Ante

24 years ago a 17 year old boy from Australia came to stay with us for a couple of weeks as an exchange student.  We had never met him and knew nothing about him but he quickly found a place in our hearts and we all loved him.  He came back to visit us 10 years later for a few days and we had a couple more kids who also grew to love him.  14 years after that (a couple of weeks ago) he came back to visit again and it was wonderful!  He has grown into a smart, kind, handsome man and we love him even more.  We were able to take him to Disneyland, on a tour of the Midway in San Diego, to all of our favorite eating places, the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center and Old Town and then up to Las Vegas and Utah.  He had never been to any of these places before and had an absolute blast!  He got to go to the buffet at the Bellagio in Vegas, the Conference Center, temple and Mormon Museum in Salt Lake and then to a BYU home game where he got to go down on the field with the players before the game.  He brought us gifts and we gave him gifts but the greatest gift he got while he was here was when he went up to Seattle for a weekend to see a Seahawks game and met the love of his life!  He went on one date with her and just "knew" so he extended his trip by a couple of weeks and is now trying to figure out how to get over here permanently so he can be with her.  Best. Love. Story. Ever! Since he's like a son to me I can't tell you how happy I am that he has finally found someone he can spend the rest of his life with.  Selfishly, I am also thrilled that he will be in Seattle and not Australia so we can see him a lot more often than every decade or so. Ante, you have made our lives richer by being in them.  G'day, mate!!