[gsasquatch]

I'd like to see the folks suggesting you walk carry two kids down a snowy country road through a slushy ditch in freezing weather for 30 minutes. It is _a lot_ easier to drive on ice than walk on it, even in a 2x4 F150 with bald tires, you don't fall down nearly as often. Unfortunately in the modern US a car is almost a necessity.
My commute is about 2.5 miles one way including work and daycare and I drive a minivan because it's big, comfortable and easy to get the kids in and out of. For 25 miles a week it is less than 2 gallons of gas. If I didn't leave town it'd be no big deal. I live in Northern MN and there is snow on my street November to April, but I do not have 4 wheel drive. However, it's flat here and my driveway is small and quickly shoveled. I've had 4x4 before, and only needed to engage it once every other year or so, the rest of the time it was only used because of laziness in driving, parking or shoveling.
The hybrid concept seems like it'd work well for you, a Prius can have a switch added to go 2 miles all electric. With the up and down hill I wonder if such a switch could be used to minimize the usage of the engine. There's some small 4x4 SUV hybrids, e.g. Highlander and Escape. They may be a good bet.
If you're looking to optimize for cash and go 4x4 I'd look at a turn of the century rav4 or pilot. There are some funky old Corolla and Civic 4x4 wagons from the late 80's early 90's that are functional, economical and retro-cool.
A twelve year old Suburban will cost less than a 4 year old Prius. The difference would take a few years of buying gas for 25 miles a week to make up.
Manual transmissions for coasting on those hills would be a big plus if you are conventional and not hybrid. Mazda makes a manual minivan that's better than most on gas, but no 4x4
Buy the car in the winter so you know how it is in snow. Toyota Matrix in FWD is an awful car in snow, which I would not have guessed. The 4wd version may be a good choice for you however. I wouldn't have known the FWD Matrix is so bad had I not tried it.