October hike with Laura and Elasta-Girl
Alex and Dave at Assateague Island 
Did someone suggest a hike? Our favorite pasttime with some of our favorite friends.
I love Hamiltopia
For those of you unfamiliar with the name Hamiltopia, it is a name coined for the wonderful down-to-earth intimacy which we share with some most excellent friends from the neighborhood once a week over simple dinners. Each week, a different household hosts dinner. This is not a dinner party where everything is fru-fru and perfect (not that we don't love those, too!), but it's a simple, practical meal meant to feed hungry tummies. Everyone eats dinner--why not do it together, and share the workload?! But we've gotten so much more out of these evenings than just full stomachs. We've enjoyed wonderful moments of silliness, laughter, birthdays, doctrinal discussions (some people might think these "discussions" impassioned enough to be called arguments, but in Hamiltopia, earnestness is not a sign of anger, but of feeling completely at ease with one's friends) , the balm of kinship after a hard day of... fill in the blank. Last year we had weekly dinners with Amy, Jenn, Shelley, Alan and Tina. Many other friends and family have popped in for a week here or there. (Sung Ko, most often) This year, we have enjoyed adding Andy and Jessica Smith to the group. ( All the kids are particularly glad of this because Jessica is the only one of us who, apparently, cooks "normal" food. That is to say, no beans.)
Hamilton + Utopia=Hamiltopia
C
