allan and jules

Christmas is coming...

2010-12-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

Since we don't have kids and I have been trying to update our blog more regularly, I decided to post pictures of our dog and our Christmas tree. Both the dog outfit and the Christmas tree are from Becky and Jared...thanks guys! We had to move the big love sac to make room for the Christmas tree so Cuni has a new favorite spot. Merry Christmas everyone!

Hawaii

2010-10-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Oahu for the first time and it was beautiful! It was probably our favorite vacation yet. We did so much and went all over the island but also spent a lot of time relaxing on the beach. We stayed in Waikiki but basically only slept there. Our favorite part of the island was definitely North Shore.

We went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay but our favorite spot was Waimea Bay where we swam with turtles.

We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and had a lot of fun. Scott, my brother-in-law's brother, works there and came with us to the night show. He was so sweet and got us an awesome discount! We went to the Luau and as shown above, had a pork dinner. Above was before...

And this is after. Yum!

We went to the temple grounds and the visitors center.

We had perfect weather and saw lots of rainbows but no double rainbows. :)

We went to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial.

We hiked the Maunawili trail to this waterfall.

In addition to everything above, we also visited the BYU Hawaii Campus, the Dole Plantation, Kailua Beach, Lanikai Beach with Derrick, Allan's brother, and his wife, Kate, drove up to Mount Tantalus, Sunset Beach (North Shore), ate the shaved ice at Matsumoto's, and saw Kualoa Ranch where Jurassic Park was filmed. We would love to go back and do everything again! It was so much fun!

The last year...

2010-10-17T20:23:00.001-07:00

We're still Cards fans.

Brent and Marina came to visit us for Allan's birthday.

We've been to San Diego a lot to visit my parents.

Tasha and Ryan and their kids came to visit us in Arizona.

We went to Idaho for Mayan's baby blessing.

So...

2010-10-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

I know I am averaging one post per year but I am really going to try harder to be more consistent. Basically, everything is the same with us. Allan is in his 2nd year of law school at ASU, I'm still a banker, and we have one dog and no kids. Life is good though. :)

arizona life

2009-10-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since I have blogged. However, it is not entirely my fault. We don't have internet and tonight, Allan was lucky enough to try a neighbor's network and it worked. Anyway, as you can see from the picture, Allan and I are adjusting very well and quickly to Arizona and we are already huge fans of all Arizona's teams. We love it here! Allan is staying really busy with law school and I am staying really bored working as a banker. ( I am grateful I have a job though.) Our routine is the same everyday: I drop Allan off at the library on my way to work at 8am and then I pick him up on my way home at 6pm. Then, he studies and reads for another couple hours at night while I'm bored. But this week has been great because he is on fall break so we have been hanging out and having so much fun. Our apartment is small but we love it. We live in Tempe close to campus and right off the freeway but our complex is still very nice and quiet. It has a pool and a 24 hour fitness center and a QT across the steet (a really extravagant gas station slash market). I love the heat and the weather is cooling down but staying warm. I could definitely see us living here forever. I just can't wait until the winter when there is no snow! Anyway, I thought I'd write a little but I will be posting some more pictures soon. To all our friends and family in Idaho, we love you and miss you and Idaho. I promise. :)

Our Cruise

2009-04-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

So Allan and I decided to make a vacation out of our trip to San Diego to visit the Cal Western law school campus. We went on a 7 day cruise to Mexico! Our stops were Cabo, Mazatlan, and La Paz. It was so much fun!

We did a lot of snorkeling!

We saw some really old, very Catholic churches.

We went fishing in Cabo and caught 5 tuna and while we were fishing, we saw a whale. It was really cool. Then we took our fish to a restaurant and had them cook them and we ate them for lunch. The rest of the fish we gave to our capitan, Martin. Looking back, the fish really didn't taste that good but we were starving so at the time, it was great.

Brent & Marina's Wedding

2009-04-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

Brent & Marina were married in the Twin Falls temple on April 3rd. Marina looked so beautiful and it was so great to finally meet her. She is a sweetheart! I love her to death and I am going to be so sad when she & Brent move to Miami. I got to help out with the cake and flowers and it was definitely a learning experience...but also a lot of fun especially after it was all over.

We're moving to Arizona!!!

2009-04-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

So Allan and I finally made a decision as to where we will be living for the next three years and of course where Allan will be attending law school...ASU! We're so excited even though neither one of us has ever been to the Phoenix area. We will probably be moving sometime in June or July but it really depends on when I can get a transfer with my job. We will probably be living somewhere close to campus in Tempe or Mesa. My sister and her family live in Gilbert so I will be close to family. We feel really good about it and are really excited to have a pool which I've heard is a must and to live in a state that actually has professional sports teams. We're both so sick of BSU. Anyway, we'll keep you updated and soon to be posted are our pictures from our cruise...

Congrats to Brent & Marina!

2009-03-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

Bogus Basin

2009-03-04T10:59:00.000-08:00

Allan and Brent went skiing and snowboarding at Bogus Basin.

Van C. Draper

2009-02-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

Allan's dad passed away on Thursday and it has been a very difficult experience for Allan. We appreciate your prayers.

His Obituary:

Van Charles Draper
December 20, 1947 – February 5, 2009

Van Charles Draper, 61, Nyssa, passed away peacefully on Thursday Feb. 5, 2009. Van was born in Ogden, Utah on December 20, 1947 to Miland George Draper and Iris Marie Van Natter. Van is survived by his seven siblings: Clark, Lynn, Debbie (Skousen), Roger, Willard, Donna (Galligar), and Darrell.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969. He married Barbara Fowers on Aug. 20, 1970. He is survived by their six children: Colleen (Mitchell), Derrick, Kevin, Allan, Brent, and Tasha (Nelson) and seventeen grandchildren.

Van married Monica Lewis on July 15, 2000. He is survived by their daughter, Audrey, and two grandchildren.

Van married Deborah Tuttle on August 5, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Deborah, and her five children: Kim Cardall, Amanda Kench, Jessica Sherwood, Brittney Faulkner, Kelsey Faulkner, and six grandchildren.

Van loved to spend time with his family and friends. He often stopped to help stranded motorists, giving freely of his time and skills with automobiles. He will be greatly missed by many in our community.

Funeral services will be held at 11 am Tuesday, February 10th, at the Nyssa LDS Chapel. A viewing will be held one hour prior to the services.

the snow is here...

2008-12-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

thanksgiving

2008-12-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

Mom and Doyle came over for Thanksgiving and we helped mom frost her famous sugar cookies. They were really good!

Family Pictures

2008-11-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

Our dog, Cuni

2008-11-23T12:53:00.001-08:00

Allan and I LOVE our little puppy Cuni.

Snorkeling

2008-11-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

The Shells...

2008-11-23T12:37:00.001-08:00

All I have to say is if you find a shell in the ocean and there is something living inside it, don't take it home. We thought it was a crab and that it would just crawl out and go back into the ocean, but as you can tell from the pictures, it was not a crab.

St. Maarten

2008-11-23T12:31:00.000-08:00

St. Thomas

2008-11-23T12:25:00.001-08:00

The Bahamas

2008-11-23T12:21:00.001-08:00

Our Cruise

2008-11-23T12:06:00.001-08:00

We went on our first cruise in September and it was awesome!

Miami

2008-11-23T11:58:00.000-08:00

Allan and I went to Miami where we left for our cruise and spent some time with Brent, Allan's brother. He took us to PF Chang's and to Southbeach. It was really fun.

5 things...

2008-11-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

5 things I was doing 10 yrs ago…

•Playing HS sports
•Getting bad grades
•Wishing I could get good grades so I could drive
•Hanging out with Crissy
•Loving Kobe Bryant

5 things on my “to do” list today…

•Make pumpkin bread for Allan
•Buy a present for Jonah
•Make hot coco
•Find something to do at work other than blogging
•Call my mom

5 Snacks I enjoy…(these are probably more like meals but I honestly don’t snack a lot just eat a lot.)

•Kraft Mac and cheese out of the box
•Guacamole (with tortilla chips)
•Honey Nut cheerios (dry w/o milk)
•Cheese Sandwich with BBQ sauce (Allan thinks it’s disgusting but I got the idea from my sister Becky)
•Brownies

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire… (I have more than 5 because I have actually thought about this a lot.)

•Pay off all of our debt
•Quit my job
•Save enough for Allan to pay for law school
•Buy a private jet
•Buy a yacht
•Buy my parents’ house so they can move to San Diego
•Buy stuff for the rest of my family
•Save whatever I have left and invest it
(ok I guess, if I were a multimillonaire)

5 places I have lived…

•Santa Clarita, CA
•Buenos Aires, Argentina
•Provo, UT
•Fountain Valley, CA
•Caldwell/Nampa, ID

5 jobs I’ve had…

•Delivery driver at Papa John’s (I worked with 2 out of my 3 sisters)
•Waitress at El Torito
•Receptionist at Tranquility Spa & Salon
•Swim Teacher at the Athletic Club
•Daycare teacher at Tutor Time

It's been a busy summer...

2008-09-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Then, on August 25th, it was our first anniversary and my 26th birthday. We went to Utah and stayed with my sister, melissa and her family, Kwan, Isabella, Daisy, and Annie. We stayed in the Anniversary Inn for a night too. Allan got me a rolling pin, a George Foreman grill, a golf hat, tennis balls, a duffle bag, and a 5 month old Shih Tzu (a puppy). We named him Cuni. His hair is really long in this picture but we got him groomed and he looks so cute. Allan also made me a cake. It was a great birthday!

It's been a busy summer...

2008-09-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Then, August 19th, it was Allan's 28th birthday! I gave him a John Beck Miami Dolphins jersey which he will be wearing for every BYU game. I also got him the Roger Federrer tennis racket and some other things. I made him breakfast and also made him ribs for dinner (his favorite). Hunter, our little nephew helped him blow out his candle.

It's been a busy summer...

2008-09-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

Next, we went to Twin Falls and the open house for the Twin Falls Temple. We had a very experienced tour guide, Allan's Mom (She has been to the open house a lot!). We also went golfing with Mom and Doyle. It was a lot of fun and the temple was beautiful!

It's been a busy summer...

2008-09-06T13:14:00.001-07:00

Then we went camping with Kevin(Allan's brother) and Maria and their kids: Ethan, Kaleb and Ambrie for the 4th of July.

It's been a busy summer...

2008-09-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

So here are some pictures to update you... First, we went to Southern California. We got to see a lot of my family. It was good to be home and see my cute little nephews Jonah and Eli and also see my parents and sisters. Allan and I spent most of our time at the beach and we also went to Universal Studios.

our wedding pictures

2008-04-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

utah

2008-04-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Allan & I went to Utah for about 4 days to visit my sister and her family and also to go to the Lakers game. They played the Jazz and of course, the Lakers won. It was a really good game though. I couldn't believe how crazy the Jazz fans are and how much they hate the Lakers. But there were actually a lot of Lakers' fans there and towards the end of the game, we were all yelling MVP everytime Kobe had the ball. It was really fun.

We stayed with my sister and her family while we were there. They are living in Clearfield. It was so good to see them and it was especially fun being able to spend time with my 3 neices Isabella, Daisy & Ana Lisa. They are so beautiful.

We went to a farm with the girls and with Sarah and her 2 kids, Will and Liliana. The kids loved seeing the animals and we had so much fun feeding the horses. We picked up the hay off the ground and let the horse eat right out of our hands. The girls thought it was so fun but each time the horse moved or got closer, the girls backed away real fast. Ana Lisa loved the ducks and chased them around the farm for a long time.

We also celebrated Kwan's birthday the weekend we were there. Missy made enchiladas and cupcakes and it was really good.

During our time in Utah, we were also introduced to the Wii. We played a lot! At Missy's house, we mostly played tennis, dance dance revolution, and boxing. I got really into it, a little too into it. When we were playing tennis, I accidentally hit Kwan really hard in the back of the arm in an attempt to hit a short ball over the net. I just had a problem realizing that I didn't have to move or dive to hit the balls and that I could just stay in place. The Wii is so fun and it's such a good work out. Then on our way home, we stopped by our friends' house, Brandon & Tiffany and they had a Wii too. So of course, we had to play. We played Guitar Hero and tennis again (my favorite). Then Brandon and Allan stayed up all night playing baseball. Allan and I decided we're going to get one but only after Allan takes the LSAT. The funny thing is we hate video games but we love the Wii. Ok I've spent way too much space talking about the Wii... Utah was really fun and it was so good to see Missy and her family. We're hoping they come and visit us soon.

Winter in Idaho

2008-02-10T19:07:00.000-08:00

Allan and I have not taken any new pictures lately so I thought I would post this one. It's actually a picture Allan took from a couple months ago when he, Ryan and Brent went deer hunting in the mountains. This winter has been long, cold and very snowy. We are definitely ready for it to be over. Driving in the snow is really scary and dangerous. It snowed so much last sunday that church was cancelled almost everywhere in the southern Idaho region. (Plus, it was Superbowl Sunday.)

Just some random updates...for those of you that don't know yet, Allan has decided to go to law school and will be taking the LSAT in June. He has been so disciplined about studying and I am very confident he will do well. He's going to apply to different schools so we're not sure where we will be living but our first choice is of course, BYU.

our trip to chile

2008-01-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

Allan and I went to Vina Del Mar, Chile for about a week and a half from December 15th to December 24th. Allan served his mission there and finally got to go back 6 years after. We went with a companion of his, Brandon Lott and Tiffany, Brandon's wife. We stayed in a hotel right off of the coast. It was so much fun but also a very busy vacation. We traveled all over to see some sights, friends and to visit Allan's and Brandon's areas from the mission. Fortunately, we had some time to spend at the beach too. There were about 5 significant earthquakes and about 10 little aftershocks while we were there which was fun at first but after the 2nd one, we were really scared and anxious about a huge one hitting. According to the Chilenos, a huge devastating earthquake is supposed to happen anytime and is overdue 10 years. We rode the buses everywhere and walked the rest of the time. All in all, Chile was lots of fun but also was a reminder of just how blessed we truly are to live in the country we live in and to have the things we have like cars, houses, hot water, jobs, and italian, chinese and mexican food, etc.

Companions Again! Allan and Brandon got to go back to the area where they were companions during their mission. We went to their ward's sacrament and then afterwards, we walked around to see some of their friends. They were in their white shirts and ties again so it was really cute to see them walking through the streets of their old area.

My Chilena Companion! I got to see my favorite comp from my mission, Soledad Araya who lives in Santiago. She is so great!

We went to the little pueblo where Gabriela Mistral was born and raised. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her poetry. Allan studied a lot of her work for one of his majors, Spanish.

This a picture we actually took with our camera through a telescope. We went to an observatory and learned a lot about the stars, constellations, and galaxies. It was cool. The Catholic church built this really really big cross in the middle of a really poor area. It's actually kind of sad because the people talk about how with the money they spent on the cross they could have built a hospital or a school or something more useful. We took an elevator to the top which was about 20 or more stories.

We spent a lot of time in the buses traveling from place to place or just going to the beach or going shopping. Public transportation is a lot of fun...It was nice to go back to driving our own cars at home.

This was the cutest little kid. We brought some things to give away to the kids and the members and we gave this kid a backpack filled with school supplies. He loved it! It was so cool to see the look on his face.

This is the Vera Family, some good friends of Allan from his mission. We ate breakfast one morning with them and then we went to the beach together. They are very nice and hardworking people.

We moved!

2007-11-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

Allan and I moved into a new house and it is beautiful! We moved on November 10th. It's only about 5 miles from our old house but closer to the freeway. It's a 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath, 2 story with a family room and living room, so a little bigger than our old home. We got a really good deal on it so we are really happy. It has a really nice backyard with a lot of trees and a little stream running through it. We hope you like the pictures! I love our master bath so I put in a pic of the tub.

atlanta and salt lake

2007-09-15T19:45:00.001-07:00

So on our way to and from Cancun we had layovers in Atlanta and Salt Lake City. We had enough time to visit some of the sites too. We went to the King Center in Atlanta which is a little museum dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. and we saw the little church where he used to preach. It was really cool. We didn't have a lot of time once we got there because we decided to walk not knowing it was a pretty long walk. Then on our way home, we stopped in Salt Lake City and visited temple square. The temple is so beautiful and it was really fun.

more cancun

2007-09-15T19:40:00.001-07:00

cancun

2007-09-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

Allan and I left for our honeymoon from LA the night of our reception. We traveled through Atlanta and arrived in Cancun on Sunday afternoon. Our honeymoon was awesome! It was so much fun and we got to do so many cool things. We went snorkeling, parasailing, bike riding, shopping, swimming, cliff jumping, wave-runner riding, kayaking and much much more. We played in the ocean and waves alot and got a lot of sun. We played soccer, volleyball, and bingo (Allan won a t-shirt). We toured a Mayan ruin called Tulum and we spent a day at a water park. But more than anything, we spent most of our time eating and swimming. It was the best vacation ever! It was so nice to just relax and since it was an all-inclusive resort we were staying at, we didn't even have to worry about money! It was so fun just to be able to enjoy each other and spend a whole week of quality time together. We were both so sad to leave and come back home to the real world. We arrived home Friday night and now things are pretty much back to normal. Some of the pics were taken with a disposable underwater camera!

our reception in california

2007-09-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

We had our 2nd reception 2 weeks after the wedding in Santa Clarita, CA on September 8th. It was awesome! My sister, brother-in-law, aunt and my mom took care of everything- the food, the decorations, the flowers, the cake, etc. They are all so talented and we are so thankful for them and their hard work. Everything looked beautiful and it was exactly what Allan and I were hoping for. Allan got to meet so many of my friends and family so it was really fun. And I got to see my 2 beautiful nephews who are adorable and hilarious.

about us

2007-09-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

Julianna Diaz Draper

I am originally from Santa Clarita, CA. I have 3 sisters and 2 brothers who are both on missions, one in Columbus, OH and the other in Macon, GA. I went on my mission to Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission from 2003-2005. I then lived in Provo, Utah for about year and a half where I met my husband. I moved back to California and lived in Orange County for about 6 months and then in May, 2007 I moved to Nampa, Idaho where we live now. I'm currently working as a banker for Wells Fargo.

Allan Draper

My husband was born and raised in a small town called Nyssa in Oregon which borders Idaho. Allan has 2 sisters and 3 brothers, most of whom live within driving distance from us. He attended Ricks College after High School and served his mission in Vina Del Mar, Chile from 2001-2003. He then attended BYU in Provo, Utah and graduated in 2006. He lived in Columbus, OH in the summer of 2006 and then moved to Nampa, ID. He currently is working at US Bank as a banker and is in the process of getting his insurance and investment licenses. On the side, he is involved in real estate investment.

our wedding

2007-09-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

Allan & I were married on August 25th in the Boise, Idaho temple. It was an incredible experience and the best day of our lives! So many of our good friends and family were able to attend which made our day even more fun and memorable. It was so nice to have Allan's friends from his mission there who are so fun to be around. Also, the Forshays from my mission came which was the best surprise of the day. My sisters helped out a lot, especially my older sister Melissa. She did my flowers and my cake and brought with her my beautiful little niece. My mother-in-law and her husband organized everything, the luncheon and the amazing reception afterwards in Nyssa. We couldn't have done it without them. Here are some pictures that some friends took of us on our wedding day. I'll post the professional ones as soon as we get them back.