Year in Review 2016

My 2016 was incredible! I wish I could have posted this in time (before 2017 started), but I didn't want to rush and forget something.

1. 29th birthday Hawaii trip
• Kauai - Allerton Garden, Waimea canyon, sunsets, sunrises, Kalalau Lookout
• Oahu - Aulani, Kualoa Ranch, Dole Plantation (we beat our previous time at the pineapple maze!), saw Orion Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy
2. This was my lucky year! I won an iPad at work for writing a paper about the importance of work attendance, Sean and I were KTUU's Valentine's couple of the year, I won an Orbitz Key Ring for completing a survey on Facebook
3. Sean and I stayed at Hotel Captain Cook for the first time and say Recycled Percussion
4. I participated in a volunteer event through Junior Achievement at Abbott Loop Elementary
5. California adventure with Sean, Jenn, Boom, and Bella
• Many "firsts" - Ate at Carthay Circle Restaurant, ate at Cove Bar and finally tried the infamous lobster nachos, Sailed on the Disney Wonder, went to San Francisco (Muir Woods, Walt Disney Family Museum, Pier 39), rode on the subway, went to Vancouver, BC. Went to Steveston aka Storybrooke!
6. Enjoyed the great outdoors
• Seward day trip - hiked Exit Glacier!
• Thunderbird Falls for the first time
• Trail of Blue Ice
7. We sold our condo and bought a new house
8. Family Hawaii trip
• Kailua, Aulani, Kualoa Ranch, quality family time
9. Friendcation with Amanda in Alyeska
10. Disney in Concert - A Silly Symphony Celebration
11. Las Vegas - IKEA and Hobby Lobby shopping sprees, Melting Pot anniversary dinner, hanging out with Sean's family
12. Housewarming party
13. Monthly girlfriend events
14. Countless Paint Nites
• I really tapped into my creative side this year! I even invested in paint supplies and enjoy painting at home from time to time
15. Watched so many good movies this year... Here are my favorites
• Deadpool
• Zootopia
• Captain America: Civil War
• Central Intelligence
• Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates
• Pete's Dragon
• Keeping Up With The Joneses
• Moana
• Rogue 1
16. I also started watching a few memorable shows
• Game of Thrones
• Stranger Things
• Man With a Plan
• Kevin Can Wait 
17. I read 2 books (I feel so lame that I only finished 2!)
• The Selection and The Elite
18. One of my 2016 New Year Resolutions was to recycle. I am so happy and proud that it is engraved in my heart and brain to do it
19. Sean and I were finally able to attend a Marriage Encounter. I love investing in our marriage, thankful that we got to experience it
20. Alaska State Fair - this makes the list yearly, hehe
21. I finally got a Cricut and slowly honing my skills using it 
22. We adopted Lucy, a basset hound
23. Sean and I went on a"first date" - dinner at Sea Galley's and drove to Portage Glacier. We weren't able to do it the past few year since we were always out of town on the date, so I was happy we were able to relive the memory
24. We hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas. First time ever hosting and it made it them even more memorable that we got to celebrate them in our new home

2015 Year in Review - Part 2

I can't believe we're in mid-January of 2016 already! I've decided to finally Publish this post. This is just a short post of my "bests" of 2015. I've dedicated some pages in my new planner for compiling memories so that it will be easier at the end of 2016 to make a similar post.

Best Movies (Theater) - I watched so many good movies this year! Jurassic World, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Vacation Movie, Fast & The Furious, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Antman, Terminator Genisys

Best Movie Seen For the First Time - STAR WARS! I know, I know... It took me 28 years to watch it. I was definitely missing out. I watched them in this order: 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7. Another movie that I watched for the first time and really enjoyed was Short Circuit.

Best Show - I watched a lot of good series for the first time this year too. Agents of SHIELD, Fresh Off the Boat, Galavant, Fear the Walking Dead, Ballers

Best Book - Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison. Okay, to be fair I only finished reading one book this year. One of my goals for this year is to start and finish a book within a month. I am one of those people that starts reading books and then forgets about it.

Best Song - Lava (as in the song from the Disney short, Lava, played before Inside Out) and Forever Young (Disneyland 60th anniversary version)

Favorite New Restaurant That I Tried - Palo brunch on the Disney Dream, Remy on the Disney Dream, Philippine Plaza, The Hangar in Juneau, Pizzeria Roma in Juneau, Pho-Real in Orlando

Favorite New Store That I Tried - Threads & Lace Boutique and Forget Me Not Boutique

Best New Place Visited in Anchorage - Goose Lake and stops along the Portage Glacier Highway

Best Purchases - Aside from expanding our Disney Vacation Club ownership, my ASUS laptop and an electric skillet

2015 Year in Review - Part 1

2015

JUNEAU
I had the opportunity to visit Juneau for a long work trip in April. I was really stressed out  in the first quarter of 2015 because of work and school. I remember constantly feeling emotionally drained. Even though it was a work trip, it was a nice breather to take in some new sceneries and unwind from the stresses of work and life. My husband also got to come along for the first week of my stay. Here are a few of my Juneau highlights:

• The Shrine of St Therese. I was in complete awe when I saw this church that I cried tears of happiness! It had been raining EVERY SINGLE DAY, but when we went, there was not a cloud in sight. It was an amazing religious experience for me. As you know, I had been very stressed out up until that point. I remember I prayed so hard to help get through my stress.
• Sean and I walked around downtown Juneau. I love how quaint and charming it is! We also visited the capitol, which was a pretty cool experience.
• I went to my first beach in Alaska that actually has sand! It was so pretty out there on Sandy Beach, I actually felt like I was almost in California.
• I enjoyed damn near every place that I ate at. Who knew Juneau was filled with so many yummy and unique places to eat at?!
• Something I learned while in Juneau is that you can’t wait for the rain to stop, otherwise you will never get to do anything fun. It reminded me of the quote about not waiting for the storm to pass, but to learn how to dance in the rain. It wasn’t until then that I realized how true that quote is. 

CALIFORNIA & LAS VEGAS
Our California and Vegas trip was definitely one of my best vacations ever!

• Vegas was awesome, as always. We used our MyVEGAS points for two free nights at New York New York, free buffet passes at Bellagio, and  free passes to the Shark Reef in Mandalay Bay. Even though the Observatory at Bellagio wasn't finished while we were there, the seasonal overlay was my favorite! It was very Finding Nemo-like. I wish I could have seen the finished version. We also visited where we got married, The Flamingo. :)
• We got to stay at the Disneyland Hotel for the first time.
• I never thought we would go to a Disney 24 hour event again (We went in 2014 and I broke a tooth and I also got sick! On top of that, I just never wanted to deal with the crazy crowds again), but I knew we needed a do-over. First off, it was the kick off event for Disneyland's 60th anniversary. Second, it was Sean's birthday. Third, it was also our engagement anniversary date. I am so happy we went! It was the best day of my life.
• We took our first Disneyland tour - the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour. It was an amazing experience! It was so cool learning more about Walt himself and we got to go inside the Dream Suite.

ALASKA STATE FAIR
The Alaska State Fair is always on my Year in Review list, but what made this year particularly special is that I won a gun from Friends of NRA! I chose a Smith & Wesson M&P15 APG that came in camo. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of camo, so Sean cerakoted it a beautiful Tiffany blue. :D


SPENDING TIME WITH GIRLFRIENDS
My girlfriends (Charlene, Michelle, CamTu, Ederlee) and I met up at least once a month this year. We enjoyed many dinners together at dining places we hadn't tried before and we also had two overnight hotel trips. Overnight trips are so much fun to me since I never got to do sleepovers when I was younger. I am so blessed to have solid friendships with these individuals!


DISNEY IN CONCERT
We got to sit up front in the second row. It was so cool! I hope they bring it back again next year.


ALYESKA ANNIVERSARY TRIP
Since Sean and I were traveling with my family on our actual anniversary, we treated ourselves to two nights at Alyeska a week before we departed. It was so romantic and relaxing! We knew we would need it since our vacations are always packed with things to do.


DISNEY CRUISE, DISNEY WORLD, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS 

• We sailed on the Disney Dream for 4 nights in the Bahamas.
• We officially became owners at Aulani in Hawaii. Best anniversary present ever!
• We stayed at our Disney Vacation Club home resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge, for the first time! We stayed at both Kidani Village and Jambo House. It was just like how I imagined it!
• We visited all 4 Disney World parks and also Disney Springs. 10 days in the area was not enough time at all.
• Sean and I went to Universal Studios and got to meet up with our good friends too. Harry Potter sections were very cool!