blowing kisses

our jellybean learned a new trick & she does it constantly now. pucker up!

asking for it

if it was up to me i would sleep with the window open every night all year long. with solely a sheet and freshly washed, wet hair.

here is where every mother in the audience shrieks & tisks her finger at me with a fierce warning about severe head colds & body aches.

which i promptly ignore. yeah that's right, i like to play fast and loose with the rules.

we compromise & the chief lets me do just this every summer. it is perfection. even when i freeze halfway through the night & grab for the duvet & fumble over to shut the window. everyone wins because i then clamor back into bed & for once i'm not overheating so austin holds me in his death grip of a cuddle & i don't fight him. plus if i go to bed with the precise ratio of wet to dry hair i wake to just the right wave. ahh the little things. :) so this has been our arrangement for the last couple months.

today i have a stuffy nose and intense sinus pressure. no complaining though because really it was so so worth it.

tutus & frills

we took some pics of the divine miss e all frilled out. it was so fun! i'm not one for princesses, pink, or jewelry. but i can still be girly enough to get austin's eyes rolling. my big excuse is that she might be my only baby girl. now what to say when it's our 3rd daughter in a row...

my favorite shot. she stands pretty well actually.

cute tongue...

she sucks her lips in when she laughs sometimes. i'm a fan.

in her ruffle buns from belgium, who doesn't love the back of baby knees?!

i think they really turned out well - thanks dad!

you want massagey?

ooohhhhh bbbaaabbbyyy!!!

i smell like lavender & mango.

chief gave me a certificate at christmas.

for a maternity massage.

err i am aware that it is july.

& that it was no longer a maternity massage.

but WOWZA.

never loved him more.

yikes that sounds awful.

i'm sure i have.

just let me think...

grand grandparents

ellery has all 4 sets of great grandparents still around, 2 pairs of very involved grandparents, & with both parents that's 14 parental figures in total. that's a lot for one little girl!

e got to meet 3 sets of her greats on our 4th of july trip. it was really the point of our adventures. i can't wait for her to meet her kelly great grandparents. they are all such genuine people. truly amazing examples to us and someday her. i hope ellery knows how much she is loved.

great grandma & grandpa hillgreat grandma & grandpa hodgmangreat grandma & grandpa rosenbaum gpa gramvi grandpa
grandma renee the 'rents

where is this u-tah anyvay?

we spent a couple days in UT before & after idaho. we bunked up with my cousins scott & michelle & also derek & kelli. jellybean got to meet all my old roomies, my brother at his bakery, a few of my cousins, & even some great grandparents. fun beginning & end to a spanking good little holiday!

the land that i love

i look forward to celebrating independence day every year. it's a magical swirl of hot dogs, sparklers, parades, flags, homemade rootbeer, & it's nice to take a break & soak in all the patriotism. sometimes it reminds me of spirit week in high school. we wore our colors, painted our faces & shouted pride for our class. maybe that's why i was spirit leader @ school & why i ADORE the 4th of july. we're a part of something bigger than ourselves & i happened to enjoy shouting pride for just about anything.


we spent the 4th in idaho falls & it was the perfect day i was hoping for. the men went golfing in the morning while renee, ellery, & i went to the IF parade. bagpipers, clowns, floats, dogs, marching bands, bikers, balloons, & sirens. ellery's reaction: ahhh! new red socks!! haha! priceless.

we had a bbq @ the hills that afternoon with every all-american trimming. delish. then off to the chuckars game (minor league baseball) with sunflower seeds, cotton candy, & dancing with charlie the chuckar. the next stop was fighting for a spot down by the river for the amazing fireworks show. best, brightest, & biggest west of the mississippi if you believe austin's pitch. :)

so get out those sparklers & be proud!

granite

the hot springs at granite, wyoming is one of my favorite places in the world. it is gorgeous! i've only been twice but it's a family tradition for austin's family. his grandparents have been there together almost every year since they were twelve. how cute is that?! this so g & g hill came up with us for a day trip where we swam in the springs, ate, hiked to the falls, & went rock shopping. that's right, rock shopping. reva & renee (a's grandma & mom) are some of the biggest rock enthusiasts i've ever met & picked out their favorite little boulders to bring home as souvenirs. since this will probably be harold & reva's last trip to granite, they were excited to have something to remember a place that has meant so much to them.

ellery's uncles cottle & pamper her like you would not believe. in the springs with the boys & her new lily pad floatie that grandma renee got for her. chief says there are few times in life he'll think it's cute for his baby girl to be surrounded by a bunch of boys...

now if only uncle logie bear had been there to complete the circle. :(

how to guide

our little hill family spent the last week in the utah/idaho/wyoming territory of it all. everything was so ideal. the weather, the activity (or inactivity for that matter), the food, & of course the company. ellery has just about the best aunts and uncles out there & learned a lot playing with them. this is ellery's how to guide:

how to roast mallows with aunt kelli, pick cherries with her papa, text with uncle zach, win at hearts with her mama, how to hike, peek-a-boo with her grandpa hill, snorkel with zachus, play tug-o-war with uncle derek, & my personal fave of how to cheer at the parade with grandma renee. she had a lot of fun & got spoiled rotten!