Michigan Moffitts

Mackinac Republican Conference 2009

2009-09-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Aleta and I really enjoy politics. We follow the local, state and national issues pretty closely. During the Presidential race last year, we were Mitt Romney supporters. Aleta was able to join his campaign team here in Michigan the night he won the Michigan nomination. A great experience. Since then, we have joined Republican clubs in our area. Aleta is now on the Board of the Bloomfield Republican Women's Club, which is a terrific organization with excellent connections and dinners! Every two years, the Republican Party in the state holds a 3-day Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island at the Grand Hotel (think Somewhere in Time movie). We attended this year with our boys Dylan and Keenan. What a terrific event! We had such a wonderful time, we hated for it to end. The highlight of the weekend was a chance to meet Governor Romney. He gave an awesome speech, and let his natural sense of humor show through.

In addition to Governor Romney, we met with each of the candidates for Governor of Michigan, Secretary of State and Attorney General. They were all terrific people and just a lot of fun to be around. They are so different in person from what you see on TV. Easy to talk to, funny, and very motivated to take back Michigan! Our family will be involved with campaigns for the next 18 months. More on that stuff later. Here are some more photos from the Conference. FYI, that is Congressman Pete Hoekstra with the family. He's a candidate for Governor and is the ranking Republican on House Intelligence Committee.

Additionally, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Ari Flescher - W's Press Secretary, John Fund of the Wall Street Journal and Frank Luntz of Fox News were there too.

As usual, the Island was beautiful, and we enjoyed being up there in the fall. It is truly a special place for our family as we have lots of memories collected over the years. If you want to see the Island, all you have to do is come visit us in the summer sometime....

Bear Hunt in Canada

2009-09-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

If you have been on Facebook lately, you may have seen some pics from my Bear Hunt in northwest Ontario in late August. In case you are not using FB these days, here are some shots from the big hunt.

Our hunt had been planned for almost a year. A few of us from the ward went together, with a couple of dads, brothers and sons joining. The other guys were from Mississippi, Missouri and Wisconsin. Great guys!

We had a blast. In total, there were 12 hunters at the outfitter, of which 8 were in our group. All 12 hunters got bears. This was my first bear hunt, and I am hooked! It is

a very different experience to hunt something that can eat you! Anyway, the week in Ontario was terrific. It is beautiful country up there...we were not quite an hour northwest of International Falls, MN. It was only a few miles from the Manitoba border.

I guess I had beginners luck, as I got the biggest bear of the week. Estimated at just over 400 lbs live weight. Average was probably around 200 lbs or so. Beautiful animals. The most common question I get is what are going to do with the bear? The answer is I'm having the skin tanned and made into a bear skin rug with head being mounted as part of the rug. As for the meat, I brought back as much as I could transport back home (about 60 lbs or so) and intend to eat it. Aleta made bear stew last Sunday, and it was outstanding. I can't wait for the next bear dinner!

Texas Style Birthday for Dylan

2009-08-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Dylan turned 17 on the 3rd of August. Dylan and I were able to travel to Dallas to spend time with Grandpa and Grandma and the cousins. He pretty much disappeared once we got there thanks to Emmi having a full social agenda. Great time. Hot. We got to drive the silver Corvette a little, work on a new shed Rod is building, and still had time to squeeze in some Mexican food and an fantastic Texas BBQ. That's Dylan doing the Chicken Dance for us in recognition of being the Birthday Boy. Grandpa is demonstrating the correct technique of how to lift a kid by his ears. Tyson is getting the instructions.

It's All About the Girl....

2009-06-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Lately, everything in our family has been about the girl.... I guess that is what happens when you have a graduating senior who is your only daughter! We have had Senior Prom, Awards Ceremonies and Graduation Ceremonies. Awesome times. I have to admit that buying another dress for a dance was a hard thing as a father to get my head around. What all those other dresses we bought and wore just once? Nobody remembers what you wore right? Wrong. I made a bet that Caitlin's boyfriend Keon wouldn't remember the dresses she wore previously anyway, so why buy another one. We called Keon, and with very a-typical male accuracy, described every dress she wore to every dance he had taken her to over the past 3-4 years. I honestly don't know how he did it. Perhaps they were in his wallet and he pulled a fast one, but if he did, he's a great actor because I believed him. Maybe I'm the one with the problem. Needless to say, that bright pink dress was picked out and paid for within a couple days of losing that bet. As you can see, it was money well spent.

For graduation, we were lucky to have G&G Moffitt and G&G Despain be able to attend. Fun times and great memories. Lot's of happy kids at the high school the day the Seniors 'walked the halls' in front of the parents and student body. Hard to believe Aleta has two kids out of high school...

Summer Fun

2009-06-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

Quick update to let everyone know we are back to summer fun in Michigan. Got the Corvette out of storage and launched the boat. Hasn't warmed up too much just yet. Still a little chilly. Lot's of fun stuff coming up in the next few days around here...we have a Senior!

Spring Time in Michigan

2009-05-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

It's spring and things are looking up. Check out Caitlin and Ali in their bright colors! We haven't seen that kinda color in months. Everyone is doing great. Can't wait for school to end! Caitlin has a really full schedule from here to Graduation, so our lives are about to focus on those plans for the next few weeks. We are getting a jump on the house and yard projects, as summer means boating and cars! Those pictures of Ali and the boys was on Mother's Day.

Winter is about over...

2009-02-26T05:28:00.000-08:00

It looks like we will survive the winter after all. The kids have been busy with school, sports and even dances. I don't think Caitlin has missed a high school dance. Here are some photos of the Sadie Hawkins dance that she went to with a big group of friends. The guys just try to help with picture taking and making sure we look decent when everyone shows up.

Mid-winter Update

2009-01-28T07:10:00.001-08:00

I was talking with the kids last night on the way to the High School about how we are about half-way through winter here in Michigan, and our trip to Florida is coming up fast. It also occured to us that we have had snow on the ground here since the week of Thanksgiving, and it continues to pile up. We haven't seen the grass in at least two months! We've also had some sub-zero temps as you can see in the photo.

Our philosophy is that if you have the right equipment, you can really enjoy the winter weather. Check out Aleta in her new winter gear. I haven't heard any complaints about cold feet with those boots! We love the cold snowy weather here in Michigan. The kids have got some snowboarding in lately too.

We just had the big International Auto Show in Detroit last week, which is a lot fun. In two or three weeks, we have the Detroit Boat Show downtown, and that generally means 6 more weeks to launch day for us boaters. See, winter is almost over...

We got a nice letter from Briton this week with a ton of photos. I'll try to get some new stuff on the blog from Uruguay.

Pictures of Elder Moffitt

2009-01-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

We thought everyone would like to see some pics of Briton that we just received. We were able to talk to him for about an hour and a half on Christmas. He is doing terrific! He loves the country, people and the work. He is thinking that he will be transferred to a new area soon. It is hard to believe he has been out more than 6 months now. They are teaching a lot of people in their area, with quite a bit of reactivation work too. They are in the middle of their summer right now, so temps are over 100 degrees with humidity. He seems very happy and wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and support.

Clockwise from the top left: Dinner at a member's home right before Christmas. New Year's BBQ Uruguayshian style. Elders at a members home around New Year's eve. On the roof of their house celebrating the New Year.

Herding Reindeer???

2008-12-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick video taken with Mike's cell phone. We were on the way home after a big snow storm and we ran into Blitzen, Dasher and Vixen. We think Rudolph slipped away before we got the camera rolling.

For those of you who haven't been to our house, we have a hundred or so resident deer in our neighborhood. We have them in our yard all year long. These have been well fed on Aleta's flowers this past summer. P.S. They cannot lay off the Hostas.

Snowed In Again

2008-12-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

We had a big snow storm that started on Friday morning and lasted all day into the evening. We didn't even bother to leave the house. Here are some pics of Keenan and Mike digging out the driveway. Looks like we are pretty set for another White Christmas with almost a foot and a half on the ground and more on the way. We are hard core winter people. We all love the snow...bring it on!

What's New This Week

2008-12-11T14:48:00.000-08:00

I wanted to get a quick post made to the blog so that I can achieve my goal of keeping our stuff more current. The problem is that as I sit here, there isn't anything real exciting or interesting that comes to mind.... Oh well, I suppose a post about the ordinary is okay. Aleta hosted a progressive dinner with the RS sisters last night. The guys got kicked out of the house for the evening, but the leftover desserts were fantastic. Keenan is in physical therapy now that the pins in his hand and cast have been removed. Dylan is buried in wrestling season. Caitlin is working a lot and waiting to hear from BYU Admissions. I am now the Employment Specialist in the ward, just released as Ward Clerk. Given the economy here in Detroit, we have many needs for employment. I'm looking forward to this new assignment. We are enjoying the season and hope you are too.

Merry Christmas

A Post on Caitlin

2008-12-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

Last night after looking over my blog updates, Caitlin said I never put anything on there about her. Hmmm. She had a point. So, this entry is just about Caitlin. Read on!

Caitlin turned 17 years old this year. We had a small birthday party for her with just the family. She was given a bike (thinking ahead to needing one for college) but I don't think I have seen her ride it yet. But it is a pretty nice one, I think.

She has part-time job working the counter at a dry cleaners near our home. We are friends of the owners and they like to hire high school aged girls to work for them. She likes it. Recently she got a second job as a hostess at the Rochester Chop House, our favorite place for an awesome steak. She knows some of the kids that work there, so it was a nice fit. During the fall, Caitlin runs Cross Country for Stoney Creek High School. She was co-captain of the girls team this year, and did really well.

Of course, Caitlin attended the Homecoming Dance this fall. In fact, I dont' think she has missed a school dance in four years. Last year she was in the Homecoming Court which was cool, but this year she attended as a civilian. That's Keon in the photo. We have lots of Keon and Caitlin pics from over the years. It's fun to see them get all dressed up for the dance.

A couple of weeks ago, she had to take care of a robot-baby for the whole weekend. It was for her child development class. Let me tell you, these practice babies have come a long way since Aleta was in high school. Caitlin's baby looked real. Sounded real. Made normal noises when she fed it. Woke up every two hours during the night, and was carried in a real-life sized car carrier. Pretty realistic. When Aleta had the class in high school, she had to care for an egg. Wow. I feel old.

Caitlin is a great daughter. She is also an expert texter on her phone and is highly skilled at Facebook too. She is awesome

Elder Moffitt Missionary Letter Excerpts - Vol 3

2008-12-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some more updates from Briton:

October 14th
Well we had an absolutely amazing week this week. I learned a lot of lessons and principles that I am going to have to use throughout the rest of my mission. First of all, we had an awesome baptism this week. Jose was baptized and confirmed a member of the True Church of Jesus Christ. The service was so amazing! We had a joint baptism with the other ward, and it was so special.So we had the service on Saturday. We showed up at the Church and Jose walks up, he was really nervous, but he was excited for this new step he was about to take. We had him change, and I changed as well because I was asked to do the baptism. There were so many members at the Chapel! It was just amazing to see all the support by the members. Well, as I said, I got to do the baptism. The Spirit was so strong. The look on Jose´s face as he came out of the water was amazing. You could tell he had received a witness of the divinity of this work, and that he had made a covenant with the Lord. He gave me a big hug in the font... I loved it! Jose was so prepared by the Lord that it only took us 3 and a half weeks to teach him everything and the baptize him. After the baptism, Juan comes up to Elder Musser and I and says that he is going to start preparing for his own mission! What an amazing first transfer in Uruguay!

October 27th
Inactivity is a really big problem here, as it is in a lot of South America. We often find people that are members, but haven´t been to Church in 20 years or so. It is really sad to see people who have lost or forgotten their testimonies. It also is a lesson to me on why we always need to go to Church. The happiest people on Earth are those that are keeping the Commandments, and doing the best they can do to endure to the end. It makes me very grateful for the countless blessings that the Gospel has brought into my life, and for the happiness that it brings to others.

November 22nd
Jose received the Priesthood this week. I hope he continues with his plans to serve a mission of his own. After he was ordained, he looked at Elder Musser and I and said "Ustedes golpearon la puerta correcta"... which means "You two knocked on the right door". He´s so awesome, and always has a smile on his face. He is becoming a great member of the ward. They all love him so much!

December 3rd
We had some really neat experiences with the power of prayer this week. The first is that I told you all how it hadn't rained for over a month here in Durazno. Well, all the members and people have been praying and fasting for rain, and this week the prayers were answered. On Friday it started raining, and hasn't really stopped for about 5 days. What a blessing for the people here! The second experience is that we had a huge service project planned for this Saturday. We were to help remodel a day care center. Well, it was raining, and we were to be painting outside, so we got there and the boss guy said that we wouldn't be able to do the service. So, since the whole zone was together (18 missionaries) we weren't going to take that for an answer. We all got together and offered a prayer that the rain would stop and that we would be able to do the service project. We waited after and within 10 minutes the rain stopped and the clouds went away. We painted everything, and as we were leaving, the clouds moved back in, and it started to rain again. What a miracle!

What Mike and Ali Are Reading

2008-12-03T19:14:00.000-08:00

Aleta and I almost always have a book going. Ali is in a book club, and these women read some pretty interesting stuff. The book she is reading is The Good, Good Pig. It is a true story of a couple who raised a pig in a small town in New Hampshire and how Christopher Hogwood impacted the lives of people and brought a town together. She was reading parts of it out loud on our trip to and from Nauvoo. Christopher was quite a pig! We learned that pig skin responds well to human skin creams and stuff too. Aleta wants a pig now.

I recently finished 1776 which chronicals key people and key events that occured during the year the United States declared independence and fought against England. I really like books about George Washington, and this one came highly recommended (hat tip to Blaine). I was not disappointed. I'm currently reading American Gospel by Jon Meacham. This book covers the role religion has played in government since the Founding. Interesting read too.

Thanksgiving in Nauvoo

2008-12-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

We spent the week of Thanksgiving with family in Nauvoo. It was a great time in a special place. We visited the historic sites, saw the musical put on by the missionaries, and attended the Temple. It was our second time in the Nauvoo Temple, and it was as wonderful as the first. The building itself is remarkable, and when you think of all the sacrifice that went into the original temple, it is overwhelming. We are already planning a Temple Trip there next summer. Let us know if you want to be included!

Elder Moffitt Missionary Letter Excerpts - Vol 2

2008-12-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some snipets from Briton's letters over the past couple of months:

September 10th
Uruguay is amazing. I love it already. The moment we got through customs, President and Sister Ashby were there waiting for us, along with all the Office Elders. They are way fun, and they were impressed with the amount of Spanish that my group already knew. We were immediately taken to the Mission Home, and started orientation to the mission. We had a small Uruguayo lunch, and then we listened to some things that President had to say. The people here have an unique accent. Its been a little hard for me to understand some things that they say... but I´m not too worried about it.

September 15th
We started working in Yi Wednesday night. We taught two people the first discussion and set up return appointments. It was really neat to start teaching real people! Yi hasn´t baptized in a while, but we have several investigators that are going to get baptized soon! We are teaching a mother and her 3 daughters-- they have been investigators for a long time and desire to be baptized, but the husband won´t allow it. Ultimately, it is up to the Lord. Yi is very different. It is very poor. The houses are all cement, and there is trash everywhere. Also, dogs are all over the place. I think there are more dogs than people! It makes me grateful for the circumstances that I have been blessed with. Our house is really cold. Mom would probably die a thousand deaths if she saw what we were living in (haha). We live with 2 other Elders. We found a really awesome guy named Jose (name changed). I really feel good about this brother. He wants to know the truth. We met him through another investigator. Last night we went over to stop by and say hello and he has pretty much lost interest. But his friend, Jose, who listened to the lesson a few days ago, had been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy!

September 22nd
So we have 6 investigators about to be baptized. The most amazing, I think is Jose, who is 21 years old. His life has changed dramatically in just a week. He studies the Book of Mormon like crazy. I had a really cool experience with him. For every lesson in Preach my Gospel, there are little pamphlets that we give to the investigators that review what we taught that day. We taught the Word of Wisdom lesson, and he was smoking. Well, he read the pamphlet and saw that you can ask for a Priesthood Blessing to help overcome the temptation, so he asked me for one. I gave him a Priesthood Blessing in Spanish! I was so nervous, but the words came, and he is going to be baptized on the 11th. I am going to do the baptism. The members feed us lunch everyday. Lunch is HUGE! It is like lunch and dinner for the States at once. We really don´t eat dinner... just a light snack before we go to bed. But the members make us a couple different things... Milanesas, it is basically a breaded, fried chicken, with rice and vegetables mixed in. We eat a lot of bread. Or we eat fideos con tuco. That is noodles with beef and chicken mixed in. They use tomato sauce in the noodles... I like all the food. My favorite food is Chivito. It will probably kill you if you eat too much, but it is ham, beef, egg, and veggies made into a sandwich. They are $2 american, so we eat them every P-Day. The best stuff is Dulce de Leche. They put it in all the desserts here. I´m addicted to these things called alfajores. They are like the Twinkie of Uruguay. They are delicious.

September 29th
I attended my first Zone Conference this week. President Ashby overhauled the mission. We are going to double baptisms in Uruguay. And to do so, President has changed our schedule. Before, the missionaries, after lunch, had to return home for siesta... and study. That is no longer going to happen in the mission. We are going to continue working all day, right after lunch... even when all the people are napping during the siesta. It was really amazing, and I was so much more tired with the new schedule, and we work for like 3 more hours each day. President did the math, and it looks like with all the added time, we will be able to more than double the baptisms in the mission. However, we have been asked to have all our friends and family to pray for the mission. So, I am asking you to specifically pray for the Uruguay Montevideo Mission by name.

What is it like to live in Detroit right now you ask?

2008-12-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

It is pretty grim here these days. We've had a rough two years up here. For a while, it was a single state recession and we got used to it. You know how it feels now across the country? It has been like that here for over two years. We love Michigan. It is a beautiful state, especially when you go "up north" and spend time near the Great Lakes. But we've got a bad image. The mayor of Detroit is in jail after a scandal. Our governor is bad. During our economic challenges, she pushed through a huge tax increase. Companies are closing up, moving south to Tennessee, South Carolina or Alabama. No companies are moving here. It's not hard to see why.

Now, living here surrounded by the auto industry, I think we develop a different perspective than others living in different parts of the country. The media really misleads the story behind the Big 3. They claim they build lousy cars and trucks. Wrong, quality is very high. They say they build cars no one wants. Wrong. In recent years, they sold everyone of the millions they produced rather easily. They blame the unions for the problem. Wrong. The wages and benefits are pretty high, but as a percentage of total cost, labor is a low percentage of the cost of a car. Plus, the American workers are significantly more productive that the foreign makers. Sure Management has made some bad decisions, and I won't argue that. But, here's something you won't hear in the news. These big companies are committed to their retirees. Hundreds of thousands of them are drawing retirement from years of service. They don't want to walk away from them. They won't. They are loyal. This is where the legacy costs are, and this is why they don't want to go into bankruptcy. The companies care about the workers more than the union. The government cares more about the union than the worker.

Believe me, we want to see the Big 3 survive. Millions of jobs and thousands of businesses are linked to this industry. Automakers helped build our nation. They are a national treasure.

Car Fun in Motown

2008-11-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

As you probably already know, cars are a really big deal here in the Motor City. Right now, there is a lot of bad publicity on the automakers (more on that later, as I definitely have some strong opinions on that topic) but in the summer, we celebrate the automobile with Cruise Nights and the Woodward Dream Cruise. For those of not familiar with Cruise Nights, I will explain. A bunch of old guys with old cars all meet somewhere, like a diner parking lot, back into the parking places, open up their hoods and sit in folding chairs and talk to each other. About half the time, the wives join their husbands. Usually there is a DJ playing Oldies too. When it's over, you pack up your stuff, get back into your car, and head home. Oh, and when you leave the parking lot, you burn rubber. It impresses all of the other old guys. Cool stuff....

Here are a few shots from some of our Cruise Nights.

Anyone comes to visit us in the summer...I'll try to get you out to real Cruise Night.

Where did the Summer Go?

2008-11-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

I guess the idea of a blog is to actually update it from time to time. I admit it...we slacked off. Way off. Now I'm trying to make amends. So, I'm posting new stuff tonight to get everyone caught up with the fam. Hopefully, you will have some comments to pass along to us....

Dylan Is Sixteen!!!!

2008-08-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

When Dylan got home from scout camp on Saturday, Mike suggested they go see the movie "Dark Knight". Now that may not seem odd to others, but that meant they left all their laundry for mom to do and she didn't care. When they got home we had arranged for his friends to be here for a "surprise". We had a hamburger/hot dog BBQ, a firepit, waterfight, and Corvette rides. I hope everyone had a good time. Dylan scored with the gift cards and ice cream cake.

Besides the Missionary...Here is what else is going on...

2008-08-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

Last week was scout camp, so for a full week no one asked Keenan and Dylan if they had brushed their teeth or showered, after all even teenagers still think that a day in the lake is as good as soap and a showerhead. Mike was able to spend Wednesday through Saturday with them..lucky guy!

Caitlin and I got to have a "girls" week, nail salons and a trip to the outlet mall. Then I took her up to Cross Country camp with some other girls on the team. On the way up they were reading horoscopes out of a teen magazine...no lie, Caitlin's said to take this time to just have mother/daughter time including a shopping trip and lunch. We got a laugh from that one.

The shoes were from all four girls going to camp, they will wear-out one pair in the week.

Elder Moffitt Missionary Letter Excerpts - Vol 1

2008-08-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

July 15, 2008
So this week has consisted of a lot of teaching, studying, and eating. I taught in the Teaching Evaluation Center last week with Elder Ashby a couple times. On saturdays, we have an important teaching oppurtunity for the missionaries to prepare for. Its called the Teaching Resource Center, and they have volunteers from outside the MTC come in and teach. We did alright in our lesson, but yesterday was probably the best lesson Ashby and I have ever taught. The Spirit of the Lord is so strong in the MTC, and I feel like I'm improving everyday in the language and teaching. Our teachers are so awesome! Hermano Pope has inspired Ashby and I to create really cool study journals. We started ours this week and they are going to be so cool in 2 years. Its a 3-ring binder and its going to be where I keep everything that I study during the course of my mission. I'm taking all my free time to deck it out with cool artwork and stuff.

So the language is going well. I pretty much speak only Spanish during the day. Its going to take a while longer to get fluent in the Gospel tongue... but the Gift of Tongues is real... I feel like my language improvement is remarkably accelerating than when I was in High School.

I'm so grateful to be here, at this time, with these missionaries. My testimony of the Gospel is exploding... and the Veil is very thin here. I love it. I feel all of your prayers each day. I love you all, and may God bless and rain his blessings upon everybody.

July 22, 2008
The Elders love to play softball during gym time. Well, this week my time needed one more run to win the game, and I was in scoring position. Our team got a hit, and I ran for home. All of the sudden I see the outfielder throw the ball to the plate... So I slid. Bad decision. As a result, I have had the biggest, nastiest raspberry on the side of my leg. Well I went to bed that night, and I had it wrapped really good... but I guess it must have been oozing all night (its also really really hot in our rooms) that I lost a lot of liquid over night. I woke up really clammy and sweatty, not feeling good at all. I went in and shaved and brushed my teeth. I came back in the room, and I was starting to get really dizzy. I looked at Ashby and I said that I wasn't feeling good--- that I was feeling like I was going to pass out. Well, I sat on my bed, and I went out. It freaked Elder Ashby out. He started yelling for the Zone Leaders hysterically, and when I came back around, there were like 20 Elders all staring right at me. He'd never seen that before. Anyways, he got the medics, and they looked at me. I was fine after I came around, and I just needed some sugar and liquid in my system. So I rested for about an hour. Ashby took me down to the Health Clinic, but they didn't even want to see me because I was looking so much better. So, I passed out... and now the entire MTC knows...

Dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

2008-07-21T19:01:00.000-07:00

On June 30th, we hosted a dinner in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for all of our family members to have an opportunity to say goodbye to Briton. It was an enjoyable evening and Briton really appreciated everyone coming.

We were able to walk through a portion of Temple Square and got this three generation pic that is really cool.

Here are some more shots of Greg's family from the grounds near the JSMB.

This one of Olivia is one of our favorites...

Grandpa Harward

Grandpa and Grandma Despain

Grandpa and Grandma Moffitt

The Cousins...rare to get this many together at a time!

And yes, we heard the food was pretty good too!

Thanks to everyone who came and made the evening a lot of fun and a great memory for Briton.

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission

2008-07-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

We thought it would be neat to share with you some of our experiences with Briton receiving his Mission Call and all the events leading up to his arrival at the MTC on July 2, 2008. Although there are far too many pictures and stories to put on our blog, we decided to break it down into a Six Step Process.

Step 1: The Call...

We were all on the other end of the phone he has to his ear. It was awesome to hear the call being read and then hear all the cheering and excitement from his friends at BYU. Notice Grandpa Harward trying to sneak a peak at the letter over Briton's shoulder, ha ha.

Step 2: Going Though The Temple...

Briton went to the Temple for the first in early May. He was very eager to go as soon as he got home from BYU. Several friends from our Ward joined us for the session. It was an awesome experience to see him in the Temple.

Step 3: Have the Sacrament Meeting (formerly known as The Farewell) and Open House

After church, we held an open house for Briton. There was tons of food and a lot of people came by to say goodbye to Briton. It was a great evening!

Step 4: Shopping at Mr. Mac...

Yes, we could not resist tradition. We went to Mr. Mac as a family with The List in hand and got everything in one shot (just about). It was a lot of fun and expensive, but definitely worth it!

We spent quite a bit of time in the Shoe Department. We had to look at every shoe just to buy the black ones. Whatever happened to the good old Mailman shoes at ZCMI?

Step 5: Packing...

Step 6: Drop Off at the MTC...July 2, 2008

Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Ta Da -- We Are On The Web

2008-07-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

After several years of letting the blogosphere sort of settle in with the rest of the world, we have finally arrived on the web with the official blog of the Michigan Moffitts. We have a lot of catching up to do. We hope you enjoy the pics and inspiring narrative of our life up North.

So....here we go!