The Adventures of Kenny & Erica

We've Moved!

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:54:00 +0000

No not physically - again... Just our blog has.

You can now catch all of our adventures on

http://www.GrittyKittyPictures.com

Animoto.com

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:32:00 +0000

Animoto.com

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Animoto.com

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:26:00 +0000

Animoto.com

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Animoto.com

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Animoto.com

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:20:00 +0000

Animoto.com

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:26:00 +0000

Have We Been in the Middle East Too Long?

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:55:00 +0000

Some of you may know that the Coast has had more than it's share of issues the past few months. They have been off the air more than they have been on. It's too bad because we really liked our place in Silicon Oasis and we're ready to be in Dubai for a couple more years.
But, once again it's time for us to leave Dubizzle and on to our next adventure...

When considering where we may hang our hats next I came across these snaps and wondered if we had been in the Middle East too long already...

I'm still confused about what you smoke in here...

But Kenny is starting to look good in this!

We love the warm weather, the food and the different cultures so,

No, we still have some time left in us for the Middle East.

It's on to Amman Jordan then!

My next post will be about our first impressions of the city and some of
the things we've seen so far. Stay tuned!

Visa Run Chick Style & Big Red

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:07:00 +0000

It was that time of the month again... visa run time!
But this time I went with the ladies!
Donna and I needed to renew our visas so Tammy and her massive 4 wheel drive took us to Hatta and out of the UAE and into Oman if only for a few minutes.

After our very quick stop in Oman for a stamp in our passports and a bathroom break we were back into the UAE for lunch and a bit of a sightseeing tour.

Hatta has a lot of history and is famous for it's forts.

Tammy being Vanna here...

Little bit gusty that day. Not the best hair day for the group of us.
You'll see more evidence of that later!

The view from the fort onto the heritage village.

On the road to Hatta you always see camels but Donna's husband never lets her stop to take any pictures of them. Being a girls day we stopped a couple times to take some snaps.

I got this shot as this camel came charging towards me!
I realized as I was taking it that my back was up against a barbed wire fence and I had no where to go if it got right in my face. Take it from me seeing a camel's teeth up close
is nothing to smile about!

A safe shot from the other side of the fence.

Then the "adventurers" thought it would be a great idea to climb Big Red.
This is a giant sand dune just outside of Dubai.
On the weekend it is covered in 4 wheel drives and ATVs.
You can rent them and bomb your way around up there but much to the surprise of the guys renting the equipment at the bottom, we chose to walk up.

You can see the road behind Tammy and Donna in this picture.
It was a long way up.

This is where the "bad hair day" came to a pinnacle!

We look like a all girls band from the 80's.

The climb down was much easier than the climb up.

Some of Big Red tried to hitch a ride home with me.

It wasn't nearly as much fun the next month doing my visa run.

Thanks ladies for the chick day out!

The Worst New Year's Eve Party Ever Thrown!

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:39:00 +0000

Whether it's a party or not I can usually have a good time and that came in very handy at the party we attended this New Year's Eve.
The company was fantastic but the event started off really bad.
First, the ruler of Dubai canceled all parties in all hotels and restaurants the morning of the 31st. Then they changed their minds and allowed the parties but no live music, no dancing and the events all had to end early.
At least the hotels weren't stuck with thousands in food going to waste.

So off we went to the party at the Wafi Rooftop Restaurants. One of our favorite places to go out in the city.
It was so foggy we got lost coming out of the maze of streets leading away from our apartment and had to drive at a snail's pace to get to the hotel.
Because of the changes by the government the hotel had changed the venue of the party to another part of the hotel. It was now going to be held around the pool. Fantastic we thought! But when we got to the pool we realized the fog had followed us in. The seats were wet the table clothes were damp, even the noise makers and decorations looked soggy.
The Coast was responsible for playing the music for the evening but because of the change in rules and venue the dj was in another part of the building and couldn't hear what he was playing!
He had 2 songs playing over top of each other or didn't have any music on at all. For part of the night we couldn't hear each other talk and then there was nothing at all! It was a mess~
the food would have been really tasty if the fog hadn't made everything soggy and it didn't feel like a party when most of the seats were empty. People didn't realize they could still attend or with the "party" being taken out of the celebration decided to stay home or go to a house party.
At just after 11 the music went off for the last time, the dj stopped announcing anything and so a few minutes before midnight each table started to do their own countdown according to whomever was wearing a watch! It was embarrassing to be part of (thanks Coast 103.2)!

But as I mentioned earlier, the company was fantastic. Our German friends Angela and Christoph suffered with us through the night and managed to make the worst party in the history of New Year's Eve fun!

I'm sure the last thing Christoph wanted to give this party was a "thumbs up"!

Angela demonstrating what you can do with damp party favors~

The best part about this party was leaving it!
We had much more fun at Angela and Christoph's!
Thanks for sticking it out with us and let's never do that again!!!!

Peanut Butter Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:26:00 +0000

Every weekend at the Wafi Rooftop Gardens they host something called Peanut Butter Jam. It is a chance for a collection of local musicians to play.
Kenny was giving away VIP couch tickets on his show and our good friends won... so they took us!
We got special seating and a gift voucher to eat and drink for free. Got to love being a VIP!

Peanut Butter Jam is sponsored by M&Ms just in case you missed the advertising message in these pictures.

Angela and I kickin' back on the couch.

Christoph (aka Don Johnson) chillin' on a bean bag chair
choosing something to eat from the bbq.

And Kenny Jones listenin' to the tunes.

Giant bean bag chairs on a rooftop in the middle of the city.
It was a really fun night.
You can even see the rope that kept the riff raff out of the VIP section at the bottom of this pic!

cheers!

Wild Water Tour Without Getting Wet!

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:20:00 +0000

Today we are going to take you on a tour of a couple of Dubai's latest attractions.

Please remember to keep all hands and feet inside the ride at all times.

The first is the largest (of course it is... in Dubai is there anything but?) shopping mall in the Middle East. It's called The Dubai Mall. Very creative with the name huh?

The Dubai Mall has all the usually stores and lots of them but what is unusual about this place is has nothing to do with shopping.

It has an aquarium and ice rink!

The aquarium is huge! They have a full tour as well that takes you inside a tunnel inside this tank so you can pretend to feed your 3 year old to a shark if you wish.
As well as to other parts of the aquarium but we skipped that when we got in line behind 2 classes of 5th graders!
Here are some shots of the public viewing area...

We were up on the 3rd level taking this pic.

Up close and personal with jaws

Not sure how well you can see this but the bubbles behind the shark are divers.
They were in the tank to do a fish feeding.

A big fish in a big pond

No explanation needed here.

You get a better idea of how big this big tank is with Kenny standing in front of it.

Here is the olympic size ice rink.
The top row of glass is some of the food court seating.
It's not just hotdogs, potato chips and slushies at this canteen!

You can watch the skaters from all sides of the ice.
We were up on the third level watching the kids (all in matching blue skates) skate around.

On to our favorite part of the Dubai Mall tour...
The Bell!

Dubai's first and only Taco Bell!

Outside the Dubai Mall you can get a close up view of the tallest building in the world.
The Burj Dubai!

At the base of the tower there is an entire new community built in. Apartments, shopping and most likely anything else you might need or want!

Now for the next stop in tourist attractions in Dubai...

The Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeira

This hotel sits at the very end of the palm.
It is a huge resort with it's own beach, water park and you guessed it...
an aquarium!

It is supposed to be a version of what the lost city of Atlantis would look like.

It's a round tank in the middle of the hotel so you can walk all the way around it.

All the better to see the whale shark they have inside!

This is the view from the lobby and check in

the whale shark cruising around the lost city

This is the very end of the palm. The road that leads out to the hotel is right on the Gulf.
In disney sort of fashion, you need to take a bus from where you park your car to the hotel itself but on the way out we decided to walk.

And that ends our tour of 2 of the newest attractions in Dubai.
Enjoy your day ... wherever you are!

Back to Dubai We Go We Go!

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:47:00 +0000

Oops we did it again... that's right folks... We moved back to Dubai!

In October we returned for Dubai "the sequel".
Here are a couple of shots of our new place in Dubai's Silicon Oasis...

I wanted a square dining room table that sat 8 and couldn't find one anywhere so...
We built one.

Here are the legs for our benches (which we had to have cut twice because my math skills aren't the best and Kenny was a PE teacher)

One of the benches assembled
Note the Ikea tool kit... love that store!

Our table on our table. The one we used for construction was an old headboard we found and converted to a desk with some patience (taking the staples out was not good times), some shelf paper and a set of Ikea table legs.

Starting to look like something

Ravi, very helpful of course. She likes Ikea too!

Let the painting begin!

The finished product...

Another Ikea purchase with a little added Joneserbeek touch.

The furkids making themselves at home.

Our little desert apartment.

___________________________________________________

Ravi was not just helpful with the construction...

She must have thought I was cold and needed a fur blanket.

and loves to do laundry too.

The Colorado Ice

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:53:00 +0000

When we were given tickets to see the Colorado Ice, we figured we were in for a good ol' hockey game. We were wrong!
The Colorado Ice is an arena football team. Still tickets are tickets and any sporting event is still better than a night on the couch watching t.v. so off we went.

Used to seeing football played in a huge stadium with massive distances between the stands and the field we were super surprised to walk into the arena. It felt like you should put on some pads and a helmet.

The game was fast paced, in your face and the crowd loved every minute.

They had kids that played during the half time show. I think this guy lied about how old he was.
Either that or he's really big for his age!

Kenny was part of a play. He caught this ball the Quarterback was throwing up in the stands... to his mother (we found out later... when she came up to us and told us the ball was meant for her)
Not only did Kenny intercept the pass meant for Mom, the QB got a penalty for throwing it up there in the first place!

The most entertaining part of the Colorado Ice Experience were these 2 young men.

We call them the "SUPER FANS"!

It's gone to the dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:34:00 +0000

As we are dog stalkers we thought a good day out would be to attend

Paws on the Promenade.

This is a chance for all lovers for the canine persuasion can get their dog on.
There were booths with food, treats, apparel, personal hygiene, sports activities, entertainment and even adoption... all for the dogs of course!

The costume contest brought out all kinds

Hey! Is that Superman?

This is Captain Jack Russell wait, you're a basset hound!

Some were just trying to stay cool.
These boxers had the right idea with these vests that are filled with water and chilled in the fridge before you go out.

The dogs weren't the only ones who got the chance to shop. It just so happened that the event was at the Shops at Centerra. Which meant everything the dogs could get that day I could do, well except for the adoption part. Unless you count Build-a-Bear as adoption!

Coors Field, the Rockies and Us

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:39:00 +0000

More summer fun... again I apologize that all of these posts are sooooo late in coming to you guys. I'm trying to catch up! Here's another from our time in Colorado this summer.

America's Past time in the Mile High City!

That's right sports fans we are going to Denver to see the Rockies play.

Our first glimpse of Coors Field

Wouldn't be a baseball game with out a footlong or in Kenny's case, 2.

The Giants were in town...

and the game went into extra innings...

with the Rockies coming up a bit short in a 10 - 7 finish

But we had a great day!

STAMPEDE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:59:00 +0000

The 4th of July can mean only one thing...
a whole bunch of bull is coming to Northern Colorado.

That's right folks. It's time again (well for anyone from the area) for the world famous Greeley Stampede and Rodeo.

This is the longhorn parade. They did this everyday, walked these huge animals through the fairgrounds. Just looking at those horns is giving me a headache. Imagine carrying those around your entire life!

"Do I make you horny?"

The running of the bulls is a little different here in Colorado.
First, there is no running and the bulls could care less if you're
wearing a white pantsuit with a red belt.

The longhorn parade movie...

Time for some entertainment, as if the longhorns weren't enough!

The Spin Doctors and Poison Concert is about to start!

Backstage at the concert I got the chance to talk to the Spin Doctors.
Nice fellas. One even from Toronto.

The crowd starting to pour in.

"little miss little miss little miss can't be wrong"
"ain't gonna blah no more when you blah blah blah"

yep... that is the king of "Rock of Love" himself...
Brett Michaels

Speaking of Rock of Love...
here is Big John. No idea why they call him that.

The show was fantastic! They played all the old stuff we used to listen to while we tight rolled our jeans, aqua netted our hair out, put on way too much eyeliner and colored mascara and studded our jean jackets... and that was just the guys~

All access pass... who's the cool guy now?

Do you think they'll ever get tired of the neon green in that logo?

The midway was all lit up and raring for someone else to ride the rides...
We don't do spinning or rides that people with no teeth are in charge of maintaining.
Carnies scare us... nomads, small hands, smell like cabbage.

We did get our share of fried foods in though as well as anything they served on a stick.
The pizza was my favorite.
Kenny enjoyed the deep fried oreos, deep fried snicker bars and deep fried coke a cola.

We did avoid the rocky mountain oysters too.
Anyone that knows what these are will agree with me... GROSS!

The Greeley Stampede and Rodeo... a week "bull" of entertainment.

Horsetooth From Above

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:50:00 +0000

Here is the same reservoir but from a different angle. We drove up to the top and took a hike around the area.

Do you know how long it took to get this shot?
It's not easy straping a camera to a prairie dog and asking them to sit still!

The view of Fort Collins. Voted one of the top 10 cities in the USA to live.

A Day on Horsetooth Reservoir

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Colorado, as most of you know, has short summers or rather long winters so we had to get in as many outdoor activities as we could while we could!

One of those was cruising Horsetooth Reservoir with friends.

Ahhh a day on the river, no the lake, wait that's not right...
how about the water?
Yep that works.

Getting on and off the jet ski without getting wet was the one thing Kenny made sure he mastered... quickly! The air temperature was saying summer but the water was still yelling Northern Colorado winter!

Not quite the beach we've been used to over the past few years. But the kids didn't mind. They had a blast. At one point I feared we may loose one the mud was so deep.

The fastest and the slowest boats on the water that day.
The party barge and the suped-up eliminator.

Kenny and the ladies of the lake

It was a whole lotta boat~ with a whole lotta engine

Here is a short movie we took on our ride back into the marina. Sorry for the herky- jerky camera work. It's not easy to keep the camera level and steady when you're going 60 mph over the water!

Getting Settled in our Colorado Home

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:44:00 +0000

After a barrage of tests, doctors visits and trips to the exporting area of Dubai International Airport, a 24 hour trek across the Atlantic, which included a stay over in Frankfurt Germany (because of the local doctor), then a stay with the Millsons and their 2 very domain protective furkids Tad and Dixie, then more doctors visits, then another plane ride across the US of A, and another hour car ride to the house, you would think that my cats would have been more than happy to have a new home.
And for the most part, they were.
There were a couple of things to get used to though.
One included a giant, plastic dog named Nipper.

Here is Ravi's first encounter with our family dog...

Here are some "canon powershot" moments with our cats this summer.

"Can't you see we're busy... sleeping!"

"Does this picture make my head look small?"

"ah don't say that Nipper, you're embarrassing me!"

The big man... Burton James

The one eyed lunatic... Ravi Jones

This is her angry face...
It's not good to disturb her when she's watching the birds!

Fort Collins, CO

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:16:00 +0000

The next destination on the Joneserbeek family caravan adventure was Fort Collins, Colorado.
Fort Collins is an hour north of Denver and was one of the greenest, friendliest places I have ever been.

Here are some of our Colorado adventures...

Where to next?

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:37:00 +0000

Shortly after returning from Dubai, Kenny left for Colorado and his new job out there. I stayed back and spent time with my family in Windsor while he got us settled in our newest home.

Here are a couple of snaps of him in Grand Junction, CO.

Well not this one...
This is a prairie dog.

Welcome to Colorado National Monument!
This national park is located in Fruita just outside Grand Junction, CO.

Kenny went to see the sheer-walled canyons, towering monoliths, colorful formations, desert bighorn sheep, perhaps a soaring eagle and a spectacular road reflecting the environment and history of the plateau-and-canyon country.
(Yes, I got that out of the visitor guide online)

The Colorado National Monument is 32 square miles wide...
But Kenny's hike was considerably shorter than that.
Here is the rock formation they named the park after.
This is Skye. Kenny's hiking partner and pal from the radio station.

Take a couple steps back, a little further, just a little more...

Hey! There's our house...
Yeah, right there...
What do you mean you can't see it...
What are you blind?
It's right there,
Oh forget it!

Now it's time to hit the links...

This is Redlands Mesa Golf Club

And this is Jeff Korn from the morning show.

Here is an example of the extremes of Colorado...
One side of the mountains.

And this is 30 minutes later at the top!

Very pretty if you're a penguin.
And this was May!

Grand Junction, a short stay but lasting experience...

I didn't get that from the online tour guide but, it would make a good postcard slogan don't you think?

Visit with the Canucks

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:10:00 +0000

On the other side of the Detroit River, Erica spent some time with her Canadian counterparts.

The weather had turned warm enough to head outdoors (YEAH!!! About time!) so Dana and Jody brought the kids by for some well needed out of doors activities.

Can't have a party without some treats!

Here's Willie Jo Double O with his popsicle...

Hanging out with the girls

The whole gang
Notice Parker's popsicle is already gone... he made quick work of it!
The other kids didn't even have the wrappers off of theirs and his had disappeared!

Yummy... creamsicle

Blue's my favorite too Avery!

Mom and I made aprons for Parker and Brookes' birthday party for all the kids they had invited.
The girls were the premier models for the Sew Personal kids apron launch (in the backyard, in their rubber boots!) High fashion hits the backyards of Windsor!

We found out how happy they were about the pay we offered our top models

Is it true if you get hit in the back of the head while you do this, your face stays this way?

That's crazy talk!

Dana and I catching some much needed rays of sunshine.

Dana keeping a close watch on the kids,
that is if she can see over that belly!

4 kids running amok, 2 Moms chasing after them, 2 grandparents giving the kids whatever they want, and an aunt thinking that she can wait a little longer for kids of her own!
A huge thank you to the O'Neils and the Josephs for visiting me at the Millson household.

Visit with the Joneses

noreply@blogger.com (Kenny & Erica) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:56:00 +0000

After our rapid departure from Dubai, we traveled back across the pond and spent some time with the fam...

Surprising Crystal and the girls!

Don't let this picture fool you...
they speak, see and hear evil... and like it!

smile for the camera

Kodak Jones moment

Kenny and his Ohio Peeps

Thanks for taking us in for a few days. We loved the treats, the games and the chance to catch up with the Jones family.