AL AND PAUL MOVE TO MICHIGAN

Alison and Paul and their six children packed up and moved to Michigan. Al and Paul moved to Utah about the same time we came back from our mission and bought a house around the corner from us. It was so great to have them close. She had two more children there and we watched the family grow.

Al and I had a good time. She got me interested in some of the finer points of cooking and we shopped together, went on trips to "Spoons and Spice" to get all the gadgets. Paul thought there was a kitchen arms race going on. It was just fun.

Then they decided they would move back to Michigan where they both grew up and where Paul joined the church. They sold their house and in the interval lived in our basement apartment for four months and that was great. We shared food and fun. I would take tho boys to Cabala's and we would walk around and see everything, do the laser shooting range and eat a bison brat and check out the aquarium. One time Al asked James, "What did you do at Cabala's?" "We did everything you could do at Cabala's without spending thousands of dollars!"

We went to church with them and occupied the last two rows on the right. It was a ball and the people sitting behind us had a show every Sunday. The little girls would crawl all over my lap and little Henry joined in as well. Here is a picture I sneakingly took with my Blackberry on Al's last visit to our ward. She is sitting next to Becca who came up for the family dinner after. We had Rob there as well and 45 came to Sunday dinner.

It was hard to say goodbye as they lined up next to their 15 passenger van on their way to Michigan. It was almost like history being revisited in reverse. I will miss them very much including all the little kids. They were great to have in our home. I would go to the head of the stairs and call out names and sometimes they answered. Then I went to the head of the stairs and whispered very softly, "I have a licorice treat!" and kids came running up from all the rooms downstairs. They do have good hearing. It has been quiet around here and we miss them so much but they need to pursue their goals in Michigan.

Then I got this picture yesterday. This is now Michigan and here are Al's kids, Peter, William and James, with their cousins, Nicky and football player, Scotty. Scotty plays football for the East Hills JV football team and they are winners.

I was disoriented when I saw the picture; they were just here and now they are there. Life is so full of partings and greetings, I should be used to it by now but when loved ones leave for a bit it still is felt. We now have three families in Michigan.

We wish Paul and Al and the gang all the best in their move to Ann Arbor and even though I am a "Utah Man" I can say, "Go Blue".

Love, Opa