Seasons greetings from the Fujimotos!

Mallory and Papa

We capped off 2024 with a multi-stop trip, starting in Raleigh, NC, where we spent Christmas with Mallory’s family. They were wonderful hosts, and we thoroughly enjoyed all the festivities.

The second stop took us to Los Angeles. We visited Griffith Observatory, the Long Beach Aquarium, and spent a day at Disneyland, which was stunningly decked out for the season. One of our favorite new discoveries was Porto’s—a cuban bakery and cafe with an incredible selection of pastries, sandwiches, and desserts. The cubano sandwich was an instant favorite.

While in LA we had the pleasure of attending Mochitsuki, an annual tradition in Tynor’s family where the everyone comes together to make mochi (soft, sweet rice balls pounded into a chewy delight.) This was Mallory’s first experience of the festivities, and she jumped right in to help like a seasoned pro. Although we will sadly be missing the event this year, we look forward to many more in the future.

Mallory and Tynor wearing costumes for their solo

We continue to enjoy taking ballroom dance lessons and competed in two competitions this year: Big Easy Dance Gala in New Orleans where we won Best Solo (a super fun nightclub two-step routine; huge credit to our instructor for the brilliant choreography!) and Elite Dancesport in Irvine. Seeing our progress over the year has been incredibly rewarding, we look forward to dancing every opportunity we get.

In September, Tynor’s mom was kind enough to let us stay at her tiny home on the Oregon coast while she camped with Tynor’s grandpa and younger brother Niall. The weather was chilly, but we still managed to visit several beaches in the day and a half we were there.

Mallory and Tynor in front of the Universal Studios globe

Soon after returning from Oregon, we embarked on a trip down to Universal Studios Hollywood with Mallory’s dad and step-mom. This destination will always hold a special place in our hearts—it was both our first trip as a couple and the place we got engaged in 2023.

In November, Tynor attended an offsite in Austin, TX with his company (Peach Finance). We used the trip as an opportunity to also visit Tynor’s cousin Lindsay, her husband Joe, and their two kids, Noah and Liam in Houston.

Mallory received a well-earned promotion to Scientist at Pfizer and continues to work in cancer research.

We hope everyone had a wonderful 2024 and we are excited to see what 2025 has to offer. Happy new year!