Catching Up With Photos

Nathalie's last night at home before leaving for college: a marathon game of Risk

The morning we drove Nat to Bob Jones University.

Our visit to Antietam Battlefield

Sam and Rachel at Antietam Battlefield

Rachel and Samantha unwillingly pose for a  photo.

The Connecticut monument at Antietam Battlefield

My birthday

I love this picture of Sam.

Hannah

Rachel

Big E 4-H Showmanship competition

Abby's last time competing as a 4-H'er

Abby's showmanship goat: Raclette. This goat exemplifies everything that can be wrong (conformation-wise) with a dairy goat, and yet in the breed class at this show, the ADGA judge placed her first in her age category. I almost (ALMOST!) offered the judge my glasses. The next day, with a different ADGA judge, she placed dead last, where she should be. 

Now that Abby is no longer in 4-H, Raclette has been sold to a dairy farm in Bloomfield, where she can live out her days having babies and making milk; never to grace a show ring again!

4-H Showmanship

Final awards ceremony

4-H Milk-out competition winners

4-H Showmanship winners

4-H Herdsmanship winner for Connecticut and Overall for the second year in a row! Yay Abby!

4-H Herdsmanship winners by state.

4-H Judging competition winners. Abby did really well with second place in the senior division.

Scavenger hunt winners: Albert and Rachael

Samantha's birthday cake made by Hannah.

Genealogy Fun!

I have a passion for genealogy. I love looking up things and solving mysteries. And, hey, I get to use my college degree. I have been working on Sam's family for about 10 years now. I have found many interesting things about his family. He is a direct relation to Oceanus Hopkins; the child born on board the Mayflower while they crossed the ocean. The child, if you recall your history lessons, did not survive, but the father: Stephen Hopkins, is one of Sam's ancestors.

You would think that with being able to research so far back and having ancestors that have been Americans for so long, that at least ONE of them would have fought in the American Revolution. Nope. So far not a single direct ancestor has come up as loyal to the Revolutionaries. Sam does have ancestors that were loyal to the King of England and his family still has a portion of the land in Nova Scotia which was deeded to them by the King in recognition of their loyalty. I haven't yet found where or when they served in the Revolutionary War, but according to the Daughters of the American Revolution, when I do find it, they will still allow our girls into the local chapter. They say they always need people to play the British in their re-enactments.

So I was discussing genealogy with a friend and I offered to do her husband's family. In a matter of about 2 days of researching I find an ancestor who not only served in the Revolutionary War, but was a Brigadier General who served with George Washington at Harlem Heights, N.Y. He then served at White Plains, Trenton and Princeton, and went into winter quarters at Morristown. He then went on to build a huge cotton mill in Rhode Island and became famous in the Rhode Island General Assembly.

Ten years: nothing; Two days: famous ancestor!