Crystal Archives - Page 7 of 17 - The Jacobs Family Website

October 17, 2014

Disney Coasters

If you’ve been to Disney you know that there are Disney photographers everywhere. You can ask any of them to take your photo and then later you can look them up online and see which ones you want to buy. This year we did the MemoryMaker photopass which gave us access to all of the photos taken including those on the roller coasters. The ride would read our wristbands and know which cart we were in and automatically add the photos to our account. We ended up with a lot of roller coaster pictures. Crystal started it but pretty soon everyone was trying to make some sort of face for the camera when the car streaked past. The “bored” look was popular and I think Kai perfected it.

Enjoy the pictures!

Crystal and Nora on the Test Track

Ben, Kai and the Posts during the Test Track acceleration test.

Space Mountain Ride

The Posts and Nora ahead of us on Alladin's Magic Carpet Ride.

Kai on the Magic Carpet Ride

One of our first Rockin' Roller Coaster Rides. Nora's look is classic.

A classic Tower of Terror shot.

Crystal and Nora at the start of Expedition Everest.

Apparently Expedition Everest gets boring on the 7th run.

Ben and Kai on Expedition Everest

Crystal bored on the Rockin' Roller Coaster

Kissing on Spalsh Mountain. Note Kai in the background checking the time.

Crystal convinced her Buzz Lightyear laser didn't work properly.

Space mountain during the Halloween celebration. Note Kai making sure his candy doesn't fall out of the cart.

Zen on splash mountain

On the 7 dwarfs minecart ride

October 15, 2014

Disney 2014

With a week off from school and work thanks to the Eid Holiday we packed up and headed to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. It was a long series of flights to get there from Saudi Arabia but all of our connections went smoothly. We all had a blast spending 6 full days in the Disney parks and even managed to spend some time with Lea Ann, Nina and Sara Post who happened to be there at the same time. Enjoy the photos.

Nora with her Mickey Mug

Kai and Nora at the Grand Floridian Lobby.

Family shot at Epcot

Nora at Epcot

Kai at Epcot

Crystal and Lea Ann hoist thier liters.

Ricola and the Cough Drops perform at the Epcot Biergarten.

On main street USA

At the haunted mansion

Nora with her Jasmine costume

Jacobs and Posts at the entrace to Tomorrowland

Nora getting ready to go into dinner in the castle

Family picture with Cinderella.

Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle.

Nora with her wishing wand.

Kai nervous that the next pricess to sweep through will give him another kiss on the cheek.

Nora and Kai with Aurora.

Nora with Princess Jasmine at dinner in the castle.

Waiting for the parade

With our obligatory Disney balloons at the Magic Kingdom.

Kai and Nora in jail with Zurg.

A family shot from the Rose Garden

Kai and Nora check out the Magic Kingdom ducks.

Kai and Nora waiting for our table at the Liberty Bell Tavern.

Family shot at the Magic Kingdom.

Nora all tuckered out outside Expedition Everest.

Family picture at Animal Kingdom.

Nora all tuckered out at Animal Kingdom.

Kai and Nora with glowing mouse ears at Fantasmic

With Pigglet at the Crystal Palace.

Nora sees Piglet headed our way.

With Tigger at the Crystal Palace.

Kai and Nora with Eeyore

Dinner at the Crystal Palace with Pooh Bear

Nora on the carosel

Kai and Nora squabble in the Dammam airport at passport control on our way home.

Kai with Jimminy Cricket at Animal Kingdom.

Nora with Tinkerbell

Dancing with Olaf

October 2, 2014

Swimming with dolphins at the Atlantis

The Atlantis resort boasts a dolphin habitat called, creatively, Dolphin Bay. It offers the opportunity for a variety of experinces ranging from watching dolphins to swimming with them in shallow water all the way up to deep water encounters. We opted for the shallow water since Kai and Nora were too young for the deep water.

We were a little bit hesitant about the dolphin program with memories of depressing and exploitive “tiger zoos” in Asia where poorly kept animals are made to do silly tricks. This program, in contrast, was very well run and professionally managed. Based on how much we paid for the professionally taken photos below the only people being exploited were the visitors – so that was good. Sort of.

Anyway, we had a great time with the dolphins; enjoy the pics!

Ben and Central the Dolphin

We had plenty of chances to feel the dolphin's skin as he would swim past.

Family shot with "Central"

Crystal and the Dolphin

Kai gets his turn with Central

Nora gives Central a kiss

Crystal dancing with Central.

Nora pets our dolphin, Central.

Kai gives Central a congradulatory pet.

Kai lifts the ring that Central retrieved.

Central bringing back a ring.

He was more rubbery and less slippery that I was expecting.a

The trainer has some fun getting the dolphin to splash us. Of course it was over 100 degrees and humid but the water was chilled so, other than the salt in the eyes, it was very welcome.

Ben trains the dolphin to retrieve a ring. It was almost as if Central had practiced this move.

September 30, 2014

Fall 2014 Random Pics

Here are a few random pictures from the start of the school year.

Crystal and Nora making Waffles.

Nora finds a nook to read her book in privacy.

Crystal and Kai at the family section of Latif bakery.

Nora and Ben make a year's worth of wontons for the freezer.

Never had one lesson. Really.

He hasn't started learning to play yet but likes to put it together.

Kai got clarinet for grade 5 band.

Nora with Kai's old pirate costume.

Aye aye skipper, Nora gets ready for the grade 2 pirate day.

Though Nora's party will be later due to the holidays we still celebrated her "actually" birthday on the 24th.

Kai forgets the "don't ride your bike inside" rule

September 29, 2014

The Atlantis – Dubai

An abnormally long Saudi National Day holiday gave us the opportunity to travel to the tip of the Palm Jumeirah artificial island in Dubai to stay at the Atlantis resort. Complete with its own aquarium and water park it is a pleasant place to spend a few days. It was, of course, about has hot and humid as it can get on the planet earth and any visit to Dubai is a bit surreal given that is it a caricature of unsustainable excess.

August 6, 2014August 6, 2014

Bass Lake Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from our summer on Bass Lake.

Nora reading on the boat

Kai and Nora Tubing on Bass Lake

More tubing

Crystal on the Pontoon with a squal in the background

Nora on Bass Lake

Kai on Bass Lake

Hunting for beads at the Rendezvous

Kai and Nora on a food shelf donation run

August 3, 2014

Glacial Potholes at Interstate Park

We recently stopped at Interstate Park which is on the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is a wonderful park and home to the largest concentration of Glacial Potholes in the world. The glacial potholes form when rocks in a fast moving river fall into a small divot and swirl around knocking against the rock and acting as a drill. They make circular drill holes some times called “Witches’ Cauldrons”. Often quite small, some in the park are over 60 feet deep!

Crystal, Kai and Nora at Interstate Park checking out the glacial potholes. In both quantity and size of potholes it is a world wonder.

Ben, Kai and Nora pose on the edge of cliff in the park.

Kai and Nora climbing on rocks in the park.

An HDR shot of the Taylors Falls Queen

Checking out one of the larger cauldrons. Kai is maveling at the duckweed growing in the hole. Duckweed is, of course, the world's smallest flowering plant.

Nora and Crystal check out a pothole in this HDR pic

Getting ready to decend into the "Bottomless Pit". It turned out that it did have a bottom but at over 60 feer deep it was an impressive glacial pothole.

Kai on a natural rock bridge

Nora on a natural rock bridge

A view down one of the deeper ones.

An HDR shot of one of the larger glacial potholes

August 2, 2014

Charlotte’s Baptism

Earlier this week was neice Charlotte’s Baptism on the Shattuck-St. Mary’s campus where Crystal and I met, began our teaching careers and were married. We hadn’t been back there in over a decade and it was great to see the campus and the positive trajectory the school is on. Enjoy the pictures!

Nora and Crystal at the Faribault Monument

Chapel of the Good Shepard on Shattuck Campus

Filing in for the Baptism

An HDR shot of people entering the chapel for the baptism

Julie, Eric, Evelyn and Charlotte at the Baptism

Ben, Crystal, Kai and Nora in front of the altar where Ben and Crytal were married 17 years ago

An HDR shot of the interior of the Chapel of the Good Shepard

The whole group at Charlotte's Baptism. Not pictured is Father Doyle who performed the ceremony.

Nora outside the chapel. Dress by Grandma, boots selected by Nora.

Art Jacobs and Ron Miller outside the chapel.

Ellen Jacobs and Karen Jacobs outside the Chapel.

Crystal, Kai and Nora at the monument outside the Chapel

Nora and Charlotte either dancing or playing golf on the parade field. Can't tell which.

Eric and Cathleen in front of Shumway.

Kai coaches Evelyn.

July 19, 2014

More Danbury

Here are a few pictures from earlier in vacation. Kai and Ben pooled their money to buy a quad-copter with an HD camera that they’ve had fun piloting around.

Kai pilots the drone on its maiden launch.

Using a wide open field was a good call to start.

The drone ascends to 7 meters and comences surveillance.

Kai waiting for lunch at the drive in.

Kai, Nora and Crystal

Nora at the Drive in

Kai and Nora set out in the dinghy

Sunset on tranquil Bass Lake

Crystal on the boat for sundowners

July 13, 2014

Spooner Rodeo Parade!

Yesterday was the Spooner Rodeo Parade! We love going to it every year – in our opinion it is the perfect small town parade – we always leave it feeling red, white and blue. Good clean fun and dirty tootsie rolls picked up off the street!