courtney + paige.

so now you know. i cry sometimes. you probably thought that i was unstoppable, almost superhuman, before you saw this video then heard me weeping at the tail end of this epic film. but courtney is my kriptonite and i couldn't help but do what i did throughout her entire mission, right there and then, which was bawl uncontrollably at any and everything. so know you know. anyway...

the best things i have done with "sister wightman" since her return

ONE YEAR AGO today...

-caught up on movies that she missed out on.

-ate at all of the best places we know of, both new and old, including {but if you know either of us at all is not limited to}: vinto, basillas, blue lemon, big nicks, pizza factory, hires, pazzo vita, zupas, and enough cafe rio to feed a small village for probably a decade.

-walked across the brooklyn bridge.

-held the washington monument in between our fingers.

-played with sister missionaries.
-enhanced our yogi resume.
-participated in the greatest whitaker circle firework show.

-frequented the phrase "did you see ___ on pinterest?!"
-integrated chopped techniques, sayings, and practices into our daily lives.

-played alice in the most beautiful garden {wonderland} ever.

-spent a good morning in baltimore.

-learned the art of estate-ing.

-honored taylorsville dayzz <3 <3.

-"ran" a 5k.

-began a bike gang which quickly consumed our summer.

-conquered our fear of tree climbing/rope swinging into a lake in our darling swimsuits.

-stuck with our cougars all season long.

-homemade doughnuts.

-fell in love with phil dunfy.
-fine-tuned our crepe-abilities.

-saw the world through the eyes of a lawn gnome.
-learned how to become slc-ers to the fullest.
-rooted for city creek and roamed the aisles of harmons...even directed lost citizens.

sister. we're fun. i love you. and let the good times keep a'comin.

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.

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.

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.

remind me why i'm not a party planner already?

today.
i had the greatest idea ever.
feel free to copy the idea after i use it first.

idea...

homecoming shower.

{i'm saddened by the fact i feel inclined to include this but by homecoming i mean the return of a missionary, not the football game, dance party kind...though, on second thought, maybe the idea could apply to both.}

you know about wedding showers and baby showers i assume.  same concept:

• instead of bringing clothes for the new baby, bring clothes for the returned missionary, who, in more ways than one, are similar to newborns.  they need a little nudge in the right direction in the fashion world.  at courtney's party we will buy her some lucille elaine goodies.
• instead of offering tips on married life, offer tips on the music and movies they have no knowledge of.  they are new to songs and movies that are old news but blew our minds two years earlier.  at courtney's party we will introduce cocorosie and toy story 3 to her.
• instead of making chicken salad sandwiches with blue or pink slush, serve food from their area.  at courtney's party we will serve...uh...knock off georgetown cupcakes and whatever she says is cool.  in all reality, we will probably eat hires since she misses it so.
• instead of playing games like the "don't say words like 'temple,' 'marriage,' 'bride,'" game {make sense?}, play the "guess how long it will take for you to remember your first name isn't elder/sister" game. 

yeah.  best. idea. ever.  i know, right?  courtney won't ever begin to know what hit her when i throw this party.  mark your calendars lovelies!

"this is me, sprinting."

{the only proof that sister wightman remains the courtney we all know and love...her all things asain lifestyle.}

"i had this awesome dream ...
so this was on the morning of my year mark ... i was running in the city, exercising in the morning. and i knew that this dream was an analogy for my mission, but i was just running. it was the first day of this transfer and i started running really fast and hard. i hit some speed bumps that i was nervous about approaching, because i was running really fast i and i didn't want to trip, but i run over them. i had some barriers, like people, and road blocks, so i had to jump over things and run around people. but i just remember sprinting and feeling so great and not tired, just happy. WHAT A GREAT DREAM!!! isn't it? so my goal for this transfer and the transfers to come is the SPRINT to the end. i'm excited.
best dream of my life. just runnin'."
 
...did you think that you accidentally switched over to lds.org and started reading past conference talks or something?  well you didn't.  you just read words from my inspiring, spiritual, amazing sister who is sprinting towards the end of this journey.  end=150 days from today.  i'd better finish up those welcome home banners that i have been working on since september of last year.  march will be here before we know it!  love her.

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.

you are invited to celebrate.

{me.  eating.  big surprise.  this has nothing to do with the post, i just want to make it clear how much i love to eat.}

tomorrow is the one year anniversary that i discovered the greatest thing that i have ever done.  my sister sat me down, intervention style, and made me a blog.  i had no idea how much i would love it.  i had no idea that i would think about it all the time and always say "imma blog about that when i get home."  i never thought that i would rather blog than {insert basically any activity here}.  basically i am a blog-aholic.  so celebrate with me tomorrow.
i personally am not doing anything exciting for the birthday of my baby but feel free to use this as an excuse to party....not. if you know me, which you must by now since alls i do anymore is write about myself and force you people to read about it, then you know i will take any opportunity to a) eat cupcakes. b) celebrate. c) dress up for a reason. 

...

time for one last journey down the

year one

adventure.

this was a terrible, wonderful, no good, very proud day.

one that i never ever ever want to do

ever ever again

unless i am the one with the luggage.

so even though

i semi-hate this post

but this whole blog thing started because

of that whole "i'm abandoning you for 18 months" thing.

and i dream about the day

that me and my best friend/best sister/only sister

sit down and read about my

adventures when she left me to better the world.

and i can't wait when she reads this and sees how obsessed with her i am.

p.s. my parents are currently in nyc

on their way to prague. 

are you as jealous as i am?

true then, still true now.

2 more days!

till my baby's big day.

hello hello.

the festivities continue with

this favorite post.

p.s.

watch this

all you conan lovers you.

and be happy with me.

...

also,

look how cute my big sister is.

{i know, darling, right?}

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.

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.

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!}

5. 5 dollar.

13 more to go.

living the life.

3 reasons why i love my life.

 

{this sign reads:  open 7 am thanks any regular foot long.}

1.  the subways where i live

are super polite 

even when i don't really understand why.

 

{natalie showing off what she learned in one of her 3 aerobic classes.}

2.  natalie is taking kickboxing.

she wears has to wear a mouth guard and everything.

 

3.  my sister missionary sister

sends this postcard to me...

with this taped on the back.

"what can i say?  i'm andy warhol reincarnated."she says.