For those of you who have the great pleasure of knowing my Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton, you probably know about their picturesque home setting up on a hill by Alex, OK, surrounded by rolling meadowland and rich bottomland full of soybeans. 

Some of my best memories growing up are from Hamilton Hill.  Grandma’s pond is home to fish that, although not larger, are WAY more fun to catch than in any other water hole.  Grandpa’s haystack in the barn was full of risk and adventure and made for the ultimate hiding place (when cousin’s weren’t falling off it and getting concussions).  The eery row of cedar trees was like a scret hideout full of very dangerous steel scraps that Grandpa kept in there so they were out of the way.  And of course, King on the Mountain.  King on the Mountain is just a random, 7 foot tall, red sandstone outcropping sticking out of a little clearing in the blackjack trees.  Now, it seems so small…but as a kid, it was enormous – towering at least 50-100 feet tall.  And throwing rocks off of it proved your might.

There’s tons of things about Grandma’s place I love.  The old windmill, grandma’s enourmous garden full of sweet corn, the shed that houses countless cool relics from years past.  The old cellar and swingset where we would swing so high the old steel pipe legs would start teetering out of the ground.  The indian rock (mortar and pestle) that grandpa found down in a creek bank after he bought the land 50 years ago.  The smell of grandmas house.  Blonde brownies.  Naps.  I could go on for hours. 

So, now that you know Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton, you realize how sweet it is to start making those same memories with Ayan.  Ayan, who only 8 months ago came home from the cold city of Astana, Kazakhstan, enjoyed every second of exploring cedar trees, prarie grass and endless Oklahoma Red Dirt.  To sweeten the deal, Papaw and Grandma Debra came down and spent the weekend in Alex as well.  My dad brought his 4 wheeler and he and I even got to go fishin on Saturday morning and caught a few really nice fish.  It really was a wonderful weekend.  And…of course…we have the pictures to prove it.  I picked out a few of my favorites, but you can click on any picture of the link at the bottom and see the whole set.

The Barn 

Yep, That’s my mom…on a 4-wheeler.

In the old Mulberry Tree. 

King on the Mountain – Steph and Kip “The Wolf Sheltie”

  

Takin’ a 4 Wheeler Ride

Future MLB Pitcher?

  

The Whole Bunch up on King on the Mountain

 

 Ayan Playing with a “Big Truck” @ Mom & Dad’s Alex House

Swingin’ w/ Papaw and Grandma Hamilton

Free Amusement Courtesy of Ayan (and Kip)

If That’s not a Happy Boy…I don’t know what is. 

Ayan loves his Grandma Debra 

 

And his Papaw Darrell

 

Yeah…That’s my family.  Pretty good lookin’ eh?

 

So…does me offering the flower make it okay for me to pick it?

The Windrow of Cedar Trees (one of my favorite shots) 

Outside the Windrow

And that’s Oklahoma Red Dirt

Talkin’ About Stuff w/ Grandma Debra 

The Old Windmill – it’s seen better days

 

See the entire photo set here: