Curtis is home!

After work on Thursday, I went down to the airport to welcome home a friend from Iraq. Curtis left in September and I have been praying for his safe return for months. Along with Ryan R., John, Ryan P., Kyle, Katie, Drew, and Doug, I welcomed home our conquering hero. His plane was almost an hour late. Luckily, we ate candy and drank soda pop to stay awake. I made friends with other people waiting for the plane, one of which took our picture once Curtis got off the plane. We were surprised because he left the plane in civilian clothes after an 11 hour layover in Minneapolis, MN. Because of the long layover, he was able to go to the Mall of America and buy some civilian clothes including the grey sweatshirt, jeans, and red shirt he was wearing. Curtis had been awake for two days after flying from Iraq to Qatar, then to Germany, Ireland, and then across the Atlantic Ocean to our grand country (I think I left out a stop or two, but I can't remember which ones.) After getting his lovely green duffel bags, we headed out to the parking lot. While almost everyone else took Curtis out to celebrate, I headed home because my nose was running and I had been sneezing all day. I am so excited Curtis is home safe and sound.

That's right; I'm annoyed...and worried

Well, tonight I am annoyed because I was lied to. The night started out well. I went to Family Home Evening, where two guys flirted with me. Then I went to IHOP with some friends. This is where, while talking to a friend, I found out that another friend of mine lied to me. As some of you might remember, my friend Curtis (see blog of August 28th, 2006) was deployed at the first of September. I was told that he was going to Quatar, a relatively safe place to go if you must be deployed to the Middle East. He actually told me this himself in a conversation we had a friend's front porch in August. Our mutual friend John mentioned that he was worried about Curtis since there have been deaths at his air base in the past few days. I was surprised because I hadn't heard Quatar mentioned in the news. Apparently Curtis is at the Air Force base outside of Balad, Iraq. It is app. 60 miles north of Baghdad. Camp Anaconda (its official name) is 15 square miles and is the largest support base in Iraq. It is home to 25,000 soldiers and has its own theater, swimming pool, Baskin Robbins, and Pizza Hut. Its nickname is Mortaritaville because of the frequency of it being attacked by motar shells and/or rockets. In 2004, there were usually two attacks every day.
I realize that one of the reasons that I wasn't told is because I tend to be a worrier. However, I am annoyed that I was led to believe that Curtis was in a "safe" area and not in Iraq. I guess I should be grateful that he rarely leaves the base because he is in the Air Force. He doesn't have to go into the major cities like the Marines and Army soldiers do. Still, I am now worried about very worried about him. I think I will step up my prayers for him.

Saturday recap

Saturday was quite a busy day. It began early with a trip to the Bountiful temple with Dad. When Dad and I got home, he made pancakes. Jen, Lauren, Alison, and Isaac joined us. We put Isaac and Lauren next to each other to take pictures. There's nothing like three or four adults taking pictures at one time. It must have seemed shocking to these two darling kids.
Mom, Jen, and Alison started the process of making Salsa while I tried to clean up the yard and part of the house for the bridal shower. After cleaning up and playing with the babies, I decided to take a short nap. The short half hour nap turned into an hour and a half. When I was finally awakened, I had 15 minutes to take a shower before the bridal shower began. After a quick shower, I ran down to try to help the Allreds set up. After Trisha's bridal shower I went to meet up with Ryan's family. One of his nieces, Danielle, was baptized on Saturday and the Reid family got together for dinner. Afterwards, Ryan and I went to Barnes and Noble, then to pick up John for some fun.
The three of us then went to someone's house for a farewell party for Curtis. He will be gone to Qatar until January. It was nice to hang out with John, Ryan, Curtis, and Kyle again. They are such funny guys. By the end of the night, my stomach hurt from laughing so much. We left a little early because some of us were tired. I ended the night watching an episode of "Monk," a hilarious show about an obsessive-compulsive detective.

Curtis and Qatar

My friend Curtis is in the Air Force and is stationed at Hill Air Force Base. In about a week, his unit is being sent to Qatar. This small, app. 5,000 square mile, country is a peninsula that juts off the edge of Saudia Arabia into the Persian Gulf. (For more info, go to Wikipedia.) While it is safer than say Iraq, Iran, etc., it still worries me to see him go. He keeps telling us to not worry about him because worrying does no good. If anyone out there has been to Qatar, I would appreciate knowing how long it takes a package to get there. I can't manage to get a straight answer.

Last night John, lawyer Ryan, Curtis, and I went to the Athenian to eat. (For those unaware, it is a Greek restaurant in Ogden and the lettuce/grape leaf wraps are excellent.) Afterwards, best friend Ryan joined us at Johns for a game of Trivia Pursuit Pop Culture. It was a close game but Curtis won in the end. To celebrate his victory, his usual "rock-on" face was exhibited (see picture.) It was a low-key Friday night but I had fun nonetheless. I will really miss Curtis while he is away. I can always talk to him about religion, books, politics, or any other serious, semi-smart topics. At least I will get to see him once more next weekend. (I believe a going-away party is in order!) Be safe Curtis and I will miss you.