Our Travel Blog

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Driving Miss Donna - what does this mean? Whenever I want to go somewhere, if Don is home he will usually drive. He always says he is driving miss Donna! This blog is for our travels, usually with our truck and fifth wheel trailer, but sometimes in our other wheels. When we are not vacationing check in for updates, although less frequent, about our life at home and our wonderful family:)

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

You Have Got to be Kidding Me?!

Um – I do not know how else to say this – but where has the time gone?  June and July passed in a blur of activity and fun.
We left you after the quad trip in McMurray, and time raced on after that.  June finished with a work trip to the Bonnyville area with Don, a visit with Ivan who attended the comedian Brent Butt show with us, and a nice overnight visit, a couple of days chairing a Casino for the Friends of the Library, and some overnights at the lake lot.
Ivan is from Tisdale (same as Don and I) and so is Brent Butt, so we were excited to see the show.  His humour onstage is the same as on his recent show Corner Gas.  It was a great evening out.
July was full of so many awesome visits and travel.  After spending the long weekend at the trailer, we came back to town so I could attend my first in-class training.  This one was the Auditor Training, and the 3 days were intense.  Saturday we headed towards the Rocky Mountain House area to attend the wedding festivities for our friends Wayne and Regina, who were married in February in Costa Rica.  Weddings are always great to attend but this one had an extra something to it.  They are our age and have not only overcome the “normal” obstacles of melding lives together, but a few extra.  It was a great weekend, the most engaging host and hostess, and a fun time by all.  A generous friend offered the use of his acreage and so even the setting was representative of the couple, with RV’s and quads all over.
When we pulled out on Sunday we headed to Ivan’s home on the James River.  What a beautiful home and site he owns!  We left our trailer there as we had to head back for Don to attend to a work project, then went back to Ivan’s on Wednesday morning.  We had a fantastic visit and enjoyed an evening out at the Bear Berry Saloon – somewhere west of Sundre,  Great atmosphere and food.  You need to check this cool place out some day.
From there we headed to Saskatchewan, first to visit with my Uncle Michael and Aunt Doreen who live in Brownlee.  Love these people.  We enjoyed a 3 day eating and visiting marathon and great visiting.  I purchased a Family Tree program, and Aunt Doreen is the keeper of all births, marriages, deaths etc. in my mom’s family.  We sat and copied out her records, and I will spend a few winter evenings entering the information into the program.  Then sometime when we visit Don’s mom and dad I will copy her computer records (she uses the same software), import them to mine, and our children will have a record of at least 2 sides of their heritage.  Don’s mom has the Smith side completed for sure, and Don thinks maybe the Campbells.  I have a small amount of information on my dad’s side and I will add what is there.  Uncle Mike and Aunt Doreen are such gracious hosts, and the visit was very special to me. 
Then down the road to Moose Jaw for the traditional Smith Reunion.  This is Don’s dad’s side, and they have a reunion every three years.  The best part was seeing all of Don’s siblings and his mom and dad, with the exception of his brother Terry.  The added bonus was visiting with his extended family.
It is traditional to gather for a group photo at these reunions – here is this year’s:
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So it is now ONLY mid July, and we are not done…
We retuned home on Sunday July 15, to do laundry, a grocery run, and re-pack the trailer.  Our friends Ron and Bev were on their way to join us at the lake lot for a week of catching up and quadding.  I was VERY excited about this, as I love spending time with Bev, and I love quadding.  The weather could not have been nicer for our plans.  We rode the Peace River Trail, and visited the Vega sand dunes, for 2 long days of 4 wheel adventure. Unfortunately Ron and Bev had to go home, and I had to go back to school.  This time for 2 separate courses – Safety Excellence and WHIMS.  And that brings us to the last weekend of July.
On Friday we picked Blake and Em up at their house and headed to the trailer for a couple days of what we hoped would be quad rides, etc.  It was a FANTASTIC time!!  They slept so well, the both rode the quads, and Blake got to enjoy some time fishing with Don and Paul.  Blake has been excited about riding the quad, but Em we weren’t so sure about.  Don and Blake headed out one afternoon, and pretty soon Em was watching for them, asking how long they would be gone.  I asked her if she wanted to go find them.  When she said yes I wasted no time putting on our helmets and gloves, and sure enough – she became a rider just like that.  She is not too fond of the bush, prefers the road.  LOL  And Blake showed Grandpa that he knows what the throttle does…  it was a great 2 days with them!
We had a special trip on the August long weekend, but that will be the next blog.  Enjoy August – days are getting shorter, nights are getting cooler…