Merry Christmas!

There aren't many days I love more than Christmas, and having Spencer has ramped that up by ten. I was soooo excited for him to open his gifts on Christmas morning...even though he still doesn't really get what is happening. He knows what he likes though: cars and balls, and he got a ton of them!



Mommy and daddy had a happy Christmas morning too. Mommy got a beautiful Coach bag and Daddy got a metal detector!

December 20!?!?!?!?!

Seriously? Five days away from Christmas. I am just as bad blogging in December as I was in November. Lots of fun stuff happening around the Stonehocker house as we prepare for the main event this weekend. Of course, it all started with picking out our tree.

Just like last year, Spencer still loves the tree. He demands that it be "ON!" anytime that he notices that lights are off and his favorite ornament is this bright yellow star.

We even braved the zoo, when we couldn't take another freaking minute of being cooped up. The penguins sure seemed to love the chilly weather.

And, as always, these two knuckleheads love getting into all sorts of mischief.

Where did November go?

I have been a terrible blogger this month. I can't believe my last post was Happy Halloween and now we are already through Thanksgiving. I don't even have a lot of pictures to show for the last four weeks. I blame work for this, as November is prime food drive time and there wasn't a weekend or a week that went by without late nights. But hey, we're feeding people! I can breathe in January! Anyway, to get you in the Christmas spirit, take a look at the epic disaster that was our visit to Santa this year.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween this year. Because my brother in law Jesse works odd hours, my sister and nephew often go on lots of little adventures with us. Without fail my sister will ask: do you think people think we are sister wives? No. No they don't. But what a great costume idea!
We had our annual trick or treat parade in Hyde Park again this year with daycare. He still doesn't know what candy really is, nor did I let him eat any, but Spencer still thought it was cool to be able to pick treasures out of a bowl.
The Incredible Hulk strutting his stuff...
Digging through his loot...

Oh San Diego, I love you and miss you already

We spent last week in San Diego and seriously, I am still a little bit depressed about being home. We stayed at the beautiful Sheraton Hotel & Marina and sweet Spencer had a view of boats AND airplanes from our balcony...which was probably excitement enough for him, but we got to do all sorts of other fun things too. Zoo! Beach! Sea World! He loved it all.
I've said it before and I will say it again - visit Southern California in October or February. There are no crowds! Look how close our little guy got to get top all the animals. He never would have had this experience in June.



Best of all, we got to spend time with family...our first night we had a family dinner with Autnies Lisa and Heather and Unlce Jonathan and it made me realize just how much I miss having them around. We'll just have to go back soon to visit.

Pumpkins!

I have never been a big fan of this time of year (Fall) but having Spencer has changed all that. Now we get to celebrate with lots and lots of pumpkins! Last weekend was full of them. We had our first field trip with daycare to the Idaho Botanical Gardens. Since he has recently learned how to say "flower," he was VERY excited at all the pretty ones to see and touch.

And then he got to pick out a pumpkin!

The next day we went to Linder Farms for more pumpkin action. The boys searched long and hard for the perfect one.
Cheesy photo op? Yes, please!

Tomorrow we are getting up bright and early and heading to San Diego. It will be so nice to see Uncle Jonathan and my step-sister Lisa and her wife Heather and we are really looking forward to getting out of town. Send positive vibes our way for a calm toddler on the plane!

Back to the Zoo

Going to the zoo is our go-to activity now. Has been all summer and now in to the fall. Boy those $49 annual passes sure have paid for themselves! I gave up on taking pictures of the animals, but I still like to take them of my cute little monkey who likes to LOOK at the animals when we are there. I think this was looking at the zebras.
Facebook friends know that my sunglasses made an appearance in the Cavy exhibit during this visit. I wish I knew what possessed my son to smack them off of my face and toss them down there. Luckily, he is the sweetest, cutest boy in town and it is impossible to stay mad for long (especially when the very nice zoo staff retrieved them for me anyway).

Last Camping Trip of the Year

I doubt we'll make it up to hunting camp this fall, so last weekend was the last camping trip of the season. So sad we only made it up to the mountains twice this year...next summer we will do better. There was a huge difference in Spencer's enjoyment of the trip from July to know. I mean, he liked it in July, but he LOVED it this trip! We went to my favorite spot in Idaho (heck, probably in the country): Stanley. The best part of camping after Labor Day is that there is no one around.
I took a so many pictures of our little nature boy and none of poor little Fergie, who was equally excited to be in the mountains again. Here are a couple of my favorite ones...the rest are on Facebook.

Spirit of Boise

Well, another Spirit of Boise Balloon Rally is in the record books for the Spencer Family. For those who don't know, my family has been producing this event for TWENTY YEARS THIS YEAR! WOW. We've had a lot of fun and I have grown up not knowing any different and I hope Spencer won't either. It might seem unusual for a post about hot air balloons, but I didn't actually take a picture of any. Who wants to look at balloons when you have this cute kid in front of you? Even Grampa Scott can't look away!
Drinking Coke like the good grandson he is. (Grampa flies the Coke balloon, of course). And no, I do not really let my baby drink Coke.

Okay, this could be considered a picture of a balloon...Rocco & Spencer with Gramma Laurie inside the Mickey Mouse Balloon. I remember thinking this was very cool to go inside when I was a kid. These two? Not so much. But Gramma looks happy!

Lots more picures of our cute boys on Facebook. And be sure to friend Spiritof Boise to stay in the loop for next year!

Hot August Nights - II

Once again, the Hamilton's hosted a fabulous party at their cabin in McCall...a.k.a. Hot August Nights. This kid and pet free weekend is a much needed break for everyone in attendance and I can't thank them enough for including us! We were introduced to the "shotski" and the most amazing tamales I have ever consumed in my life while we were there. I didn't take a single picture during our stay, but I stole this one from Molly of the entire motley crew .

Spencer had lots of fun too while we were gone on the boat with Grampa Scott and Gramma Laurie. I can't get over how grown up he looks here.

Deceptively Delicious

I know toddlers go through picky eating phases...but I can't take the mommy guilt associated with Spencer eating grilled cheese and chicken nuggets every day. So I bought this:
And frankly, I'm hanging a lot of hopes and dreams on it. This book has recipes to hide veggies in things kids eat every day and for someone that barely boils water, it's going to be an adventure. But I'm giving it a whirl...stay tuned!

Island Park

Okay, this post is kinda long and rambling, so bear with me! We got back last week from Spencer and my first ever trip to Island Park, Idaho! The Stonehocker's have a family cabin there that my father in law, and of course Chris, grew up going to every summer. I love a good trip to the mountains and this one didn't disappoint.



We had some beautiful scenery to enjoy. You know me, I never pass up an opportunity to plop my son down in a field of flowers for a photo op!

















There were a few trips into West Yellowstone, Montana, which is about a half an hour away, but we decided not to make the trek into the park...mostly due to Spencer's hatred of the car seat and his complete lack of caring about seeing Old Faithful. West Yellowstone was a fun, touristy town though. A certain psycho sales lady insisted on taking this picture of S and Nana (well, she seemed normal at this point...it was after she wanted to carry Spencer around the store (um, NO) and insisted on a FAMILY photo op that she started to get crazy). Anyway, I love it because Spencer has his "cheese" face on in full force!


As mentioned in my camping post, Spencer just loves to be outside. Even when he was inside, he kept looking out the window trying to get outside!


Finally, we got to see some wildlife too. A mommy bird made her nest in the cabin and had little chicks (they are called chicks, right?) that had just barely hatched. We kept a close eye on them, but also kept our distance.
And then we saw a moose! How exciting is that? I was pretty stoked. Spencer could have cared less, he just wanted more cereal bar.

Not pictured on our wildlife extravaganza would be the bat that was in the cabin the first night. Seriously, a bat. They haven't had one in 20 years, but our first night there one decides to pay us a visit.

Lots more photos to share, so you can check them out on my facebook page!

First Haircut

Saturday was a momentous day for mommy. Aunt Lesley finally convinced her that Spencer was ready for a haircut and that she could do it. He really still doesn't have much hair on top, but he was well on his way to a mullett and we just couldn't have that! Considering her wiggly target, I think she did a great job!

We got a shot! Sort of.

We have been trying since Spencer was born to get a decent picture of Rocco and Spencer together. It seems like the harder we try, the worse it turns out. Luckily, our friend Lindy swooped in to (attempt) to save the day and make our dreams come true. Haven't seen everything she got yet, but I am pretty pleased with this one.
I mean, at least they are both kind of looking in the direction of the camera and neither one of them has tears in their eyes. This is progress!

4th of July Camping

How happy was I that we were able to get back to a family tradition this year with a camping trip on the Fourth of July?!?!?! Was I nervous to take a toddler in the woods? Yes! Did it work out great? Yes! I have quite the nature boy on my hands and he was just thrilled to be outside and play in the dirt.

Two years ago I was obsessed with getting Fergie's picture in the daisy's in New Meadows (picture on the right). This year I wanted to get Spencer in the same spot...and he was just about as cooperative as she was then, although I did manage to get a few good ones.

June

Boy, have I been bad about blogging lately. Life is just busy, busy, busy when you are chasing a 13/14 month old around everywhere. Nana Stonehocker came and stayed with us for a whole week, but somehow, we managed to not take a single picture! This is becoming a fun summer tradition for both Spencer and Nana. She came up for a week last year when I went back to work and she couldn't wait to get some of that one on one bonding time again.

Spencer cracks us up each and every day. He loves to make people laugh. Example: here he is with Fergie's toy bucket on his head while he plays...just for fun!

He also thought sitting in his race track would be a good idea. Not sure if he was expecting/hoping that it would spin around with him in it too.

Cousin Gage had a birthday this month.

And we got to play with Grampa Scott and the Coke Balloon...although he wasn't that thrilled. Last summer he was fine with balloons, this year, he is a bit more tentative.