Kyela at soccer practice

Kyela started playing soccer on 27 September, 2008. She has soccer practice on Tuesday's and Thursday's and a game on Saturday mornings. She seems to have a great time at the practice sessions; however, she has been losing interest at the Saturday games. Mom and I are trying to keep her focused at the games, but due to less interaction and attention from her coaches she would rather pick flowers off the field and practice her dance moves as the soccer ball goes by her :) At least she is having a good time on the field and staying active. I assume next year she will have a better understanding of the game and take it more seriously. For now, Mom and I are are really enjoying seeing her run around and have a good time with children her age.

QuadFest 2008

Earlier this year, my buddy talked me into buying an ATV. He purchased his ATV late last year and his stories of thrill and adventure convinced me that I "needed" to buy one. I instantly believed purchasing this ATV was the right thing to do...my wife, on the other hand, needed more convincing :) After much begging and pleading, Monique finally caved in and let me purchase a 2008 Polaris Sportster 4x4. This quad didn't stay looking clean like this for very long!

In July 2008, I went with five of my buddies to QuadFest 2008. QuadFest was located in Central City, PA about a two hour drive from Baltimore. We drove up to PA on a Friday morning with plans to stay until late Sunday afternoon. There were more than sixty miles of trails at QuadFest with some trails designed for experience riders and others that are more family oriented. Needless-to-say, we immediately hit the trails designed for the experienced riders even though this was the first time riding trails of this sort for most of us.

We spend two days riding approximately 50 miles per day. Vroom, vroom and braap, braap were the sounds I heard for the two days I spent on my ATV. It was a ton of fun riding the quads, but sitting around the campfire in the evenings listening to friends tell exaggerated stories was equally as fun. Some of the best parts of the day were spent when the riding was over and we were grilling hamburgers and hotdogs, watching the fire burn, and complaining how sore we were. I had a great time at QuatFest 2008, and will certainly make another appearance next year. I believe ATVing and camping is a great way to bond with family and friends - maybe I'll be able to talk my girls into going with me next year.

Trip to Australia

Late last year I had the opportunity to travel to Alice Springs, Australia for two weeks. The 15-hour plane ride from San Fransisco to Sydney wasn't pleasant but considering I flew business class I couldn't complain. I spend the first night in Sydney since the connecting flight to Alice Springs only flew once per day. It certainly didn't bother me none ;) Sydney was a great city! I stayed in a hotel at Darling Harbor and was only minutes away from the popular Sydney Harbour bridge and Sydney Opera House. I decided to take a water taxi around Darling Harbour so I could get better pictures and see the Sydney Harbour Bridge up close as well as the Sydney Opera House. The 1-hour water taxi ride didn't leave me disappointed.

As tired as I was from the 24+ hours traveling over to Australia, I began walking around Sydney immediately after my early morning check-in at my hotel. I knew I had to make the best of my short time in Sydney and there was so much to see. I found out quickly that things were very expensive in Australia. Things were especially expensive when compared to the weaker U.S. dollar. For lunch, I ate (fish & chips) at a small pub that overlooked the Sydney Harbour Bridge...great food...even greater views.

After lunch, I headed over to walk around the infamous Sydney Opera House. It was as spectacular as I had imagined. The exterior that is. There was some sort of event scheduled the night I was in Sydney so I was unable to go into the Sydney Opera House. Instead, I headed back to Darling Harbour and walked around - snapping pictures along with all of the other tourists. The next morning I was up bright and early to catch my flight into Alice Springs. This was 4-hour flight into the middle of the Australian Outback. I was ready for the adventure.

When I arrived at Alice Springs I must say I was expecting a much larger airport. The airport was really small and didn't have any jetways...we had to deboard the plane while it was on the tarmac. As soon as I exited the plane, my battle with the flies began! The Outback conditions are so arid that flies attach to you in an attempt to get the moisture (sweat) from your body. If you are not careful they will go in your ears, up your nose, in your eyes...they are horrible. At any given time, you could have more than 50 flies stuck to your clothes while you are outdoors. Of course, the flies didn't keep me from sight-seeing around Alice Springs.

The first thing I noticed on the ride from the airport was the Aborigines walking around the town...most of them in tattered clothing and barefoot. I was informed by a local that I shouldn't take any pictures of them because it will upset them - they believe you are stealing their souls. I must admit that I'm guilty of taking a few souls while I was there...but I was very careful when I took pictures ;) I learned that a large population of the local Aboriginals receive aide from the government and don't work. Instead, they remain homeless and use the money from the government to buy alcohol. I learned even more when I got out of the car and realized that I could smell an Aboriginal from a block away...I'm not kidding. The smell they emit is stifling to say the least. I've never smelt anything like it before, and don't particularly want to experience it again. Sorry, I was unable to get a better picture of the Aboriginals without being caught stealing souls :)

While in Alice Springs, I went to the local reptile center as well as the popular site for feeding wild wallabies. I had a great time, but I think if I ever return I will plan to go in their winter months so I don't have to deal with the extreme temperatures and flies.

Trip to the United Kingdom

Before I begin blogging on current events, I thought I would post details on a few events that have occured withing the last year and a half. I decided it would be best if I didn't go back in the Jacob family history further than this :) I have sticky notes all over my desk right now with details on events that have occured over the last year, but I won't be able to post everything. I thought I would begin with a few details/pictures of my trip to England in early 2007. My job required me to travel to the UK for a 2-week assignment. I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said that I wasn't thrilled to go on this trip.

I stayed in a small town called Harrogate while I was in the UK. The town was small but had beautiful parks and gardens, busy streets in the district, and plenty of pubs for thirsty mates. If you ever make it over to Harrogate make sure you have dinner at Betty's Tea Room - excellent food there. Sure, I got some work done while I was there but as you can see from the photos, I was afforded plenty of time to go sight-seeing.

While in the UK, I was able to visit the castle ruins in Yorkshire as well as take a train ride up to Scotland. The train ride to Scotland was long, but the county side was quite a site to behold. The rolling green hills with sheep herds quitely grazing on them was beautiful. I had a bet with one of the guys that went on the trip with me that I would be able to find a black sheep in one of the fields. He said there was no such thing as a black sheep. I must have taken fifty photos of sheep pastures from the train before I finally hit the jackpot. There amoungst a herd of more than a few hundred sheep was a lonely black sheep. I was fortune enough to zoom in and capture a photo as the train sped by - although the photo is a little blury, I won the bet.

When I arrived in Edinburth, Scotland I was absolutely amazed that this city successfuly combined modern themes with Middle Age themes. From the Ediburgh Castle, built in the 15 century, you can look out over a large city that includes many historic buildings along with a modern day Hard Rock Cafe. Since I collect them, I did get a shot glass from the Edinburgh Hard Rock Cafe while I was there. Of course, the mighty Edinburgh Castle dominates its city as no other in Europe. The ancient royal castle is as powerful a symbol of Scottish nationhood as it was in centuries gone by. It is an icon of Scotland's great mediveal past and one of the world's greatest spectables.

Here goes...

I've been planning on creating a website to share memorable moments in the Jacob household with family and friends for quite a long time now. Of course, every time I set out to make it happen other things always seem to take higher priority and this project falls to the bottom of my to-do list. Just the other day I was viewing one of my friends blogs and saw the pictures of her children and how much they have grown in the last few years. That was the defining moment for me. I realized that time is going by fast...I must rearrange my priorities. I decided that I needed to get this blog setup soon.

Please understand that I'm new to blogging, but I will make every effort to keep current information about our family on this site. I want you to share in all of our happy moments and family events. I intend to use this site to keep everyone posted on Kyela's latest adventures to include up-to-date pictures and videos. Well here goes....I'm ready to hit "publish"...I hope you all enjoy.