Every year, our friends get together to show off their carving skills.  This year, we hosted the contest at Hamilton Acres and had a great turnout.  We had about 25 adults and probably 15 kids under the age of 4 (it was pretty wild). 

My fellow OkState friend, John Hix, showed up early to see the Texas/OSU game – which was an awesome game.  And then about 5:00, the serious carvers showed up (mainly David & Lezli Urlacher).  The Urlachers have a medically diagnosed problem – Obsessive Carving Disorder.  We capped the evening off with an awards ceremony, a fire and some s’mores and some excellent hot dogs and dessert.  The pictures are below and the “winners” are listed at the bottom.  Thanks John and David for helping plan it and buying the highly coveted trophies (at a net cost of $2.00).

Oliver Hix being a true fan.

Bree Alene Austin just chillin’

Little Sophie – How cute is that?  (parents look pretty proud huh?)

Caleb Urlacher stealing a Capri Sun 

Dave and Cody

The carving begins.

Maggie Hix - cutest little Pokes fan ever. 

Yes, Evie, cool chicks do wear orange.

First pumpkin finished – Brent & Angie DuPont – “Pumpkin eating a pumpkin eating a pumpkin”

Steph was dead tired at the end of the night.

Jolly Blair

S’mores time.

The 3 Rookies – Lisa, Shelley & Kara

The Livengoods and Lezli & Isaac Urlacher

Jeremy Anderson finishing up the details

The finished pumpkins - see large version here: http://flickr.com/photos/hamiltons2005/2973786066/sizes/l/

More finished pumpkins…see large version here:

http://flickr.com/photos/hamiltons2005/2972936845/sizes/l/

The entire competition! see large version here:

http://flickr.com/photos/hamiltons2005/2973785588/sizes/l/

Meet the carvers.  (left to right)

John Hix, David Urlacher, Blair Austin, Angie, Sophie & Brent DuPont, Jeremy Anderson, Kara Chung, Lisa Meisenheimer & Shelley Reitz

And winners are…

1st – Pumpkin eating a pumpkin eating a pumpkin – The DuPonts – 5th from right (above pic)

2nd – Einstein – David Urlacher – 3rd from the left

3rd – Creepy Skeleton – Lisa Meisenheimer – 2nd from the right

Carvers Choice – American Flag (w/ 51 stars) – John Hix

Scariest – Beetlejuice – Blair Austin – 4th pumpkin from left

Rookie of the Year – Owl on a Pumpkin – Shelley Reitz

Click below to see the whole album:

Alright, so this has been a busy week – I wanted to put up some pics of all the fun we’ve had! A week ago today, we visited the Arboretum again to see all the pumpkins with some of our friends. We love pumpkins!!

Ayan’s best buddy, Ella! He loves this girl!!

We even visited a cute place called Kadee Farms in Greenville last weekend with our friend, Whitney. They have pumpkins, a petting zoo, pony rides, pumpkin rolling races, tree swings, hay rides, and more – it was so much fun! Ayan loved it. Well, maybe not the pony ride – he fussed most of the ride, even though all he could talk about all morning was wanting to “ride, ride, ride!” Have I already said how much I love this time of the year?! It would only be better if we were going to the Razorback game this weekend.

  Ayan sat on his pumpkin when he was supposed to be rolling it across the ground in a race! Ha!

We also went to a costume birthday party this week for Ayan’s buddy, Ben! It was lots of fun for the kids and the parents! Check out the cutest kiddos ever!!

                                                                                      The Power Ranger was the b-day boy!

Now, the following pics may be disturbing for some people…here’s your warning. These were some of the adults from the party!! Ahhhhh!! Clifford, the big red dog, even made an appearance.

So, last night we ended this crazy week by heading to the Nokia theatre in Grand Prairie with Whit and Brian for a concert. We started out at the Ghenghis Grill in Rockwall, which is awesome. Then, we saw Jason Mraz – he puts on a great concert! He had some really talented musicians in his band. It was such a fun date night-thanks to my best friend, who I am lucky to be in love with. Thanks, honey. I love you. And a huge thanks to Lolo for keeping the lil’ man so we could go out! You are the best!!

That’s it for now…sorry to be long-winded.

Love, Steph

and for those of you who should be!!! I love crock pot meals this time of the year! What is better than doing all the work ahead of time, then walking in your house to the smell of beef-vegetable stew, roast and potatoes, chicken and rice, or whatever else?! Mmmmmm-mmmm. 

So, I’m curious to see if anyone likes this post. I love to cook, and I love to try out new recipes. I tried a new recipe this week and loved it, so I thought I’d share it with you. Please let me know if you try it!! Here’s the recipe:

Crockpot Lasagna

        1 lb. uncooked lean ground beef or ground turkey  

       1 small onion, chopped                                                                                                                              

       1 medium garlic clove, minced                                                                                                                    

       28 oz canned crushed tomatoes (I used the Italian kind.)                                                                           

      15 oz canned tomato sauce                                                                                                                          

      1 tsp table salt                                                                                                                                              

      1 tsp dried oregano                                                                                                                                       

      1/2 tsp dried basil                                                                                                                                        

      1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste                                                                                                        

      1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese                                                                                                                    

      1 1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided                                                                        

      6 dry lasagna noodles, uncooked                                                                                                                  

     1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, strong-flavored like Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano

Instructions:

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, onion, garlic, and cook, stirring frequently and breaking up meat. Cook about 5-7 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Then simmer for 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture into a 5-quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture; top with 1/2 of ricotta mixture. Repeat this entire layering again, then finish off the top with the remaining 1/3 of beef mixture.

Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for 4 to 6 hours. Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste, if needed. 

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese (I used a little more cheese here than the recipe calls for!); sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover and set aside until cheese melts and lasagna firms up – about 10 minutes. 

Hints: To boost your vegetable intake, add a can of zucchini in tomato sauce to the meat mixture. You could also add 2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms to the beef mixture.

Just a tip – I cooked mine for just a little over 4 hours, and it was perfect. I felt like it would have overcooked in 6 hours. It would also be an easy recipe to double – there was plenty of room left in my crockpot.

Enjoy!! -Steph

Can you believe it?  Make sure you root loud and proud this Saturday as we take on the Texas Longhorns to make a bid to be the top team in the nation!  The paper has the point spread giving OState 13 points – I’m calling a win by 3.  I hope we’re wavin’ the wheat for 3 solid hours.

I’ll make no excuses for the fact that I love redneck things. I love country music, I love fishin’, I love ridin’ 4 wheelers, I love getting muddy, I love burning things, and I love driving old, junky trucks.

But…nothin’, and I mean nothin’, makes me connect with my redneck side more than a mudbog. And as it just so happens, a mudbog was dug about 3/4 mile west of us on our street, Munson Rd, in Royse City, TX. Our good friends, the Otts, decided to head out to enjoy the beautiful weather, some big trucks and good ole southern rock!

I took some pictures, of course, and thought all my fellow mud-luvin buddies would enjoy these. A few are of people that I thought were noteworthy rednecks. I should have gotten a picture of Jeff Ott – because he is definitely a noteworthy redneck.

Let’s kick things off w/ an authentic mullet – I love mullets.

Apparently, only Chevy’s and Dodge’s broke down – But the Ford prevailed.

3 of the “Big Boys” **Sweet Child of Mine playing in background**

My favorite – The Ultimate Redneck – Big Blue

Broken Smokin’ Chevy

The Bass Pro Camo Shirt – Goes well with anything.

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:

So, we went to MOPS this morning. I am really enjoying this group of ladies. Thanks to Greta for hooking me up with a local group!! And I just had to post congrats for Greta – she’s finally going to Kaz to get her little girl – after a very long journey!!! To God be the glory!!! For those of you who might not know, MOPS is short for “Mothers of Preschoolers.” Although I don’t technically have a preschooler, I still get to be a part. We always have a speaker, some sort of activity, a craft or something like that, and then small group/prayer time.

This morning, we had a speaker who talked about the importance of teaching scripture verses to your children. She gave us some great, practical ideas for how to help them memorize the verses. I wanted to give a little plug for her book, because I’m really excited about it! It’s called, “The Well-Versed Family” by Caroline Boykin. If you’re interested, she also has a website: www.wellversedfamily.com.

She says most kids can start memorizing verses around 2 or 2.5 years old, so I’m gettin’ ready!! We’re not too far from that, which honestly kinda freaks me out. Everybody says that kids grow too fast, and they weren’t kidding. I’ve been thinking about our trip to Kazakhstan a lot lately. I think it’s been on my mind because this time last year, we were preparing to go and waiting anxiously for the phone call to tell us to book our plane tickets!! What an exciting and crazy time that was!! But part of me misses that, and Aaron and I have both been missing our time in Kaz. Anyway, I had to pick out pictures this week for Ayan’s baby dedication on Sunday – or “lil’ man” dedication as my friend called it. He has grown and changed so much from that little baby with green spots from head to toe!! I couldn’t be more thankful for how far the Lord has brought us in just a year. Until another day and another post…

Love, Steph

A buddy of mine sent me a list of quotes for Demetri Martin, a comedian.  Now, Demetri is not always Mr. Clean, but I have selected a few of his edited quotes that are safe for the whole family.

I read these while at work today and literally was laughing so hard that people were coming into my office asking me if I was okay…and it only made me laugh/cry harder and I’m sure I looked like a total fool.  But, it was worth it.

Demetri Martin: I like parties, but I don’t like piñatas because the pinata promotes violence against flamboyant animals. Hey, there’s a donkey with some pizzazz. Let’s kick its butt. What I’m trying to say is, don’t make the same Halloween costume mistake that I did.

Demetri Martin: Employee of the month is a good example of how somebody can be both a winner and a loser at the same time.

Demetri Martin: I wrapped my Christmas presents early this year, but I used the wrong paper. See, the paper I used said ‘Happy Birthday’ on it. I didn’t want to waste it so I just wrote ‘Jesus’ on it.

Demetri Martin: I wonder what the most intelligent thing ever said was that started with the word ‘dude.’ ‘Dude, these are isotopes.’ ‘Dude, we removed your kidney. You’re gonna be fine.’ ‘Dude, I am so stoked to win this Nobel Prize. I just wanna thank Kevin, and Turtle, and all my homies.’

Demetri Martin: ‘Sort of’ is such a harmless thing to say. Sort of. It’s just a filler. Sort of – it doesn’t really mean anything. But after certain things, sort of means everything. Like after ‘I love you’ or ‘You’re going to live.’

Demetri Martin: I got some new pajamas with pockets in ‘em. Which is great, because before that, I used to have to hold stuff when I slept. But now I’m like, ‘Where’s my planner? There it is. “Keep sleeping.” All right, perfect.’

Demetri Martin: I think that when you get dressed in the morning, sometimes you’re really making a decision about your behavior for the day. Like if you put on flipflops, you’re saying: ‘Hope I don’t get chased today.’ ‘Be nice to people in sneakers.’

Demetri Martin: I like clothes, you know. I dig fabrics. One of my favorite clothing patterns is camouflage. Because when you’re in the woods it makes you blend in. But when you’re not it does just the opposite. It’s like, ‘Hey, there’s an weirdo.’ But when you’re in the woods you’re like, ‘Is there an weirdo out here?’ They look like trees.

Demetri Martin: I like to use ‘I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter’ on my toast in the morning, because sometimes when I eat breakfast, I like to be incredulous. How was breakfast? Unbelievable.

Demetri Martin: I like fruit baskets because it gives you the ability to mail someone a piece of fruit without appearing insane. Like, if someone just mailed you an apple you’d be like ‘Huh? What the heck is this?’, but if it’s in a fruit basket you’re like ‘This is nice!.’

Demetri Martin: I feel stupid when I write the word banana. Its like, how many na’s are on this thing? ‘Cause I’m like ‘Bana… keep going. Bananana… dangit.’

Demetri Martin: I was making pancakes the other day and a fly flew into the kitchen. And that’s when I realized that a spatula is a lot like a fly-swatter. And a crushed fly is a lot like a blueberry. And a roommate is a lot like a fly eater.

Demetri Martin: My favorite fruit is grapes. Because with grapes, you always get another chance. ‘Cause, you know, if you have a crappy apple or a peach, you’re stuck with that crappy piece of fruit. But if you have a crappy grape, no problem – just move on to the next. ‘Grapes: The Fruit of Hope.’

Demetri Martin: My plumbing is all screwed up. Because it turns out, I do not own a garbage disposal.

Demetri Martin: A lot of people don’t like bumper stickers. I don’t mind bumper stickers. To me a bumper sticker is a shortcut. It’s like a little sign that says ‘Hey, let’s never hang out.’

Demetri Martin: A drunk driver is very dangerous. So is a drunk backseat driver if he’s persuasive. ‘Dude make a left.’ ‘Those are trees… ‘ ‘Trust me.’

Demetri Martin: About a month ago I got a cactus. A week later, it died. I was really depressed because I was like ‘Dang! I am less nurturing than a desert.’
[Ladies, that's not true]

Demetri Martin: I noticed that there are no B batteries. I think that’s to avoid confusion, cause if there were you wouldn’t know if someone was stuttering. ‘Yes, hello I’d like some b-batteries.’ ‘What kind?’ ‘B-batteries.’ ‘What kind?’ ‘B-batteries!’ and D-batteries that’s hard for foreigners. ‘Yes, I would like de batteries.’

Demetri Martin: One of my friends has a stutter and a lot of people think that’s a bad thing, but to me that’s just like starting certain words with a drum roll. That’s not an impediment, that’s suspense! What’s he going to say? Car?… or Carnival?… Carburetor? Man…

Demetri Martin: I like sports; I like professional football. I like to get to the stadium and see the games live, you know. And I paint my chest before I leave the house. But I don’t have many friends, you know, so I usually just do punctuation and tack on a group already in progress. But sometimes it works out kind of weird because we ended up on TV one time and it said ‘JETS?’

Demetri Martin: I think it’s interesting that ‘cologne’ rhymes with ‘alone.’

Demetri Martin: I wanna make a jigsaw puzzle that’s 40,000 pieces. And when you finish it, it says ‘go outside.’

Demetri Martin: If I have to move up in a building, I choose the elevator over the escalator. Because one time I was riding the escalator and I tripped. I fell down the stairs for an hour and a half.

Demetri Martin: If you want to make a mythical creature, just take a regular animal and add wings to it. A horse becomes a pegasus, a lion becomes a griffin, and a hawk… becomes a double hawk.
[cue card of bird with 4 wings saying 'I'm awkward']

Demetri Martin: When you have a fat friend there are no see-saws, only catapults.

Demetri Martin: I keep a lighter in my back pocket all the time. I’m not a smoker, I just really like certain songs.

Demetri Martin: I was at a party, and I saw a guy with a leather jacket, and I thought, ‘That’s cool’. Then I saw a guy with a leather vest and I thought, ‘That’s not cool’. It was then that I realized what coolness is all about… leather sleeves.
[turns page on drawing pad to reveal the phrase "I OWN LEATHER SLEEVES."]

Well, okay, as a daddy…you want your boy to do manly things.  Things such as digging, throwing rocks, watchin football, smashin’ cars…etc.  Things that Ayan is very good at.  But, this past Friday, we went over to the Sutton’s house for a Tacos and Smores (an all American combo) and Ayan departed from his man-ways.

You see…Ella is a girl, a very girly girl.  She loves dolls, pink, horses, but she loves dressing up most of all.  She desperately wanted Ayan to take part in this girly tradition and Ayan didn’t want to dissapoint his best friend.  Dad was amused, but not “comfortable” with the outcome.  The outcome you ask?  Here ya go…

Ladies and Gents…the Kazakh Man Princess

Keeping with the girly theme on the pink trike…

Playing flashlight tag on a blanket in the yard…

Ella breakin’ down a serious dance…I mean serious (that’s little baby Olivia in the background)

Scott – Maker of Much Smoke (that’s his Cherokee name)

Ella learns the art of flaming marshmallows and the goodness that follows.

 The big payoff (note the well-themed T-shirt)

 Ella is rockin’ that s’mores world.

 You can see the whole album at our flickr page – just click the pic below:

2 kittens!! We picked them up yesterday, with the much-needed help of my friend, Amanda -thanks so much!! You see, I didn’t know how to even tell if a kitten is a boy or girl. And considering that I don’t want a million kittens around here, I wanted to make sure and bring home boys! So, here they are:

This one is a little bitty fur-ball and has bright blue eyes – you can’t really tell from the picture. Anyway, so his name is Frank Sinatra – for short, Frankie. 

Now, you can see the other one – he’s a little bigger and so sweet. He just purrs and jumps up in your lap to love on you. I wanted to call him Punkin, but Aaron vetoed that real quick. Aaron isn’t really a huge fan of cats, so I am not supposed to be getting attached – yeah right – and we actually got the cats to deal with our mouse problem. Hamilton acres is great but seems be crawling with mice this year. So, Aaron says the kittens have to be named Killer or something like that and trained in the ways of Jeddi mice-killers. Ha! 

Ayan loves the kitties – he just calls them “meow-meows.” Poor things – he picks them up and carries them everywhere, dropping them along the way of course. I’m hoping this helps him with learning to be gentle. He cries when we have to leave them outside and come back in. Oh, and we have to tell them night-night before he’ll go to bed. It’s pretty cute.

What’s funny about all this is that after I had arranged to get these other kittens, a cat I’ve never seen before had 6 kittens in our barn! So, the plan is to give them away. They are cute though, and Ayan makes me go to the barn almost everyday to see the babies and play with them.

So, those of you that have kept up with our blog know a couple things…first, we’ve been horrible about updating it and second, that Aaron has been the main blogger. Well, I guess it’s my turn to give this a try, now that we have our new site and everything. I’ll also try to be better at updating it with the best moments of our life around here. Leave us your comments-I love hearing them! As for the next addition to the Hamilton acres…I’m hoping for chickens…I’d love an alpaca, but I’m more hopeful for chickens. Stay tuned in…

Love, Steph

Okay…so, as a O-State fan, winning is a treat.  We aren’t always consistent with our wins, but it makes for a lean, no bandwagon fan base.  So, as I sat and watched Oklahoma State play solid, all-game-long football, I thought to myself “This can’t be happening!  These are not my cowboys!  Something’s gotta give!”.  But…in the end…they played smart, played big, and won against the NO. 4 team in the nation.  All that to say – GO POKES!

I can’t wait for Monday morning to see if we bust into the top 10.  And for the Arkansas fans out there, congrats on the BIG win against Auburn.  UPDATE:  Looks like we are NO. 8!  Incredible!

There is alot of football left to play this season – but if we beat Texas or OU (preferably the latter) I’ll be the happiest Okie in Texas.

Saturday was the birthday party for Evie & Maggie Hix and the theme was Pirates & Princesses.  Steph, being a budget mom, threw together a pirate costume out of some discount fabric and a little creativity.  Ayan wasn’t wild about the eye patch or the head band so we had to be crazy fast with the camera.  

The party was alot of fun…John went all out and made a huge castle and decorated the playground as a pirate ship.  There were several families there, the Urlachers, the Sanchez’s, the Scheuzers, the Easterlings, and fun was had by all playing on the playground and getting tattoos.  Ayan is starting to really enjoy playing with other kids and doing things “together” so events like this are great for him.

Hey, welcome to the new site!  We had a few “hiccups” with our old domain and so now we are permanently relocated with a more streamlined site where we’ll post pics, videos, and blog entries from everyday life on Hamilton Acres.

Welcome….and don’t forget to say hi! (comment)

We have most (a few missing links) of the old blog posts saved on the new site. Theses posts include all our old Kazakhstan posts and everything up until this week. If you wanna see them, use the link at the top of this page or click:

Old Blog