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.

better than his

the husby is an engineer. a computer engineer. electronic gadgets are his life line. looking up reviews & articles & pricing out the latest mechanic doohickey is, dare i say, the crux of his happiness.

in the last week we have purchased a seriously gargantuan flashdrive, a spankin new iPhone, & a hi res, dual screened, make you cry with jealousy digital camera. & what up, they are all mine!

the camera he surprised me with last night because he thinks i'm swell. even though i'm the one that shattered the screen on our camera that was technically his camera. but my flashdrive is better than his. about 8 x's better if you wanted to brag...

& here's the kicker: my iPhone is better than his iPhone.

burn!