Family in NH

     We have been in NH for five days, and, other than a brief check-in post, I have posted nothing.  Wednesday we went to grandson Dave's and Carolyn's condo for a very nice supper...would you believe Carolyn did a very nice lobster pasta?  Great granddaughter, Brielle, is a bright, well-behaved 7 1/2 year old second grader.  After supper we played four handed cribbage.  At one point the count to her was nine and she played a face card with a count of ten.  As she struggled to add ten to nine, I asked,"How much is ten plus ten?  She said,"Twenty...oh, it's nineteen!"  I loved the thought process.  She'll do fine.
     On Thursday we, Mark, Heather and second youngest grandson, Kevin, met at the Bahama Breeze to celebrate his 24th birthday.  It was early because he had to go to rugby practice, and we promised to make it to his game on Saturday.  When reduced to its basic principles, rugby is a simple, if somewhat violent, game.  For the uninformed it is like watching cricket.  To portray it with a camera is even more uncertain.  Nonetheless, here are a few shots from the game.

     This is the opening scrum/face-off/jump ball that determines who is on offense first.  The fellow at the upper left is Kevin.

     Here he is having a difference of opinion with the referee.

     At halftime Durelle was getting acquainted with a six-month old Bernese Mountain Dog.  Baxter was in the car.  I'll include a couple more rugby shots.  Imagine football with no pads!  We could hear the contact up on the hillside where we found seats.  Kevin is 6'3" and 230 pounds.  He was not one of the bigger guys out there.  In college he was on the Plymouth State College team which won a national championship title in division III.

     This shot shows a break in the action after a penalty.  The ref is in orange.  Note Kevin on the ground with his hand by his chin.  Also note the opponent walking away rubbing the back of his head.  After the game, Kevin had to go to the wedding of the captain of the team.  He was a little bit the worse for wear, but, Hey that's rugby.  He lost a cap on a front tooth.  He has it, but it certainly won't be re-attached until after the wedding.

     Tomorrow we will go to Harvard, MA to attend the Harvard Fall Festival where friends Tim and Wendy Boucher will be competing in a barbecue contest.