2015 IN REVIEW

The "year in review" post is easily my favorite blog post to write! I love looking back at a gigantic year and remembering how great it was.

Last New Years Eve, I remember feeling sad to leave behind 2014. It was the year we got married, moved to a new state, and started our lives.

I had no idea how incredible 2015 would be.

2015 was a year for growing.

Our love and marriage grew (who knew it was possible to love each other any more?) as we supported each other through the year's challenges.

We (but especially me) were able to reevaluate relationships and focus on those who love and support us.

We laughed. a lot. 

We stayed up too late.

& we made the best memories, some cringe worthy but the rest so so happy.

In no particular order, here are my highlights of 2015:

- TRAVEL!!! We were so blessed to travel this year to some of the most incredible places in the country. We traveled to CA TONS, Las Vegas, Newport Beach, Philadelphia, New York City, San Francisco, and Hawaii (for me).

- THE DAT. Jordan took the dental admissions test in spring after he had studied for MONTHS. It was the greatest feeling seeing him exit the testing center holding a piece of paper showing his INCREDIBLE score. 

- THAT ONE TIME WE WERE PREGNANT. This one of those cringe worthy ones.. Yep, you read it right... we were pregnant. Except we weren't. 2015 started off CRAZY when I had "morning sickness", took a pregnancy test and... POSITIVE. Only to go to the doctor to find out that I actually WASN'T pregnant. Yeah, roller coaster. But still a memory that I want to remember forever because we grew so much in those few weeks and I have truly never felt closer to my Heavenly Father (I was praying reeeeeeal hard 24/7). Phew. Its over.

- DENTAL INTERVIEWS. It was so amazing seeing Jordan's hard work pay off when he was invited to interview with almost every single school he applied to. And it was of course so wonderful to travel to those schools. pinch me.

-OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY. Best year of my life. 

- ROAD TRIP WITH MY BEST FRIEND. Best friends are so important. I loved spending time with mine.

- ACCEPTANCES. December 1st came and Jordan was accepted to so many schools! We took the plunge and put our deposit in at a school near where we grew up. 

- HOLIDAYS! I loved every holiday this year. From a huge valentines day party, to 4th of july with the whole family, to a quaint thanksgiving, to skyping our elder on mothers day and christmas. It was a good year for holidays. 

-JORDAN+HILLARY TIME. I really treasure these years we have with just the two of us. I love my best friend and the life we have. I am so lucky!

----

With only hours left in 2015, I sit here so excited for 2016. Probably the most excited i've ever been for a new year.

I'm mostly looking forward to:

ADAM COMING HOME FROM HIS MISSION!!!!!!

soaking up the rest of our time in Utah.

moving home to CA.

actually watching brad play football his senior year!

living by my mama!

disneyland passes!

Hawaii with my family.

Jordan starting dental school.

Going back to my all time favorite job.

and all the other blessings I can't see coming!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Now i'm off to celebrate with the people I love most!

Christmas Card Pictures

My blog is one big photo dump & I love it because I know that if something terrible happens to my computer all of my pictures are safe here!

So here ya have our 2015 christmas card pictures!

(yes, I feel a little weird that we took christmas card pictures without kids but whaaaaatever!)

Taken by the lovely Valerie Abenroth Photography! We love her so much!

Merry Christmas! xo

DENTAL SCHOOL: thoughts, feelings, & a verdict

Prepare yourself for a lot of blah,blah,blah. Its a long one...

For those of you that follow me on any form of social media you have seen our dental school journey.

It started at the beginning of the year when Jordan studied for the DAT 24/7.

Then May came and he DESTROYED the DAT! (so proud of that smarty boy)

June came and we needed to choose which schools to apply to. We laid in bed and finally came up with a list:

University of Utah

Columbia

Harvard

U Penn

UoP

UCSF

UCLA

USC

Western

Mid Western Arizona

Roseman

UNLV

Loma Linda

Back in June University of Utah was "our school". We love Utah and were excited to continue living here.

He applied to all 3 ivy leagues because why not? His scores were plenty high enough. It didn't hurt to try.

Loma Linda was our VERY LAST/ ALMOST DIDN'T APPLY TO SCHOOL!

We both grew up 30 minutes away and really had no desire to go back.

This might come to a surprise for those of you who know me because I am freakishly attached to my parents and brothers.
It just wasn't a school we really thought about & I somehow manage to see my parents once a month living in a different state so I wasn't too freaked out.  

BUT we decided it was worth applying to just incase we changed our minds...

boy did we.

So applications went out!

When the interviews starting flying in we went a little bananas...

Jordan was invited to interview at 11 schools. 

Suddenly, we felt pressure to explore EVERY SINGLE option. 

We traveled across the country and really tried to picture ourselves in each city.

We had the best few months traveling but it was also the most exhausting few months of our lives.

We would travel to an amazing school and would fall in love with parts of the city but somehow we would both not quite feel right. 

Guys, I don't mean to get all sensitive and weird, but it really was the most spiritual experience for me.

I kept praying that I would feel peace and would be able to recognize the spirit prompting me on whether or not it was the right school.

Throughout the last few months I have felt a heavenly guidance.

It was just the little things..

Like when I was in Philly and saw a mom pushing a stroller with little babies and arms full of groceries.

Our eyes locked for one second and she looked so stressed.

I knew right then that I wouldn't want to have kids in Philly.
(having kids in dental school is something we would really like.)

Or when we spoke to someone who we fully trusted and they told us University of Utah probably wasn't the right school for jordan (for MANY reasons). I was crushed that night because Utah seemed like such a great place to go to school. I was so upset but I had a calm feeling that told me things would be just fine. 

Or that sick feeling I had flying home from my favorite city in the entire world (NYC). I was fully expecting to fall even more in love and want to move there. 

Or the conversations that we had with friends and family. They probably didn't think anything of the conversation but for us it was pivotal. Especially the conversations we had with dental student friends. Their words were everything we needed to hear and their advice was priceless. 

I really felt that Heavenly Father was showing me what I needed to see, telling me what I needed to hear, and allowing me to be sensitive so I could feel what I needed to feel.

So we toyed with lots of schools.

If you were to ask our friends and family, they could give you a list of schools that at one point or another we really liked.

We would talk about one, then we would both feel off.

It was exhausting.

Then what seemed like all at once, everyone had such positive things to say about Loma Linda.

This time when we toyed with Loma Linda IT FELT RIGHT!

It was like our eyes were opened and we finally saw how amazing Loma Linda would be. 

It sealed the deal when Jordan interviewed. He came home so sure that he would love it there.

The last few weeks we have felt so sure and happy about the thought of moving back home to CA.
When people would ask us our "dream school" we wouldn't hesitate to say Loma Linda.

IT JUST FELT RIGHT.

But as Dec. 1st was approaching (the first official day that dental schools can start accepting) we were both a little nervous.
Our hopes were as high as they could get & we were afraid that after all this he would get in, or something?
That was us being paranoid.
Jordan's stats were well above their average and he felt really good about his interview.

The night before acceptance day I couldn't sleep.
I tossed and turned and when I finally fell asleep I dreamt about acceptances. -_-

When I woke up Jordan was still in bed and on his phone.
He rolled over and said, "Good morning, just checked my phone.. I'm already accepted to Columbia & University of Utah".
It was 7 am and the day was already off to a good start!
I was relieved but still super antsy for the rest of the day!

Jordan got lots of calls that day but the most important one came as we were strolling through Walmart...
Loma Linda called and I maybe danced around like an idiot.

BEST FEELING EVER!
After all of this hard work he is in the school that he loves! I am so so so happy and proud of him!

A lot of people have asked us why we turned down "big" schools to move back to CA and the answer is simply because it feels right.
I'm so grateful to my Father in Heaven for guiding us.
I'm also so thankful it was made clear and it wasn't one of those "i trust you, you decide" answers haha.

I can't wait to start this next chapter and watch my guy shine!
(& go to target with my mom everyday & stuff ;) )


HERE WE COME CALIFORNIA! WE'VE MISSED YOU!

UOP/ SAN FRAN

Jordan interviewed at University of the Pacific last weekend and we were able to make a little weekend out of it! 

It was so fun to have no agenda and wander the city just the two of us!

The first few days were all fun! We saw some sights (golden gate bridge, Alcatraz, etc.), ate at my ALL TIME favorite Chinese food restaurant in china town, saw some movies, went to the oakland temple, ate the best clam chowder + taffy(!!!!), and much more. 

The last day was Jordan's big interview. 

It was one of his favorite interviews. I know he did amazing!

Jordan's interview was 6 1/2 hours long so I had quite some time to kill. 

Thankfully, the campus is right by market street so I was able to do LOTS of shopping and see a movie.

(also, shout out to my girl mick for talking on the phone with me for over an hour while I wandered the city. She kept me very entertained!) 

By the time Jordan was done with his interview we were both pooped and ready to go home.

We have been traveling so much lately (and still have 3 more trips before the new year...) and so we were really craving our own bed.

It was still so fun to get away! 

I love traveling with my best friend! I feel really, really blessed to be by his side during this phase of life. 

now ready, set, picture OVERLOAD!

LOMA LINDA/ CA TRIP

Loma Linda's dental school is about 30 minutes away from both of our parents houses so it has been pretty high on our list of schools we would consider going to.

It worked out wonderfully that the interview date was the day before my best friend's wedding and  two days before Jordan's brother's wedding because we were already planning on being in CA.

We did have to change a few travel plans but it all worked out great!

We flew from NYC to LA on Tuesday night and enjoyed the relaxing evening and doing LOADS of laundry at my parent's house.

The next morning Jordan had his fastest interview to date at Loma Linda. He loved the campus and was really excited about the school.

I was able to go to my old job at pre school and hang out with the kids. 

I miss that job more than anything.

I love the idea of loma linda strictly because I miss that job so much.

It was a fun afternoon to drive around and look at apartments with my mom and Jordan and just imagine what it would be like to move back to our old stomping grounds. 

Most importantly, we were able to see a movie at our favorite theater and eat their popcorn haha. we are obsessed.

The next day was the pre school's field trip so Jordan and I tagged along to the pumpkin patch.

I got a much needed hair make over. Goodbye long, stringy, dead, blonde ends. Hello, short, dark, HEALTHY hair. I may not love it yet but I am happy to have it healthy and let it re grow. 

That night one of my best friends got married! The wedding was in malibu and it was GORGEOUS!

Jessica made the most beautiful bride! I have NEVER EVER EVER see a more beautiful dress.

Their ceremony was so cute and no one could deny the love they have for each other. It was seriously beautiful!

Jessica and bobby threw quite the party! I was sad not to have Jordan with me but he had to be at his brother's rehearsal dinner. I had my mom and dad with me tho. Third wheeling just like old times!

(My mom and I fight over jessica. I'd say she is just as much my mom's bff as she is mine.)

The next day Jordan's brother got married and we added another Smith to the family!

Jordan may have looked like a penguin in his tux but I was happy to have him as my date for this wedding! I love that he is my date for eternity (even if he is a total goof.. just look at that picture of him)

It was a loved filled few days!

By the time the wedding was over we were more than ready to head home to Utah.

We flew home the next morning and slept SO soundly in our bed!

It was a wild few weeks of traveling and we are so happy to be home for a few weeks.

We have lots to think about but these next few months will be so fun for us as we decide where we will live for the next 4 years!

I am so giddy for dec. 1 (the first official day schools start accepting). Thankfully, Jordan has a few more interviews and I have a few more trips to distract me.

NEXT STOP: SAN FRAN!

NYC DAY 4

Day 4!

We slept in because we were all really beat. We had bought bus passes for the double decker bus and really hadn't used them yet so we planned on spending our day doing a tour. 

Our first stop on the bus was to central park. The park is huge and everyone except Jordan and I had to be on a flight that afternoon so we were short on time. We decided that the fastest way to get around would be on the back of a bike. We found the cutest bike tour guides and they took us all around. I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time. We hit the major stops in the park but my favorite was the friends fountain. When we pulled up our guide turned on the friends theme song and we all danced around and took pictures. It was amazing! 

Jordan really wanted to see the temple so we did a quick stop!

We continued on the double decker bus tour and ended up at Chelsea market. 

From there we said our good byes to our family and Jordan and I went on our way. 

We went to the Empire State Building and managed to sneak through security and bypass every line. This got us in and out in about 20 mins. We were so happy. I've been to the Empire State Building 3 times and now that I've seen the views from the freedom tower it doesn't even compare. Freedom and top of the rock are way better. But Jordan hadn't been there so we had to go! 

We finally got to eat at my favorite New York pizza place. It was so nice to have a quiet dinner with just the two of us. It was the perfect time to talk about the future and talk about how we felt about moving to this city.

I love Broadway shows so I wanted to see one last show before we left but most shows don't play on Monday nights so we didn't have much to choose from. We decided to see Amazing Grace. The story is really cool. It's about the man who wrote amazing grace. The actors were great and had AMAZING voices but somehow the show didn't do it for us. We walked out feeling whatever about it. A Broadway show is never a bad idea, in my opinion. Next time we won't go on a Monday tho. 

After the show we took a sketchy cab ride to our hotel near the airport so we could hop on a plane early the next morning. 

And just like that, our trip was over. 

I'm so sad to be home from my favorite city. Not sure when I'll be back, but I sure hope it's sooner rather than later. 

We feel really blessed to have gotten this opportunity to travel with the people we love. Their support and encouragement towards Jordan was so sweet. We were so lucky to get to celebrate Jordan's accomplishments together in the most beautiful city in the world!

anddd we are extra grateful for my parents who "sponsored" our trip as a "keep up the good work, jordan" gift! They are the best and we are so grateful for them!