Holy Moly Me Oh My, you're the apple of my eye

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros 

i really love this band right now! 

especially their song "home" 

it makes me smile, and kinda reminds me of david and i. 

they're lyrics are so funky and cute i can't stop singing along!!! 

and these two!

Angus and Julia Stone.  

they are the most adorable brother/sister duo ever. 

I really love their song "Just a Boy" 

i highly recommend you listen to these two bands, or at the very least, these two songs.

you'll fall in love, i promise! 

things happened and things happening

So, I had my very own hen's night (aka bachelorette party #1, australian style)! To recap, it was sweet! From the sparkling bubbly with the err--weird shaped straws, to the "blind-folded stripper" game, to the amazing dinner and dancing, it was an all around good time! Thanks so much to my girl Kiersten for planning it all for me! Aw, what a great friend! She sure knows how to throw a party! Now, I'm only a single lady for 11 more weeks! woo hoo!  **hopefully i can put up some pictures soon, as soon as I steal them from Kier--I think there are some gems!


David and I just sent out our engagement party invites only a WEEK BEFORE THE PARTY. Hmmm, very Courtney-and-David-like. Our friends worry about us. I do too. Oh well, hopefully everyone can still make it because it will be ahhhhmazing!


I only have one week left of work (holla) and 3 weeks til I come home (hells yea)!




annnnnnnnnnnnnnd that's all for now, folks.

Missing a painted desert called Arizona

Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was. 

Jodi Picoult 

Happy Mother's Day!

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother."

Abraham Lincoln 

This goes out to my very own, special, Mommy Dearest 

Remember when I was really little, Dad would hug you tight and say to me "My Moma..." and I would get so angry at him and I would tell him "No, that's MY Moma!"? Well, I'm still that much of a  Moma's girl! 

Or how about in 5th grade you would always bring me Subway or Taco Bell for lunch? You were so awesome. And now you are sending me packages of my clothes and even Jolly Ranchers for David, you are officially the awesome-ist. 

Remember when I called you from the other side of the world, just to tell you I was really sick with the flu, and how I wished more than anything you were here to make me cinnamon&sugar toast, and get me a lemon-lime gatorade like you always do? Maybe even go to Blockbuster and pick out a few movies. You spoiled us so badly when we were under the weather, I feel bad for our husbands, they have some mighty, big shoes to fill! 

Or how about recently when you came to visit me in Australia, and we had so much fun at the beach, and in the city, and with the kangaroos, and cuddling the koalas, and seeing Sydney? Well, I was so sad when you had to leave!

You know what I remember the most? The way you have always been a constant source of support and love to me and my sisters. The way you took care of everything in our lives growing up; dinner on the table, dentist appointments, school shopping, family vacations, late night hospital visits, soccer games, etc. How sometimes you and I talk like sisters, and I feel lucky we get along like we do. I learned the importance of being a good listener, and how it is the key to a wonderful friendship. And last, but not least, I know from you how important it is to follow your own bliss. 

I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day! 

Love, Courtney 

diamonds are a gurl's BF

For those of you who don't know, when David proposed to me, he did it with a fake ring! Ok-- "fake" sounds pretty bad, I should probably say temporary. But that was only because he was having my real engagement ring made back in Arizona by a wonderful jeweler, James Elliot. So this whole engagement so far, I've been waiting (impatiently) for it to arrive. Well luckily James finished just before my Mom and Debbie were about to fly down under to see me! So they picked it up and brought it here. When David and I went to meet them at the airport, I gave my mom a big ol' hug, then hastily demanded to have my ring (I can't remember which of the two I did first...). At that moment, David intervened and said I had to wait, because he wanted to give it to me in a special way. UGH, THE NERVE! I wasn't very happy about that.

Fast forward a day later... David, my Mom, and me were all walking along the Burleigh Beach headland trail when we passed a rock where we had taken one of our engagement pictures. David asked me to sit up on it and reenact our engagement photo for my mom. I said I was too hungry. Then he pulled out the ring, bribing me to do it. OF COURSE I HOPPED RIGHT UP ON THAT ROCK! Then he pulled out the most beautiful, amazing, perfect ring I have ever seen and slipped it on my finger! It was almost as good as when he first proposed, almost! 

Aw, I love it. 

But to be honest, I could have had my "fake" ring and still been the happiest girl ever! I'm so lucky to have David. 

So, in other news, my mom and Deb have been here for 6 days now and it's been ahhmazing! I love having some family here, even though it is only for a week. They're really loving Australia, except for the expensive-ness! Tonight, we are going to Sydney for the weekend! YAY! Can you believe I have been here 8 months and have never been outside Brisbane!?! I can't wait, we are going to do all the real touristy things and best of all, visit David's sister Karen, her husband, Asa, and the cutest boys ever, Will, Euine, and Brynn...my to-be nephews (wow)! 

Happy Weekend!!!