The Proposal

So to get to the Curtis family vacation in Midway, UT we flew into Las Vegas and rented a convertible Mustang and drove up to Midway.  We had the top down for the whole 6 hour ride up.  Needless to say after about 3 hours we were looking like lobsters.
I had planned to propose to Michelle at a place called Stewart Falls which is a "short" hike from Sundance ski resort.  This is right on the way to midway.  I had contacted Nikaela to see if she could meet us up there to take some secret photos from some hiding spots to capture the moment.  She agreed.  That might have been her first mistake.  While Michelle and I are driving up Nikaela is texting me about meeting up and if we are on time so Michelle is looking at me phone because I am the one driving and she is asking me whats going on with Nikaela and why are we meeting her.  I quickly covered my story saying that Ammon and I were going to try and go golfing.  Well we end up being about an hour late getting to Steward Falls and Michelle is freaking out because we were responsible for dinner that same night.  Michelle didn't know we were hiking to the falls until we got to Sundance.  So now she is freaking out even more.  About 3/4 of the way to the falls she asks what time it is and I say 5:40pm with a hesitation.  Dinner was at 6:30pm.  She is to the point were she just wants to get to the falls take a look and get going.  Well we get to the falls after about a 40min hike and she takes one look and says looks great now lets go.  I pull her over the the side of the falls and I tell her I have something for her.  I pull out a puzzle with all the pieces except the 3 last pieces that say,"will you marry me."  She is thinking ok lets do this puzzle quickly so we can get back to the house.  Well after she starts to put the puzzle together I ask her if she recognizes the picture.  She does and at that point starts to think something is up.  We get to the last pieces and I pull out the last ones and get down on one knee and sign,"will you marry me."  She says,"yes" and we hug and kiss.  I then tell her that this moment was captured by digital media.  She doesn't quite get it but I point to Ammon who is across the stream with a camera and then to Nikaela who is behind us with a camera as well.  The story doesn't end there, oh no.  Ammon and Nikaela hiked in the long way whereas Michelle and I took the ski lift half way and hiked the rest.  So Ammon and Nikaela are tired and thirsty so I suggest that we hike back to the lift then take the lift down.  Well there are a few issues with that; one is that we hiked down in elevation to the falls so naturally we had to hike up in elevation to get to the lift.  This was not very desirable.  Then by the time we got back to the lift it had shut down for a 2 hour break between the regular hours and twilight hours.  So we waited at the lift platform for an hour until the lift started again to take us down the mountain.  I would be remiss if I did not mention the lift attendant who was a bit fearful of the weird guy looking at her from around the corner (Ammon).  But her fears were dispelled when we just said we wanted a ride back down the mountain.  So the story doesn't end here either!  When we get to the bottom of the mountain everybody is hungry and thirsty.  We decide to eat there at Sundance.  I wanted to eat at the Tree Room but it was rented out so we asked for a table at the Foundry Grill.  Well we got there past 9pm which is the last time they seat guests.  I winked and smiled and the hostess sat us down anyway.  Apparently there is a dead zone in the restaurant where no cell service exists and we were sitting dead in the middle of it. Mean while back at the ranch, Jon and Joyzelle are getting worried because we had failed to tell the rest of the family that we were going to eat there at Sundance so Jon and Joyzelle were on their way down from Midway to find us, presuming that some misfortune had befallen us.  Well luckily we got back to the car after dinner and Michelle's phone had a bunch of texts and voice mails so she called and cleared everything up.  Whew what a story!  I thought to myself wow this did not go as smoothly as planned and I felt bad for Ammon and Nikaela for having to hike so far unexpectedly and be so hungry and thirsty and then to worry the whole family about us as well.  But you know what?  It will always be remembered even with all its craziness and I wouldn't want it any other way.
Below are a few photos of the Proposal experience. 

 

Slow down and listen to the noises around you

As you all know I am getting my Doctorate in Audiology, this means I am a hearing doctor, not an ear doctor.  One of my responsibilities is to educate my patients and my community regarding hearing loss, amplification and all that this entails.  I kept thinking when I graduate I will start doing this, however, tonight I had a desire to start now by writing this post.  I wrote this email to Mike earlier this week and thought I would share it with all of you.  In the letter I get a little passionate about what I am saying but I hope it helps you understand more of what I am doing and why. 

Mike,

So I have been thinking about your comment of not realizing that sudden hearing loss was/is a medical emergency. If you went blind in one eye for no reason or lost feeling in one of your limbs wouldn't you immediately think to go to see a doctor? Why would you not do the same if you suddenly lost your hearing? Losing your hearing suddenly is NOT normal.  Losing your hearing gradually is also not normal and should also sound an alarm, just as losing any of our other senses would.

Why do we as a people push hearing and hearing loss aside and not realize its importance in our everyday lives? If things are blurry we rush to our optometrist to get our eyes checked and will wear glass/contacts with no qualms. But when it comes to our hearing we try and pretend it's not our hearing and that everyone else is just "mumbling" or not talking clearly anymore.  Why do we think that wearing hearing aids make us look weak or old or unintelligent, but wearing glasses makes us look smart?  They are both worn to help an impairment one might have. 

Glasses are just a piece of glass and plastic to help enhance and sharpen our sight and the great thing is glasses actually completely fix the problem.  Yet hearing aids which are complex mini computers made up of microphones, speakers, wires, circuits, etc. in most cases can only assist or enhance a signal.  It does not "fix" the problem like glasses/contacts can.  How we are able to hear and then understand the noises around us is amazing.  Our brains are able to filter out unimportant signals and focus on what we deem important.  How can (and why do) we expect a little mini-computer to do what our brains can do?  Even though hearing aids aren't perfect they do help tremendously.  I love seeing the smile on our patient's faces when they can hear again.  The sounds may not be perfect but to hear their children's, grandchildren, spouse’s voice is so worth the money for hearing aids.

One of my professors told us that this older gentleman wasn't in good health but he decided to buy hearing aids so he could communicate with his loved ones and so he could watch TV (he couldn't do much else besides lay in bed).  While they were fitting the hearing aids on him, his daughter (that was at the appointment with him) made a comment about his desire to talk to his sister on the phone one last time, they hadn't spoken in over 5 years because he couldn't hear on the phone.  It happened that the hearing aids he had bought had a phone program on it to allow for him to talk on the phone.  They did this and he was able to talk to his sister again.  He died 6 months later.  I know it is sad that he died so soon but what a happy day when he was able to speak to his sister again.

I just was sitting here thinking and wanted to share my thoughts with someone.  I am so happy and excited to be part of a profession that enhances people’s quality of life. 

Slow down and listen to the noises around you!

I love you,

Michelle

Michelle in ACTION!

While Michelle was visiting for Spring Break we went on a date with my brother and sister in law to the shooting range. Watch out for Michelle she is a sniper!



Mike shooting.  He looks like a pro!  It was so great to go on a date with Mike!

Chris and Lynette, thanks for letting us use your guns and for coming with us.  It was fun!