Life as usual

We have recuperated from our exciting trip to Australia and are back in the swing of things at the temple. Pres. Orton asked us to add another shift as well as keep our Saturday Mid-shift at the St. George Temple, so we chose Friday Evening. That way we won't get too tired having back-to-back shifts. Of course it means we will be staying overnight in St. George each Friday. Stephen and Stacia have been kind and allowed us to stay with them on many occasions; but now Mary-Elizabeth and Adam have moved to St. George, they have graciously offered their home to us as well. That will give each family an every other week break from parents.

We are working on our food storage and are scheduled to work at the church cannery in November. This will be a new experience for me. Jeanne-Marie and I enjoyed going there last Saturday to pick up some cans for me to try some "dry packing."

We plan to go to General Conference in October and have invited David and Kristi's family to go with us. We'll see if that happens.

So far we haven't done too much substituting at the schools. Jim will put in his second day tomorrow and I had to turn down my one opportunity because I had committed to go to the temple that day. I feel I was blessed though.

The angels watch over him.

This is the ceiling over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Angels surround this sacred spot.

Stained glass windows inside the cathedral of the Unknown Soldier.

These beautiful stained windows add a sense of reverence in the room which houses the Unknown Soldier's tomb.

Inside (yet on the outside) of the War Memorial

As you look inside the War Memorial, you can see the outside portals on each side which contain all the names of Australia's War patriot's who paid the ultimate price for freedom's sake.

The veteran's wall.

This was a humbling view of all the Australian patriots who have given their lives for freedom's sake. Dad was pushing Adelaide down the long corridor.

Dad likes affection even in public!

We are in the Parliament Building looking towards the War Memorial Building, but Jim seems to be somewhat sidetracked. As you can tell we are having a great time.

What kind of gel did you say that is? It tastes yummy.

Jim was so surprised when one of the birds decided his hair was the latest delicacy. This fellow just wanted a good treat. Dad felt he needed to protect what hair he has!

Kalista caught this fellow in flight. What a fun shot.

I've found a friend.

This happy fellow didn't even mind my hairdo. My blowdryer stopped working so I have to have the natural look these days until I get home.

Somebody's up there, I just know it!

This is Adelaide's first visit to the aviary to feed the birds. She was super! But looks a little concerned .

Dad's new style

Jim surely knows how to coordinate his colors. This parrot liked Dad's hat and coat!

Window Rock is a formation that is viewed on the way to the Spring, about a half mile from our home.

This is Main St. in Panaca taken by James in Nov. 2005. This is the view you see as you come off Panaca Summit over the White Bridge.

Panaca

Here are some pictures James took when he visited Panaca. I thought they would be fun to share. The Court Rock sits in the middle of town, the Spring (where we go swimming) is about a mile from town.

First Post--Australian vacation/family visit

Hi, I am typing my first post here in Australia. We are visiting Kalista and James, so that we can enjoy Adelaide (our four month old granddaughter) and Australia's scenery at the same time. We never dreamed in a million years that we would be in this interesting and beautiful country. Heavenly Father has an interesting way of enticing His children away from their homeland. Last year we were in St. John's, Newfoundland. We never dreamed we would be there either, but what a wonderful experience we had as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! Now Jim has come here to Canberra to ordain his son, James, a High Priest before he set is set apart as the second counselor in the Bishopric for Tuggernong Ward. It was so important to James that he was willing to pay for our tickets to fly here. It just happened to be the date of our departure was two days after our 31st wedding anniversary, so we tease that he just wanted to give us a very expensive anniversary present. We hope over time we can gradually pay him back however.

Jim and James are going deep sea fishing this coming Saturday, so that will be a fun for them. We have already enjoyed visiting the Parliament Building, the War Memorial Building, and the United States Embassy (where Kalista used to work.) We have visited several natural parks to see the kangaroos, black swans, cockatoos, and several beautiful birds from the parrot family. We are looking forward to going to Sydney to see "Phantom of the Opera". We have also had fun calling a few family members using Skype. Lora just got set up with it and Jeanne-Marie already has it, as well as James. The world can shrink when you can view children easily.

Well that's about it for now.