Hudson, Hudson, Hudson

I know I've said it before and I'll continue to say it......Hudson cracks me up. I'm constantly in awe of the things that he comes up with and of his ability to see things from a different point of view. The other day he wrote his first letter of the season to Santa.

In case you can't read it: "Dear Santa, I want a motorized gearbox and a visible laser module."

Wow, Santa may have a hard time this year!

One day after school he spent a couple of hours on his "spooky carnival booth." I really wish pictures would do it justice but it just doesn't. He first poked tons of holes into the top of the box. He then pushed orange lights into each hole. He got the clear bag (that holds a newspaper) and tore it into strips to create the spooky cobweb look. The tissue box holds the bottom "door" closed. He then filled the bottom of the box with candy and treats. The idea was to stick your hands through the cobwebs without touching them. He was so proud of his creation.

With the lights on.

Playing school with Cooper. He was doing a circle map with him and trying to teach him new words.

After a few days he was tired of the Spooky Booth so he transformed his box into something else. You know those little ticket m*ncher m*chines at Ch*ch E. Che*ses? He cut slits into the side of his box and had me label them "paper, ticket, card."

He then got a long strip of tape and put it into the "ticket" slot. He reached his hand around to the inside of the box, pulled the tape in, and made the munching sound. It was priceless!

This "card" slot was for our old water park passes from this summer.

I've always loved my boys in j*mmies. They just look so sweet and cuddly! Hudson looks especially sweet in these ......... did I mention that I bought them for $3 at a local consignment sale and they look brand new? Score! Anyways, I could just about gobble him up right here.

Hudson goes to the library every Thursday with his class at school. I would love to just one time see the librarians face when Hudson walks up to the desk to check out. I'm sure by now that she's used to him and his interests but I assume that those first few weeks were humorous. While most first graders are checking out books like Thomas, Cat in the Hat, or Clifford the Red Dog......my son is checking out books on electricity, batteries, inventions and space exploration. He really has such a fascination for science.

The other day he told me that he played "leaf expert" at recess....by himself. Sweet boy. I pray all the time that he'll find a friend that likes the same thing as him. Fortunately, he's pretty clueless when it comes to social situations and peer pressure. He hasn't really caught on that most kids don't like what he likes. That's okay though. God has some amazing things planned for this boy.

Hudson is really adjusting well to school and I think he actually looks forward to it. That's a huge improvement from last year when we had daily battles in the morning to get him to school. He's learning so much and is doing great.

I thank God every day and night for this wonderful gift of a son. He teaches me and is such a joy to our family!

Leaves.....Leaves......Everywhere!

We have absolutely loved the weather lately. I've tried to take the boys out as often as I can since we have no idea how long it will last. Yesterday, we went outside to the cul-de-sac and raked leaves in front of our neighbors house. The boys had a blast jumping in the leaf piles.

I think the pictures speak for themselves. We LOVE being outside on days like this.

Oops, can't forget the pumpkin carving pics

A few nights before Halloween, we picked our biggest pumpkin to carve. Hudson requested a ghost design- so after a quick internet search for a template, we were ready to go.

We taped the paper onto the pumpkin. Can you tell that they are a tad excited?

Then we cut the top off and let the boys put their hands inside to feel the pulp.

They both had fun playing with the insides!

While the boys were busy carving away, I was prepping the pumpkin seeds for roasting. We heart roasted pumpkin seeds.

Our finished product.

Pumpkin Patch and Halloween

Trick-or-Treating around the neighborhood

Shaggy and Scooby-Doo

On Halloween afternoon, we finally made it to the pumpkin patch. October was such a wet month and every time we had the chance to take the boys, it seemed that it was raining. Then we were on vacation and came home to two sick boys. I panicked when the days were dwindling for us to go but we managed to squeeze a trip in on Saturday. We love this place because the boys enjoy the train ride.

Happy Halloween!

Day 5 & 6

On our last day, we drove over to Sapphire Beach. It's a really pretty beach (that's also free) and we had a good time there. By this point we were really not wanting this vacation to end. There was still so much we wanted to do and see but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. We all agreed that if we had had another day, we would have for sure gone back to St. John. Guess we will just have to go back again one day!

The sunset at our hotel on our last night. So sad to be leaving!

The morning we left, there was a cruise ship docking at the port.

Overall, we had an amazing trip and we feel so blessed to have been able to go. I look forward to the next time we can get away!

Day 4

On Day 4, we spent most of the day shopping and driving the island. We went to some shops in Havensight and Charlotte Amalie. Jason found a really nice watch he has been wanting......and got it much cheaper and no tax. There were some pretty good finds!

For lunch, we ate at a neat sports bar type placed called the Green House. They had a huge projection screen and even played the UT game for us. We ate lunch, had a few drinks, and watched some of the game.

When people would find out that I was going to St. Thomas, lots of them would tell me to go to Megan's Bay. Here we are. I will say that Megan's Bay didn't impress me like I had expected. We had to pay to visit this beach. It was super crowded and not nearly as pretty as some of the others we went to. I'm glad we went ( I guess just to say that we did) but in the future I'd probably stick with some of the others instead.

For dinner we went to a really nice seafood restaurant called Mims. It was right on the water and had a really cool atmosphere.

There were no windows.....and literally on the other side of the wall was the ocean.

St. John- Day 3

On Friday, we took the car ferry over to St. John. If you ever have the opportunity to go there, I highly encourage you. It's breathtaking. Not to say that St. Thomas isn't. Oh my, it's gorgeous but St. John is smaller, a little more quaint, a large part of it is national forest so it's very lush, etc. It just has a little different feel.

Here is the Jeep we rented. Well, this is actually the second Jeep we rented considering the first Jeep they gave us died within the first 12 hours of us having it. Jason and Amy went for coffee one morning and on their way back to our hotel, the transmission went out. Completely. The boys had it towed back and they gave us another one. One thing we had to get used to was the fact that they drive on the left side of the road. It took some careful thought while driving since the natural instinct is to drive on the right side. The boys did great though and Amy and I were not too bad being the "backseat drivers."
Loading the cars up on the ferry.

It was about a 20 minute ride. Lots of beautiful views on the way.

Jason and I on the ferry ride.

Driving on St. John- so green and pretty!

Lots of winding roads.

Overlooking Trunk Bay.

Trunk Bay, St. John

Cinnamon Bay........aka THE. MOST. BEAUTIFUL. PLACE. ON .EARTH. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little but this seriously was one of the prettiest places I've ever been. Pictures do not even do this place justice. Looking at them myself, I am sad to see what a huge difference there is from the actual place. You just can't even describe it.

This beach was very remote. Not at all touristy......in fact you couldn't even buy a drink here. If you didn't bring it then you were not going to get it! We swam and walked the beach for quite some time.

Tons of coconuts. Jason tried to knock one down without any luck.

You could see all the way down to the bottom of the ocean- as far as your eye could see.

The island has lots of bays just like these. You could just pull off and head to the beach.

What a fantastic day!!!.........even though we didn't run into K*nny Chesney (who happens to live here) I kept my eyes out for him though! Maybe next time?