People of Fort Necessity

I forgot to include these awesome pictures in the last post.  They had a little play area with these fun boards.

Betcha didn't know that I was married to some other guy back in the day.  My last name was Sampey and I was a Tavern Keeper's wife.  Don't ask me about any details because I don't like to talk about that part of my life....

Jason was a Native American before he was married to me and lost that great tan on his ripped body.  Kate was obviously up to no good, and Andrew looked like he belonged on a pirate ship somewheres out at sea.

Good thing we eventually found each other and straightened ourselves out....

Fort Necessity, Friendship Hill, & a Talent Show

 The story behind Fort Necessity is an interesting one.  Tensions between the English and the French where high with both trying to lay claim on land in the New World.  In early April of 1754, George Washington, a newly commissioned lieutenant colonel, started westward from Alexandria with part of a regiment of Virginia frontiersmen to build a road to Redstone Creek, present day Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on the Monongahela. He was then to help defend the English fort on the Ohio.  Along his journey, Washington learned that the fort had fallen into French hands but decided to continue on toward Redstone Creek and await further instructions. 

By late May of 1754, Washington had reached a large natural clearing known as the Great Meadows.  On May 27th, he received word that a party of French soldiers was camped in a ravine not far from his position.  That night,  Washington and about 40 men began an all night march to confront the French and learn their intentions.












About dawn, Washington met with a friendly Seneca chief, Half King, and made plans to contact the French Camp. As the French commander had not posted sentries, Washington and his men easily surrounded the unsuspecting French.

A shot was fired, no one really knows by whom, and soon the peaceful glen was filled with chaos. The skirmish lasted about 15 minutes. When it was over, 13 Frenchmen were dead and 21 captured. One escaped and made his way back to Fort Duquesne at the forks of the Ohio. Washington's casualties were one man killed and two or three wounded.




 Soon after the smoke had cleared, French survivors claimed they had been attacked without cause by Washington. They claimed they were on the same sort of mission Washington himself had been on the winter before. That explained, they said, why they had been so easily surprised and why they had not posted sentries. Washington asked why, if the French were on a diplomatic mission, they were hidden in a ravine, off the trail, and in the area for perhaps a couple of days without approaching him.

Controversy surrounds the events that took place at Jumonville Glen, named after Ensign Joseph Coulon de Jumonville. He was the leader of the French detachment, and was killed there.
 
Fort Necessity was built as a fortification against inevitable attacks by the French because of the incident in the glen. 

The confrontation at Fort Necessity in the summer of 1754 was the prelude to the war fought by England and France for control of the North American continent. The struggle was known in North America as the French and Indian War and spread around the world as the Seven Years' War. It ended in 1763 with the removal of French power from North America and India. The action at Fort Necessity was also the first major event in the military career of George Washington. It was the only time he ever surrendered to an enemy. 

On a bluff overlooking the Monongahela River sits the country manor of Albert Gallatin, a Swiss immigrant who played a key role in this nation’s early adventure into democratic rule. He served as secretary of the treasury under Presidents Jefferson and Madison, and he secured funding for both the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Lewis and Clark expedition, 1804 to 1806. Lewis and Clark honored him in naming the three forks of the Missouri River. They are the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers; all flow through Montana.

When Gallatin built this home at Friendship Hill in 1789, it overlooked the edge of the untried western frontier and what Gallatin hoped would be a corridor to prosperity. The Monongahela drains to the Ohio River—a springboard to points west. The water route, however, proved unfeasible. Instead, the National Road and, later, railroads carried the nation west.

On a very different side note, our ward had a talent show and Kate decided (by herself) to jump rope for her talent.  Mind you, she isn't a jump rope expert...actually, quite the novice, achieving 3 or 4 awkward jumps before tangling her feet up in the rope.  She tried hard and succeeded in a couple of successful jumps.  She was so proud of herself, I was proud of her too.  I hope she holds onto that self confidence.

Andrew's New Trick

I know, I know, I seem to just be limping along with this blogging thing.  I'm still trying to adjust to a whole new life here....it will get better.  I'll get more on the ball.  It also doesn't help that I've got a calling that demands almost as much time as a job.  I keep wondering to myself, "What did I do with all the free time I had before I was put in as RS President?"  I wish I had an answer for that.  Anyway, on to the main event.

We got the kid all geared up for the inevitable numberless falls he was going to experience.  He thought he looked pretty tough.  He kept telling me in his I'm-flexing-and-clenching-my-teeth-together-while-holding-my-breath voice, "Look how strong I am!!!  Look at those muscles...feel my muscle!!!  I have 10 muscles!"  As he flexes his pencil thin little arms.  I'm afraid the poor kid is destined for twiggy-ness throughout his youth, much like his daddy.

So we set off to teach a new dog a new trick.  I can't tell you how many bruises I had on my legs from catching him as he went down and his bike continuing on down to smash into my shins.  It wasn't pretty.

  There was some whining and discouragement involved, but once he finally started getting it he made sure to tell me that "Practice is over.  I can do it now so there's no more practice.  Practice is over."  He was informing me of this well before he could even start out on his own.  After another week or so, he started being able to balance enough to get going without help from me.  He's still a tad unsteady but gets better and better each time he gets on his little bike.  However practice, evidently, is over.  So what are we going to call it now?

Butterflies and Spring

It's spring, and with spring comes butterflies.  Kate got a kit for Christmas that comes with a "Lady Bug Land" and a "Butterfly Garden".  This kit came with a coupon to send off for some lady bug larvae and caterpillars.  Kate's been taking good care of them and currently we have some new lady bugs and each caterpillar has formed a chrysalis.  Now we're just waiting for them to bust on out as butterflies.  It's been really interesting to watch.

With all of this bug action going on, I found myself with my very own transforming bug.

Before he "turned" into a butterfly, he got into his own cocoon and instructed me to take a picture of him.  So here he is in his chrysalis/cocoon glory.

Happy Spring!!!

Jason's First Annual (maybe biennial) Post

So I have vowed to only post when I have a funny/important experience that I feel others will enjoy/love...I haven't been very good about that vow.  Anyways, I want to share a short experience that happened to our family today that highlights the importance of giving service as a family (this is important AND funny, so stay with me).  We visited an elderly woman (we'll call her Sister Elderly) today who lives in a retirement community near our home.  She is a member of our ward and it was brought to our attention that she was lonely and loves children.  Little did she know what was in store when we made the visit (with our children, of course).

Sister Elderly was delighted to have a visit and instantly started stuffing my children with toys, cookies, and candy.  They warmed up to her rather quickly.  After chatting with her for a while, Andrew decided to start asking Sister Elderly some questions.  Now, if you don't know Andrew, he can really get talking when he wants to.  So he says, "Are you really old, old, old, old, old, old (at this point I wanted to throw something at him), old, old, old (maybe add ten more, i don't know), lady?"  Sister Elderly waited through the "old's" and lovingly said "Yes, I'm very old".  Then Andrew says "Old, old, old, old (add another too many olds) people die.  Sister Elderly responded "Young people die too."

Sister Elderly probably thought he was a pretty funny kid, but I wanted to kill him (based on her reply to him, she might have been threatening him, we're not sure).  It didn't take us long to leave after that, but despite my innocent son's remarks, I could tell that we had just made Sister Elderly's day.  She asked us to make sure and wave at her window when we got out to the car (which we did).

To add to the humor of the visit, another elderly woman entered the elevator with us as we were leaving.  I asked her what floor she was headed to and she says "I don't know where the hell I'm going, I just want some food".  Apparently, she didn't know where the cafeteria was, or maybe she forgot where the cafeteria was.  Well, until next year (mas o menos), I hope this was an enjoyable read.

Johnstown, PA

We visited Johnstown, Pennsylvania in March.  It is a small city known mostly for it's production of
iron, coal and steel.

 In 1860, the Cambria Iron Company of Johnstown was the leading steel producer in the United States, outproducing steel giants Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Through the second half of the 19th century, Johnstown made much of the nation's barbed wire.

On May 31st, 1889, the South Fork Dam located 14 miles upstream from Johnstown failed and caused what is known as the The "Great Flood" of 1889.  The dam was initially built by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania as part of a cross-state canal system between 1838 and 1853, to create what was known as Conemaugh Lake and was fed by the Little Conemaugh River.  As transport by railroad became more popular than canal barge transport, the canal was abandoned by the commonwealth and was sold to Pennsylvania Railroad.  The dam and the lake were part of the purchase and were sold off by PRR to private buyers.

A group of spectators purchased it and altered it to become a private resort lake for the wealthy of Pittsburgh.  Some of the modifications included lowering the dam so that the top would be wide enough for a road and putting a fish screen in the spill way that would prevent fish (and debris) from escaping into the river below.  This made the dam much more vunerable, not to mention the pipe system below the dam to help control flow had been sold off as scrap metal when it was initially abandoned.  They built cottages and a club house for what came to be known as the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, an exclusive and secretive mountain retreat.

After a terrible rain storm hit dropping an estimated 6-10 inches of rain over the entire region and causing rivers and streams to breach their banks, the eroding dam finally failed at 3:10pm, allowing 20 million tons of water from the lake to come cascading down the river below.  It took 40 minutes for the lake to drain.

Some 57 minutes after the South Fork Dam collapsed, the flood hit Johnstown. The inhabitants of Johnstown were caught by surprise as the wall of water and debris bore down on the village, traveling at 40 miles per hour and reaching a height of 60 feet in places. Some, realizing the danger, tried to escape by running towards high ground. But most people were hit by the surging floodwater. Many people were crushed by pieces of debris, and others became caught in barbed wire from the wire factory upstream.

At Johnstown, the Stone Bridge, which was a substantial arched structure, carried the Pennsylvania Railroad across the Conemaugh River. The debris that was carried by the flood formed a temporary dam, stopping further progress of the water.  Some people who had been washed downstream became trapped in an inferno as debris that had piled up against the Stone Bridge caught fire, killing at least 80 people. The fire at the Stone Bridge burned for three days. Afterwards, the pile of debris there covered 30 acres, and reached 70 feet in height. The mass of debris took three months to remove, because of the masses of steel wire from the ironworks binding it. Dynamite was eventually used to clear it.  The total death toll was 2,209, making the disaster the largest loss of civilian life in the United States at the time.

The Johnstown Inclined Plane was completed in 1891 to serve as an escape route for future floods, as well as a convenient mode of transportation for the residents of the new communities situated above the valley.

Here we are at the Heritage Discovery Center in Johnstown.  It's a neat little children's museum that has fun activities that incorporate the city's life story.

For such a little and unknown place, it sure was packed with interesting history.

Kate Turns 7

It finally happened.  I knew it was probably just a matter of time.  She does have my genetics, after all.  She got bit by the horse bug.  She is just crazy over horses just like I was at her age (and still kind of am).

It starts with a horse cake.  We looked at a variety of horse shaped cakes, but she's no dummy.  She saw a cake with horse toys on it and insisted she have one like it.  I can't say I would have thought of that at her age...ask for the cake with toys on it that I can keep.  Wily little person.

She didn't get to see her cake until her little (yep, it was just us) party that night.  As you can see by her face, she was delighted with it.

Later, we opened presents.  She got her own personal little Snuggie. 

And her very own cowgirl boots to go with her other present.  She'll have to wait a little bit for it, but I think it will be worth the wait.  We signed her up for a week long horse camp.  She goes for a couple of hours each day and learns how to care for horses, clean horses, saddle horses, and, of course, ride horses.   It starts mid July.

I didn't realize it at first, but Kate's choice of where she wanted to go out to eat for her birthday fit right into the theme of the evening.  Jason asked Kate where she wanted to go and I figured it would be someplace like McDonald's or even Red Robin, but she chose....Texas Roadhouse.   The girl has expensive taste already.  Sure surprised me.  They gave her this cowboy hat to wear and sang to her.  She just soaked it up...as she always does with any attention she can get.

All in all I'd say it was a successful birthday shindig.


PS.  If you didn't notice.  We go to this nice, relatively expensive restaurant and she orders a hot dog....

I Didn't Actually Fall Off the Face of the Earth...

...Though it very much seems that way.  It's been crazy with the move, not to mention just the blah weather outside makes it hard to really want to do anything more than one absolutely has to.  But there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the sun is shining today with a temperature of 64 degrees (or it was in the end of February when I started this post).  It literally feels like a tropical heat wave.

I didn't seem to be up on my blogging working up to the move either.  *Sigh* Ok, on to the recap.  Drum roll please....

Andrew turned 4 in August.  Can you believe it?  Yeah, I know, it is now March.  Yikes.  Anyway, I decided to take his 4 year old pictures.  They turned out ok, I think.  Sad thing is that I still need to get Kate's 6 year old pictures done....she turns 7 this month.  You'd think a girl with the camera could get it done.  Ironic isn't it?

Andrew shares his birthday with his aunt Breann.  He wanted a snake birthday, so I made this one and surrounded it with gummy worms and chocolate rocks.  It was pretty fun to make.

Kate started first grade.  All day long.  Weird.  Then we yanked her out of her class during Christmas break and moved her to Pennsylvania.  She's doing great in her new class, too.  Anyone who knows Kate at all, knows that she can make instant friends anywhere she goes.

We tore up all the linoleum in our kitchen and put down tile.  It was quite the project to say the least.  I was the official thin-set lay-er and notch-er.  What a pain.

 

 We re-carpeted the house.  (I know, not the best picture, but for some silly reason, I don't have any of the living room.)

Kate was on a soccer team, named the Purple Butterflies (I know, it strikes fear down to your very core), during the fall.  Her team won maybe two games, but they had a great time and that's the point.

Jason and I took a week long trip to Pittsburgh to try to find a place to live.  We found a place about 40 minutes commute away from where Jason works in order to get the surroundings, the place, and the price we were comfortable with.  But hey, it's better than the hour commute he currently had.

We sold the pick-up truck.

We did the Halloween thing.  Kate as Super Girl.  Andrew as Optimus Prime.  Me as an Aberdeen cheer leader.  (No, I was never a cheer leader...this is the first time, in fact that I've ever worn an outfit quite like this.)  The weather was actually relatively warm compared to last year.  It turned out to be a pretty good night.

We bought a Jeep.  When I say "we" I mean it is for the whole family as a "we."  I went down to Utah during Thanksgiving week to see my family and Jason stayed in Idaho for work.  I did the research and the test driving and the bargaining on all sorts of vehicles and ended up getting this one. (Of course I consulted over the phone with Jason.)  It was nerve racking and stressful, but I did it and by the time Jason came down on Thursday, we had a Jeep Liberty.  We've both liked it a lot, so I'd have to say (luckily) it worked out.

Christmas time came and we decided we might as well put up a tree since it was the last Christmas in our house (that is, if it ever sells).  It just wouldn't have been Christmas if we hadn't decorated at all.

An awesome lady in my Idaho ward, Sister Wheiler, had the kids over to make gingerbread (graham cracker) houses.  Kate's is the that looks like a candy tornado hit it.  She's no dummy, she was trying to get as much candy on there to take home and eat as possible...I put an end to it when she started just dropping candy in piles into the "yard."  Andrew took a different approach.  He was very into pretzels and had a jolly time making a fence.  His is a tad less busy than Kate's.

This fun little creature in front of his house was supposed to be a snowman, but the frosting didn't set up quite quickly enough.  So we ended up with a Jabba-the-Snowhut of sorts.

Kate had a last get together with a couple of her friends, Emalyn and Hallie.  Andrew invited himself into the group of girls...not an unusual occurrence.

My sister, Brittany, came up to Idaho to help with the moving.  Thankfully it wasn't too bad since Jason's company hired a moving company to pack and haul everything across the country.  Whew.  But she kept me company while the movers were there (since Jason went down to Utah with his Dad and brothers to a Jazz game--I know, the nerve!)  We stayed in a hotel that night and enjoyed some gourmet treats from Fred Meyer.  Man, I miss that place.  I'm so glad she came.

We moved into a townhouse in Pennsylvania.  We really had to downsize and it feels strangely reminiscent of our college days when we had to stuff every vacant corner with stuff (well, honestly it's not nearly as bad as the two bedroom apartment we were in...I still have my own washer and dryer and garage).  It's a charming little place and the set-up has worked out better than we could have expected.

Andrew has taken to doing surgery on his Sing-a-ma-jig on his work bench.  (notice the syringe off to the left and the "surgical" light above)  Who knew he'd take the doctor set he got for Christmas so seriously.

We went to the Children's Museum in Pittsburgh for a "tail gate party" the Saturday before the Superbowl.  It was unbelievable being here for all that.  There was black and yellow all over the city and everywhere we went people were dawning their Steelers gear.

Here we are at our own little Superbowl party with all the food fixings of a great time.  Too bad the Steelers didn't win.  Maybe next time.

We have a killer sledding hill right behind our house (if you don't mind sledding through some brush here and there).  The kids love it.  They can spend a couple hours out there.  And, yes, that is Andrew's boot part way back up the hill...poor kid had to wear boots that were a little big this year.  What are ya gonna do?  He has fun anyway.

So that's our fall/winter in a nutshell.  Hopefully I can be a little more on top of it from here on out.



PS After I had only been to our ward two times, they called me to be the Relief Society President.  Yeah, I was wondering what they were thinking, too.  That has been a real adventure so far.  Luckily, the Lord qualifies those who He calls...at least that's what I'm betting on...