Mid-Summer

I can't believe that summer is half over!! I hope you have had a great summer so far. For us, our has been pretty laid back. We have gone on two trips so far, and would love to go on another "major" camping trip, and also may also go to the PNE, in Vancouver, and see Anker's sister, and also I have decided to take my Insurance Test there. I found out that re-writes cost $80, and while having to do one may be possible, I thought I would do my first attempt in Vancouver, and then see what happens. I am almost done my course. Yes, this has taken a bit longer than I had hoped, but I also don't seem to be tackling it like I thought. Oh well, it is almost over:) I have one big chapter left to go. It has been pretty hard, but interesting as well. Even if I don't pass the first try, I hope to go out and still look for work at insurance agencies in the city. I had one "pre-interview" with an HR manager of a major insurance chain here in the city, and she said to call her when I am finished, as they are opening up a new office in Valley View, so I hope to re-connect with her sometime around the end of this month. If needed, I plan on re-writing the test here on Sept 10, or maybe in October.

Anker is busy working, and trying to work more hours in order to make more money:) He was able to make enough to fund our to trip to Alberta. He works pretty much every day, usually about 5 hours. It isn't usually strenious, as he does about 2-3 hours in the early morning, then a few more hours at night. But he doesn't get a day off from that. I hope soon he can ask someone to spell him off so that he can take a weeks vacation without having to wait for the offices he works at to close for a week or so.

So, our trip to Edmonton/Drayton Valley went pretty well. We left July 26th, and came back July 30th. We ran into a bit of snag in Jasper. We found out we had to reserve a campsite in Jasper. We didn't reserve b/c I wasnt sure if I had Saturday off or not, and also we just didn't think you had to:) We ended up finding a really cute place near Edson. It was called "Willmore Creek". The Campsite was really nice , and the sites are pretty secluded. (treed, etc)We would definately go back.

We had a nice time with our friends in Drayton Valley. We also spent a day in Edmonton. I hadn't been there in forever, so I took lots of pictures:) I saw where Anker went to school, and the places he lived. Since Sunday, July 27 was our 1st Anniversary, and we were at our Campsite, and travelling on that day, we decided to have a nice dinner in Edmonton. We went to Red Lobster (my favourite), and had a wonderful meal:) We also spent a day just hanging out with Crystal, and we got to see Drayton Valley. It seems like a really nice town. We were only gone a few days, but it was a nice mini-break, away from "life".

This past weekend (BC day long weekend), we went to Paul Lake, to check out the campsites and the beach, etc. It was a very nice day, although slightly cooler than in Kamloops. I decided to go swimming, and Anker and I had a nice time together. I didn't get "Swimmer's Itch", which was great:) We loved the Campsite, and it's definately on our list to visit. Speaking of Camping, we have decided that maybe next year we may invest in a tent trailor. It rained ALOT the Saturday we were camping, and when it does, it makes everything a bit harder when camping in a tent, also, Anker tends to get a bit cold at night, so we may have to look around soon for something. We ended up staying in the Braaten's "travel trailer", and we both really liked it. Okay, back to what I was talking about earlier...This past weekend. So, we came back from Paul Lake, and we went for Ice Cream, and then walked in Riverside park. I hadn't been there in ages, and it was very pretty, and very busy. We also decided to go and check out "Music in the Park". It is a daily (nightly?) event that happens during the summer. It is free of charge, and you get to see local and not-so-local acts/artists perform. Sunday it was "Men of the Deep". I don't know how to do a hyper link to sites, but they do have a website. They are basically a coal-miner group, and they are really good.

On Monday, Anker and I decided to go to Highland Valley Coppers Open House. HVC is located about 75KM Southwest of Kamloops, near the beautiful community of Logan Lake. We didnt realise it would be such a big event, so we went mid afternoon. It was VERY hot, and we missed out on alot of tours, but we got free food, and the 2010 Olympic Mascots where there, and we did get a bus tour of the Mine. It is the largest open pit copper mine in Canada, and one the larges in the world in terms of tonnage mined and milled. It employs about 1100 people.
Work is going ok. It is hard to plan your life, as I often don't know when I am working. I hope I won't be there much longer.

This weekend, Anker and are planning to attend "Becoming Shiloh". It is a music festival held at a friends place near my parents. It should be a fun time. We will probably take our tent and camp.

We were planning on going my Sister-in-Law's birthday party last weekend, but decided to stay home and save on gas.

think that about does it for now.