated! It feels soooo good to be done. Matthew still has his BFA final project & show to finish up by May 31st, and then it is officially summer for the Shipleys!

After talking and negotiating and praying, we have decided to spend the summer with my family in Flower Mound. I have a nannying job for a family for the summer and Matt has a couple of freelancing jobs and possibly an internship. We are really excited for this next post-grad chapter of our lives! We are both currently applying to jobs in the North Carolina/Virginia area, and hopefully will have something set up come fall and will be moving there sometime in August. A lot of people have asked me, Why that area? Is that where Matthew is from? Matthew is from New Jersey, but its kind of pricey to live up there, and I am a southern girl at heart, so that was kind of our geographical compromise. East Coast + the South = the place to be. I hear its beautiful there, and we've heard the Raleigh area is a good place for raising a family, and we will be 6 hours away from Matthew's family which will be nice to be closer to them. That's the plan! It's kind of a shot in the dark but we feel good about it and we are going forward with it!

Also, not gonna lie... we have a pretty sweet road trip lined up from Provo to Dallas. Here's our itinerary (without any dates or times because we haven't figured out exactly when we are leaving Provo):

Start: Provo, UT
Stop 1: Mesa Verde National Park
Stop 2: Four Corners
Stop 3: Albuquerque Temple
Stop 4: Carlsbad Caverns
Stop 5: San Antonio
Finish: Flower Mound, TX!!

We are pretty psyched! Growing up in Texas, I have been to all of these places as a kid, but its been at least a decade since I visited, and Matthew has not ever been to any of these places, so we are really excited to go on this crazy road dragging a uhaul trailer behind us, ha. PS- awesome site for those of you who plan on going on a roadtrip sometime in... your life, go here: roadtrippers.com.

We also have a "Utah Bucket List" of things to do while we are still in Utah for the next month (yes, it is a fairly short bucket list because we are only here for the month of May):

• Manti Temple Session
• Salt Lake City Temple Session
• Arches National Park
• Goblin Valley National Park
• Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit
• Saying goodbye and spending time with each one of our dear friends in Provo!

I have been deep in thought lately about the time I have spent, and the experiences I have had here in Provo. (Probably because I am now unemployed and un-enrolled in school- life is GREAT.) Having moved around  frequently during my life, I have not had the opportunity to live anywhere more than a few years. So thinking about leaving Provo has been really hard for me. Of course, we all are like, "I can't wait until I graduate, get married, and get out of the bubble!" I have had this opinion for awhile, but now that it is time to leave, it is hard for me to think about! I have been here for over 5 years, which is about as long as any place I've ever lived. It feels like home now. All of our friends are here, so many memories, so many experiences. When I think about my time in Provo, I think of educational growth, heartbreak, friendships, falling in love, stressful tests, ward activities, Kiwanis Park, pillow talking with Krista for YEARS, dinner groups, new relationships, breakups, getting engaged, co-worker movie nights, skinny dipping, visits to the ER, sky diving, Africa, BYU football games, and so many other dear and precious memories. I cannot help but be truly grateful for the experiences that I have had here and the countless incredible people that I have had the opportunity to befriend and be positively influenced by. Provo is where I became an adult, I learned to be (well, kind of) mature, I discovered who I was, who I wanted to be, and where I wanted to go in life. It is where I met my sweetheart and where he asked me to marry him for eternity. It is where I learned to forgive others and move on from the pains of the past. It is where I grew closer to my family from afar, and I grew closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. I will really miss it here. Being a real adult with a real job is a daunting thought, and part of me thinks that I have taken for granted the care-free and easiness of the life that I have had here. But the point is... I am excited for the future! I am sad to leave Provo but I am excited for all the things that the Lord has in store for us, and for the opportunity to progress and grow. If you are reading this and you live in Provo and if you like us at all, make sure that we see you at least one more time before we move! We are trying to get to everyone, and hopefully we will, but help us out, yo!

Other stuff that is going on in our lives:

• Matthew bought a domain for his own illustration website for freelancing! It's awesome: Shipley Illustration
• Matt, Brig, Aaron, and Con-con won their bowling league championship game! Who says bowling leagues are for old people?  
• I FINISHED STUDENT TEACHING!! Passed my TWS first try, and got good evaluation scores! So awesome!
• Matthew has had constant headaches for the past 2 months now... We've tried several things but nothing seems to be helping. We are trying to get him in for an MRI this week, but pray for him!
• Our families visited! It was so good to see both my parents and Matt's family. It was my first time meeting his brother Jacob who got off his mission in March. He is a hoot! And he brought me back some sweet orange flip-flops from Brazil! 

 Current "Shipley Favorites":

• Netflix show: House M.D.
• Drink: Grape Juice
• Website: Sporcle
• Person: Each other
• Phrase: "Just love me!"
• Movie: Grand Budapest Hotel
• Hobby: Matt: Reading soccer articles, Elise: Planting windowsill flowers
• Goal: Read the Book of Mormon every day!
• Project: Getting ready for the Ward Indexing Activity
• Topic of Conversation: Blacks-overcoming-racial-prejudice sports-movies (Remember the Titans, 42, etc)
• Eco-project: Recycling
• Restaurant: 180 Street Tacos (Try it, its really good!)
• Food: BBQ Short Ribs
• Dessert: Portuguese donuts (from 180 street tacos)
• 4-year old: Emily and her constant phone calls!

Next post: Pictures of things we are giving away to anyone who wants them.