Jeff and Yi-wen's Wedding - September 21, 2008

Our nephew, Jeff was married to Yi-wen here in Canada on September 21, 2008. Jeff and Yi-wen will be returning to Taiwan to live.

This is a picture of Jeff, Yi-Wen, my DH's sister, Gwen, and her husband, Rick. It has been some time since we have had my husband's family all together in one place. Everyone was in attendance at this wedding with one exception--our oldest nephew. We left a spot for him in the back row so that the photographer can "Photo Shop" in his picture later. The wonders of technology! This picture represents my husband's immediate family--his mother, 4 sisters, 1 brother, and all their spouses and children. Quite a crowd!
The grandchildren wanted their own picture with Grandma so here it is. Grandma with all her biological grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren and spouses.

This is the happy couple during the dinner.
This is the groom getting some advice from his uncle, my DH.
This is my daughter and her boyfriend.
This is my son and his girlfriend.

CGA Conference - Kelowna - September 17 to 19

This year the CGA (Certified General Accountant) Conference was held in Kelowna from September 17 to 19. A co-worker and I drove up to Kelowna together to attend the conference. http://www.cga-bc.org/

On one of the morning's before the conference started we had some extra time so we walked around the grounds of the Conference Centre. This sculpture is called, Rhapsody and was made by R. Dow Reid.

You can see the new bridge in the background of this picture.
On Friday evening, the conference participants were treated to a wine tasting and dinner at Summerhill Pyramid Winery. http://www.summerhill.bc.ca/

The table centers were gorgeous.

This is a picture of my co-worker, Phyllis and I.

We were treated to the fanciest of appetisers to enjoy with our wines.
The sunset over the lake that night was spectacular!
Saturday morning on our way out of Kelowna, we stopped on the West Side at Mission Hill Winery. http://www.missionhillwinery.com/default.asp

The grounds of the estate and view were beautiful!

I purchased a bottle of wine to take home with me as my souvenir of the trip.

Fall Fair Weekend - September 13, 2008

Our small town has an annual Fall Fair the second Saturday of September every year. This year the weather cooperated and we had a great turnout. The fair starts Friday afternoon and goes right through Saturday night.

These are some pictures of the parade through our main street on Saturday morning.

Every parade starts with the RCMP. I remember when the constable leading the parade used to borrow a local horse and ride the route, now they drive a vehicle. Here we have the local Legion members.

It is tradition for the Corn King (last year it was a Corn Queen for the first time) be driven in a horse drawn carriage. It is great that some traditions remain alive.
A small float.
Here we have the next Grad class. Another tradition is that the next class that will be graduating rides on a float in the parade.

Restored old vehicles are always a hit.

These kids were cute with their ponies.

This is the rest of the Grad class.
This little boy was so cute with his mini "chopper" and henna tattoos.
The teenage boys loved this truck.
The fair includes a tractor pull. Each year the tractors that will be competing in the tractor pull are invited to drive the parade route. Because my Dad was not at this year's fair, I have taken these pictures for him. Yes, there were a lot of tractors!

You know you are getting to the end of the parade when you see the fire trucks coming.
The next two pictures were taken from our deck looking across our back yard. This gives you an idea just how close the fair is to us. We literally live fair for the week prior to the opening as all the big trucks and rides arrive and set up.
The people standing inside that chain link fence are in the beer garden. This would have to be the downside of the fair. This year that beer garden opened up at supper time Friday night and stayed open until 11:00 pm and then opened up again Saturday morning and ran until 11:00 pm Saturday night.

To the right of our shed there is an easement or opening in the fence to the fairgrounds. Where do you suppose all those people who have been drinking for hours go when they leave? You guessed it--through that opening in the fence and past our yard, sometimes through our yard to their parked vehicles. Of course they leave all their garbage, beer cans, etc. along the way. This year I was grateful to hear that the RCMP set up several road blocks on the edge of town to intercept those who insisted on drinking and driving.