keep breathing.

this post is dedicated to my dear, sweet, [wildly inappropriate], hilarious, germophobe best friend.

...also known as "skinny little white boy".

it has been one psycho year, i'll tell you that much. 

probably the hardest of my life.

it is bizarre, and increasingly surprising.

i have missed those offensive jokes, and the way he yells "ROLL OUT! i'm not stopping the car..." when he drops me off in my cul-de-sac... [that little punk...]

and i can't wait to see him again.

in just 365 days! 

so, in honor of this blessed day, i made some cupcakes and threw a bash.

and on this, the first day of december, i'd like to say...

HAPPY FIRST YEAR, ELDER DAW!

i still miss you like crazy.

see you soon!

love, court.

[p.s.]
i got an interview with the BYU CES employment office to be a counselor at EFY this summer! holla! it's like fulfilling a lifelong dream. love it!

i guess you could say that i'm unhealthily obsessed with a few things:

-my life mission to exterminate all germs from the earth. 

-the cute little neighbor boy who magically became my home teacher last week.

-the fact that my cousin doesn't mind that i blast the entire newsies soundtrack while i shower. in fact, she sings along. duh. we're kin.

-bing crosby's christmas album. that i maaaybe abducted from my mother's stash [sorry, nance...]. and yeah. i listen to christmas music in october. because if there's one holiday that i wouldn't invite to a party, it would be halloween. 

-this picture, which i purposefully rediscover about every day. and i miss him. about twice, every day.

[december 1st marks one. whole. year! do i hear a celebration coming on? yeah. that, and a prayer to thank the big man upstairs to have made it this long without his skinny body and premium music selection.]

 

if you're not laughing, you don't have a soul.

right about now,

you're wishing they were your very best friends too. 

ohhhh how i miss them.

a tale of two elders.

and now an update from my most favorite elders:

way too much heat in mexico, resulting in burned skin. the caption of this photo read, "ohhh hey. nm just in an internet club, you?". same carter. saaame carter. 

garbage defiling the streets of russia. grossing the little germophobe out. yet still wearing those plain white undershirts... i have never been able to understand that obsession.

these are my two best friends.
handsome, aren't they?

all in all, loving the work.
and i'm lovin' the pictures they send home! aren't you?

for those of you who understand the face melt,

               ...i miss you like crazy today.

thursday is for happy people.

it is one happy day around here.

the weather is a whopping 56 degrees in logan. the sun is shining, i'm watching p.s. i love you for the second time this week, and i slept like a rock last night. {maybe i took a sleeping pill.} everything about thursday is pretty, wouldn't you agree?

i hope the following items of biz make you as happy as they made me!

i got some pictures in the mail from elder monson, who left for mexico on monday morning! i just know that he's adjusting like a champ. because he's carter, and he is really good at doing hard things like that.

want to see some pictures?
k!



the happy little district. and carter slash his pacman shirt on the right.

i got this picture in the mail separate from all of the others... with no letter, nothing. this picture. all by itself, in a lonely little envelope. nothing but a caption reading the word, "ew". so i guess this means he would hate me if i put it up on the interweb... lets just keep this between you and me, okay?

and then we also got this one.
our favorite little kaden.
also known as baby carter.
and if that face doesn't make you happy, you don't have a soul.

{have the happiest of all thursdays. with a week like this, i deserve a wonderful thursday. and you do too!}

don't you know.

first of all, listen to this song. it reminded me of this post. as it should.
...ignore the default pictures of nature. 1 out of 10 for originality... seriously.


this one goes out to all of you elder d. fans...

elder stewart, hatch {his companion}, d., and elder wienkler. great hats.

armless aust.

this is my sad attempt to blog it out in honor of the elder. or, as he commonly refers to himself, signing his emails... "elder a-town daw". what the, right?

i promised him back in july that i would keep a mission blog for him, but then i forgot... slash, a bunch of things happened. in short, lots of complications. so he's just going to have to deal with being a permanent topic of this b-log.

elder a-town fun facts:

-russia has been privileged to hang out with elder daw for just over a month now! twenty more to spend! {...that means 1/6th of the way through. my how time seems to fly when you convert it into a fraction. you can quote me on that... ;)}
-he isn't the biggest fan of tea, but is served it wherever he goes.
-buses are the way to ride... and he hates it.
-spring has reached vladivostok!
-his email titles make me laugh... "of trees and green things"...i don't know where he comes up with any of it, but i look forward to seeing the caption pop up in my inbox every sunday night.
-he is always a half a day ahead of us here in the states. it blows my mind... middle of the night on thursday, {2 a.m.} march the 24th where he is... and now your mind is blown.
-the russian is coming along just beautifully.
-he is in love with the people! :)

more to come in the near future.

as for elder monson...

carter disembarks at 3:30 in the a.m. on monday morning. {can you even call that morning?} this little missionary is quite ready to leave the m.t.c., he has made that clear. no pictures of carty cart...

except for this little gem. i couldn't resist putting it up.
this was a daybreak day. daybreak made the best summer nights.
and i am just itching for summer. hence, this picture.

he said mission pictures coming soon. and let me tell you... they'd better be. because i just sent a giant st. patrick's day package full of fruit snacks and jelly beans upon request. and if i don't get some of those promised pictures, he's in big trouble.

so there you go. the two best elders are being brave, and doing a fantastic job at serving the Lord. their letters are inspiring, comforting, and funny. my favorite boys are still everything wonderful, and i miss them like crazy.

{happy wednesday! friday coming soon...}

люблю тебя старшим галку! быть безопасным!

it's official.
he's somewhere in vladivostok as we speak! it's six in the morning, on saturday february 19th over there. and maybe last night we met him at the airport for some video interviews before he departed... i don't know. maybe. best thirty minutes ever.

he hasn't changed one little bit, besides the way in which he inched away from me in this picture and refused to flash a thumbs up. he still laughs at us when we're probably not very funny, and puts up with us when we slip up and call him austin. {it's elder daw now, peeps.} he speaks very good russian--and fast too! his name tag is something i can't read, let alone pronounce, and his testimony is unshakable... but that's how it has always been anyway.

{ohhh and a big thanks to elder mccallon. what a trooper. he didn't even act annoyed of us. even though we were kind of obnoxious with our five thousand different cameras.}


я тебя люблю, старший галку!

i just love these boys. and you should too.

ta da!
here it is! the longgg awaited picture!
isn't it just the cutest thing you've ever seen? because i just think it is.
besides, the following caption was written from carter. i cracked up when i read it:

"this is my friend, elder austin daw. he is a total creep and his body makes absolutely no sense."
i'm glad to know that they're those same silly boys that they left as.

austin leaves today to embark on his great adventure to vladivostok! and i am just so gosh darn excited for him! look out world, because this kid is coming to make your life the happiest ever. however, i have to admit that i will shed a tear for the termination of my handwritten letters and decorated envelopes. i am a rock star pen pal, that's for sure. i guess there comes a time in everyone's life where they have to try their hand at a little dear eldering. my time is now. otherwise, it would take months and months to send a teeny-tiny, one page, non-enveloped letter to russia. and we can't have that now, can we.


{happy thursday!}

i'll follow behind you on rainbow road.

don't be a player hater. hate the game.
except don't. because it was mario kart.
and it just may be beneficial for you to play this song as you continue.
it will help to fill the hole in your heart where N64 used to be.

r.i.p. classic gaming.
{and the video just cracks me up, too.}

gamers.

tonight was the night we played everything under the sun,
and ate our weight in hot fudge sundays.



...and although it was maybe the most random and spontaneous night of my life, it will go down in history as one of my favorites.
because this kid is number four of four, peeps.
and when he leaves, i just don't know how i'll entertain myself when i come home for the weekend.

tonight i was stuck on some notes.
i needed help with a little piano project. i just could not find the right chords.
and matthew came to save the day. chicken pot pie in hand--he'd left mid dinner.
mr. matthew deemed my pathetic plea worthy of dropping everything and responding on my doorstep five minutes later, happy as a little clam.

so i'm really going to miss that in six months when i'll have to use my own ear {slowly decaying by the lack of "death by quartet" threats we used to get thrown at us daily...} and not play off of his keen sense of pitch... still fresh from orchestra, plus pure musical genius in his character.

but for now we will play jenga until the sprinklers come on, and try really hard not to think about that one day come summertime.

round two.

two down, two to go.

sunday night, i had to say goodbye again.
which was. a nightmare.
a tearful nightmare, complete with flashback memories for the drive home.
...which led to more sobbing.

i just hate goodbyes.

which is so cliche and over said... but it wouldn't be the aforementioned things if it wasn't true.
goodbyes can suck it.

elder carter monson was called serve in the leon mexico mission. he leaves tomorrow, and it has already been an annoying fact to come to terms with. but i'm getting there.

things i will miss:
-consistent monday morning text messages reading, "miss ya, court!"
-always having someone that wants to hang out with me on weekends that i come home.
-having a friend who will do absolutely anything with me--lame, or not.
-dance parties in his basement...what?
-random insults that are hilarious.
-face melting!
-sushi at shogun...
-having a grey's anatomy buddy always.
-how he took me to two high school dances, one of which he took me... despite the fact that i had been sick in bed with mono for three weeks. as if that weren't enough, i asked him to take me home at 10:30 to leave him to fend for himself the remainder of the night, for my sick body had had enough. and i left him dateless. talk about a good friend... even i would have hated me...
-there were approximately 4 people interested in keeping me company during those long three weeks of solitary confinement, or said mono. carter was one of them. bless his little heart. almost every day after school got over, carter and austin would knock on my door and watch movies with me for hours. because. ya know. i couldn't do anything else.
-i will definitely miss having a friend that takes all of my crap. "carter. i'm thirsty..." "carter, you were the last one up... turn off the light?" "i left my phone on the counter... carter?" or when the doorbell rings... "carter... i just sat down." to that, he would reply, "okay. but i'm doing it because i want to. not because you forced me." worked like a charm... every time.
-paying for carter on dates that you ask him on... he always tries to slip a twenty in your pocket when you're not looking, or he says, "i'll pay you back. i swear." then you have to explain how you're taking him on a date. sometimes it's okay for girls to pay. he doesn't seem to grasp that concept. whoever said chivalry was dead didn't know carter monson.
-mixed swears. ;)
-early morning seminary... ugh.
-how mckenzie's dog managed to urinate on both of us... simultaneously.
-scream singing a drop in the ocean. the world's most depressing, and worst song ever written.
-how he knew all of the words to evacuate the dance floor not even two days after it made its debut on public radio.

aaaand things i'm looking forward to:
-sending letters, emails, packages, the works!
-hearing all of those mexican stories.
-hearing him speak spanish... a.p. spanish ya'll. he's got it in the bag....
-the day that my best friends all return home as awkward, sweet, OLD boys!

i'll miss you cart! good luck, and do some good now. love you!
love, your best friend
court.


next month get ready for round 3... keeeel me now.

and then he went to russia.

Just when you think it can't get weirder, the world throws a bizarre "you're an idiot, and i'm here to tell you to expect the unexpected" kind of curve ball.

Hello, reality. It's nice of you to introduce yourself in a way that I never saw coming.
Come on in and make yourself at home.

So I guess for the next two years, I'll be writing letters to Russia.
That's right.
Russia.

I have to say... I held my own. I kept it together for the most part. I was a little bit teary eyed, I have to admit. But I kept myself all glued up.
Until I got down the street.
The music was off. I was silent. And then I started thinking.

Note to self: Never do such a wretched thing.

Salt water cleared my eyes like a full house and a flashing fire alarm.

Austin Daw will serve the Lord in Vladivostok, Russia for the next two years.

It's a wonderful thing. And though it's hard to grasp the idea of your best friend being so far away, I know it's where he needs to be, and I've never been happier for him.

I remember and can't forget:

-how Miss and I spent the afternoon with Austin in Deseret Book with scarves around our heads,
and waited for his missionary scriptures to be finished. Gold writing and all.

-the multiple times we'd all eat sushi together at Shogun.

-we all spent a Friday night in the football stadium with interesting giant blow up toys.

-watching Grey's Anatomy in my basement for hours at a time when I had Mono.
(We won't show those horrendous pictures...)

-how Prom couldn't have possibly been more fun. Cold Duck.

-when we went to Morp with Ray and Carter dressed as classy country club Tennis players, Richard and Regina Kensington.

-KARAY-ZHEE night. VAULT.

-we wrote lyrics to a song in AP US History. Which looking back on, probably wasn't smart. Considering I didn't pass that test.

Anyway...
He's a grown up now, and it's a little weird. Because that means I have to turn into one of those soon too.

So the moral of the story is this.

Dear Reality:
Next time you hit me with something like this, be a little more gentle.
Love, Court.