Once upon a time in the beautiful city of Mildura

 lived six little pigs -

There was Raylee

Leanne,

Lyn,

Elwyn,

Jo,

and Flo.

Our six little friends decided to "take the bull by the horns" (if you'll pardon the pun!) and leave home.

They wanted to venture into the big wide world of  Family History in many lands far, far away. And so in preparation for their big journey, in 2004, they joined THE elite group of  HOGs, "Hooked on Genealogy" and became know affectionately as "The Hoggettes" .

Besides their excitement,

 they were a little worried -    

about leaving all  their many genie friends behind.

Despite their mixed feelings, they "girded up their loins" (!!!) and forged ahead with their preparation. No need to guess what was first on the list -

        (Oooohhhh, how were they going to fill these?? ....

looks like the President and Treasure have put it to the vote on the Hoggette's behalf.......

 ...judging by the faces............... I guess that's a NO vote!! Oh well, back to the "Hoggy" banks).

So our Hoggettes put their noses to the "trough" and began the daunting task of preparing to break the apron strings from their mothers (group - MDGS). There were lots of things to buy, collect and put together, after all they would be away for a long time.

 pens, locks, computer disks,

folders, paper, diaries, address books, passports to apply for,

electrical equipment,

                   cameras    (not to mention lessons that were needed to teach our little Hoggettes how to use them!), batteries and battery chargers, clothes lines, washing powder, soap, makeup,

           don't forget the lippy - (mum always said if you wear no other makeup ALWAYS wear lippy because it puts some colour on your face),... better take two lippies in case the airport security  takes one of them!

      Shoes and  socks, for all that walking, and walking and more walking; 

and of course, what respectable Hoggette would go away without their trusty computer (and all its paraphernalia!)

and now for the biggest decisions of all - what ARE they going to wear????????

  Summer and winter or autumn and spring - oh boy where is it all going to fit!  

Bags are the answer --- BUT  which one?

                           Did we say bag  OR  bags,  or bags   PLUS   bags!!

(Mother always told them you could never have enough bags).

Look at all their friends jump up to offer to carry their bags!

 By the way, someone even managed to fit in their teddy! (No names?)

(Hope they've got a forklift

                                                 to get this all in the plane!)

The big day arrives and off they all rush to the airport -

         .  to board the plane;

and up, up and away.....go our little Hoggettes

  .

 Take off, at last, at the Mildura airport and what a take-off it was.................Whoops..........

Hoggette number six got into the cockpit........!!!!

Off to Melbourne, New Zealand to "herd" on board the rest of the Hogs and then onto Los Angeles. As you can image they were all tired little hoggettes, especially this one, after flying for nearly 24 hours.

But a good sleep does wonders not only for the beauty but they were invigorated and off they "trottered" to the Salt Lake City Family History Library on Monday morning.

Setting up on "B2",  (British research floor) where there is the

 odd technical hitch;          

but where they gleefully  "pigged out" on research for three wonderful weeks.

On Sunday they watched as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast their long running  program "Music and the spoken word".

Time flys when you're having fun and all too soon they were up and away to London..............and there again  "trottered"  from repository to repository......

       The National Archives

And within a very short time they were up in the air again - "winging" their way to Edinburgh and New Register House....

There was also the occasional (!!!!!) feasting, 

and birthdays....

Only three weeks to go.... so they said their sad goodbyes to each other and took off for their own ancestral grounds in........and England, and

                               another even flew across to.........

They exercised  to keep fit and alert,

and they showered daily (when they could work out how to use the taps!!!)

These intrepid Hoggettes journeyed through the unknown countries, they forded the lochs, climbed steep streets and mountains

explored the castles and meet the locals.                           

They crept along the branches of their family tree,

and  courageously ventured around the skeletons,

under the vines, trees, rocks and tombstones,

at times getting lost..

and were often confused about the time of day, or in fact,        which day it was,

      even at Greenwich??!!

but always trying to dig up anything.......anywhere!

They bowed

and scrapped to get what they could.......

into the newspapers,

and amongst the manuscripts

Of course it was all worth it because when they found something....... everyone heard the "squeals"  as they did a little "jig" of glee.

Finally, sadly, the time had come for their adventure to come to an end. They packed and repacked and repacked again

(The bags were all full  - they needed more!?) and then out at the airport ..the unthinkable happened-

The Hoggettes departed London and came home different ways......

And after several weeks, were able to get back to their old sleeping habits in their own quiet, cosy beds and the alarm turned OFF!

                         .

But all was not over .. the greatest honour was about to be bestowed on them. Shortly after their arrival home they were duly attending their "mother" group (MDGS) and were taken completely by surprise when....Neville the piper marched in....

attracting the attention of all and sundry as the town crier announced the arrival of ...."someone of international fame"...

The Hoggettes had slipped out of  her country in such a hurry. Her majesty was determined to make a  presentation to the Hoggettes, after all, several  had visited her palace and had lunch (in the gutter) with her, and so with the assistance of the local society was able to present the Hoggettes with their very own "key to the city"!

 (Nb:  the lady-in-waiting (second on the left) has been influenced by Her Majesty's taste in hats!)

By this wonderful honour, it is obvious that the Hoggettes have made an unforgettable impression on the Brits.

But that was not the end to Her Majesty's duties for the evening............there was one more award for the night.....

                "Our June" -

was honoured for her dedicated, devoted and diligent work with learning, then mastering the complicated modern technology of  the scanner. Well done "Our June". You have certainly added to Her Majesty's impressions of her loyal, "down-under" subjects and their earnest desires to advance themselves!

And so with this most eventful reunion of the Hoggettes with their mother group (MDGS) we bid them farewell  (for the time being??) and of course, "they all lived happily ever after".

That's all folks

Check out the Hoggette's research and travel hints