the story.

long long ago in a land far far away, there lived two people who would be destined to be married one day. they didn't know it yet, but they would change each others lives, for the better, and become like two peas in a pod. the best friends either of them could ever hope to have. they would learn what it means to love someone (in a big kid way) and learn the correct meaning of iclu. 

       first, we meet the boy. 

this is todd. he is a handsome boy.  very handsome. he is the kindest, most incredible boy in the whole entire world (yes, i am sure.) he is selfless and perfect in every way. any girl blessed enough to get to call him hers needs to thank her lucky stars because this boy is one in...infinity. 

           now, we meet the girl. 

this is cort. she's a smiley one. she loves yellow and loves making others happy. she thinks she's the funniest person in the whole wide world.  

they met in 7th grade art class. there they shared a miniature romance for the duration of about a week. ;) a few years later cort moved away. she went on a mission with her parents who were called to serve as mission presidents in the fort worth, texas mission. she lived there for three years (2004-2007.) she came back and visited every so often, but their real story doesn't begin until she officially moved back to utah on june 14th, 2007. 

todd was the first person to welcome her back to utah via text message. :) that comforted her in knowing that she was coming back to a place where people still loved her. skip ahead, june 30th, 2007. they held hands at craig lee's surprise birthday party. cort was a goof about it, (holding their hands up in the air and such..) but they held hands, none the less. little did she know, she was holding the hand of her sort of soon to be husband. fast forward july 26, 2007; their first date :) they watched the sunset, made ice-cream sundae's, watched a movie (in which it took todd 3/4 of the movie to grab corts hand!) and it was the most perfectest wonderfulest fantasticist first date ever.

 

the rest of the summer was so fun. they dated and spent lots of time together excited for the final year of high school they would share. first item of business to kick of senior year?  first kiss. todd asked cort to homecoming and she was sure that would be the night! ........and she was right! she was a little worried for a second that it wasn't going to happen because they said goodnight once before todd called her back outside because "he forgot something." he got her that time :) little did she know this time, that she had just kissed her sort of soon to be husband.  

senior year was a blast! dare i say, it was like a dream! they went to football games, spent many a friday night at yogurt stop and hung out with the greatest friends anyone could ever have! they both took choir which allowed them go on choir tour to san fransisco together and ended the year off with the absolute PERFECT prom. so after a year jam packed of wonderful times and good memories with friends they hold so dear,  they finally made it to graduation. 

summer 2008 started and i dare i say again, that that summer was also a dream! this was the summer when they truly fell in love. they worked, spent time with each other and friends and had the time of their life. with todd's 19th birthday quickly approaching, the two tried to make every moment count as to utilize every moment they had with each other. 

the call came on july 26th, 2008. hartford connecticut! oh how incredibly lucky those new englanders were. todd took cort on one last date where they ate at the roof, rode in a carriage and danced in the gardens at temple square. it was the greatest night of her life.  the brave and bold todd set off for his best two years on october 15th 2008! 

 letters letters letters. letters and mondays became the highlights of cort's life. she couldn't contain her excitement as she would run to the mailbox to find a letter addressed to her from her elder furness.  she absolutely loved hearing from him. but, she especially loved hearing all about his beyond incredible experiences as a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. and how happy he was in the service of our Savior.

todd had never been never happier! he was an outstanding missionary. the absolute best! he blessed the lives of so many as he gave everything he could, and more,  for those two years. ( i mean really, look at that smile on his face! if that isn't happiness, i don't know what is. ) 

after those ''quick two'' years todd's return was speedily approaching! cort had never been more nervous or excited for anything in her entire life. she had a history of dying her hair, and in preparation for todd coming home her hair changed from red, to blonde to brown in a matter of  2 weeks! (the blonde to brown change happening at 4 am the night before she was going to see him)  After being released as a missionary, Todd accompanied by his wonderful family made their way to corts house. cort was going insane. she felt as if her heart was going to beat out of her chest. when she heard the doorbell ring its like she couldn't move. he was at the door and she was stuck at the kitchen table! everyone asked her if they should go get the door or if she wanted to get it or what to do and she was just frozen without words. so her mom finally (dressed as a 50's girl costume none-the-less) when and answered the door. once cort heard the door open and heard her mom squeal, it's like someone lighted a fire under her! she took off SPRINTING to the front door.  she rounded the corner there he was. with her first sight of him its like she could breathe again. his smile calmed every worry she had been having for the months prior. she 'straight up tackled' him and wouldn't let go for the longest time. if happiness were to be summed up in a picture, this would be it.) scratch that, happiness doesn't even begin to cover it. 

a few weeks and "dtr's" later, the two we're officially dating.. again ;) the next few months were so much fun as they were reminded of just how much fun they had when they were together! but i think the best part was the reminder of just how in love they were with each other.

 for christmas vacation, todd accompanied cort's family on a family trip to california! they were headed to disneyland for a week of non-stop good spirited fun :) they were especially excited for this because it would mean a week of not having to say goodbye! they had quite possibly the best week EVER but lo and behold, the vacation came to and end and they reluctantly returned to reality and cold snowy land of utah. 

jump ahead, january 14th, 2011. it was a friday and the most important night of their lives (this far.) that night they were headed to 'brighton idol' to support cort's brother as a judge in the competition and emily babcock who was competing. :) since he had been home, the two talked about how they wanted to dance. if you recall, one of the last things they did before he left on his mission was dance in the gardens and temple square to my wish, by rascal flats. they hadn't really danced since he'd been home and they had talked about they needed too. so after brighton idol, they had planned to possibly go up the canyon and dance! however, after getting to brighton idol and meeting up with a few friends, the plans changed and when  the program finished, they found themselves on the way to sonic to get an after show treat with the crowd! they stayed for a little bit socializing and whatnot until finally everyone decided to relocate at their friend ashley's house! since cort and todd drove in a separate car, they took of first. in route to ashley's house, todd missed the turn! confused cort said, "uhh, todd, you missed the turn!" he just shook it off and made it seem like it was just an accident. but then he missed the second way to get to her house too and started heading up towards cort's house! she was so puzzled.. what could he be doing.. she thought. then it dawned on her, he still wanted to dance with her that night!! so, he was headed up the canyon to dance the night away. :) but he threw her another curve ball and he turned into the park behind corts house! (their park) thinking this was probly just a new location she knew he still wanted to dance; but she decided to play dumb to make it more fun. she said "sooo, what are we doing here?" todd replies, "can i just dance with you real quick, then we can go meet up with everyone?" cort's heart started beating so fast as of course she responded in the affirmative.hand in hand,  they treked out through the snow to the pavilion in the middle of the park. todd strategically placed his laptop in the back seat of the car so it could provide the music. the song started, he asked her to dance, and they pulled each other close and fianlly (officially) danced again to 'my wish' after two long years apart. todd whispered sweet things in cort's ear and she just remembers thinking, man, i am SO in love with this boy. they twirled and dippped and danced and laughed and it was almost as if life could never get better. after the song stopped, todd asks cort a question. he says "can you wait for 3:38 seconds for something else?" and she  was like, "of course! what is it?" and just smiles and goes over to his laptop and tells her to sit down on the bench. she obeys and he hands her the laptop. right then "at the beginning" starts to play and pictures fill the screen. the first is a picture of cort saying "this is cort", next a picture of todd that said "this is todd", and the third was their hands in a heart that read "they fell in love, and this is their story..." from there pictures from the entire time they were dating took turns popping up on the screen. he had compiled picture from the year they dated before the mission, and all the pictures they had taken since he had returned. he even got pictures from their recent trip to disneyland and put them in there too! it was the sweetest thing cort had ever seen. the nicest most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her. the movie ended and the very last picture was the picture from above, the one of them posing in front of the "happily ever after" sign.  still completely clueless on what he was about to ask her, she just hugged him and kissed him and thanked him for the sweet movie. she joked with him after a few second nudging him in the ribs saying, "happily ever after.. huh?" he then look her square in the eyes and said, "well cort, in order for us to have our happily ever after..." after he said that, he got up from the bench and got down on a knee. from his pocket he pulled out a ring and asked the question. that question that every girl dreeeeams about being asked. he said, "will you marry me?" she looked at him with tear filled eyes and the only thing she could do was scream!! she just screamed right at him! after a few seconds she goes, "are you serious?!" and he said, "is that a yes!?" and she just repeated the word "yes!", over and over and over and over.. gradually getting louder and louder and louder and louder until she was yelling again. there was a police officer parked in the parking lot of the park and cort even shouted over to him and said "ya hear that copper?! i said YES!!!" it was official. they were ENGAGED to be married. everything cort and wished for and dreamed of had come true on that night. she was finally able to say she was going to be marrying the LOVE of her life. rather, love of her ETERNITY. 

and they lived happily ever after.......into eternity.