Christmas at the House

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas because it's getting really hot.

Here we are at the park in Glenbrook with Santa

We have tried to be good this year but Santa says we still need to work on it.

The Emu Plains and Leura Wards had a fun Christmas Barbecue at Glenbrook. We had barbecued sausages and great fellowship. Some of the younger group played cricket. We haven't figured this game out yet but the Aussies seem to understand it.

The Sallenbachs at the Opera House

The Sallenbachs with Anne & Jim Green, Harbor Bridge in Background

Our newest (Green) missionaries are the Greens. They have been here in Australia about two weeks. They are from the Seattle Area and have been assigned to the Hebersham Stake. We are enjoying getting to know them and their optimistic and energetic enthusiasm.

We went to Christmas at the House with the Cases and the Greens. We enjoyed a wonderful day in Sydney together. And especially the performance at the Sydney Opera House which was put on by the opera company and symphony orchestra with wonderful soloist performances by five well known artists from Australia.

The Stage for Christmas at the House

The stage was beautifully decorated with yellow flowers all around the skirt of the stage. Many of our favorite carols were sung. We joined in on several of the carols. The encore was "Six White Boomers" which was sung with enthusiasm by all the Aussie audience. Many of the children who were at the performance were invited to come on the stage and they jumped like little kangaroos as everyone sang the song.

Glenn with the Cases

Our friends Shirley and Lewis Case serve in the Orange District. They live about three hours from us. They visit four branches and usually visit with each member of each branch once a month. They are great people with lots of enthusiasm for the gospel and sharing it. We enjoy having them stay with us for Zone Conference.

Here we are with Brother Case

No photography was allowed during the performance but they did allow us to snap a few pictures before the performance started. It really was exciting being in such a wonderful place with great friends.

The Christmas Tree at the Queen Victoria Building

After the performance, (did we say that it was wonderful?) we trained over to the QVB where we were totally amazed by the huge Christmas tree which was decorated with thousands of Swarovski crystals and lights. You can view the tree from the three levels of this upscale shopping center.

Can you imagine how long it would take to assemble and decorate this tree?

The Sallenbachs, Greens, and Cases at the Queen Victoria Building

Here we are with the fantastic tree in the background. Our grandchildren especially enjoyed this clock. It has a ship that goes around the clock once each minute.

Town Hall - Decorated for the Season

The Greens and Sallenbachs at the Nepean River Overlook

On Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) we took the Greens for a ride to Glenbrook Park. We enjoyed this overlook of the river but unfortunately we didn't see any kangaroos. We had been very fortunate to see them on all five occasions that we had visited the park. There were lots of people in the park on that day so that is probably why we struck out. It was a fun time anyway.