Melbourne

Marion got her drivers licence, we go shooting, Ellen and Dylan leave on their missions, Vernice goes to Sydney, Marion goes to Canberra and Austin gave his first talk in Sacrament meeting.

On the first of the month Marion got her drivers licence which we are all happy since with Ellen and Dylan going it gives us another driver. Also on that day we had the new stove installed that Nan bought us. It has gas burners and an electric oven so we had to get the gas and electricity blokes to do their stuff. It was good to get it in and makes all the difference to the look of the kitchen. That evening was our Ward Temple baptism night and because we had the week at the temple the week before they didn’t have many going so Ellen, Dylan, Calvin, Austin and Carmen went with me. We had a good night and McDonalds afterwards.

Saturday the third was the Tri Stake youth basketball activity. There was a mix up with which Stake should be running it so we said we would do it. Vern and Tony Tucci did a great job pulling it together at the last minute and it was a good day. Calvin didn’t play as Dylan and he were asked to be a witness at a baptism that was on at the same time. Austin fell sick that evening and wasn’t much better the next day I didn’t have any business so I stayed home with him and had a nice relaxing day.

Ellen finally got her visa interview the week before she was due to leave and they had to take the passport to have it fixed in. They then post it back to you, it arrived on the Friday, the last possible day as she was due to leave early Monday morning.

It was the school holidays for the first two weeks of the month. It has been really busy at work with people leaving and a new payroll system coming in so I wasn’t able to take any time off. They had friends over and Vern took them to the movies but that was about it. On the tenth Calvin, Austin and I drove up to the Payne’s farm near Heathcote about an hour north. Calvin drove and as we past Wallan it started to rain pretty heavily, all good experience for him. We took some plastic bottles filled with water and a couple of paint spray cans that had clogged up for targets and we had a great time shooting them with Brother Payne’s rifles. This time he had his 27 that has a bigger bore and much larger bullet than the 22. Calvin and I both had a go, it really has a kick and it was so loud it made your ears ring. It made the bottles explode and took great chunks out of the tree behind.

The next day was Ellen’s last Sunday and she and Dylan both spoke in Sacrament Meeting. They both did very well, Dylan was very proud of the fact that it was the first talk he had given that he had written himself, he put a lot of time into it. Wally had come down from Canberra to spend a few days with us and was there. So was Mark who was down from Newcastle also staying with us. Max and Renee were also there and enjoyed the meeting. That afternoon we had a big lunch at our place with family and friends who came over to see Ellen and Dylan off. That evening we had the annual High Priests meeting and afterwards Ellen came down with the family to be set apart. President Dudfield gave a lovely blessing with the setting apart. Vernice was in tears; Danielle Byers came home with us and was her companion.

Ellen’s flight was at 6am Monday the twelfth, which meant we had to be there before four thirty. As we were waiting for her to check in the final of the world cup started. She had quite a few people out to see her off which was nice. She was busting to go and couldn’t wait to get on the plane. She was picked up by Vern’s friends in Utah and also spent time with David and Laurie. She was allowed to ring home for five minutes once she got to the MTC which she did at four in the morning and she also sent us an e-mail on her missionary account to test it out.

Vern flew out to Canberra on the fifteenth for Robbie’s mission farewell and then drove to Sydney the next morning to go through the Temple with him. Afterwards she caught a plane from Sydney home again. I went to the Temple with Dylan while she was away and that was nice. Friday night was the tri stake scripture mastery activity followed by a dance that we had organised. It all went well, Calvin didn’t hang around for the dance but Carmen had a great time.
Marion flew up to Canberra on Saturday morning to spend some time with Robbie and Charlie. I dropped her and Mark who had been staying with us at the airport early Saturday morning. That afternoon after Vernice got home we went up to South Morang for Joerelle and Jamie’s engagement dinner. It was nice and casual, just the way I like it. On Sunday Austin gave his first talk in Sacrament meeting he wrote a lot of it himself and did a good job.

On Wednesday the twenty- first, after a couple of days getting the last things together. Dylan and Marion went to Institute and the rest of the family came down after our Stake Presidency meeting and was set apart by President Dudfield, assisted by myself, President Tempany and Bishop Foster. Janet came and there were ten other close friends there.

Originally he was supposed to leave the next day at ten-forty-five but we got a late change of itinerary that told us he was leaving at six in the morning like Ellen did. We got up at three-thirty to get to the airport by four-thirty. All Dylan’s friends from school were there and most of them were wearing suits in his honour. Friends from church were there too but they weren’t wearing suits since they get enough of that on Sundays. When he went to check in they told him that there must have been a mix up since he was still on the ten-forty-five flight. There wasn’t anything we could do but go home for a few hours and come back again. Vern invited all his friends over to our place for a pancake breakfast and they said good-bye to him there so we ended up having a small group at the airport to see him off.

Saturday the twenty fourth I cleaned out the upstairs room for Austin to move in. I took the opportunity to extend out the wardrobe as it has always been too small and couldn’t really fit the coat hangers. It took me all day but it was a job that I have been meaning to do for over ten years. I guess we have reached another mile stone since now each of the children have their own room.

On the twenty sixth Vern, Marion and Carmen did some extras work on the local TV program City Homicide. They are singing in a choir in one scene and have been down to practice a couple of times. The episode won’t come out until later in the year. The next day we got the Mazda back from the panel beaters. We have been running on one car for the last month since Ellen had the crash and have had to rent a car on the weekends to get everyone around. Marion of course has claimed that car as her own and I must admit it has been good having her drive herself where she needs to go.

For the last few years the Stake Relief Society have had what they call a retreat in a bush conference centre just north on the city near Whittlesea. They go up on the Friday night and come back on the Saturday afternoon. President Dudfield normally goes up with one other brother to be the token males. This year it was held on the last weekend of the month and he asked President Tempany and me to come this time and we did. In the past Vern stayed up most of the night just talking and this time was no different. I of course went to bed at the normal time. The next day while they had their activities President Tempany, Dudfield and I played pool and table tennis. I enjoyed the place and the company.