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Clémentine's 12th birthday

I'm falling behind. Life happens too fast, doesn't it?
Last month Clémentine turned 12. Here are a few photos of the big event.

 Between playing on the computer

 Or learning the Ukelele

Did that sound right?

 This kid is a pistol

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Celebrating 101 years! Franck 87 and Annouck 14

Wow- Already the first day of Jr. High

Time flies-the years pass by and the kids get bigger. Today, Clémentine started her first day of Jr. High. She has been so excited leading up to this all summer.

In the trenches at Massiges

The highlight, and one of the inspirations for this trip was a visit to the trenches of Massiges.  These trenches have been recently been reconstructed to resemble the trenches during World War 1.  It is still a work in progress.  Signs indicated it was not up to safety standards for public visits...though I doubt it met safety standards in 1914 either.

Côte 304-Hill 304

Hill 304 was the site of one of the bloodiest and longest lasting battles of WW1.

Like most of these battlefields, the trees were gone during the battles.  

You can see how the trees have grown back in the trenches.

The artillery fire was so fierce that the top of the hill was lowered by 4 meters- a little over 13 feet.

The latest battle fought there was between Anne and Jean-Loup-Who found this ladder?

Varennes-en-Argonne

A short detour to the French Revolution.  We stopped where Louis XVI was captured while trying to flee to Austrian controlled Belgium.  He had been recognized the night before by a shopkeeper in Sainte-Menehould, who recognized the King's face from the coins. The king should have kept a lower profile.

Fast forwarding back to WW1-Varennes-en-Argonne was later left in ruins after WW1.  There is a memorial there built by the State of Pennsylvania honoring those Pennsylvanian volunteers serving during WW1.