Happy New Year, friends!!

I hope everybody had a blessed holiday break full of loved ones and festivities.

Long time no blog~ I haven’t done a “Thank You, 20XX” post in a while (the last one was Thank You, 2021!) and so I wanted to force myself on here to write a new one!

Wow, 2025 is OVER! I think I’ve mentioned it before but I always feel like each year can’t top the next but it always does – in one way or another. I do have this fear deep inside of me that time and life is slipping away so quickly (whoa, getting deep here lol xD), and that might be one of the reasons why I’m always chasing any opportunity to make a memory. Whether it’s something big and exciting like travelling or something “small” like making a nice dinner on a weekday, I believe that is what life is about: making lovely memories and building a lifetime of them to look back on.

I distinctly remember one time when I was in high school when the mother of our youth group’s leader passed away. He used it to connect to the teaching that night and to share that he actually wasn’t sad – not only because he knew his mother went to heaven and is now with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but also because he knew he did everything that he could with her. That really stuck with me and it’s something I’ve always tried to live my life by: To rest easy knowing that one day we’ll be reunited with Him, and to recognize the blessings in every single day – living confidently knowing that I’m living life to the fullest and doing the best I can by grace through faith.

Anyway! 2025 was packed full.

Nearly 100 days of travel!:

• 3-day road trip to Santa Barbara / Montecito / Ventura (I love the central coast)
• Weekend trip to Seattle (a really easy quick trip from SD!)
• Staycation in Coronado Island (Taitai loved it)
• 4-days in Sedona / Flagstaff / Phoenix (the red rocks are stunning)
• Work trip to Denver (for a speaking presentation)
• Work trip to Texas (then flew to LA for family)
• Work trip to Florida (saw Jessica Alba lol)
• 3-days in Orlando (& saw a dear friend from middle school!)
• 7-weeks Japan (including a summer vacation trip to Okinawa with my Japan friends~)
• Staycation in Los Angeles (K-town, KBBQ, & karokeeee)
• Weekend trip to Las Vegas (lost $500 gambling, will need to go back sometime and win it all back)
• 4-day trip to Utah (my 4th time to Utah!)
• 9-day Colombia Trip (finally went to Parque de Tyrona!)

Plus 6 Disney trips:

• 3x Disneyland / CA Adventures
• 1x Disney World Animal Kingdom
• 2x Tokyo Disneyland / Tokyo Disney Sea
• + separate visits to Downtown Disney and Orlando Disney Springs

Saw 4 concerts:

• Went to the G-Dragon show in Las Vegas
• Loved the Las Vegas so much, went to see him again the following week in Los Angeles xD
• And to seal the deal, saw the G-Dragon concert movie tooooo
• Also went to the Jonas Brothers concert (opened by Boys Like Girls and with performances from Jason Mraz & Switchfoot!)

Went on 12 movie dates (lots of good movies came out this year!):

• Studio Ghibli’s Grave of the Fireflies (pure sadness from beginning to end)
• Lilo & Stitch live action (with Halina’s niece~)
• One of Them Days with Keke Palmer (light-hearted comedy)
• Companion with Sophie Thatcher (I like her, she’s the same girl from Heretics)
• Wolf Children by Mamoru Hosoda (so good, I cried a lot watching this movie)
• Caught Stealing with Austin Butler & Zoe Kravitz (some good twists)
• Mickey 17 with Robert Pattinson, directed by Bang Joon Ho (same director as Parasite, Robert Pattison was spectacular in this role)
• Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (in 4DX was thrown around for 2 hours straightttt xD)
• Good Fortune with Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, & Aziz Ansari (double date with Jared & Fran)
• Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc (the Shark Fiend character is so cute hehe)
• Eternity with Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner (one of my new favorite romcoms movies ever!)
• Zootopia 2 (SO good!! >>>> Zootopia 1)

Went to lots of fun activities:

• Several camping trips (my mom is obsessed with camping so I always agree to go for 1 night lol)
• Multiple San Clemente / Laguna / OC / LA day trips (always more to explore)
• A comedy show (Jimmy O Yang was soo funny)
• A live symphony (Avatar the Last Airbender!)
• The San Diego Zoo (took Michael’s nieces)
• Balboa Park (to view the roses)
• Old Town (ate at Rockin’ Baja Lobster)
• Various art museums (MCASD, The Broad)
• A historical ranch (love that California spirit)
• The Flower Fields (got invited to a party there!)
• 2 Escape Rooms (escaped both~)
• Baseball games (not many, maybe next year Padres will have better luck~)
• Had various friends visiting from out of town (& from out of the country!)
• Morning fishing (Michael caught a fish!)
• Grand opening events (these are always fun)
• A beach bonfire (with no bonfire, had to make the fire in the sand lol)
• 2 restaurant weeks (a good way to try new restaurants)
• A garden tour (tried a new one this year!)
• & poker nights (I only won one so far T_T)

Celebrated the holidays:

• Valentine’s Day date night & treats for the students
• Chinese New Years dinner at home
• Easter Brunch
• Mother’s Day & Father’s Day
• Custom costume for Halloween party
• My niece’s Oktoberfest
• Halloweentown street festival
• Thanksgiving buffet
• Michael’s dad’s company Christmas party
• & a Colombian Christmas Eve dinner and presents

Lots of family time:

• My parents
• My sister/niece/nephew
• Michael’s parents and brothers
• Michael’s pa & half-brother
• My aunts/uncles/cousins
• Michael’s Colombia family
• Michael’s American family

Celebrated life events:

• Baby showers (love a diaper cake)
• Everyone’s Birthdays (ranging from 5 years old to tweens to 30s / 60s / and even up to 90!)
• Funerals (RIP Grandma Dang)

And all of the little moments in between – from the grand to the mundane – lots of lunches / dinners with friends, afternoon walks, beach strolls, trails and hikes, babysitting, church Sundays, boba runs, happy hours, dog beach, farmers markets, school events, quiet mornings, late nights, slow weekends, summer days, & more.

But of course, there are no highs without the lows.

In 2025, my sweetest little TaiTai passed away. And while this absolutely broke our hearts, I know we can’t be too sad because he gave us the best 16 years.

And toward the end of 2025, my dad had an accident. And while this was so scary and traumatic, praise God he is all better now with no permanent damage.

All in all, 2025 was BUSY but blessed.

Thank you, 2025~

Who knows what’s in store for 2026…

With love,
Emily