2013 In Review!

Now that Christmas is over, the NEW YEAR is almost here! HOLY CRAP! This year seriously FLEW by! I hate how fast time goes, but at the same time I'm so excited for our future.

I worked at an awesome dance studio in Utah called Center Stage Performing Arts. Seriously, anyone in UT that wants their kids to dance, go there! 

D and I got to travel all over Utah visiting various LDS temples which is always really cool to see.
We got to see the king of country, George Strait, for the second time! It was so special because it's his last tour. =(

D got into 3 law schools and we decided to go to one in D.C.! 

I turned 21 and D turned 24! 

D graduated at BYU with his bachelors in history.

We moved back up to Alaska to work for the summer with my Dad's business.
We celebrated our 1st anniversary! 

Thinking we were only going to be in AK for only a couple months, we decided to defer law school for a year. It was a really tough decision, but it actually works out for the best. We are able to save way more money and D can have a longer mental break from school.

I started this blog =)

We traveled all over AK including lots of hunting and fishing.

I started a couple new hobbies, cinematography and photography! 

D and I got to go to Hawaii, which was AMAZING!

I spent Thanksgiving with my family for the first time in 3 years.

D and I went to Vegas for a month to be with his family for Christmas.

2014 will be so good to us! So many changes are going to be happening! I can't wait!

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas is my first Christmas without snow... It isn't quite the same. I'm one of those weird people who love the cold, especially for Christmas time. But I'm trying to embrace warm Las Vegas the best I can.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Have No Fear

Yesterday we went to a duck pond that probably had close to 100 birds there! Birds are one of the many fears of mine. I tend to always say, "That's my worst fear!" whenever someone mentions something kind of scary. That fear ends up on my fear list. I wish I didn't have that many fears.. But the world is scary!

After my encounter with the birds yesterday, I then remember this boy in Hawaii that I was observing (I told you I have a bad obsession of  people watching). If you can't tell, this boy has Down Syndrome and he had NO FEAR! This beach we were at had really big waves even though in the pictures they don't look that big. This boy would run into the waves, they would crash over him and he would get washed back up to the beach and then he would repeat! He wasn't scared for his life. He was having so much fun! It made me think about how much fun life can be if we can sometimes forget about our fear of heights (or whatever your fears may be) and just jump off the cliff into the water and enjoy the rush! 

That is easier said then done... but I am going to work on not being so fearful in life! Life is wonderful and it needs to be enjoyed!

My Utah Weekend

I got to go to Utah this past weekend! I was lucky enough to be just one state over instead of 3,000 miles away from my best friend's wedding! I flew in Thursday afternoon, ate the the delicious burger joint of Five Guys, and then got to see Alie, Chris, and Ciara all go through the Bountiful temple. It was really beautiful I got to stay at Grandpa Ashby's house and Alie and I realized it was our first sleep over we have had in over a year and a half!! It was fun to be able to have girl time with her again before her big day!

Friday we ran a lot of last minute errands for the wedding on Saturday. We ate at a place called Italian Village. If you hang out with the Ashby/Hefner clan you will learn that they LOVE food. I'm thankful to have had opportunities to try new places like IV. They had a delicious bender (a calzone thingy) and it wasn't that expensive which is always a bonus!

Saturday was the BIG DAY for Alie and Chris! Grandpa Ashby made a delicious breakfast and then the morning got crazy! I took pictures of everyone getting ready that I forgot to do my own hair for the wedding! HAHA Oh well =) They day went by really fast. The wedding was beautiful, the food and friends were amazing, and I got to see some family and old friends after the reception! Overall it was an amazing trip but I was ready to get back to Dallan at the end =)

Some previews of getting ready!

 

Group hug =)

Bridesmaids!

Fun staying up til 1:30 AM with these two crazies! Nothing is boring with these two.

People Watching

I wrote this on my phone in the airport while I was waiting to board my flight to Salt Lake City!

I have a problem... It's called "people watching."

I love it, especially at airports!

I love seeing what people do in their spare time and how they react to things. I try not to stare too long though because it probably makes them so uncomfortable. 

I do not judge them by their looks or anything else to make myself feel better. I just like watching people be. I am thoroughly interested in their lives. I always wonder where they are going and why. People are so interesting! 

I love seeing complete strangers interact with each other. It feels good to know that we can all become childlike and make a friend or even to just be friendly to people we don't know at all. 

I try to be as sociable as possible.. But a lot of the time I don't have the courage to ask complete strangers their names and where they are from. 

Missing Utah

 Dallan and I made it to Vegas!!! It's so good seeing his family after 8ish months. I actually slept on the airplane for a couple hours too! BONUS!

It's funny how our perspectives can change as we mature and get older.

 When I was younger I always said I would NEVER go to school or live in Utah. Period. I don't know why but I always said that. Even after graduating high school I still had this weird vendetta against Utah, but of course ended up going to college there because at the time that was the only "less scary" move to make because it was a state I was somewhat familiar with besides Alaska. 

Now the first semester was hell. I hated it and almost quit college to move back to Alaska. It was a weird time.. I don't do well with change at all. I had to learn to be an adult really fast and never felt more alone. Obviously I sucked it up and finished my met my husband there, got my Associates Degree and all that fun stuff. 

After moving away from Utah this past April, I find myself missing it! It's the weirdest thing. I still know I could never live there permanently, but I will definitely visit frequently. Utah has a unique beauty to it and it will always hold a special place in my heart. It's funny how you have to move away from some place to really appreciate it. The same thing happened when I moved away from Alaska for college! 

ONLY ONE MORE DAY UNTIL I'M IN UTAH!!! I'm so excited for my best friend's wedding and I seriously can't wait to see all my friends!

A couple of my amazing roommates who I miss dearly!

The Pure Evil Of Packing

The title says it all... I HATE PACKING! I never know what to bring and when I pack, I ALWAYS forget something or I over pack and I don't even wear half the clothes I brought. Dallan and I are going to Vegas for a month for Christmas and that means I have to bring enough stuff for a month., plus all the wedding stuff for Alie's wedding. I'm writing this so I don't have to pack because I always pack last minute. Procrastinate much? 

Also I HATE red eye flights. We bought our tickets like 4 months ago and purposely got them so they weren't going to be a red eye flight. But you know how the airlines like to play jokes right? Well a few weeks ago they emailed us saying our flight has changed to the lovely red eye flight.. That means I will be up for more than 30 hours at least!  Lord knows I don't sleep on planes, so yes, I will be up from 8ish in the morning on the 9th until I go to bed on the 10th. It just throws off my sleep schedule and takes a good couple days to get it back. Not looking forward to that obviously.

And I have been really procrastinating editing video from our Hawaii trip! But I assure you that it is half way done.. I'm hoping to post it next week! =)

Some Things That Made Me Laugh Today

Jimmy FALLON, not KIMMEL... I always get them mixed up! Anyways, I love when his song parodies and skits pop up on the social networks. I don't avidly watch his talk show, but boy is he funny! I also love the celebrities he chooses to be in them because most of the time I love them just as much!

 Here are some videos that made me laugh:

I'm guilty of hash tagging.. It's good to laugh at yourself right??

Have I mentioned I love Justin Timberlake?? Yup, even since the N'SYNC Days!!! 

"You're Not Pregnant Yet?!"

I am generally a pretty positive and happy person. I would say I'm positive about 85% of the time. I see life in a clear view and can see a bright future for myself. If I say, "I'm ALWAYS happy and never negative," well that's a blatant lie. No one can be happy all the time. It's impossible because we are human beings. With that said..

I wrote this post a couple weeks ago.. I have been debating on even posting it because it may hurt others feelings, but I'm posting it anyways. My feelings have been hurt too. It's life. So sorry in advance if it does. This also isn't directed towards any certain persons. It is just in general since day one of marriage. 

Before I continue, let me remind you, this is MY blog, MY journal, and MY outlet to be creative, or to just vent. So if you don't like what you're reading, then stop now. I don't care.

Has anyone else without kids, been told time and time again, "Oh you're not a mom though, you don't understand."?

As a "newly wed" (1.5 years married) in the Mormon culture the thing that happens AS SOON as you get married is, "When's the baby due?" "Time to get it started!" "How come you aren't pregnant yet?" IT'S SO ANNOYING! I mean how insensitive are people these days?! I usually just laugh it off saying something like, "haha not yet." But sometimes I just want to say (and I have said it once..), "What if we are trying but we can't get pregnant?!" And boy did it shut them up and that particular person has yet to ask me again. It is like some people look at me only being 21 years "old", with no kids in sight or on the way, and think all my eggs have dried up! That doesn't make me feel good AT ALL. I then get all stressed out thinking I'm so old and that I'll be an old maid by the time I have kids, and that clearly is false! 

For the record, D and I are not pregnant and are not trying to be because that's what WE want right now! And yes I get baby hungry from time to time but the timing isn't right for us. I am not old, I am young, I still have PLENTY of time to have children. Just let me enjoy this time with my husband. It is none of your business when we decide to start our family. It is between God, Dallan, and I.

I love kids, and I will have them someday but man, sometimes talking to newer moms just drives me nuts! They (not all new moms do this, but some) act like I don't know that babies are fragile, new, and their immune systems aren't fully developed. DUHHH! I wasn't born in a cave. I have been around enough babies in my lifetime, babysat 100 times and have taken many health classes to know a lot about the human body and about babies. I also understand that moms have a special bond with their babies. But how different can it really be from people who adopt or take care of another's child? I have a few little kids in my life that I love like they are my own. I would do anything for them. I feel this is the motherly nature of every women in this world to love any child that comes into their life whether they have felt them kick in the womb or not. 

It just irks me! Obviously it is a hot spot for me.. Maybe I am a little jealous of new moms, but not only that but it is a CONSTANT question that bugs that crap out of me in the Mormon culture. I love my Church, it is a big part of who I am, but sometimes the culture drives me nuts.

So in the future, Please stop asking me! That would be greatly appreciated.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

December is my favorite month of the year! It's so crazy how FAST this year has gone. It seems like yesterday Dallan and I were in Utah for his last semester at BYU. 

I have a lot of things to look forward to this month. I'm trying to soak every bit of December in Alaska before I head to Vegas for the remainder of the year!

My December Countdown:

9 Days until Vegas!

11 Days until I fly to Utah!

13 Days until my best friend gets married!

23 Days until Christmas Eve!

24 Days until my FIRST Christmas with my in-laws!

30 Days until New Years Eve!

AND

 31 Days until my New Year's resolution starts! 

My parent's small tree this year. They didn't want to put the big one up since Christmas will be smaller at their house this year.

HAPPY DECEMBER EVERYONE!

Thanksgiving!

I lied about not blogging today... In my defense I was planning on going to a movie tonight, but it fell through.. So here I am editing videos tonight!  =)

Today was pretty good! It was my first Thanksgiving being home in 3 years because it was to expensive to fly home for 4 days from Utah to Alaska. I woke up early to help make our portion of the meals, then watched the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade. I want to watch the parade someday! It's on my bucketlist!  My expectations for the big family gathering wasn't to high so I wasn't disappointed. Things change, it's the way of life. I knew it wouldn't be as energetic as I remember it being when I was younger and even in high school but it was still fun. I was shocked at the amount of people there were though! I always thought it would get smaller and smaller because people are off to college or just moving away but I would say there was a good 30-40 people there! The company and conversations I had were really nice. =)

Forced Sisterly love!

 

Annual Thanksgiving picture with the husband! Also, we like to dress comfy for Thanksgiving so we can fit more into our tummies =P

It is always a tradition to have a Fullmer Family Talent Show. Many were reluctant this year (including me..), but Grandma pushed it and it ended up being quite entertaining! When I was younger I used to always participate with some kind of dance or lip syncing number with my cousins. Now THOSE home videos are hilarious to watch... I'm so thankful for my immediate AND extended family. I'm so lucky I got to grow up close to them!

I forgot my video camera so only got clips from my iPhone. Some might kill me for posting this... So sorry in advance! hahah  Here are the highlights of the talent show! Enjoy my crazy family!

Thanksgiving Highlights 2013 from Jordan Petersen on Vimeo.

Month of Thanks Days 22-28

Day 22- today I'm thankful for my best friends Aliana and Josie! I miss these girls all the time especially when I'm away. I text them almost non stop and even though we don't get to hang out that often, I know our friendship won't waver =) I LOVE YOU LADIES!

Day 23- I'm thankful for my talents! See the reason why here!

Day 24- A car. It's those rare times when living with your parents, before heading to law school, and your car is in Vegas with the in-laws, that you get to drive a car for most of the day! =) But I am sure thankful to have those rare days... haha

Day 25- I'm thankful for my Grandpa and Grandma Fullmer! They are such a hoot. I'm grateful I have been able to grow up basically down the street from them! I love hearing all of their stories and jokes. They are one truly amazing couple. I just love them so much!

Day 26- I'm thankful for snow. I know most people seem to hate it, but I LOVE it! It makes everything so much prettier and I love wearing sweatshirts and sweat pants! So it's my perfect situation =) 

Day 27- I'm thankful for the LDS church. The culture can drive me nuts, but I still love the church. It has taught me to have high morals and standards. Without the Church I would not be where I am today and I know for a fact I wouldn't be as happy as I am right now. 

Day 28- Yes I already know that tomorrow I will be thankful for THANKSGIVING! Duh. I won't be blogging tomorrow so I'm posting it now.. I love the holidays and tomorrow is specifically special because I haven't been home in 3 Thanksgivings! So I'm really excited for tomorrow even though I know it won't be the exact same. It will still be a fun time! 

Hawaii Trip 2013: Part One

So before I write about my trip, let me remind you this is my journal! So some posts may be wordy but I'll try to keep it summarized for each day! 

Night 1: Dallan, my little sister, and I flew into Hawaii November 9th to meet up with my Dad and little brother (they were there almost a week before us!) We had a day flight which was awesome because we weren't overly tired when we landed! Dallan was super excited because it was his first time ever going to Hawaii! We got all settled in the hotel and went to the Cheesecake Factory!!! YUM! As soon as we walked out of the restaurant, down came the rain! And when I say rain, I mean like buckets of rain... We had about a half mile or so to walk to our hotel so we just kept going. It's not like the rain was cold, it was actually really warm. By the time we were a street away from the hotel, lo and behold a bus drives by and SOAKS up by driving through a HUGE puddle. I'm not joking when I say it was like a 5 foot wave of water! It was so freaking hilarious and a good way to welcome us to paradise!

Day 1: We all woke up pretty early that day from excitement. We ate at Denny's then hopped in the car and drove to the North Shore! We love the North Shore because it is less crowded then Honolulu. It was pretty rainy on that side of the island but we still stopped at a beach we call "Pounders", which the name is very true. the waves are so forceful that sometimes you will get pounded to the ground! When we were done there, we drove around BYU Hawaii's campus at my dad's old stomping grounds. It was fun seeing where he used to live and all his stories of his time there. The LDS Temple is just around the corner from the school so of course we had to go to the visitors center. It was also Sunday so it was fitting we do something somewhat spiritual. That night we walked the main drag of Waikiki strip to see all the street performers and all the overly expensive stores that no one can afford. It is like the Las Vegas Strip of Hawaii. No joke. On the way back the flash flood warning came again and the rain poured again! Dallan, Jensen, and I were a little smarter and bought an umbrella. But with all 3 of us huddling, it didn't work out that well but it was the funniest thing I think I've ever seen!

 

   

Day 2: This day we stuck around Waikiki Beach most of the day. If I lived in Hawaii, I would be a total beach bum! I could just layout and go swimming all day if I could! It was wicked hot this day though so we didn't stay out more then a couple hours. We drove around the island some more and stopped by Sandy beach where all the locals it seems go to surf because the waves are HUGE!! We didn't go in of course, but it was fun to watch them surf and boogie board those ginormous waves!

Day 3: We woke up like every other day and headed straight to the beach on the North Shore! See, we are all beach bums! On the way to the beach we stopped by the Dole Pineapple Plantation! This is a MUST SEE if you go to Hawaii. The pineapple is so fresh and it is really cool to learn how the pineapple grows and how it is picked. It was especially cool because Dallan's dad was born in Hawaii and actually worked as a pineapple picker for a little while living in Hawaii! It was extra special for Dallan because he just adores his pop! =) We spent the day at Hukilau beach and taught Dallan how to boogie board! He enjoyed it! Another awesome moment is when Jensen and I got to get a pearl out of the oyster or clam or whatever it's called! I've always wanted to do it so this time I bit the bullet and I don't regret it! I got my pearl set into a ring =) I love it!

My dad is awesome!

Day 4: Most of this day was spent at the Sea Life Park because Jensen and I got to swim with the dolphins! Well not really "swim" with them, but we were waist deep and got to feed one of them and get our picture taken with  him! It was the same dolphin that was on "50 First Dates"! It was pretty cool! At the dolphin show they had what was called a "Wholphin" half killer whale, half dolphin... How that happened... I have NO IDEA!! Seriously though, how the heck did a killer whale and a dolphin get together?? Wouldn't the killer whale just eat the dolphin because those things are vicious but I still love them!  I guess it is the only Wholphin in the world!! We saw a sea lion show too! It's amazing how they train these animals! After all the excitement from the sea life park we went to Sandy Beach again to watch the huge waves. Dallan had spotted some small sea shells so we started to walk around looking for more! I then had an idea to put all our little shells into a clear ornament ball for our "travel tree" I will have someday! Side note: I'm really obsessed with Christmas trees! So I know my house will have more then one, varying in sizes and shapes with lots of different themes...

Day 5: Dallan really wanted to see the Buddhist Temple that is in a cemetery. It was really cool to see! The smell inside smelt like my Great Grandma.. It was kind of weird but brought back a lot of good memories =) My dad's basketball rec league buddies were in Hawaii too, so we met up with them and chatted for a while then went to Hukilau Beach and went swimming even though it was raining. Who cares when your clothes are already wet from the rain anyways right?? Later we walked around the BYU Hawaii campus, got some t-shirts, and then went to their little rec center to bowl and play pool. It was pretty fun except I had to bowl with two left shoes... I tried to switch them out twice but the guy working there seemed kind of shy towards girls, so I didn't want to embarrass the poor guy! So I toughed it out, not like it hurt my feet it just felt funky. Also Dallan and I scored tickets to the Polynesian Culture Center (PCC) night show for only 10 bucks a piece!! 80 dollar savings ya'll!! haha But that is all thanks to my dad because he seems to know at least one person literally anywhere he goes! I'm not joking when I say he makes a friend no matter where he is at...My Dad is pretty awesome!

My two left shoes...

Day 6: It was a pretty relaxed day, we only went to Waikiki beach for an hour or so then went to watch the surf competition in Haleiwa but it was over by the time we got there so we just sat and watch for a while. There was a cute little boy about 4 there that was amazing at surfing! For more about that story click here!
There was a BYU Hawaii girls basketball game my dad and sister wanted to go to so they did that and Dallan and I went to the PCC night show. This is a must see if you're in Hawaii your first time! It's always entertaining especially the fire dancers at the end!

 Before the PCC show!!

Day 7:  We went straight to the surf competition in the morning so we wouldn't miss it! I have never been to one so it was really interesting to learn how it works. The surfers were amazing!!! Have I mentioned I wanted to be a surfer? It probably won't ever happen, but a girl can dream!
The boys BYU Hawaii basketball team was playing an earlier game so we got to go see them play which is always fun! If the BYU team scores 100 points everyone gets free icecream! Once the score is at about 95 the whole crowd starts chanting "Icecream! Icecream!" BYU won and yes, we all got icecream! YUM! In between the boys game and the girls game we of course went to the beach. It was fun watching my dad and Dallan boogie board.. Dallan totally wiped out a few times and I couldn't help but laugh and then feel bad.. Fun fact about me: When someone trips, falls, gets hit, etc, I tend to laugh first then make sure they are okay second... Just typing this out I start laughing! I don't know why I do that... hahah
The girls played afterwards so we watched them because they were playing UAA so we had to support our Alaska team! BYU lost by a lot.. I felt bad but they seemed in good spirits at the end!

Day 8: On the way to the North Shore we stopped by "Turtle Beach". I'm not sure if this is the actual name of it but that's what we call it. There are always turtles up on the shore and you can get your picture with them! There used to not be "turtle protectors" there at the beach so you could feed them and even touch them and stand close by to get a good picture with them! Now there is a rope you can't pass... LAME! It was still cool to see though especially it being Dallan's first experience there. We went to Pounders the rest of the day and Dallan got stung by a little Jellyfish!! HAHA Those are always fun... NOT!

The Jellyfish!!!

Day 9: Waikiki beach is the theme of this day. Dallan and I literally were there from like 10 am-5 pm... I wanted to see the sunset! I'm a sunset girl, they make me feel all gushy in side =) Not much went on besides swimming all day.

Day 10: OUR LAST DAY!! Its always a sad and happy moment on the last day of any vacation. We went out with a bang for sure... we all went parasailing!!! It was so fun and relaxing!! We even got to get dipped in the water twice instead of once because the boat was only half full! YAY US! =)
We then packed up and ate and did a quick run through the Fort DeRussy Army Museum.. When I say quick I mean it... Dallan and I walked through it in like 5 minutes because that's was when it was closing! Fastest Museum visit EVER! It was actually quite hilarious.
We went to eat at Ala Moana mall and window shopped for a few hours to kill time before the airport. In the middle of the mall they had it all decked out for Christmas and about every 30 minutes a Christmas song would come on and the lights would flicker with the music! Another cool thing about it was they had "snow" falling down during the song! But it was actually just little soap bubbles and with them reflecting off the lights it made it look like snow. That made me SUPER excited to get home to my non-humid cold air!

We had a blast in Hawaii but NOTHING beats home =) Stay tuned for Part two which will be a video!!!