Yeah, i've been slacking off

Ok so here are some of our pics from the states.. Long and short -
Spokan = Not so nice
Ceour D'Alane = Very pretty - Go back!
We pulled into Spokane and got the last roach motel in the entire city.. A not so updated econo lodge ($80USD/night) Which was not a good start to Spokane.. We then decided to start touring around and found the place to have a rather slummy feel to it.. We also both felt very uneasy the entire time we were there. We ended up at the mall and had a nice dinner at Chilis which was WAY cheaper then here (We had Faijitas for 2 at $20.00, here it is $16.00 for 1) And then I finally got to see the next chapter in the Harry Potter movies.
Bright the next morning we checked out and decided to see the 'big spokane attraction' which was a park in the middle of the city.. The park was... Well... Lets just say it was a park, with small attractions like Bowness park but costlier (Because this is their big attraction!)
So by 10:30 (not even 24hours after arriving in Spokane, we decided to back track to Coeaur D'Alane and then contimplate coming home early)
When we arrived in CDA. we were greeted by a much different atmosphere.. There was a beautiful beach and shops much like Kelowna and a huge downtown festival was on with thousands of tents set up lining the streets of 10 blocks. There you could buy nearly everything ; from clothes to jewelery and original art.. It was a very neat festival!
We decided to pay a little more for a room and was very lucky to come across the Shilo Inn (Which not only was clean and elegant also had 24hr pool/hot tub & gym, but we also had a huge room with a couch and mini kitchen.) This place was $135USD/night.. And trust me for the extra $50 more I could not tell you what a difference that made!
Our first night in CDA we went back to one of the main streets, we had eaten a late lunch so we spent the next hour relaxing on a patio (That was more like tables set up along the street then a restricted fenced in deck) We had some beer and wine and split a platter of excellent nachos - This was where I really felt we had managed to get a vacation out of our time.
The following day we went to Silverwood Theme Park. We Decided to get on a train which takes you around the park since the actual park was not opened yet and we just wanted to take 'er slow and easy.. Well the train was a little too slow and easy. After an hour of the train circling fields that the park backed onto (Not even on the park) we finally got back and were able to stand in lineups for the rest of the morning.. We also discovered that I am too old for rides as my fear of death has grown significantly with age.. So much so that I actually hyperventiated on the ride where you are in a cage and it is like a farris wheel but you go upside down (Sky ride).. yeah that ride sucks..But the wooden rollar coaster was a blast!!
unfortunatly we found the ride lineups too long and slow and after much standing around we were ready to call it a day.. Still much fun tho!
We spent dinner that night at The Outback and then went back to the hotel for a swim and a much needed good nights sleep before the 9hr drive ahead of us.
I would like to point out that even tho we drove through BC and the mountains for 18 hours, the only wildlife I got to see was half of a deer carcus.. And even then I thought it was a log because I wasn't wearing my glasses.

So other then that we are just puttering through life.. My job is working out great and Kirby will be done training in only 3 weeks!! SCARY!!!
Hope everyone is well!

Our Trip to Golden

We went to Golden for the long weekend with Bob and Sarah.
We left work at 4:00 and shipped off to relocate our camping gear from the hatchback to the SUV and drive into the sunset in hopes of finding a relaxing retreat. We got everything loaded up but had made the grave error of deciding to fill up the car just outside of the city - This was apparently everyone Else's thoughts as well! After a good 15min in the line up to fuel up the beast for the road trip we were back on the HWY. Our second error came when we decided that instead of stopping in Calgary we would get our weekend groceries, booze and a quick bite in the town of Canmore. This was where we found the rest of the people who were waiting in line for fuel! After a much emptied out Safeway and a looooooooong wait in the Wendy's lineup we were again ready to hit the road! I searched the hwy anxiously hoping to see my first moose or bear but we arrived at Golden without a sighting. The very nice hostess showed us to our weekend home which was a very lovely ground floor cabin with 1 separate room, a kitchen with another room and a full bathroom complete with shower. We got the fire roaring and were cooking up some much unneeded smokies in no time! Bright and early Saturday morning we were wakened by the Belgium couple on the top part of the cabin screaming at each other in other languages, this continued until they decided to redecorate their area by moving the furniture around.. At this point we decided to wake. I opened the window and was greeted by the faces of several horses feeding in the pasture. I decided to pet the horses (Because I'm me and I just can't help myself!) But I noticed every time I was leaning over the fence to coax the horses I was hearing this sound.. It wasn't until then that I realized that I was leaning on an electrical fence and I was feeling a funny sensation in my hip. Ok Fine! I wont pet the horses!! Just as I had given up hope there was a distant ringing of a bell. Kirby laughed and pointed upwards and just around our cabin outside of the fence stood a horse grazing with a large cowbell around it's neck. After I mauled the horse we got some breakfast together and got ready for our journey that day. We decided to do a 2 hr canoe ride down the Columbia river which was high and running very slowly. During our 40km van ride to the stream the owner of the lodgings told us lovely tales of recent drownings and people dying on the river. With a complete lack of confidence and a sure thought that I was not going to make it through alive we reluctantly got into our boats and paddled our way down the river. It was a beautiful ride in very calm waters and we had nothing to worry about. Again I scanned the waters edge for my moose or bear.. Although I didn't get a glance at those we saw a dear, eagle and an osprey which is a very large bird.
We went back to the cabin and had a nice long hot tub in a tub that is covered but has open windows facing the valley and mountain sides.. After a long day we played a quick game of Trivial Pursuit and off to bed. Sunday morning instead of a peaceful waking with birds chirping and light shining through the window we again got to listen to the Belgium's do their daily screaming as well as stomping around like hippos in concrete shoes. At least the early rising gave us ample time to make breakfast and check out in time. We took the long drive home stopping off at Emerald Lake in Lake Louise and then decided to partake in some Canada Day festivities by having some good pub grub in Canmore.
We got in around 7:00pm after a very eventful weekend and enjoyed every second of it!

So much for a quiet year...

Seems both Kirby and I have gone through major career changes this year.
Kirby's training is going very well and he is really enjoying it.. (All be it, hard physically he is still having fun!)
I have recently been offered a new job and have taken it with much enthusiam.
I am now going to be taking over my friend Mandy's position as Sales Administrator @ Ernest & Julio Gallo winery. My position (as far as I can tell) entails some adminstration with sales reports etc.. as well as getting the sales reps product/marketing materials for their events and demos. (i'll have a better idea of what is going on in a couple weeks)
This company is so fantastic we even get a trip out to Canmore for a morning of meetings and a day and a half of play with horseback riding and a spa day. It is a fantastic opportunity to get to know the sales reps on a more personal level just before Mandy leaves the position permanately.
I think the position is going to be very challenging coming from a backround not related to the alcohol industry but I think it's going to be very rewarding. (That and it's $5000 more a year I work an hour less a day!)
So my start date there is June 25th.. YAY!
Also we have since parted with the VW Golf as we felt it was about to fall apart on our driveway.. We recooped our monies tho.. So we are good to go.. At this point as I am going to be working so close to downtown we don't think we will need another vehicle until Kirby starts shift work.. So thats a few months we can just throw our extra cash into making the house nice! :)

A Short Post

Just wanted to let everyone know that after a day in the sun painting the deck.. The Sunburnt Canadian's have returned... :)

The New Addition

We have a new addition to the Adolph/McCabe house hold!
This is our new 1994 VW Golf!! YAY! Finally 2 cars!

Merry Christmas, One and All.

Yup.. So this is our yard on May 24th..
I wanted to call into work on account of rediculousness..
This is crap.

Nice looong weekend.

So we really enoyed our weekend this week.
It started out on Friday when we went over to my friend Andi's for a BBQ. We cooked up some meat enjoyed some salads and mingled with my work folk.
We left their fairly early because Kirby was sore from training but we still had a really good time.
On Saturday we worked on beong homeowners.. We weeded the flower beds, mowed the lawns and bought our selves a brand spanking new mower and weed eater... Whoop! We have established that dandilions are the bain of Kirby's exsistance.
We also got some paint so we can redo the trim and deck once it stops snowing as well as we replaced the out door lights to spruce up the house a little.
On Sunday we decided we were due for a nice date night.. We got ourselves downtown by mid afternoon yesterday and took a visit to the Calgary Tower.. the new glass floor is more than terrifying.. If we all recall the story of Krista and the Malasyain Gondola we can recall that she is not a fan of high places.. After 10 minutes of coxing and me damn near in tears I finally stepped onto the glass floor and looked down.. I hope to never have to do that again.
We wandered around the tower for about 1/2 an hour and was even able to get a couple pictures even tho a really annoying young girl kept talking to us as we were trying to enjoy the sights asking if we could sit down on the glass floor and that she dared Kirby to do it.. Fun! :)
After leaving the tower we drove over to Julio Barrero's Mexican Resturant on the corner of Kensington and Memorial.. The restaurant has a great atmosphere and I relly enjoyed the salsa music and the complementary chips and salsa.. The food was sverage and a little expensive but it was still a good choice for something different.
After dinner we went over to Chinook Mall as we had passes to a movie.. Our choice for the evening was called 'Hot Fuzz' and was about a British Police Officer who moved from th4e busy streets of London to a small town. As dinner went a little long we were only 10 min early for the movie.. When we entered the Ciniplex we found the theaters packed and we were unable to get a ticket in time to get into the theatre before the start of the movie. We left the theatre and found an outside entrance into Chapters which was still open.. We found a copy of th Sun and located a good time at the theatres in Crowfoot.. We drove over and found ourselves an hour early for the movie. We cozied down into a seat and shortly thereafter was shooed out of the theatre as it had not been cleaned yet..We reclaimed our seat and at last got to enjoy the movie.
Although the movie did have it's funny bits it was only 'ok' in our books.
today was spent inside trying to hide from the May snow storm. We did a very good job of that!

Fun Pictures..

This is a Picture of Suess, the newest Plant!

This is our other new plant; Spikey Steve

This is our batch off Tropical Reisling which we have just finished bottling, applying labels & caps.

This is my Bunny, He eats our grass.

Yeah so.. We're boring!

That's what happens when you live here.. Blog entries are few and far apart because we dont actually do anything..
Here is a brief.. (And I mean brief) update on the Adolph/McCabes
Kirby is over a week into training.. He is really enjoying his classes.. Every class is different then the other so it helps to keep things exciting. He has already had two subject control classes and is learning to beat people down.. Thankfully he has not felt the need to 'practice' his new moves on me. He has also begun the tedious task of shinning his marching boots.. Thankfully these don't need to be ready for a while so a little here and there should get the job done.
Work is same old, same old for me.
The wedding is forming well with a guest list of 41 people.. Most of whom have gotten their deposits in and are rearing to go! (382 days according to my Cuba counter)
We have really planned about everything we need to short of some reception details but other then that we really don't have any more planning to do until next year when we will worry about colors, dresses, suites etc. So right now we just sit and wait for May 08 to roll in.
We bought a new really odd kind of plant which is typically a part of the cacti family however it is really new to Canada so they don't even know what its called.. (As per the guy at Golden Acres) The plant remains nameless but is sitting happily in our house.
Yup so that about sums it up for us.. Like I said.. We're boring.. When your not out travelling and seeing different countries it makes the blog a lot less interesting!

The art of watching a cat.

So because I am such a giving person and because Kirby is good to me I offered to baby sit my friends cat.. Oh did I say 1 cat?? I'm sorry I meant 2!!
We hauled them home this afternoon and as I type I am trying to see the keyboard through the legs of a kitty.
So its been about 3 hours since the cats have entered the home. Since their arrival we have had a laughing fit over the one because of his odd choice of positions, then I realized I hadn't seen him in a while during my cooking some lunch and suddenly I looked up at the fridge to see two eyes staring back at me.. Apparently he had been watching me the entire time. Unfortunatly tho the other cat is very attached to him and also cant locate him so she is walking around the house crying out for him.. I am pretty sure I saw him grinning as he watched her from his fridge perch. We went out breifly today and when we returned I again could not locate the male cat anywhere.. Finally I heard some rustling in the bathroom and he was enjoying the shower curtains from inside the bathtub. I have been diligent in rubbing the kitties as I want them to feel comfortable but my attempts have extracted so much cat hair I think we may be able to build a whole new one by the time I vaccuumm.
So other then cat sitting Kirby got most of his uniform yesterday and a bunch of fun gear. He has an orientation on Thursday and then will be starting his training on Monday.
Thats about it from us.. I was hoping to have some pics of our trip to Banff up there but we never quite made it what with the crappy weather and snow.. Maybe another time!
OH!! And just for fun I have added a Cuba Counter on the right hand side.. Less then 400 days to go! Haha!

Bowling!

Well us kids got out and decided to have a good time at the bowling alley!
We doned our tackiest bowling shirts or the ugliest shirts we could find and we were off.
Turns out 5 pins bowling is much harder then I remember as a kid.
There were 6 of us all together: Christine, Mandy, Peter, Kirb, Jay & myself so playing one game took up a significant amount of time. We were just into our second game when the 15min warning came up on the screen - Now it was time for speed bowling. Speed bowling is where we go as fast as we can, hurdling the bowling ball down the alley without waiting for the screen to lift before throwing. There were a couple instances where people were faster then the screen and end up slamming the ball into the screen without touching the pins. On one occasion this actually worked out for the best as the screen was just starting to raise as Kirby's ball smashed into it.. The screen then knocked over all of his pins.. Chris walked away the big winner of speed bowling and Peter had some major bowling skills we were not aware of until he released his talent on the floor.
I also discovered how to put video on the blog! YAY! So the last image in the picture is actually a dark video of Kirby bowling - Enjoy!

I'm never drinking again!

We went over to one of my co-workers house on Saturday and had a really fun time.. She has a Nintendo WII so we played bowling, golf, tennis.. You name it.. I am reigning bowling champion and Kirby worked his magic with golf.. (My Australian co-worker now refers to Kirb as 'Tiger' and is desperate for a rematch).. Now here comes the funny part.. This same Australian bloke sent me this picture bright and early Monday morning.. Problem is I had no idea someone had a camera??!? I understand there are much more incriminating photos to follow periodically to 'brighten my day' but he assured me none are of myself.. If any of them are good I will toss them on here as well.
Sunday was as unproductive as they get as I spent it nursing my hangover trying to keep myself from getting sick.. (Kirby was feeling just dandy and was helping a friend move)Whilst I lay comatose. I was finally able to roll myself out of bed by 3:00pm.. We ordered some Chinese food (a combo for Kirby and some war won ton soup for myslef.. I got through half before I wrapped it up for todays lunch and then crawled back in bed at 10:00 hoping that I could sleep the rest off.. Turns out that's not so as I am still sick today.. Hence my title.. I am never drinking again!
** Ok so I added a 2nd pic.. This is my friend Andi (this was her house) and her brother doing the Manwell Family tradition of Indian Leg wrestling.. I think Andi won but I really cant remember!

Cheers, to new beginnings.

As some of you may have heard.. After 10 Months of application processes, interviews and meetings Kirby has finally been able to secure a spot on Calgary's Police Force.
Const. Adolph will be starting his classes April 16th and will be gratuating sometime in October.
So everyone raise a glass and join me in congratulating Kirb on a job well done!
It will be a very exciting year for us adjusting to the changes our life will be taking us and planning for the future.
Wedding plans are underway and we should be sending out info on that shortly.

Gliding through Winter

The days are getting a little longer and the tempertures are slowly starting to rise. We thought we would take advantage an ok day outside and take in a nice afternoon skate at Olympic Plaza.. There were lots of families there when we got there but as it neared dinner time the crowd thinned out and we were able to get in some good skating.. We were there for about an hour just enjoying the outdoors, allbeit still on the chilly side, but not that bad!

As you might all know Kirby's 26th birthday is happening this week so I thought it might be fun to take him to Edmonton to celebrate!
We left yesterday morning and made the 3 hour dive to arrive at the hotel/mall at 12:00pm. As it was still early in the day our room wasn't ready yet so we walked down to the food court and had some chinese.
With several hours left to kill we started to venture around the mall and to our surprise we had covered the entire mall and gone into every store we wanted to within 2 hours. We had even checked out 'Ed's rec room' Formerly 'Red's Rec Room'.
Although nothing too much has chenged in the mall they no longer have all the unique stores with odds and ends which you could spend hours wandering around and the new Ed's is now just an arcade. It no longer has the bar and entertainment that Red's used to have.
Finally at 3:00 we were able to get into our room, which was huge.
I had booked the executive suite which had a small sitting area and a huge juccuzzi in the room. We putz about the room for a while and then I got ready and we headed down for a nice dinner at Moxies. After dinner there was no longer any adult entertainment in the mall other then the movie theatres so we retired to our room and had a jaccuzzi and watched a movie.. After a long day of driving and walking around we were pooped and decided to call it a night.
We left by 10:30 this morning as there was nothing left that we wanted to see.. Although we didn't have a lot to do we did have a good time, but I dont think we will be heading back anytime soon just because there really isn't a lot of adult activities in the mall anymore.. But thats ok.. Thats what Vegas is for! :)

Happy Valentines Day!

Well its a beautiful day for loving the ones you love!

The snow is going to start melting, birds are chirping and all is right in the world!

Tonight we are going to order in some Chinese food, have a bottle of wine and maybe hit the Starbucks and do some wintery skating at Olympic Plaza.. A nice a quiet cheap night at home is the best way to celebrate!

Hope everyone has a great Valentines!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, it has been a quiet time in the Adolph, McCabe household!

But who knows what future fun adventures we may have up our sleeves..

2006 a Year in review.

So if I had a very busy 2006 does that mean I can take 2007 off??
What a year we have had..
January;
We were in the South island of New Zealand traveling and touring. We were also looking desperately for work trying to figure out a way to prolong our trip as money was running low!
February;
we had landed back in Thailand and spent a wonderful month lazing on the beach and soaking up our last days of freedom.. Kirby celebrated his 25th birthday. We saw Bangkok for the first time as well as revisited some places we just didn't want to leave.
March;
We spent a lot of time looking for new jobs and getting reacquainted with friends and family. We both started our new jobs and the incomes were coming in again after a 5 month hiatus.
June & July;
We worked diligently and paid off all debt from traveling. We even got out to Golden, BC for a short vacation.
August;
We celebrated our 9 year anniversary and went for a nice dinner at Ric's Grill.
Kirby started the police application process and passed his PARE Exam with flying colors. We had started a nest egg that was now big enough to apply as a down payment on a house and started our hunting.
September;
We bought our first home and spent the remainder of Sept packing boxes!
I started an accounting course to get some learnings! I had my 25th birthday!
October;
We moved into our new house and had much of it organized within the same weekend.
We got out to a house party for Halloween and had a great time!
November;
Come on! We have a mortgage now.. You cant expect us to do something every month!
December;
We eagerly prepared for Christmas coming up (When I say we I mean I)
We both got a nice 2 week vacation around the holidays. On the first day of our holidays we got engaged. I had my first ever Christmas dinner and had the parents over for some grub.. It turned out fantastically and I didn't burn a thing!
We took the remainder of our holidays and headed out to neudorf to see Grandma as well as attend a wedding in Regina on New Years Eve.

We are now started the New Year off nursing a flu.. Which is what you get when you have too busy of a year.. !
We are hoping to have a quieter 2007 but with Kirby applying for the police and a wedding down the road I think we may run screaming into 2008!
Hope everyone had a great year and hope you all the best in 2007!