There's no excuse for me!

I have no idea why I havent posted anything in so long. I think I will blame it on Facebook! I need to blog more often so I can record the crazy life I have. I'm not sure is anybody cares, but for prosperity's sake, I will post more often!!!!! I am going to try to post every day to get ya all caught up. Sooooooo..............

In January, James was off work and did this:

He took claire fishing with him and she outfished him by 5 to 1! It was crazy. And all on a 2 foot barbie pole!

In February, it was Valentines day and claire and I made all the valentines by hand. When I say we, I mean me. They were cute little heart boxes. It was cold and rainy. Thats all I remember.

In March, a foal was born at grammies ranch. It was so cute and scrawny! We also got a new bird Bonnie! She is Busters new wife. She still hates him. Poor Buster.

This is all for now I will post more tomorrow!

Christmas Letter 2009

Well, to save paper this year I decided to put the christmas letter on our blog.


Here goes!



Jack - is very tall for our family, well over 6ft. He loves afro hair styles, ipods, and videogames. He is very interested in WWII and loves to shoot the 1944 MK4 I .303 rifle his great grandfather gave him. He is dedicated to sleeping and sometimes wrestling. There is a very sharp mind beneath a gruff teenage ego.


Claire - This four year old girl keeps us very busy! She loves preschool and has made quite a few friends. She always starts games and is basically the ring leader in most group settings. The other day she had made a hopscotch grid with chalk at school. She put numbers in and everything! Yesterday when I went to pick her up, there were hopscotch grids everywhere! She had taught all the kids how to do it! She loves our pets who sometimes dont always love her back. Buster loves her but is wary because she moves too fast and has been known to be a little rough with him. He likes to bites her on the cheek! He doesn't do it hard, just enough to let her know he is not happy with her. Then he turns around and gives her a kiss. We think he thinks he is the older brother. Claire also likes to be Jacks keeper! She tattles on him in everything that he does! Good or bad. I think Jack needs to learn patience, because she likes to push his buttons (better his than mine!!) Claire is very smart. I know all parents think this. but I think that since she is a girl she is more advanced than the boys were at this age. She is reading some words and tries to sound out everything she sees. She is also very girly! She wants to wear dresses everyday and tries to put on makeup. The other day she came down smelling very fragrant. She had put purfume on to smell good for preschool! I dont know what I am going to do when she is 12!! Im scared!



Tyler is a senior in highschool. He is very active in sports. Wrestling is his favorite but he does track and cross country to stay in shape. This summer he worked out almost every day! He is very disciplined and dedicated to his sport. He could be more dedicated to grades but he has senioritus. He also has been working on (with dads help) a 280Z that was given to him.



Dad is using his new found time (due to unemployment) to scout local talent for a malitia. Please read our Constitution to your children. They are not learning it in school.

Michelle is busy as usual. I pretty much just take care of things and then hopefully have time at the end at the day to blog hop or craft something. Im still cleaning houses and 1 business.

Check for updates on the hamilton fam! I am hoping to update at least weekly!

We hope that this season brings you happiness and joy. We are thankful for our friends and family and the support and love we have been given in these last few months.

Take time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.

Love to all!

James, Michelle, Tyler, Jack and Claire

Rascal Flatts!!

The girls and I had a fabulous time at the last concert at Konocti.

We danced and sang along. It was lots of fun. Darius Rucker was awesome!

He sang purple rain as his last song. I told my friends they were all babies because they didn't know it! I knew if from the first note! It was pretty funny!

New Moon t-shirt help

Do you like my new little gadget over there?? I am excited for the movie. I am making shirts for all the girls and I need some input.
Do you like:

imprinted*

*a wolfs paw here

or I have a swan/black motorcycle emblem that looks way cool (its on the other computer that crashed. I hope I get it back!)

Real men sparkle

my boyfriend lives in forks

stupid lamb

I also have edwards face.

what do you think?

Center of the universe

We took this picture in Wallace, Idaho this summer. I took it with my cell phone so the quality is horrible. But let me tell you the story. This is only day 8 of our vacation (we were gone 2 weeks). This was the saturday of the wedding and claire had HAD IT! We (about 15 of us) had all gone to lunch at the pizza place and were walking around town. She was seriously ticked that we crossed the street. That is what set her off. James and I decided to take her for a drive to get her to sleep. Remember this is the day of the wedding, she NEEDED a nap. So we were walking back to the van and I made james stand under the Center of the Universe sign. She was hard to hold kicking and screaming! Yes, my daughter is what the sign says. Is there any hope for a peaceful, sweet, gentle little girl? She must need all this spunk for something great when she is grown. And did she get a nap? You bet. But only after driving 10 miles up Burke road at 25 miles an hour! She finally fell asleep on the way back. And she slept for about 3 hours!

Provocrafts 100th Cricut Cartridge Celebration

Provocraft is celebrating it’s 100th cartridge “Winter Woodland” with a great giveaway.
They are giving away 100 Winter Woodland cartridges over the next 5 weeks, 20 cartridges each week. All you have to do is search for the topic on their message boards and then post underneath it search for 100th cartridge it should come right up. Then you can enter again by posting on your blog about the giveaway.
Here is a link to the product “Winter Woodland” so you can see it:
http://www.cricut.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=361&s=1&sc=2

Here is a link to the actual forum post as well for this week to get you started:
http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=5248058&mpage=1
Good Luck !

I am only posting this so I can win one! Wish me luck!~

Helicopter pics

Vacation Update

This a view from a Helicopter the boys got to ride in. Very happy teenage boys!!



Donkeys on the side of the road in Custer state park. Claire wanted to take this baby home and carry it on her lap the whole way! It was so soft and cute!

This is day 10 of our vacation. We have had a great time so far. We first drove up to bend, Or. Thats the halfway point to Wallace Id. We got there early enough to see a movie and go to dinner. We saw G-Force. Wait for the video to come out. We should have!

Then we got up at 5 am drove the rest of the way. Wallace is a great place to vacation. We spent time on the river (my fav place to be) and hung out with family. Most of the bunch was there for Heathers wedding. We left Wallace on Sunday afternoon to head to James' Aunt Susans in S Dakota. Its a long way!!! We didnt get here till monday afternoon. Today we went to Mr Rushmore and drove all over the place. It was a nice day!

Buster and Eliza, the pet story

Claire is an animal lover. Everyday she asks her daddy for a kitten, or a puppy, or a cat. EVERYDAY!! We did have two little chicks for a while. They are living the good life on grammies ranch. We have always liked birds. We had a conure we rescued. Her name was Sara. We had to give her to a good home because she tried to bite baby claire. (newborn baby claire!!) She had some jealousy issues! James did some research on pet birds that weren't so needy and he found the derbyan parakeet. We bought one and named him Sammy. Unfortunatly he caught a breeze while james had him on his shoulder in the garage and flew away. He was just a baby. We searched for months for him.

Three years later: We are ready to try the birds again. So we bought a moustache parakeet (a smaller version of the derbyan) and claire named him Buster. He is the sweetest bird! He loves claire and I the best and screams just like her. He is starting to talk and says "step up, buster, kimme a kiss, amen and he laughs like james and makes coughing and sneezing sounds. Its hilarious.

Claire was not as happy with the bird as we thought she would be. I guess he is not that huggable! So she relented with the kitten pleading. So James and I decided to go the guinea pig route. We have had them before when the boys were little and know that they love to be held and manhandled. So now we have Eliza. James named her after liza minelli. (cuz if the black hair-do)

So this is our pet story. Oh we have fish too, but those are cold and slimy (according to claire!)

No rest for the weary

Well, I took claire for a walk tonight. We were gone an hour. In the time we were gone, james got a phone call and now we both have to give talks in two weeks!!! There goes my free time! I wish I didn't have to sleep :)

im obsessed

I started something I shouldn't have. I found this new way to decorate anything with fabric paint. Using my cricut of course. This is not good people.

More Trek Pics

Pretty girl, Jack and Joe

Tyler, Jason and ?

Jack on the right surrounded by girls

Hi All. This is the link to the blog that our photographer took. She walked with us the whole way!

I hope you enjoy!

http://www.ukiahtrek.blogspot.com/

There is hope!!

For the future, that is.

We just spent four days with the best bunch of kids I have ever met! These kids will be spiritual giants when they grow up. We were very blessed to have had them as our family for those four days.

The trek was HARD. Hard for us old folk that had to sleep on the ground. That was the only bad part. The stake leaders really put alot of effort into putting this on. You would have to experience it to get just a taste of what our handcart pioneer ancestors endured. It gave me a new appreciation of the women in that era. They had it rough. I appreciate my bed alot more too! Email me if you want a play by play. mssshel@yahoo.com

On to the pictures

This is a toad hopping contest. These are things the kids back then did! Ewwww.

This is the final day. I didnt take picture of the first 2 days. Our camera is a big clumsy one. I need a little one!

Those are my kids!

Arent they a handsome bunch!

This is where we spent Sunday. It was very beautiful

Ma and Pa Hamilton. It was funny, by the second day, all of our group answered to "Hamilton!"

Ma and Pa Leese. (James parents) I think neither of us would have survived if we didn't have each other. Us women have to stick together!

All in all it was a wonderful experience. I am very glad to have gone and feel the spirit. The youth in our stake are awesome! They made it worthwhile. They strenghthened me and my testimony. There is hope for our future!

We are Trekkies

And I dont mean the starship kind. James and I, along with the boys, are going on a re-enactment of the Mormon handcart pioneers.

Let me explain.

The youth in our church get to experience the hardships and the blessings that our brave pioneer ancestors did. There are about 80 youth in our stake going. The stake puts this on every three or four years. It is a huge undertaking! James and I were lucky enough to be chosen to be a Ma and Pa. (Did I say lucky???) We will be in charge of 8 or 9 14 to 18 year olds for the next 4 days. These kids will be our family. It is my hope that they will come away from this experience with greater faith in the gospel and in themselves.

I will post with pictures on tuesday! Wish us luck!!

Directions for post it note holders

This is where I found the instructions.

http://dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com/dawns_stampin_studio/2008/05/post-it-note-pe.html

the base size is 7 3/8" X 3 1/4
You score it at 3 1/8, 3 1/2 & 3 7/8

Dawn shows how to fold it on her blog.

I made a cut file with my design studio and my cricut. I was able to fit 3 on one 12 x 12 cardstock. If you have a cricut and DS, I can email you the cut file. This way goes so much faster and you can spend more time decorating them! Have fun!

What I have been up to

I haven't posted in a while. Here are my reasons

1. I have been working cleaning other peoples houses

2. and Not cleaning mine.

3. Claire is almost 4 and I am her only playmate when we are home together. So we play.

Picture above is park time!

4. I can never remember to take pictures let alone get them off my camera and onto the computer!

5. I use what little time I get to myself to create these.

Another stationary box

Word books. Any Requests?

Post-it note holders. These are way fun and fast to make. Like doing a 3 inch square scrapbook page. I give these to teachers and our primary people on their b-day. You can make 3 from one 12in paper. I have the directions if anybody wants them. I just have to find little pens to go in the slot on the left.

And finally, My dear Mother in law likes to keep me busy too. I made the bouquet for her Relief Society birthday dinner. This white one goes on the desert table. I also made 8 (yes that is an eight) blue and yellow bouquets for the tables. They are at the church so I will try to remember to take my camera with me tonight.

So that is what I have been up to these last few weeks. I am glad for spring and the nice weather it brings. My next big project is Claire's 4th birthday party.

Happy Spring!

Claire-isms

"These french fries almost taste like potatoes"

In which I replied "They are made of potatoes, silly! Claire was adamant that they were NOT made of potatoes. So I ask "Well, what are they made up of then??

"Potato Powder" was her reply.

stationary box

I made this yesterday for a birthday gift. Unfortunatly Claire was sick with the flu and lucky for me I had to cancel all my runnings around and got to stay home all day! So I didn't have to clean houses, take claire to school, babysit, (sorry Marinda!) or go to the grocery store.

Claire is feeling better today but she is still missing school. So all we have to do is grocery shop.

Gotta love those sick days!

Claire's first day of preschool!!

Claire's teacher, Miss Julie.

Yayyy! My little baby is now a big girl. Funny how this time around, I wasn't sad at all. Claire is way too smart to stay at home with her momma all day! She was so ready to go! Claire has learned so much already in the two weeks that she has been there. She sees words wherever we go and is counting everything! Accurately I might add.

I still have to post about Tylers Eagle scout project. I am waiting for pictures.

Merry Christmas!

Hello everybody! This is the Christmas letter this year! Our computer crashed and burned last week, so this is something I can do from any computer. So I sit here at my mother-in-laws house typing while Claire is playing ponies. Not a bad thing. Grandma's house is great! I havent heard hide nor hair out of the child!

So this is what is going on in the Hamilton household.

James is busy as usual! He got fired from his job at Calistoga Mineral water along with the whole entire plant. (about 150 people) The next week he was rehired along with 22 others.. That was a huge blessing! James is very busy with scouts as he is still the scoutmaster for the boys' troop. Plus he is the Young mens president! We are building a wall in our downstairs den so that Tyler can have his own room. There is sheetrock dust everywhere! James finally put his GTO in the garage so that is his next big project.

I am very busy as usual. I started my own house cleaning business for extra money. I have a total of 10 clients that I clean for. 2 are every week and the rest are every other. It is nice because it is 3-4 hours a day and and I set my own hours. Claire goes to a friends house to play and I listen to my ipod and get a great workout. My only problem is that my house is neglected. When I do have a little bit of free tme, cleaning is the LAST thing I want to do, so I do crafts and scrapbooking and fun stuff like that. I have loved making my christmas presents this year. I will post them after Christmas so certain people wont see them!

Tyler is a Junior this year. He is busy with seminary, school and wrestling. He got first place for his weight at his last meet. He is almost finished with his eagle scout project. He is landscaping a preschool in Middletown. This is happenng tomorrow (Sat the 20th). I will post pics when that is done. Tyler is working on his driving permit. As much as I am not ready to have him driving, I am so looking forward to not having to drag claire out the door at 6:30 every morning!

Jack is back at school this year. He is a freshman. (last year I homeschooled him) He is very glad to be back to his friends although most of them are girls! He is wrestling too and loves it. Tyler is not too keen on him being there but I think he likes to see Jack pinned! They like to wrestle at home. We move all the furniture out of the way and they always gang up on dad. Claire likes to join the fun too!

Speaking of Claire, She is the smartest, cutest, oneriest kid I have ever seen! She likes to be the mommy and yell at the boys. It is quite funny to hear. I hope I don't sound like that!! Claire loves my little ponies. She makes this horsey noise that goes right to your brain. Kinda like fingernails on a chalkboard. She loves to help me in the kitchen. If I am in a hurry, which is often, I have to be real quiet or in comes the chair and "mommy! I want to help!" Her favorite is making bread. She eats so much of the dough that I am afraid that her stomach will explode!

I hope this year finds you happy and well!