through white and drifted snow

over the river & through the woods,
to grandmother's house we go!
but watch out because the wolf might just be waiting in grandmother's front yard.

& might just eat you.

what a brave little red riding hood!

snow days

SO excited to go feed the ducks & play by the falls AND to be forward facing in the car!!

in her "idaho stroller".

we all took turns whipping her around. uncle zach went fast enough to make her squeal!

it was really pretty out by the temple.

we've also spent some time out in the backyard. packing snowballs, shoveling, sledding, making snow angels, & flying off jumps. there's a ton of room to run around.the jellybean was deadly serious out in the cold. every once in a while we'd get a happy squeal but mainly it was a zoning out, straight laced, staunch sack of potatoes that we didn't recognize. it was actually pretty funny. heeelllloooooooo?!

how we have missed the snow!

baby's 1st christmas

we're having quite the festive time in IF for the holidays...

ellery's has a few new tricks but a particularly strange one is lifting austin's shirt & giving him raspberries. that or picking imaginary lint out of his belly button and handing it to the person behind her...

trying to take her tights off before church. yes before, not after. i love this.

eating like kings, more new toys than elle has ever seen in her life, beatles rockband, wii fit, climbing stairs like a mad woman, talking to elder logan, dancing, singing, snowboarding, gyming, talking about baby jesus, & waiting for mr. claus. & seeing snowfall for the first time...

merry christmas to you!

missing her girls

how cute are they?! ellers is being spoiled rotten here in ID & having so much fun but she wants to play 'mommy' with her cousins & misses them. love you girlies!!!

disney!

i've been stressed about packing for our winter vaca. we're gone for quite literally a month & taking along car seats, snowboards, laptops, presents, etc.

but we're going to DISNEY!!!!

... drive.

in idaho.

so to limit my anxiety i remembered this little gem!

after i purchase this (can we say christmas list?!) my life will simplify in ways i can only dream of!!! heck, let's buy in bulk & open a daycare!

ps. i would pay substantial bucks to see this shoved under someone's desk at work...

all the leaves are brown

fall is coming to a close.


& i love winter, don't get me wrong, but there's just something about this time of year.

i know i will get another autumn next year. but i'm still sad to see it go.

trying to redeem yourself, universe?!

it has been insane as of late & i am trying to keep my head afloat. i'll tell ya, i'm not doing a great job. haha. my to do list makes me nauseous. so until the baby wakes up, i'm blogging.

go ahead. judge me.

we went to the a hockey game with some of austin's work buddies. this chap is a hockey virtuoso himself & we prodded him the whole game with questions too embarrassing to repeat. i distinctly remember commenting on how he has a smashing good set of teeth for a hockey player.

which made me cringe all the more when austin showed me a picture of his teeth a few days later, um... shattered & looking like a hockey players. poor mike!

the jellybean did great, dancing & yelling with the crowd, until it was double overtime in a shootout & an hour past bedtime. then she was ready to go.

we're number one!

a clueless sharks fan is still a sharks fan.

we've had bad bad luck lately. our tv died (it's 3 yrs old), ike has a grand worth of boo-boos, really a whole mess of crap, & i've been super bitter about it all. really. you can just ask.

but then my mr. stone called with this tidbit: he got into stanford for grad school. & i am proud. & feeling less bitter at the universe.

the city by the bay

on saturday we trekked up to san francisco for a beautiful day in the city. we spent the morning at the california academy of sciences in golden gate park with bopi, michael, kira, jonathan, mama dollar & papa dollar (name that movie). it has a "living roof" with grass, sprawling hills, & solar panels. that was my favorite. we also caught a shot of ellery trying her darnedest to leap over the railing & swim with the sting rays. good grip aust.


it's a huge, really impressive building with a natural history museum, planetarium, & 4 story rainforest. austin & i have admired it from afar but would have to skip some meals to pay for it. seriously. thanks dad!!!

in the basement of the museum they have a great aquarium. it was extraordinary! elles was beyond obsessed with all the fish. she squealed & trotted alongside the tanks, following the animals & telling us all about it. seriously she was adorable. even when i videoed her & confused a pakistani teenager for austin, "c'mon! say hi daddy!". he was mortified & tried to avoid us the rest of the day. what?! he was hot. my bad.

afterwards we just had to find a sports bar so we could watch the u/byu game, did some shopping in union square for the men, then off to the trolley cars. david, kara, & the girls met us while steph, dad, michael, & kira left for the lakers game.

every year a family in my home ward has a group of us up & we've always gone when we can. it's a fun tradition: hanging off the sides & singing carols & bundling up & seeing san fran's holiday lights & window displays. always gets me in the christmas spirit. ellery was quite the fan once she got the hang of it. looking out onto the streets & holding on to the pole, she was a happy girl.

fun day!

"you are fortunate to live here. if i were your President, i would levy a tax on you for living in san francisco!" -mikhail gorbachev

happy birthgiving!

austonia turned 26 on 26! being that it was thanksgiving AND his birthday i wanted to meld the two. i came up with thanksbirth day but he opted for birthgiving. sounds graphic to me, like a busy day in the maternity ward, but whatev.

i also tried to go around the table with why you are thankful for austin but it didn't catch on. :( well i am thankful for him. happy birthgiving babe!

my basket full from the harvest.

our little turkey loved the spread at thanksgiving dinner & some did end up in her hair for the perfect 'hawk. she's been doing this dorky eye squint smile that is a bit much. DO NOT do it back to her ppl! you are only encouraging her! i refused to let austin help with the cooking or the cleaning so he watched the chillins while we all made it happen. it was all delish as usual, many thanks to gramvi! (& not as many thanks to me & karebear)

the hodgman side.

avoid-the-child-post-itis

my extended family is made up of boys. throngs of guy cousins with a couple girlies sprinkled in for good measure. 20 boys to 4 girls or something ridiculous. that is including me & my sister. so really my only female friend/cousin is pearlie meg. she makes me smile & we are pals. she recently spoke on her "baby blogger envy". a self-diagnosed disease involving envy for blog-worthy material, specifically the fountain of material a baby offers.

okay see but look: i have a condition that is similarly frustrating! "avoid-the-child-post-itis." literally the complete opposite of megan's situation, it involves helping ppl realize that there indeed is more to my life than my sweet cherub. speaking of which, what a stretch is this for a new post?

(but you're right, i do have more pictures than you megs. kisses*)

natural bridges

we hopped over to santa cruz today & visited natural bridges state park. it was a great day to go because it's peak time during the monarch migration. we checked out the milkweed & caterpillars before hiking down to the grove.

the butterflies react very specifically to the weather & since the day was crisp & sunny they were flying all over the place. every other time i've gone they were clumped on the trees, huddling together. while it made it impossible to take any great shots of the monarchs, it was spectacular!!! so cool; they were everywhere! i like this picture because elles-a-belle only noticed the monarchs once or twice & here is one of those times.

you wouldn't think so looking at the swamp but the smell was austin's favorite part. like eucalyptus and dew. mmm!

the main grove is literally a parking lot away from the beach. oh & bonus: i didn't take dramamine OR lose it driving over the hill! the husby was proud. whenever i get car sick he calles me his drama. queen. he claims it's short for dramamine but sometimes i dunno.

autumn & apples

i adore autumn.
i adore apples (preferably fuji).
& i adore this little girl.
gramvi made this adorable play dress for ellers.

getting help walking...

perched up in an apple tree!!! LOVE this!

the fall leaves, the apples, & the maryjane's remind me of the first day of school. fall comes around & i'm still glad i don't have to go. yay for no school!!

p.s. happy happy birthday to my favorite 4 year old, lexy lu!!! kisses*

allhallow's eve

we went to 2-3 different parties & sadly got about 4 trick or treaters the night of but it was low key & lots of fun! my goal next year is to get stone to dress in costume with me...

some of my fam met up @ one of the parties-

dancing, spooky houses, cake walks, & games with red minnie mouse, a hopping bunny, & ellery with her black cat.

jellybean was so stinkin cute in her costume! we got the dress as a gift & i thought it would make the perfect witch dress & i found the hat online that's supposed to be for a doll. haha. the socks were an impeccable addition; also a gift & are actually minnie mouse socks. i borrowed the little broom & the matching bear from my madre's halloween decore. geez she has everything!

our witchy woman.

hope ya'll had a good one!

livermore

on halloween day we woke bright & early to take a drive up to a corn maze & pumpkin patch in livermore.

it was a pretty large field & took a couple hours to complete the maze.

ellers reading the map for us.

there were text clues, bridges, quizzes, etc to help you get through.

can you see the 8?

austin was trying to buck me off of his back in this pic...

trying to grab gpa's camera.

once we finished the maze we went next door to the pumpkin patch where ellery was obsessed with every single pumpkin she saw.

just because i love her profile.

please note the hair & the shoes.

sitting in the wagon.

taking a turn pushing the radio flyer.

my latest fave.

the little hill familia.

my little bro & his gf kira came with us.

as did my parents. thanks for coming everybody! weather was awesome, it was the perfect little day trip.