Da' Shore - 2

Moving on to the next age group, here are the inseparable cousins - AnaGrace on the left and Rachel on the right.


Beach shot of AnaGrace complete with sandy nose!


and Rachel posing..

This is as close to the ocean as either of them wanted to get! Notice, the chairs are barely in the wet sand!!


Most of their time was spent in their own "portable ocean" which the daddies and the uncle faithfully filled with ocean water each day at the beach.


C'mon - ya' just gotta smile at that face!!!


Windblown look...

The two girls were pretty much inseparable for the whole week. We were very pleased that there were really no "crises" to speak of. They played sooooo well together. It was a really memorable week watching them relate. BFF???


Days did come to a close and bedtime did come around, much to the pleasure of the parents!! Now, just how much time do you think it took these two to go to sleep in the room, by themselves in the trundle beds? We peeked in a few times and it was "sleepover" stuff each night! Talking and laughing. What a blessing!!

Da' Shore!

Once again we were blessed with being able to have the entire family go with us to the OBX. We have rented the same house now for 5 years! Doesn't seem possible! We now total 13, but still fit in the house. We might be able to do it for maybe another 3??

We have hundreds of pics between the four families but I won't bore you with all of them. I will "launch" a couple of blogs and try to use Jill's little trick to make you think I am furiously blogging every couple of days!

First, our newest Beach Babe!! Naomi Kelly Hamilton!


Several "firsts" occurred this year. I will pull that thread as we go through the "summer blogs". This was Naomi's first solid meal. She loved it! Yep, she's a Hamilton!!!


Mommy and her baby...(with Aunt Kelly providing the smiles)


Daddy and his little girl, now in the minority 3 to1.


She looks good "beachin' it"!!


This was an incredibly touching few moments I got with Naomi as she slept in my arms by the pool.

It's Been a While!

It's Labor Day already! Last blog was June and now its September. Guess I'm more of a quarterly blogger.
Marlene and I are enjoying a VERY quiet day and I thought I might just get out some pics of our summer for y'all.
We'll begin with this blog of our enjoyable 4th of July with Ben, Jill, Rachel and Naomi. We had the privilege of having GREAT parking (thank you Scott) and great seats (thank you Ben) for the fireworks.


This is the view Ben took us to looking across the Tidal Basin. We were close to the FDR memorial which I had never seen. That was a great experience and probably the nicest of the "other" memorials (not including, like, Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington).


Pretty cool shot as nightfall came. Next time, I'll have my tripod! There is a little shake in some of these.

The rest are pretty obvious. Enjoy!

The Third Doctor Hamilton

We were blessed the weekend of the 9th with the opportunity to attend the second doctoral graduation for our family! Ben's was two summers ago in Florida where he received his D.Ed. We were honored to have him invite us to Nova University outside of Fort Lauderdale for that event. Now, his brother has once again copied him (a standing joke) and obtained his doctorate, a D.D.S. The Bennetts were able to go up to which was a BIG help since we also had to pack Joel and Anna'a house. Graduation was Saturday and the move was after church on Sunday.

I have no idea what was so funny for all of these graduates. They do seem to be looking at ME, though!



The face of a woman ready to leave Buffalo!!!!
This one is titled "I have a tee time on Monday at 9AM. You're have a patient. Enjoy!"





Joel and Anna's house. The Lord so richly blessed us with this little house in SO many ways! He is ever faithful!!


Ready to take the bull by the horns! Oh, sorry. Ready to take the buffalo by the horns. (Just doesn't sound the same!)

Joel, you just graduated dental school! How does that feel?




Joel, you now get to work with your father! How does that feel?

The NEW Dr. Hamilton

Allow us to introduce the "new" Dr. Hamilton!! Though we were not blogging at the time, Marlene and I were honored to accompany Rachel, Jill and Ben ( and Naomi!) to Florida to witness his hooding at Nova Southeastern University. We were so proud to see him receive the fruit of several years of labor as he had conferred upon him a Doctor of Education - an Ed.D. How faithful our God has been and we give him the praise for enabling Benjamin to become the second doctor in the family.

Of course, we begin with the mandatory grandchild pic!

As Ben made the arrangements for our vehicle, Rachel discovered escalators with Pah-pah! Up and down, up and down. Fascinating - and hard on Pah-pah's back!



When we got to the hotel, there was a very nice pool that the family enjoyed. It was pretty well just our pool since it was in the evening.


Before bed, we had to have a little "ham" session so her dad didn't get the idea he was the center of attention!


I might be mistaken, but I believe this is Benjamin during his hooding. The stadium was large and I think it was the Florida Panthers stadium, but Ben will correct me below in the comments, I am sure.



Now this one I KNOW is him!!!


Marlene and I weren't the only ones proud of Ben. He did have a couple other admirers!!!



The doctor and his ladies.

And the proud parents


This one could be titled "Look, Dad! And you said I couldn't make a living doing sim games. What do you think now???"


Benjamin David Hamilton, Ed.D.


A future Doctor? Rachel Kirsten Hamilton, D.C. (Doctor of Cute-ology)

We're Back!!

I know you all have been checking this blog on a daily if not hourly basis, patiently awaiting more golden nuts from the nest.

Well, fear not, O' weary one, your wait is over!

We recently made what we are hoping is our last pilgrimage up through the valleys of Route 15! I have been traveling this route since first beginning Susque Camp in my early teens, followed by my own adventures through Williamsport on old 15 in the late 60's and early 70's which were then succeeded by a daughter's trips to Keuka and two sons up to Houghton and finally the last trips up to Buffalo. We will be making the final voyage back down 15 Sunday. I plan on calling PennDot and informing them that they are now free to finally finish the "99 Corridor" since we will have no more use for it - until the grandchildren start another round!

So today we awoke in Buffalo to a pretty yucky day - rain, overcast, drizzle, etc. While in the shower this morning, I was thinking of what we could do on a rainy day. Suddenly, something hit me that I have wanted to do since my very first visit to Niagara Falls when only 9 or 10. In spite of close to twenty visits to the falls, I have never been on the Maid of the Mist! As long as you are going to get drenched, why not on a rainy day?

As it turned out, the day broke as we were traveling to the falls and turned out absolutely perfect! The crowds were down form the foreboding weather but it was great for the boat trip.

First, we need to share the requisite dorky raingear pics. You will observe they increase in dorkiness beginning with a pretty natural shot of Anna

Followed by her venerable spouse

Then mom as you have never seen her before!



and bringing up the rear, me in full OSHA personal protective equipment and approved gown and headgear apparel ( I opted out of the "substantial" thin blue fly away ponchos).


The view from the river was nothing short of incredible! I have always been awed by the majesty and power of God's creation here but this gave me an entirely new perspective. It really was an unforgettable experience.

Our approach to the American Falls


The American Falls with the Bridal's veil on the right.


A more panoramic shot of the American Falls.


"Maid of the Mist" is a terrible misnomer! I would rename it "Maid of the Hurricane Force Winds and Monsoon Deluge". (MHFWMD for you, Ben and Jill) IT WAS WET! This is the best shot through the drenching. That is the corner of the Horseshoe Falls, Canadian side. Right below the flag is the spot I most remember as a young boy, standing at the railing and watching the massive amount of water roar over the rocky edge.


Oh, and yes, that's Anna "getting into the shot" in the lower right!

After the trip,

From the observation deck

And, finally, it is ever so good to see the four symbols of all our nations stand for:

The Flag of the United States of America
The Flag of the Nation of Canada
The Flag of the Great State of New York
The everpresent monuments to our DOT's!!!