Hudson LOVES his Nana and Grandpa (Spencer's mom & dad). We were down in So. Cal and visited a few days with Spencer's parents. Hudson loved being there. Kalle (aka Nana) had bought him some new books, along with a basketball hoop, balls and toys galore! Hudson's cousin Megan and grandpa had made a nifty "clubhouse" out of a huge box, and left it for Hudson to play with. THANKS Megan, we love you! He had the time of his life playing, sniffing out new things to do in Nana & Grandpa's house. We went down to the famous "duck pond", it is really a fishing hole/lake... but we will call it a "duck pond" for Hudson's sake - since that is all that were there to him. We went swimming daily (where Nana tried to help teach Hudson some new tricks) and to the park... but it got too hot at the park. We are so grateful for all that Kalle and Merrill do for us and we love them endlessly. Thank you for having us, can't wait to see you in a couple weeks.

Swimming in the big pool with Nana....

Trying to figure out how to "blow" bubbles...

Latest (few weeks ago) blanket I finished for a friend. "Boy" fabrics are always a little harder to find.

One of my most favorite things, ever... is waking up Sat. mornings going for a jog then going to a Farmer's Market nearby. San Fransisco has an amazing Farmer's Market - mostly organic food and such, but so much fun to go to. We are lucky enough to have a smaller rendition (somewhat) of a Farmer's Market a few miles away. (Although S.F.'s market isn't too far from us as well.. it is just driving into the city every week isn't something I look forward to.) I love the music, food and smell of flowers. It is always fun to roam the aisle and see what the local farmers have in store for us that week - such a treat!


These sweet cherries were amazing and just a sample of flowers, aren't they pretty?!?

Hudson got his face "painted" as a kitty-cat, and the following picture is one of us on the caboose of a local stationary train. Good times, good times. Come visit and we will take you, promise!

CLASSIC... is all I have to say. We live on the 10th green of a golf course, so every evening (weather permitting) if there are no "golfers" in sight Spencer will take Hudson out to "golf". It is so funny. Hudson will go and get Spencer's shoes and hand them to him when he gets home to let "dad" know he is ready for his game.
On this occasion, I had mentioned to Spencer that it was cold outside, but he wasn't listening to me. So we all went out there and the wind became too much for me to handle in my shorts, so I about took off when Spencer told me to go and get his jacket... "no can do" I thought. So I just gave him mine. (I did eventually go and get it for him - his jacket that is). Thus the beautiful frame of Spencer and Hudson, golf clubs in hand. Love it!

Hug it out...

Spencer was getting a little worried here.... Hudson was not letting go

One point for Hudson!

I thought this was pretty funny - I had forgotten about it. We had some friends come over, and Hudson was in a "hugging" mood - obviously. Tim and Kristina with their son Andy, whom is Hudson's friend... were sitting in the family room with us when Hudson grabbed Andy and "hugged" it out. Andy wasn't too sure and Hudson was not about to let go, so he just hugged until Andy gave up and got to the ground. We were laughing so hard because Hudson was not about to stop; and was grinning ear to ear mind you. I am happy to have caught this on film, considering he doesn't usually hug too many other children... and is rare to see him share anything at this moment in his life.

So my excuse:
I was completely overwhelmed by all the pictures I had to organize, and think about posting to even post. We had a great time in So Cal, and I will start posting lengthy entries starting tomorrow. Tonight I am "beat", with all the picture gazing I have done. Hope you are all well!

Here is a new purchase of ours. Our last flight to Utah our DVD portable player broke, and so I headed out to Costco (or as mom would say: Costcos) and found this SAWEEET deal. Or I think I am getting a sweet deal either way...

It is a Panasonic LCD portable DVD player + some. Here is a picture (this isn't even the model)... I am way too excited for this, maybe because I never make these purchases. **Side note: What I am really excited about is that it hangs on the back of seats in cars/planes. (our last one was one of the first versions of portable DVD players... so no nifty things came with it... thus my excitement for this purchase.)

I have been meaning to write some new entries, but like always something has come up every time I went to "blog". So to get to the point... it is going to be a week or so until new photos are up - since I am now in Southern California for my sister's, RACHAEL, H.S. graduation. We are staying (Hudson and I) with Spencer's mom, aka... Nana, and dad... grandpa. Then we head over to my parents on Wed. night. Let the festivities begin, not really we are pretty lame when it comes to graduation. Ha! Oh well. It will be fun to be with everyone (family); and to spend father's day with Spencer's dad, my father and Spencer (who is flying in Thurs. evening)...

Somthing worth mentioning - Hudson got into the pool with Nana this afternoon, thinking that they were just going to splash around. Nope. Kalle (Nana) wanted to show me some ways to help Hudson learn how to swim enough to get to the side of the pool. Which I NEED to know. So Hudson thought it was all fun and games until Nana came over and grabbed him and tried, key word, to show him how to paddle and such. He didn't think it was any fun. He just screamed... I had to laugh. He honeslty was out of control. He didn't understand a thing, because he was screaming so loud... Kalle would show him how to get to the side ofthe pool and climb up the side. Which he tried; not so much because Kalle was asking him to but to get away from Nana. Once he would get up Kalle would grab him and do it over... (only twice) and he hated every min. of it - poor thing. But he does need to learn. Tomorrow I am going to get in with him and see if he is willing to "play" with me a bit. We will see. He did learn, today, how to splash (dog paddle with hands, not feet) and blow bubbles in the water. But then continued to suck water in when dunked... so who really knows? At the end of our grand idea of getting in the pool Hudson screamed when getting out, so there is hope. Needless to say teaching him might get a bit interesting. If anyone has any good ideas let me know!

Hope you all have a good few days - until the next blog.

We miss you Spence! And love you like crazy!!!

I have come across some recipes lately that have been REALLY good. Tonight we had pork tacos, and the meat was waaaay yummy. Yummy enough that I could have eaten just the meat; which doesn't happen too often. So here are two of the recipes I have made in the last week that are keepers...

Pork Tacos (or burritos)
1 1/2 Tablespoons chile powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of allspice
1 1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin, cut into 1/3" cubes... small bite size
1 med. onion (white) chopped.... I only used 1/2 onion - if that
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
5 Tablespoons minced cilantro (I didn't use cilantro - I hate cilantro)
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Sixteen warm 6-8" flour tortillas, mashed avocado, shredded or leaf lettuce, salsa, lime wedges and sour cream

(We mainly used fried corn tortilla, which were good. We also added spanish rice to the dish, and just diced the avocado...)

1.) In a large bowl, mix the chili powder with the salt, oregano, cumin, pepper, cinnamon and allspice. Add the pork, onion, vinegar and 1/4 cup of the cilantro and mix well. (I actually marinated the meat - in the spices - for at least 12 hours before and I added about a tsp. of sugar to the marinade... )

2.) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the pork and stir-fry over med. heat until browned outside and just cooked through. Transfer the pork to a colander to drain, then sprinkle with the cheese and the remaining 1 Tablespoon of cilantro. Transfer the pork to a serving bowl and serve with the warm tortillas or frshly fried corn tortillas, mashed/diced avocado, lettuce, salsa, sour cream and lime wedges (the lime is important!).

ENJOY


Penne Pasta with Chicken, Asparagus and Lemon Alfredo Sauce:
(serves about:6)
1 pound penne pasta - cooked
1 pound thin asparagus, ends trimmed, and diced into 1/2" - 1" pieces.

Sauce:
1.)
12 ounce chicken tenders (I used a rotisserie chicken from the store - costco) - cut diagonally in 1/2" wide strips/
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

2.)
1 16 ounce Alfredo Sauce
1 Tablespoon grated lemon peel
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large tomato, halved, seeded and diced
1/4 cup. snipped fresh chives (I left these out)
Pepper to taste

**Cook Pasta - add asperagus last three min. noddles are being cooked. Lightly coast chiken with flour, heat oil add chicken just until barely cooked through. Add alfredo sauce, lemon peel, lemon juice, and cheese. Bring to a simmer. Drain pasta and asparagus, add all to skillet/pot on stove and mix.

NOTE: Because I used a rotisserie chicken, I didn't use the flour or oil, I just mixed the chicken with the alfredo sauce and ingredients, then added noddles and asparagus and heated/cooked for a few min.

For the past two weeks I have been trying to "nail"(not literally) the binding on a baby blanket I was making. I had two episodes with bindings on blankets before and I got so fed up with them I tore off the satin binding and threw them out. So this one I was giving it a go, AGAIN! And after my third unpick I NAILED it! I was so excited. It must have been my numerous visits to the Nordstrom children's department looking over their "posh" blankets and bindings that made it "happen".... well at least it justified some visits to the mall.
Anyway, I thought since I didn't get pictures of the first two-three I would gets some of this one.

The blankets are for girls, and their babies, in my ward. I have decided that I will not make any blankets, unless asked by the girl. I DO NOT want this to become an "expected" gift. No thanks. The back of the blanket was a green and white SOFT fabric I put in checkered form, then the front (other side) I added a butterfly to tie in the back colors with the front; I got the "butterfly" idea from the pattern of the fabric. YEAH I AM DONE, for now.

Hudson is, each day, coming up with new ideas on how to spend his days... I don't know where he gets some of this stuff from... but it cracks us up.

First up - Hudson (for a while now) LOVES my shoes.. mainly my heels. Lately his favorites are these Jessica Simpson ones...



Hudson has also found a new love of popcorn. He will sit in his bean-bag and watch about 20 min. of a movie (which is a long time for him), eat his popcorn with his ankles crossed.



And if you know Hudson you know how much he LOVES his pacifier, Spencer calls it a "peace-ifier" - fitting. He has realized that he can actually fit two binkies (what we call a pacifier) in his mouth at the same time and he thinks he is pretty funny. (by the way... we took his pacifier away yesterday - I was going to go cold turkey... but couldn't handle the broken heart... so I let him have it just in bed when he sleeps... I know such a sucker I am... but seriously you would have thought he was dieing. We are taking baby steps)


He loves to get up on our bed and lay on all the pillows and sheets. He will snuggle right down in them. On this day I had just washed my sheets, so they were nice and warm. He instantly covered himself up in them... I must admit he looks BEAUTIFUL in these pictures... the white does him good.
(like his face in this one... he was a preforming a "scream" face?!?!)


Hudson has been "praying" for a while now. He doesn't actually say anything but he will fold his arms and if we are kneeling he will follow in a squat. Hasn't really figured out how to kneel. We love it. Both Spencer and I have a hard time closing our eyes... we just watch him. He is so proud of himself as well. (Hudson that is)
And one more item of business... Hudson knows all the body parts on his face/head. I would try to ask him all the time where his "nose" was or anything... and he would never budge. Then one afternoon after his nap I started going through the body parts and he knew where every single part was (again just the head/face area)... the little turkey never did it for me but knew the whole time! So anyway... here is a picture of him on Memorial Day, at a friend's pool, pointing to his nose with a truck in hand. IT was a fun day - filled with friends, food and pool.