Colonoscopies, Globin Valley Thanksgiving, Rockets

Dear Family,

How quickly things change. Just last week we were eating Thanksgiving dinner and today we find ourselves shoveling snow three times (so far). Curt followed his holiday tradition of saying “This is the LAST year we are going to hang these outdoor decorations!” I filled my supportive role by holding the ladder and telling him that he wasn’t hanging them right. Oh, we are a happy couple….most days. Just two days ago we celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary by having colonoscopies. That was a bit more memorable than we would have liked. As you know, it is required that you have someone to drive you home after the procedure. Abby was still adjusting someone’s braces at work and Alex’s car broke down. Curt and I figured we could just take a taxi. Nope. The driver has to come sign you out of the hospital. I was just starting to wake up when I hear the nurse call our neighbor (who I had put down for an emergency). “This is Davis Hospital. The Curtis’ are ready for you to pick them up now.” I’m not sure how many plates of cookies or shoveling their driveway it’s going to take to live that one down. She was an angel. Last year we took our picture on the Bountiful Cemetery plots we purchased for our anniversary. We figured it would be the only time we would both be together and alive in that spot. We are such romantics!! Who knows what next year will bring?


I have to report on our Thanksgiving camping trip to Goblin Valley State Park. Two words – Freezing and Fun. On Thanksgiving day all of our kids and families met up with Amy and her family from Arizona and ‘camped’ out in two heated Yurts. The high was 25 and there was snow on the ground. We feasted on turkey, mashed potatoes/gravy, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, rolls, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream being very creative using the camp stove, dutch oven, and grills. We hiked, played games, worked on Christmas crafts, got super muddy, and drank lots of hot chocolate. Andrew had the great idea to bring a rocket launcher. Each person carefully designed and crafted their rocket(s) making sure to weight them with pennies. We had a lot of laughs as each rocket shot off the air compressor. I believe Abby & Travis won for the straightest and highest with Alex’s shorter bomber coming in at a close second. Being together was wonderful. Two nights in a heated Yurt was enough and I was so done being cold and muddy BUT I wasn’t done enjoying each of them. I learned a lot about this family. They are all good sports. They are loyal even when it doesn’t make sense. They are kind and patient with each other. And they are especially good at eating pancakes that don’t really resemble pancakes. It was definitely a memorable Thanksgiving for us all.

When I think of each of my siblings, my mind goes down the list of each of their children. I have come to love and care about each of my nieces and nephews. Then I think of all those wonderful spouses that have joined them and the beautiful children in each of those families. It may seem hard to believe that I can love each one of you even though I haven’t seen so many of you for several years. But I DO. I love you all. Please call on us if you ever feel we could be of service to you.

Love,
Uncle Curt and Aunt Susan