Detail Shot

I'm a sucker for the detail shots. I have files and files of random shots of Disney details, and I love flipping through them now that I'm home. This apartment is the first time I've been able to really do whatever I want in my room. Living on campus had no nail holes or tape, and my Florida apartments had no nothing on the walls at all. So for the first time since living at home, I've really been able to decorate my room the way I've always wanted.

So, here's a few detail shots of my room!

Memorial Day

I thought my Memorial Day would be boring and uneventful, because I live alone... instead I had a really good day!

My ward started the day with a service project at a small waterfall about 30 minutes from my house. It required ATV's to get there, which explains why i've never been before. The new high school graduates must have partied it up there this past week, because there were beer cans and bottles all over the place. We all loaded up with thick plastic gloves and trash bags and went to work. My attempts at keeping my nice tennies clean lasted about 10 minutes, and soon enough they were covered in mud. Gross.

After getting everything cleaned up, we played in the waterfall and sat in the sun.We all headed back via ATV to our cars which were parked a few miles away. I was riding with one of the councilors in the bishopric, and he offered us a ride all the way back to the institute building in his ATV. We played around in the sand dunes for at least an hour before driving back to where my car was parked.

Then I had 30 minutes to clean up and head to a friend's for a BBQ in his backyard. We all sat around outside munching on hot dogs, chips and Oreos. I love eating food with friends! After the barbecue we went to a Mavericks gas station for Icee Creams. It's a combination of any flavor of Icee and vanilla ice cream. It looked disgusting at first, but tasted delicious! At about 12 we called it a night, and we all went our separate ways.

Pretty good day full of service and friends!
~Courtney

Make The Most Of It

I bought this fabulous pair of silver glitter shoes for Bri's wedding.   They ended up being a bit too  big unfortunately, and I was thinking about gifting them to my larger footed sister, or trying to return them after the wedding.  By the end of the night I was thinking I'd never wear them again because my feet were absolutely killing me.

And I have this favorite pair of jeans that have these terribly embarrassing holes in a very awkward location. So awkward that I started considering retiring them for forever. Which killed me, because I really do love those jeans. But matching holes meant very limited movements.

So you know what I did? I made the most of both situations. I took a trip to the great and powerful Walmart and bought  heel  liners and jean patches to fix both problems. Now I can sit 'Indian style' and walk around comfortably in glitter heels that actually fit.

This brings me to my point. I'm learning to make the best of every situation. I'm single, and that's okay because I can do some more living before finding 'the one'. I'm in a tiny town, and that's okay because i'm in that tiny town because i'm in nursing school! I could go on, but I'm thinking shorter is sweeter in this situation. Life is good, dear friends. Life is good.

~Courtney

The Life Long Friend Gets Married Post

Brianna Janelle Woolf became my best friend at 2 years old. Our moms' were in the Primary Presidency together down in San Diego, California, and hence our friendship was born!
My family moved from California to Utah when I was 6, and a few years after that, Bri and I started writing letters to each other, which is the Pen Pall stage of our friendship. The letters weren't anything groundbreaking, and we didn't really entirely know each other all that well, but the letters continued.
Then Bri's family moved to Springville, Utah, about 1.5 hours drive from my house. We didn't write nearly as much, and started instant messaging and emailing each other. We occasionally hung out, and it was nice and fun.
Fast forward to college. Neither of us told each other what university we would be going to, so imagine our surprise when my apartment in Valley View Tower at Utah State University was 3 doors down from hers. Yup. It was pretty serendipitous. After some personal roommate struggles  Bri switched places with my roommate, and the roommie phase of our friendship started.
This is where the friendship strengthened and bonded like Krazy Glue.

Of course life takes different paths. Mine took me to Florida and then to nursing school, while hers took her to Southern Utah University and Nathan St. Andre.

I tell you, there exists no cuter couple than Brianna and Nathan St. Andre. (Until I get married, of course)

I was honored, flattered, pleased as punch to be her Maid of Honor, and had a blast spending time with her during her wedding week. I think I'll stick with her wedding day, because if not I'd be chatting all night long.

The day started out with her hair appointment at 9, where her mom's friend transformed Shirley Temple curls into an elegant bun.

Then she and her parents headed off to the Mount Timpanogos Temple to be married for time and all eternity, and I wrangled together her 4 siblings to head there for pictures after the ceremony.

Bri's sisters, Julie and Heather were the bridesmaids, and successfully made me feel like a little person. We took some fun shots before Bri and Nathan came out of the temple.

Nathan served his LDS mission in the San Diego area where Bri grew up, so they went with a fun ocean theme for their reception, and it looked so pretty!

Congrats, Brianna! I am so happy for you and your new HUSBAND!!! Enjoy your honeymoon in California!! Enjoy DISNEYLAND!!

Love you, roomie!
~Courtney

Vacation pt 3, Cars Land!

Yup, a post dedicated entirely to the amazingness of California Adventure's Cars Land. It's A.Mazing.

Incredible, no? Wait till you see it in the dark, all lit up!

I just could not believe it. It was so beautiful!

Cars Land is really fantastic. It's amazing how, well, accurate it is! Buildings are the exact same as the movie!  The 2 rides we went on, Luigi's flying tires and Radiator Springs Raceway were really great rides! We ended up riding the raceway as single riders every time, and as I think about it, we rode most of all the rides as single riders. I guess that shows how 'adult' we all are, riding alone.

It was a really wonderful day at The Place Where Dreams Come True!
Can't wait to go back!
Well, I can't wait to go back to Disney World, really.
'Cause I left my heart there.

Loves!
~Courtney