Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
This year truly was one of the best years of our lives! I am worried I won’t be able to condense it to an 8×11 sheet of paper but we will do our best!
In January, we went to Nashville Tennessee for New Year’s in 75-degree weather. Myah started her second semester of Paramedic school and Mark started his final semester of Graduate school at Georgetown.
In February, Myah had an emergent appendectomy; we didn’t let it hinder our Valentines weekend.
March was an exciting month as we both got to go to California for the first time! Myah got to meet one of Mark’s best friends, Alex, as he is stationed at Travis Air Force base. We got to see Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, Sacramento, and this was Mark’s first time seeing the Pacific Ocean.
May was an absolutely crazy month. We got engaged, Myah and Annie moved to Dubuque, and we took a trip to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri to visit Mark’s Grandparents. Yay for being engaged! Yay for no more long distance! Mark also graduated with honors and his master’s in finance from Georgetown this month! Missouri was uncharacteristically cold for Memorial Day weekend but we made the best of it and had a wonderful time with family celebrating our engagement and Mark’s graduation.
Our proposal story if you didn’t already know on Tuesday May 18, Myah was making a trip to Dubuque for a drug test for her new job and Mark had set up a lunch date at our favorite winery. Little did Myah know; Mark had reserved the top floor with a private balcony for an intimate lunch. It was sprinkling outside but that didn’t hamper Mark’s plan. Mark and Myah had recently made a video for Instagram announcing to friends she was moving to Dubuque, Mark wanted to recreate the video in Dubuque at that lunch. So, they set up a tripod and put a phone on video mode. Mark then surprised Myah with a proposal in the misting rain, instead of the original video plan. We had a wonderful lunch and spent the rest of the day calling our friends and family.
In June we just settled into a new rhythm of cohabitation and exploring Dubuque and the surrounding areas together.
July was the month we set a date for our wedding; we made another trip to Lake of the Ozarks Missouri with Mark’s friend Marshall. Myah got to experience her first Frankie and Louie’s Rum Runner (10/10 recommend). We also go to celebrate the 4th of July up north in Minocqua Wisconsin with Myah’s Mom, Aunt, and Uncle.
August was another whirlwind of a month. Mark got to experience his first Milwaukee Irish fest, in 24 years Myah has only missed one Irish fest so naturally Mark had to join in on the tradition. On August 19, we celebrated two years of love, laughter, and happiness. Mark got his new dream job as Heartland Financial’s Liquidity Manager this month. We also explored the Caves in Maquoketa Iowa, and, by the end of the month, we had to say goodbye to our beloved pup Annie due to an aggressive liver tumor. 13 years wasn’t long enough, and she really started to grow on Mark.
In September we finally got to take our long-anticipated engagement pictures (we were eager to get them done the moment we got engaged haha). We explored Pikes Peak in Prairie Du Chien Wisconsin (views were incredible). We also made a trip to Milwaukee to meet up with Matthew and Alexes (Mark’s brother and his girlfriend) to watch a Brewers Vs Cubs game.
November, we made a trip to Indianapolis to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mark’s immediate family. This was Myah’s first Ellis Thanksgiving since last year she had COVID. This was also the first time all of Mark’s family was together and Myah was there too. Myah also finished her last class for Paramedic School and prepared to take her boards exams in December.
In the beginning of December Mark had his first business trip to New York City and Myah got to tag along! We made a pit stop in New Jersey to visit Mark’s family and then spent the weekend playing boujee in New York City. Myah took (and passed) her boards exams for Paramedic School!
We hope the holidays bring you all the warmth and cheer and we wish you a happy 2022!
Love,
Mark and Myah
Myah Curtis 
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