Although the packing and moving started in Fremont, it seems more appropriate to include all that effort into this Texas gallery. It WAS all about Texas.

We had priceless help from Susannah & Ronnie & Naomi who came up from SoCal for the final (grueling) push. The 'girls' did a marvelous job of putting together a yard sale too. Of course Rulon was there at all phases. I daresay all of us nearly killed ourselves getting it done.

Naturally it was nearly as grueling at the other end. Anne and David took possession of the property upon the closing date of June 1st and did a lot of prep there before we got the container loaded onto our friend Larry's 18-wheeler flatbed and made it to RBR (Rubber Band Ranch) on July 4th.

Of course there was a great deal of activity after our arrival not the least of which was to build a concrete base for the hot tub and subsequently a deck around it.
May 2004 we drove back to Oakland with Noni to move her storage out to RBR
During the long process of deck-building, just after a late June 2004 reunion here at RBR, a mangy little mutt wandered in and decided she wanted to live with us. We had some initial misgivings and made attempts to see if she belonged to a neighbor (who had 15 or so mutts) but she kept coming back. So Michael gave her a good bath and an invitation into the house; thus she adopted us and we had our beloved Junebug - so named because she arrived in June and would only eat bugs for a long while. (Sadly, she became part of the food chain around here less than a year after Michael passed away.)

Jonah came for our 2005 Thanksgiving holiday. Michael had a ball showing everyone how to operate our new tractor.

Michael was diagnosed with advanced Stage IV prostate cancer sometime in 2005. In 2006 he was on a great deal of prescribed medication, then underwent chemo, radiation and two major surgeries, the last after his 64th birthday.

We drove to Oakland in early January 2007 to be there for Gavin's birth, Hyrum and Susan's firstborn.

Then in mid-September 2007 after much online searching, he found the perfect VW Golf to replace our aging '97 Golf. It was in Vermont so we hopped an airplane and drove "Sapphire" home. He only got to drive it a few times, before hip and back pain and loss of the use of his legs took over and he became wheelchair-bound.

He was totally overjoyed when his sister, Vergie, came to celebrate his last Thanksgiving and 64th birthday at RBR in 2007. He had a truly beautiful holiday before his final back surgery from which he did not recover.

Missing the love of my life is the one of the hardest things I think I'll ever endure. We will never forget.