Christmas 2021 - Year End Review

Despite the challenges this year we feel very blessed and grateful.

Ron’s youngest brother, Bill, contracted Covid-19 back in November 2020. He was in th​e hospital for 10 weeks fighting for his life. Unfortunately, he passed on January 20th. He was only 54 years old. It was devastating for the entire family. We drove to Texas to offer support and love to his wife Melanie and his children. Most of his children were able to attend his funeral service.

Little Miss Torah Fae Burton was blessed on March 7th as well as her 2nd cousin, Rylee Renae Jones. The event was very sweet and memorable.

Cathy and her sister, Kristen had a joint birthday party in March. Cathy turned 60 and Kristen turned 50. It was awesome to celebrate with family and friends.

Cathy’s Sisters Get Away in April in Arizona was a total blast. All 8 sisters and sisters-in-laws were able to go, the first time ever. The Airbnb had a heated pool and a hot tub. It was nice to just be with each other to talk, play games, shop, talk, play more games, hike, talk, lounge in the pool & hot tub, and talk some more. Oh, and there was also food. So yummy!! They all enjoyed just being with each other. The time together is never long enough but they’ll take what they can get.

We had an eventful trip to Arizona the last two weeks of May. We went down to clean up Ron’s parents house and property in preparation for it to be listed once again to sell. Hoping, the fourth time would be the ticket. We arrived on a Monday. We drove our toy hauler down to sleep in and parked it in the huge garage but ended up putting it in front of the house due to a water and gas leak. We knew there was a water pump issue at the house when we first arrived but even with the new pump we bought, it was not working. Indicating there was most likely a break in the line somewhere between the house and the water tank. As a result, we had to fill the toilet tank with water every time we needed to use it. Thankfully, there was a large supply of water in gallon jugs in the back of the garage. We also had limited electricity because the batteries for the solar panels were near their end of life. Cathy swept lots of rat feces and cleaned and cleaned. Ron cleaned, fixed house issues and was organizing things that we would take home. Yes, we wore masks. What a blessing it was when Bryce surprise us by driving down to help the first Sunday we were there. He was a definite life saver. It shaved off two days of getting everything done. During the time there, we took 7 trucks loads to the dump and had 3 burn piles going to save more trips to the dump. Oh, and there were some snake incidents. So glad those happened the last 2 days of the stay, otherwise Cathy would have left abruptly. Cathy ended up getting a couple of bug bites that got infected. With antibiotics and a steroid, it cleared up nicely. Bryce drove home with a trailer full of insulation and we stopped in Las Vegas for two days to celebrate our 37th Anniversary. It was a long two weeks.

Our annual Cornwell Retreat was in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, July 21-22. We stayed at a quaint Airbnb house that had room for all of us. We went to Roger’s Ice Cream & Burgers (tradition) and Silverwood. We had a blast. The Grimmett Family Reunion followed our retreat (July 23-25) and was so much fun. We played at the park, visited, walked the boardwalk around the Cd’A Resort, had Gooeys at Dockside, did a little bit of shopping, went to the lake, swam, visited some more, rode on the pontoon boat (thanks, Steve), had an awesome program and wonderful food. We all had a GREAT time!

Camping Trips:

• June  18-19– Garden Valley, Idaho – Starlight Mountain Theater, production, Mary Poppins – it was the best performance we have ever attended there – So fun!!!
• June 30-July 4 – Redfish Lake, Idaho – Sunny Gulch Campground – with the kids & grandkids – Redfish Lake & Stanley Lake, we all had an incredible time, lots of memories (including a flat tire on the way home on David & Heidi’s pop-up trailer that we were towing – very hot and on the freeway – took an hour to fix)
• July 29-30 – Buhl, Idaho – Banbury Hot Springs – Ward Youth Conference – asked to be adult advisors – swam in the geothermal hot springs pool, campfire devotional, playing games, staying up way too late (the kids), paddle boarding to Blue Heart Springs, hiked Box Canyon (Cathy was stung by something on the hike back to the cars – very painful).

Heidi, Christine and Cathy had an overnight stay in October at a local hotel compliments of Heidi (last year Christmas present). Dinner at the hotel (YUMMY!!), swam in the heated pool, visited, watched a movie and breakfast at the hotel (YUMMY!!) We had a great time! Unfortunately, Heidi went home not feeling so good. Guess what, yep, Covid! She was out of commission for quite a while and we had to cancel our family dinner that Sunday. Bummer!! Everlee was the only one in their family that tested positive (no symptoms) for Covid and thankfully, Christine and I didn’t get it.

Guess what? The Arizona property sold! YAY!!!! We are carrying the note but we’ll take it. We are just so happy that someone wanted to buy it. 

​We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with a small group of family and friends. It was a nice quiet day. 

​We celebrated Torah’s first birthday on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, even though it was on Thanksgiving day. She sure is a cutie and we love her so much!!! 

​We are truly blessed to have all our children and grandchildren living within 5 miles of us. We love watching and spending time with them when we can.

​We are also grateful to have family that live so close to us. We love you and are thankful when we can be together.

​We want to express our gratitude to you our family and friends, near and far. We are so grateful for your friendship, support, understanding, kindness, and love! As we celebrate this season of love given to us by our Savior, Jesus Christ, we wish you the very best now and for the coming year!

​Ron & Cathy Cornwell
3652 N Justin Ave
Meridian ID 83646