2 years later.

this beautiful creature

inspired me then.

and inspires me still today.

much love joni.

much love cartwheels to car wheels.

happy birthday.

twenty four and a little more.

i'm hip on the phrase "you thought you knew, but you have no idea" lately.  i don't know why.  it's really myserious. and yeah.  so is it a surprise that i am going to tie two ideas together and do a "happy birthday courtney/you thought you knew courtney but you have no idea" post.  and here we...go.

did you know that courtney....
-is a different person in the swimming pool.  i don't know what it is but water does something to her?
-doesn't drink from the same spot on the glass twice?
-won't drink milk with anything but pancakes?
-will probably marry someone that most would call nerdy?
-can make paper tissue flowers look alive?
-invented the genius "friend crush" desciption?
-wore stick on earrings as a child?
-made fairies once?
-finds beauty in the pom pom?
-takes a lot of pictures of herself?
-makes really ugly faces then taps me on the shoulder and makes me look at her?
-claims to be a diet coke fanatic when really she only drinks mcdonalds and sev diet coke?
-talks to herself a lot?
-sings to herself a lot?
-likes when i narrarate her life?
-today she is a year short of a quarter of a century old?

well now you know.

my gift to you.

there is nothing in this world that i love more than...

1.  blogs.

2.  birthdays.

3.  battlestar galactica.

so for my birthday week, which, if you are my real friend you already know, is now, i asked my favorite bloggers to guest write on this here blog about my favorite thing.  birthdays.  read their post, follow their blogs, and consider my birthday wish fulfilled.  lucky me.  lucky you.

224 post, 365 days old.

happy birthday cartwheels to car wheels!!

you are my pride and joy.

you are my favorite compliment.

you are my outlet and escape.

you are the greatest little online journal a girl could have.

to celebrate the life of my little lover,
please listen to the song that
created her lovely little name,
which is so fitting to me right now,
still, one year later.

one year down,

the rest of my life to go!

...

p.s.

i will never forget.

watch this and remember.

p.s.s.

my parents are  flying out of new york

today.

on september 11th.

i think that is bad luck.

hopefully not though.

i need them to get to prauge

and take pictures

and find chuck bass

and buy me things

so i can say

"oh yeah i got this in prague."

birthday by proxy.

courtie. 
just so you know, you had a fantastic birthday. 

you swung on a yellow swing.

little malia pushed you around in a shopping cart.

you rocked the rocking horse.

you and gabie baby rode bikes.  {don't tell him that i am still
secretly using that nickname.  even though he is not very
"baby" anymore.  sadly.}

and mom and dad gave you a little birthday cuddle.

we spent some time together too.  we took a nice long sunday nap on your bed.  we watched a movie.  we made cupcakes and ate them too.  it was a lovely time to celebrate the day, 23 years ago, that the world got just a small bit brighter and better.  i miss you.

p.s. jayden blew out your candle for you. and i made a wish for you. 

 i can't tell you what it was but let's just say that your mission may

go by a bit quicker because of it.

hpy itdy to me.

half of a birthday face of a half birthday girl.

{translation:  happy half birthday...to me.}

today i am a 19 1/2 year old.

here's to the last six months of teenagerhood.

from the 801 to the district.

{matchy matchy sisters.}

dear courtie.

as you already know, i am quite fond of birthdays. mostly mine, but i enjoy a good celebration of birth no matter what.  i even like your birthday.  i liked it a lot more when i was small.  every toy that you opened became mine as well through default.  and as we grew, each item of clothing became mine as well.  and now that you are on the opposite side of the country, wearing mid calf length skirts and a little black tag, all of those toys and clothes are all mine.  {sorry in advance for wearing your toms so much.  i'll show you cooler things than toms when you are home.}  but i would much rather you just come home and fight with me about who's top your wearing or what shoes i pick out.  i would rather you be home to do my make up and choose my outfits.  i would rather you be home to blow out your candles and pick out some ridiculously rich cake from some classy bakery.  i would rather you be home so i can sing "you had a birthday shout hooray" as many times as i feel like it.  i would rather tell you happy birthday in person than on some cute stationary that i cut out from a magazine.  on second thought...you are so obviously doing so well in the district, so i guess i would rather you share that love you have with the people of washington dc.  although i could use a little courtie hug or something.  it will just be that much sweeter at the airport in 7 months.  happy birthday sissy.  i miss you.  i love you.  i can't wait to see you with my eyes. 

xo,

paigey poodles.

me mama.

{my mom. the birthday girl.}

nobody can compliment me quite like this girl can.  nobody can understand me like her.  nobody can make me want to be better like she can.  my mama is everything i want to be.  she has called london, canada, south africa, and {best of all} salt lake city home.  she has served a mission.  she married in the temple.  she brought two girls into the world and dealt with handfuls of heartache trying to bring more.  she potty trained me, who was a monster when it came to toilets i hear.  she lasted through courtney's phase that she was convinced she was a dog and would go around sniffing and biting.  she watched her sweetheart undergo major surgery and nursed him back to health.  she watched her first born struggle through cancer scares and was nothing but support, hope, and faith. she woke up in the wee hours of the morning to make sure i had a cold water bottle and a piece of toast for drill team in the morning.  she even dropped me off at the school when i was too tired to make the 1 mile journey.  she has sacrificed multiple saturdays and infinite dollars so that i could live my dream {drill team and byu football fan life, that is}. she doesn't have wrinkles and she still hangs out with her darling of 25 years.  she supports her sister missionary baby like a champion.  she tells me {and dad} to stop missing our missionary so much, but instead be proud of her.  she watches shows with me, no matter how cheesy, or weird, or crazy {except celebrity ghost stories...that one she let's dad and i watch without her...i wonder why?}  she listens to all the stories i have to tell, no matter how lame or unfunny they are to anyone but me.  she comments on my blog posts, even when i don't drop a million hints.  she gives me advice and helps me out even when i don't ask for it.  she loves to love what i love.  and i love it.  i love her. 

happy birthday mom! 

i love you.

may sunshine and happiness surround you.

happy birthday to
the strongest
the funniest
the bravest
the smartest
the most positive
the best

i love you, grandpa!

swagger on a hundred thousand trillion.

happy birthday, mr. west.

i still love you.

always have.  always will.

the day a legend was born.

{dad.}

my dad has quickly become my bestie this summer.

with courtney and all of the boys gone preaching

i have had to hold some "friend auditions."
my dad, the birthday boy, wins the crown.
lucky guy.

he has such cool thoughts. 
i wish i could vacation in his imagination sometimes.
cool thought of the day:
he tells me and mom that his wish, his greatest of all wishes, would be that

every 7-11 {or "sev" as he says} that has changed into something else,

like a bread factory or a loan center or a car wash
would turn back into a sev overnight.
preferably {requests papa} on july 11, at 7:11 am.
i wish that now too.

i am so glad this guy was born.
i love you dad.
you don't look a day over 50.

{that guy in the red jacket, yeah, that's my dad.}

one year older and wiser too.

{patriotic steve.}

he saved my life once.

he played pet store with me.

he is always on my side.

he treats me like his little sister.

he built the best fort for me one time.

he had a silly accent when he came home from his mission.

he introduced me to seinfeld.

he read scary stories and i pretended to not be afraid.

he plays the piano like a champion.

he truly is a guitar hero.

he is the best pretend big brother ever.

and he was born today.

happy birthday

pretend big brother!

libirthday.

to the most

beautiful

creative

dedicated

brave

honest

woman.

happy birthday!

i love you cousin.

"tick tock" said his heart.

 

4 years later

and still ticking like it should

which i guess beats the alternative.

{get it dad?  you should since you said it.}

happy birthday to dad's heart valve.

thanks for your help.  

another happy day.

i love her because...
she made homemade play dough for us {and only got a little mad when i ate it}.
she always let me drink from the yellow cup at lunch.
she looks like me {or vice versa...}
she let us build the best fort that took up the entire basement.
she fooled me into drinking my medicine once.
she loved to braid my hair as much i loved to get it braided.
she has the best dress ups ever. so good i still like to wear them when i come over.
she laughs at my jokes.
she is the mother of the coolest people i know.
she has even cooler grandkids.
she treats me like i am her daughter.
she loves me.

happy birthday aunt linda!

you are the best second mom ever.

i love you.

happy day.

best wishes

to the definition of class.

on her day.

happy birthday {tomorrow} grandma!

i love you.

natalie marie.

my girl.
my roommie.
my best friend.
is turning 19 today.

i love her.

lots.

so fall in love with her.

19 famous natalie quotes 

{from my quote book}

for the 19 years of her life.

1.  "wait...what's a book report again?  it sounds way familiar."
2. "you need to tell me right now if i have a lazy eye.  because what if i had one and didn't even know it?"
3. {when asked if she knew how to say merry christmas in french} "happy hanukkah?"
4. "clueless makes me feel weird inside."
5. "PAIGE!  you just screamed my ear drum out!"
6. "my left hand surprises me sometimes."
7. "what is it called?  the therma bubble?"{urim and thummum.}
8. {when asked what was a classic rock and roll song} "this kiss."
9. "we had brakraft in germany."{bratwurst is a tough word to remember.}
10. "what if this rootbeer was really beer?  well it does taste a little silly..."
11. "one time when i was buying bullets at k-mart..."
12. {on what the "d" in justin d. thomas stands for} "justin depression thomas?"
13. "oh i deleted her from facebook.  she threw so many pillows at me i about slapped her."
14. "so do you take hip hop because you are brown?"
15. "i wish you had turkey music."
16. "you horn a lot huh paige."{horn meaning honk.}
17. "oh they are on the disney channel?" {cheech and chong...?}
18. "i really want my heart to beat."
19. my favorite thing that natalie says, she says everyday, because she is the best friend ever: "how was school?"  or "how was work?" or "how are you?"  

i love you natalie marie.

with all of my heart.

 

 

february eleventh.

happy birthday, taylor lautner.

happy birthday, jennifer aniston.

happy birthday,  matthew lawrence.

and happy birthday, sarah palin.

{and many more.}

let the countdown begin.

so i might have accidentally, {purposly} wrote "2/11" for the date all day today instead of "11/2".  let the birthday fever begin. 

{3 months & 9 days}