Let's talk about Hud

This little boy turned 3 1/2 years old the end of January. Yep, we celebrate half birthdays here. Nothing too fancy, but we went to get an ice cream treat at Mr. K's in SouthEnd.

I just want to take a minute to talk about this not-so-little boy of mine. Here's three things:

1. His imagination blows my mind. Seriously. Maybe that is all 3 year olds, but I seriously love seeing him come up with things or hearing the next sentence come out of his mouth. As of late, he talks for his dinosaurs and it's the funniest thing to listen to/watch. Yes, he is STILL obsessed with dinosaurs.

2. He loves arts and crafts. He will spend a good amount of time coloring, painting, or using his scissors to cut paper. It's a really great "quiet time" activity for him (and me). The dining table is usually covered in papers and his drawings. This normally would make me uneasy, but I've learned to embrace a messy dining room table. I have a hard time throwing away what he makes, so we keep it all in a little folder for now. I love looking through it. His favorite thing to draw are dinosaurs and animals, of course. :)

3. He loves to say prayer. Like he gets upset if he can't say it and will start saying his own prayer while someone else is saying it. I love hearing his little voice and how grateful he is for what he has. It's the cutest thing ever. I need to record it one day.

So, that's a little about Hudson for today. I'll leave you with some pictures/videos of the last couple weeks with some commentary.

Stopped to talk to a ant on our walk home 

Dinosaur digging kit from Ma & Pa

He spent the whole morning being a "real" paleontologist. 

Helping sissy get down the stairs

They have been holding hands a lot lately and I love it!

Video: Hudson re-tells the story of Samuel the Lamanite (from Book of Mormon)

Video: Hudson exercising 

Video: Hudson reading to Pa

This video cracks me up. My dad is speaking in Lao. He's telling my mom to come sit down and listen to Hudson teach about lions. My favorite line? "Can you be quiet, PLEASE?!!" 

Charleston/Folly Beach

Logan had a long weekend off from work (MLK weekend). We decided a week before that we should take a fun trip with the kids. We ended up heading down to Charleston/Folly Beach which is 3 hours away. It was so fun! We felt like real grown-ups because we got a hotel room for the night with the kids. It was the first time we had ever done a family trip (besides camping).

We love family trips that involve extended family too, but there's just something about going with just our family. It's pretty special and memory building. I hope this is something we can do many times throughout the years. We love the Charleston/Folly Beach area. Logan and I went once before while interning in South Carolina a few summers ago. This time around, we took the kids and showed them around.

Details of the trip: We didn't do any of the museums. We figured the kids would do better outside running around than inside. Plus, the weather was perfect -- mid-60's and sunny! We ended up walking around to see some popular sites, and then happened upon a little neighborhood park for the kids to play at.

We got lunch at Folly Beach. We were looking forward to some delicious fish tacos, but the restaurant we love was closed for renovations. We ended up going to Rita's for a quick (overpriced) lunch of burgers and fries. It was decent, and they served the kid entrees on a frisbee which was a nice touch. After lunch, we headed across the street to the beach/pier. It was a bit windy at this point being so close to the water, but we played on the sand for a bit looking for sea shells (Hudson found a sea star which was the highlight of the trip). We also walked on the pier where we saw a fisherman catch two baby sharks. That was pretty cool. We headed home after that and the kids napped most of the way home.

We can't wait to get back to this area again, but I think it will be more enjoyable in the spring/summer time when the weather is warmer for swimming. :)

Waterfront Park

 Walking through the city

 Rainbow Row

 Hudson took the picture of us below.

Battery Park

(Hudson loved pretending to launch the canyons. He kept saying, "aim....FIRE!!") 

Folly Beach

(about 20 minutes from Charleston)

2014 Recap

I love love doing these yearly recaps (albeit about two months late this time). It's fun to look back and see everything we accomplished individually and as a family. 2014 proved to be a busy, but happy year for our little family. We learned so much, experienced so much, and began our new journey in a new city this year. Here are the highlights:

Abby:
-started exercising regularly (Pilates and running)
-completed two 5Ks and her first half marathon
-spent her first weekend away from the kids (girls' trip to Williamsburg)
-traveled to NYC twice (over the summer and for Macy's Day parade)
-started volunteering with a local charter school
-served as a Primary teacher (church assignment)


Logan:
-graduated from NC State with his Master's in Analytics
-got a "big boy" job working for a consulting firm
-completed a 5K, two Tough Mudder races (here and here), and a half marathon
-learned wood work (dining room bench and garage shelving units)
-traveled way too much in the spring for job interviews/recruiting (Utah, New York, Mexico, Chicago, Charlotte)
-served in Elder's Quorum Presidency and still serving (church assignment)

Hudson:
-turned 3 years old
-still loves dinosaurs, animals, and books
-started preschool two days a week
-officially potty trained
-had his first soccer season
-excited to be a Sunbeam (at church)

Amelia:
-turned 1 years old (smash cake/1 year old pics here)
-learned to walk
-still loves her binky
-can say "mama" and "dada" and "bobba (milk)"
-loves to eat anything and everything
-had her first ER visit (not an accomplishment or highlight by any means, just had to put it in here)

Together:
-moved from Raleigh to Charlotte
-celebrated our 5 year family anniversary
-had lots of visitors come to Charlotte (mainly our families and the Wrights)
-made/making new friends in Charlotte
-traveled to AZ for Heidi and Matt's wedding
-annual Corbett beach trip
-Thanksgiving in Virginia
-second Christmas at home

(All photos taken by Jen Korth Photography)

Other recaps..... 2013  2012  2011  2010

NYE in Raleigh

Lucky us we got invited back to the annual Harris NYE party. We have been going since it started in 2011. The Harris family knows how to throw a party. This year there was a magic show and pinata for the kids, annual boys vs. girls game, chocolate tasting, yummy food/drinks, and a full house! We partied hard. The kids did pretty well staying up so late too -- thank goodness!  It was so fun to see many of our Raleigh friends and catch up.

Stole this picture from my friend, Christy, because I didn't take any pictures at all of the party. 

This is when the kids did the pinata. 

We also had the opportunity to stay with the Wrights and the Williams came down from D.C. too. It was a reunion with some of the best of friends! 6 adults, 6 kids staying in a two bedroom townhouse. Fun times! The only downside was the epidemic going on throughout the house. Seriously. I'm pretty sure at least one person from each family got sick. We ended up leaving early just because everyone was not feeling well. We made a quick stop to Downtown Raleigh where we went to the Museum of Natural Science. Hudson missed this place so much! I'm glad we were able to go for an hour before heading back home. Can't wait to go visit Raleigh and friends again!

 

All the besties together watching Frozen. Duh!

 (just missing Olivia -- I think she was napping).

These two are so stinkin' cute!

At the museum. 

We wore the kids out long enough for them to crash in the car ride home -- success!