festivity is important to me.

we three fools have an october bucket list,

a "what to do before halloween comes" list,

a "hallospookomurderotacular" list.

here it is:

1. go to park city.  because nothing says spooky like overpriced boutiques and premature snow.
2. 13 nights of halloween.
3. salt lake cemetary.  last time we went there to spook our friends, ben almost got arrested.  long story.  so that is good.
4. haunted homes {plural for haunted house}
5. gravity hill.  still trying to figure that one out.
6. carve jack o'lanterns.  i'll probably stick with the classic.
7. murder a byu student...wait what?  must've been ben's entry.  he goes too far every time.  what he meant was...
8. prank all of provo utah.
9. walk to scary rock canyon cave.
10. "redrum" car windows belonging to the un-festive.  warning to you all.

only 15 more days to finish!

midterms can wait.

we have some spooky stuff to do.

reunion.

guys.  did you feel sad that i haven't blogged for a long while?

i know i did.  

i did it because i had this stellar idea for the "reunion" post but it required taking a picture of me and sister w hugging since our last one at the mtc.  instead of having someone take that picture i...

made sure i looked good.

weighed the odds of whether peter pan existed or not because i swear i saw him at the airport.

said hello to every one of court's fan club.

bargained with little gavin and gabe to get them to hold a banner for me.

made sure i had all of my cameras {flip vid, diana, digital} ready.  pointless.

fell for every "THERE SHE IS!"

...and i ended up with zero reunion hug pictures.

18 months of planning a post

and fail epically. 

so here is the remains of what could've been your fav post ever..

then.

september 16, 2009.
saddest day of my life.

now.

march 2, 2011.
happiest day of my life.

coming soon. to an airport near you.

 

"the atlantic was born today and i'll tell you how.

the clouds above opened up and let it out.

i was standing on the surface on a perforated sphere

when the water filled every hole.

and thousands upon thousands made an ocean

making islands where no island should go.

oh no!

most people were overjoyed;

they took to their boats.

i thought it less like a lake

and more like a moat.

the rhythm of my footsteps

crossing flood lands to your door

have been silenced

forever more.

and the distance is quite simply

much too far for me to row

it seems farther than ever before.

oh no!

i need you so much closer.

i need you so much closer.

i need you so much closer.
i need you so much closer.
i need you so much closer.

i need you so much closer.

i need you so much closer.
i need you so much closer.
i need you so much closer.

i need you so much closer.

i need you so much closer.

i need you so much closer.
so come on, come on.
so come on. come on.
so come on, come on.
so come on, come on."
-death cab.  aka my lifeline for the last 18 months.

ready freddy!

i have red boots.

i have a diana.

so as far i can tell

i am ready for the

 return of my sister.

in 2 weeks.

don't worry.

the yogurt that i bought today and my sister's mission both expire on the same day. 

one month from today will be so nice.

and remind me to eat my yogurt before then.

good things are happening. 

three months, or as i like to call it, 90 days, more!

remember this?
well watch this...

15 down.  3 to go.

you've made us proud, sister wightman.

.xoxo.

i enjoy this.

very, very much.

you bet i will...

 ...love new york city christmas.



...love glee christmas.

25 more days!

trip dig.

today i am grateful for triple digits.

and that today is the last triple digit day without my sister.

100 days!

yippie.

{sister.  getting artsy.}

my friend {and fake little sister} celebrated the return of her sister from her mission.  i looked at all the airport pictures and threw a miniature pity party for myself.  all day i wished that it had been me uploading pictures of me running to the escalator and hugging my favorite girl in the whole wide world.  i wish it had been me sitting at home debating whether or not it would be acceptable to leave five hours early to leave for the slc international airport. i wish it had been me extremely tired today because i was too busy praising my sister to sleep.  but it wasn't me. it was my friend and her sister missionary.  not me and mine.  instead, when i opened the mailbox at my home in the great ville of taylor, it was me that opened a letter from the mission president of the washington dc north mission, preparing us for the return of sister wightman, on march second, two thousand eleven.  it was me that held a miniature party, celebrating the reality of the day my life goes back to normal again.  it was me that noticed that march 2nd is almost kind of soon.  it was me that read about her ticket back home and the encouragement to still support our missionary for the last few months.  it was me.  and that will be okay for now.
today i am so happy.

the soles of your shoes are all worn down.

{worst.  day.  ever.}

september 16th, 2009

i'm so thrilled that i know that i have already experienced the worst possible day ever.

it can only go up from there, right?

i haven't forgotten one detail about that day,

the day we packed up your stuff and dropped you at a curb.

i remember pretending to be mary poppins with your luggage

as we packed up your life in the back of the explorer.

i remember putting mr. spence {our little friend we stole from the movie theaters that summer}

and planning to slip him into your hand at the last minute.

and i remember hating myself four seconds after

pulling out of the mtc when mr. spence was still hanging out in my back pocket.

i remember seeing a movie

and hating it.

i remember watching glee.

and loving it.

and i wrote you a letter that night.

and cried.

obviously.

so much has changed.

but really.

i just miss you.

and i never want to be apart for an entire year again.

6 months more, sister wightman

and then you will be my courtie.

forever.

not only is it a living tribute...

but 7 is also the number of months left until
this girl
is home.
home and watching seinfeld with me.

love her.

nightmares.

{249 days until i can squeeze, push, laugh at, watch seinfeld with, this girl whenever i want.}

i have crazy dreams.  really.  every single night it's like i am at the cinema.  last night was no exception.  but instead of dreaming about my knee yarn or flying, i dreamt about my sister wightman.  it started with my girl natalie giving me a makeover.  i ended up looking like i walked out of the breakfast club but i am sure in dreamland, that is hip.  my dad came in and said "courtney is coming home soon."  i said "i know, i'll hurry."  natalie went home, or to area 51 for a little 80s dancing.  my dad returned.  he said "courtney is home."  i said, "what about the airport?  i made a welcome home sign and everything!  aren't we supposed to pick her up."  dad said, "she took a bus from the airport."  i was disapointed, because, if you remember correctly, i have been thinking about waiting at the airport, cool sign in hand, and watching my awesome, successful, beautiful sister ride down the escalator.  but in dreamland, this was not so.  i headed down the stairs to greet my sister, who was plopped in the luv sac and watching tv.  {weird}. i said "hey" in which she replied "oh, hey."  i said,
welcome home." she said, "thanks."  and then i woke up.  heartbroken.  worst dream ever.  good thing that is nowhere near how epic her homecoming will be.  i can't wait for it.  oh and when i told my dad about it today, he had a silly thought.  that thought being that he'd be the first to hug her when she gets down the escalator.  oh dad, you are one funny guy...dead wrong...but funny.

humpity hump hump.

happy hump day, sister wightman!

9 months down-

9 months to go!

{i can't wait!}

8 down. 10 more.

oh i love this countdown.

but 10 months is still painfully long for me.

but

sister wightman emailed us today

{just like every other wednesday}

and it was another hit.

she was born to go on a mission

and write letters and emails.

she is super good at all of this.

and if i ever decide to follow in her footsteps

and serve a mission

i had better fine tune my writing and humor skills

so i can be as entertaining as her.

fyi:

sister ellsworth is c's new companion

{and apparently she is super awesome.}

"um .... i love sister ellsworth so much. she is marvelous. she has compared me to the following items: a} a ray of sunshine and b} the brave little toaster. ha ha. oh man. i was thinking "who does this girl remind me of?" an it has come to me ... she reminds me of paige. and that is the utmost compliment because paige is my favorite person. she delivers her jokes like you paiger and she's creative like you and i love her ... not as much as you, but still ... she's good."

i love that.

23 short moments more.

{my mom did it

england london south style.}

about a year or two ago {or something like that.}

{my sister is doing it

washington dc north style.}

11 months to go!

{my cousin is doing it

paris france style.}

20 months to go!

{my other cousin is doing it

toulouse france style.}

17 months to go!

{this fool is doing it

stokholm sweden style.}

23 months to go!

{continue to} make us proud!

one more link off the paper chain.

{sister in new york.}

my sister is the greatest.

one time,

out of the many times

i was sick,

she made me a lavendar bath

and feng shiu-ed my room

so the evil spirits

would take my sickness

and leave me alone.

she is the best nurse.

she is the best

anything.

recently added to the

list of things she's great at:

being a sister missionary.

11 months to go.

suffocating.

only 2 weeks left.

then schools out!!

{for summer}

sissy wightman.

{sister wightman and mary poppins luggage.}

6 months ago:

all i thought about was 18 months.

my big sister walking away with two elders into the mtc

was branded on my brain.

every day felt like a month.

things that wouldn't normally bother me

made me cry like a child.

"i miss her"

was seriously the only thing that came out of my mouth.

every single thing

reminded me of the girl that i wouldn't be seeing for a year and a half.

i was sad

depressed

worried for my missionary

jealous of dc

and probably being a bit of a drama queen.

now

with one year left.

i think about...

what movies we'll watch the night she's home.

what my "welcome home" sign will look like.

what outfit i'll wear to her homecoming.

what radio station we'll listen to on the way home.

what stories i'll tell her first.

what i'll do when i see her, all grown up and missionary-y, 

riding down the escalator.

will i cry?  probably.

will i run and hug her before anyone else can?  most definitely.

what will i miss in school that week? {because no way i'm leaving her again.}

what will she be like?

what will i be like?

a year from now

i'll answer that.

and it will be the happiest post EVER!

oh and i love that from now on i can say

"this is the last ___________

{easter, st. patrick's day, may 24th...}

we'll spend without courtney."

those words feel good coming out of my mouth.

{we love wicked.}

{i used to hate all the hugs she gave me.  stupid.  

she's going to hate how many hugs i'm going to give her.  

in one year.}

{6 months down.  12 to go!}