Trojan Triple Play!!!

Wow, went to a great ballgame tonight! And in the top of the 5th, my bro Jacob Picard playin shortstop made this insane catch from a hard hit.




The catch would've been good enough by itself, but it was also the start of an amazing triple play - he threw to second, out, then a throw to first, out! 3 outs in a matter of a few seconds! That doesn't happen very often! Great playing guys!!! :o)




tryin to snag him stealin...but he was safe ;o)




roundin the bases




A great slide by Justin




Everybody's happy at the end of a great game :o)

Baseball Season is here again...

I love this time of year and hanging out at my siblings ball games. And with four of them playing ball this year, there should be plenty of games to see! First to enjoy this year was my brother Jacob, a sophmore playing for the Chambersburg Trojans.







He's gonna hate me for posting this, but I love good sequence shots ;o)










I think if baseball doesn't work out for these guys they might have a future with Riverdance ;o) I'm a terrible sister for poking fun, so in acutuality this was a great scoop and throw to first by Jacob that got the runner out.







Gotta love the great Picard facial expressions ;o) This next one is double great because both feet are also hovering above the ground :o)







Team huddle




Some of Jacob's teammates...

NYC Day Trip

We made a semi-impromtu trip up to New York City a couple weeks ago. We being me, Jacob, Ariel, Mary (back in the States for a month) and her brother Mark.




Starting our crazy weekend without sleep wasn't the brightest idea ever, as I think our foggy-tired minds contributed to our frustrations in trying to manuever the big city. :o) I mean, honestly, I've traveled all over some of the world's biggest cities: Paris, London, Rome: and yet, I have trouble finding the Statue of Liberty! And I can't even blame it on a language barrier! ;o)

But, all in all we had a blast ;o)




Not only is this Jacob's first trip to the Big Apple, but his first to a BIG American City. :o) He's been to Paris, Rome, Budapest, Jerusalem, Munich - but never a big Amerian city. He always thought that it had to be waaaay easier to navigate a city that you speak the language. Whoops, blew that theory. ;o)




Steam vents make great special effects ;o)







Mary's first visit too :o)







Brooklyn Bridge













Even had a few minutes to stop in at the National Museum of Natural History. We just had to seeing as we loved the movie ;o) We searched for "Dexter" for a while but no luck finding him ;o)




Had to get a picture with our life-size "tissue box". Explanation: we have a tissue box cover in our living room that is a replica of this statue, and you get to pull the tissues out of it's large nose. ;o) it's a great conversation starter!







Even Jacob and Mark got bit by the stylin bug while we leisurely wasted some time on 5th Avenue




Grand Central Station







End our day at Times Square...




Ariel and Mary enjoyin some dee-lish cheesecake on Times Square ;o)




We were very proud of ourselves that we remembered where we parked out truck *mental note, never bring big truck to NYC ever again*, so our sleepy crew crawled in to snore back to PA. :o) So glad Mary and Mark could make the trip up from VA!

ISRAEL - Chapter 7: Ein Gedi

Our last day in Israel we spent down towards the Dead Sea at Ein Gedi Nature Reserve.

Ein Gedi is an oasis in the desert, the largest on the Western shore of the Dead Sea. It's comprised of two main wadiis, with fresh water springs drawing inhabitants for thousands of years.




"Ein Gedi" literally means "the spring of the kid (goat)", and being a wildlife preserve we saw some ibex running around.



















This was our first day to experience any intense heat, as most of our stay was accompanied with milder temps.







Only Wadi Agurot was open for hiking, due to severe flash flood damage in the larger and more popular Wadi David.




To recall some Bible history, this is the very same wilderness where David escaped to and hid from Saul. I can understand how he could have a hidden here for a quite awhile!

























After a loooonng hike, we made it to the "Hidden Waterfall"....




Have to stop and get a pic of our adventurous trio :o)




And of course me and and my wonderful permanent traveling companion ;o)







On our hike back, we stopped to wade in some quiet pools in the stream, having time to discuss and solve the problems of the world ;o) or at least trying to tackle our own ;o)








Utterly exhausted, we had to take a walk down to the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on the earth!



The salt and mineral content of the Sea is 33%! Compare that to 3% salt for "normal" seas and oceans! The high mineral content makes swimmers INCAPABLE of sinking! It's the wildest feeling ever! You just kinda "bob", thrashing around is out of the question as you DO NOT want to get this water in your eyes! ;o) or in your mouth! eweeee :o)




The mineral fomations on the rocks make quite the sight




Jacob, the Dead Sea, and the hills of Jordan in the distance.




We then sleepily wait to catch our bus back to Jerusalem, a several hour ride...




We then stay up til 2am draining our last possibly bits of fun from dear Mary and Malcolm, and then time to catch our sherut to Tel Aviv to catch our flight out...

Shalom Israel!!! Can't wait to return this fall!!! YEAHHH!!! :o)