Baxter the Lion

So I think Baxter is the cutest dog ever. He is so fluffy and fun. He is our first dog and we are fairly unfamiliar with the grooming of a long haired dog so his back half got pretty matted before we even knew what was happening. Since this can cause sking conditions we spent hours and days trying to de-mat before we gave up and decided to cut out the matted parts. Luke had the grand idea that we should shave him so that he looked like a lion (fluffy mane up front and shaved in back where it was matted). Here are the results.

Before

Shaving out the tangles

Luke got a little carried away here

So much fur!!

Baxter the Lion! So fearsome

I laugh and feel so sad when I see him. Hopefully it grows back fast. In the mean time he will be nice and cool for summer once the front of him get trimmed down too.

Girls Weekend

I found out that the Hale Theater in Orem was playing The Secret Garden and decided to make a girls weekend out of it! I don't usually work on Fridays so I headed down to Salt Lake to do a little shopping. I found nothing! It was so sad. All I bought was a bottle of BBQ sauce and a pair of oven mitts.

Later that night I met up with a couple of my old roommates Katie and Connie. I love these girls! We talked a lot, ate some delicious dinner, went to Target to buy The Muppet Movie and then stopped in at Chili's for some Molton Chocolate Cake (my most favorite dessert ever!!) I borrowed this picture from when we were living together because I always forget to take pictures. Don't be mad girls :)

Saturday for lunch I met with another couple of roommates Kara and Natalie. I had lots of fun catching up while we enjoyed delicious food from Red Robin. I miss having restaurants to go to in Wyoming! After lunch Kara and I played some tennis. She beat me for the first time since high school! I will have to practice up before a rematch.

That night was The Secret Garden which inspired this whole trip. There was supposed to be a bigger group but it ended up just being Mom, Kara and me. Still lots of fun. This is the second play I have been to at the Hale. It always makes me a little nervous as it looks a little shady and the theater is so small, but the preformances are always so good. I have yet to be disappointed!

I did manage to find so home decor in my second day of shopping. I am trying to be more bold in my colors and I have really liked the teal and orange so I am giving it a try. I really like what I got. They show up a little more vibrant in person. All in all a great weekend and fun time with the girls!

The Story of Us

This is the story of us as told by Courtnie. I met Luke through my roommate. They were friends before his mission and she brought him over to our apartment a few times. Each time Luke would introduce himself and say "I haven't met you before." I quit correcting him after the third time he did this. He will also deny that this ever happened.

After hanging out for a few months I knew he was the one! I just had to wait until he realized I was the one. Luke had an internship in Michigan over the summer and invited me to visit him for a week. He took me swimming in Lake Michigan. It was very, very cold! As I was getting ready to walk into the airport he told me he loved me. All week he had been trying to get me to say it first. I had kissed him first so I wasn't doing this as well! He was having a good time tormenting me. When I was flying home I thought finally! This could go somewhere someday. The day after I got back home Luke called and asked me how I felt about getting married. I was so shocked it literally took my breath away! After he got back from Michigan he proposed in person. He took me down to St. George and we went hiking to the top of Angel's Landing in Zions' National Park. After we got good and sweaty we had our lunch where he had written me a nice romantic note and then he proposed to me (with the ring of my dreams) and I said yes! Of course the camera was mostly dead so we only got 2 pictures and not of us together. After we got cleaned up we went to see My Fair Lady at the Tuacan. I married a great guy!

Lake Michigan

 Angel's Landing



Logan Temple

As told by Luke: My friend introduced me to her roommate Courtnie and after we had done a few things as a group I realized that Courtnie was awesome. We started dating and really enjoyed spending time together. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I realized I wanted to marry her after I went to Michigan for a summer internship. We spoke on the phone every day and she flew out to visit for a week. One day I asked her if she had thought about marrying me. Turns out she was interested, so we continued to talk about it. In July we considered getting married in August, but her mother strongly objected, so we decided on October.

We officially got engaged in Zion's National Park at the top of Angel's Landing. I made us some bag lunches exactly as Courtnie liked, and put a note in her bag with a romantic expression of love and while she read it I dropped to one knee and displayed the ring. Of course she said "Yes!" and after a sweaty hug and kiss and a tasty lunch we climbed back down and told everyone the good news.

We got married at the Logan Temple and had a nice luncheon with our family and friends. I skipped college classes Monday to extend our weekend honeymoon, then it was back to school. As a wedding gift we got a honeymoon cruise down the Mexican Riviera. 

About Courtnie

I am the oldest of four kids.

My mom and Dad met while going to school at BYU. My mom graduated with a degree in humanities and my dad graduated with a degree in finance with a focus on agriculture. They have been happily married for 31 years. I have two brothers (Eric and Brett) and one sister (Lindsey). We grew up in Idaho.

Growing up I loved being active. I started dancing when I was three and danced until graduation. I did tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, ballet, and square dancing. I played on the junior high basketball team in 8th and 9th grade. I also gave track and cross country a try but it turns out I am as fast as a turtle and I hate running. As with most things athletic I wasn't any good but I had lots of fun. I also loved being in the orchestra! In 5th grade we got to choose our instruments. My mom wanted me to play the violin (small and easier to transport) but when our teacher played a sample of each instrument I fell in love with the cello.

Tennis is my favorite sport. I played on the team in high school and tennis season was always my favorite part of the shcool year. Lots of practices and matches, traveling, Subway sandwiches (to this day the smell of Subway makes me sick), suntans and sunburns and good friends. So much fun!

In college I had the opportunity to go on a Mormon America studies tour. We started in Jamestown, VA and visited all the historical sites up to New York and all the church history sites back to Salt Lake City. It was a month of long bus rides, gross hotels and hot humid weather. I loved all of it but had never been so excited to see sagebrush and wide open spaces in my life!

I graduated in 2002 to and went to college at BYU-Idaho. It was not my first choice but it turned out amazing! I had awesome roommates every year and we had a lot of fun. I also got to be close to my Grandparents and they spoiled me rotten.

 

In 2005 I transferred to Idaho State University for the radiographic science program. I did clinicals with a great group of girls. Work has never been as fun since :)

Another great group of roommates! We had the tradition of going out to breakfast to celebrate birthdays. Early mornings, no makeup, and delicious food. These girls helped me survive a stressful program!

I graduated in 2007 with a bachelors degree and am now a certified X Ray technician! My family came to support me and help me celebrate.

 

Yard Work

Spring has sprung and that means yard work time! We moved in during the summer last year and were so busy getting the house all put together we let all the flower beds get out of control. So now we have spent the last couple of weekends removing grass and weeds.

Before:

 

After:

Its been a lot of work but we are finally seeing the results. The tulips are finally coming out! An awesome suprise because we didn't even know we had tulips. They one of my favorite flowers.

Baxter got in a fight with the sprinklers as we were testing them. He likes to try and bite the water (pretty fun to watch). The mud on his face looks like he's got a black eye!  We have one tough looking puppy.