Announcing ... the Stash

I am dipping my toe into the Fantasy Football waters for the first time. It seemed like a great idea last winter, when I was envisioning all the trash-talking between me, my sister Heather, and all the other friends/extended family they've managed to sucker in. The prospect of actually having to draft a team didn't really enter into the daydreams. Even now the draft is taking a back seat to the most important job: Naming the team. By my calculations, a good chunk of the people in this league are cooler than I am, so the pressure is on. Thankfully, the spousal unit is a former fantasy player, and even though he considers himself above actual participation these days, he was willing to consult on the team name.

So ... drumroll please ... Team Hamilton has been christened Ricky Williams' Stash. (Can you tell we're in Longhorn mode? Season opener is 55 minutes away and counting.)

Why does this merit a blog entry? Primarily because I need a web address to reference for my new team logo. (ESPN won't let me upload it directly.) So here it is:


Go Stash!

Happy Belated Birthday, Part 1

Lauren and Maddie celebrated their fifth birthday in style with a party at Extreme Bounce Zone and a visit from their grandparents. Two months ago. Clearly certain former newspaper employees have forgotten a few things about news value and deadlines.

The celebrations began a little early with a visit from Auntie Julie and Uncle Colin the weekend beforehand. The brand new backpacks spawned a brand new hobby.


Then Lauren decided that she was the greatest gift of all:


And when one twin creates a bandwagon, the other is quick to jump on:


(Uncle Colin is smiling, but inside he may be wondering whether it is actually necessary to visit one's in-laws):

Festivities on the day included the Extreme Bounce party, attended by friends from our neighborhood and their preschool.


(Tire yourselves out. Please.):

They still had enough energy and enthusiasm afterward to tackle their presents. No surprise there.


Modeling M&M shirts given by Auntie Heather and Uncle Kevin while pretending to surf on kickboards received from a party guest:


Scooters from Grammie and Grump were a big favorite:

Summer Catch-Up

At the beginning of every summer, I wonder how we are going to fill the time. Especially with three children who are known to put pants on their heads and audition for Iron Chef when they have free moments. June, July, and August begin to look like a great, yawning void our beloved offspring can easily fill with misadventure.

That hasn't been a problem this year. We've been surprisingly busy, and now we're approaching the last full week of the summer and I've barely had time to look at the pictures we've taken, much less organize or post them anywhere.

So here are a few highlight pictures:

Last day of school (yes, we're that far behind).


Lauren found an old favor from a party Leah attended at Libby Lu a while back and gave herself a makeover.


Lauren and Maddie and Aislinn raced each other in the cul-de-sac in front of Aislinn's house. (I hope some of their neighbors aren't too particular about their lawns.)


Aislinn looks like she's white-knuckling it a little bit. Maybe she regrets letting Maddie take the wheel.


Leah had five baby teeth extracted at the end of July to make room for some permanent ones. It seems she has a small mouth. They don't say that too often about the women in our family. Here she is the evening after, doing her impression of Cletus from The Simpsons.


And here she is modeling her Little Miss Trouble shirt, sent by Grump, who clearly knows his granddaughter well.

Summer exposure to (and by) the arts

Lauren and Maddie have a new hobby: photography. Thanks to digital cameras, what kid would not be drawn to taking pictures? They get instant gratification from the LCD display on the back of our camera. We were given a one-time-use camera not long ago and the girls wondered aloud where the screen was.

In Hamilton fashion, Lauren and Maddie drew their inspiration from an unusual source: the reflective strip on their new backpacks. The monogrammed backpacks were a birthday gift from Auntie Julie and Uncle Colin, intended to generate excitement for kindergarten. Mission accomplished -- generally if a gift comes in their favorite colors and personalized, it is a guaranteed home run.


Uncle Colin -- who has probably stolen the Inspector Gadget nickname from Mike -- was especially excited about the reflective strip on the back of each backpack. Once they saw their picture, Lauren and Maddie were excited about it too, because of the glow they added to the picture. Thus, a hobby was born.

Their early work was a study in reflective strips (these are but two of a series):


Then they decided to expand their horizons to include:

• Indulgent grandparents

• Household pets

• A before and after study on the effects of small children on their parents

• Old boxer shorts

• And, thanks to their pioneering shoot-without-looking technique, a lot of shots of elbows, knees, stomachs, chests, and posteriors that (thanks again to the digital era) are already consigned to the recycle bin and are therefore unavailable for exhibit.