National Championship Game - Part 1

I realize this posting is a bit late, but I thought I would still get it up here.

This year Bentley's favorite team, Alabama Crimson Tide, went to the National Championship and so did we along with Bentley's family. We got to the Rose Bowl early that morning to experience all of the festivities. I have to say that is the earliest I have ever gotten to a game but we had a great time. It was great to experience such a big game in person. We had such a blast at the game and to make it even better, Alabama won!!

Hudson guys before the big game

Before the game

The Hudson family at the National Championship Game - after the win!!

After the game, we drove up the Pacific Highway headed towards San Francisco. It was such an amazing part of the trip and I am so glad we did that. The scenery was beautiful, we saw some crazy wildlife and really enjoyed the drive.

We stopped along out Pacific Highway tour and had a great lunch and then took a few pictures by the water. We all took turns trying to balance on this pole...here is our attempt.

We made a few stops along our drive to San Francisco to take pictures of the beautiful scenary.

One of my favorite stops that we made along our drive was a Big Sur. We stopped at a coffe shop and bakery that was just so adorable. We all got a drink of some kind to keep us going on the last leg of our trip. I had some of the best hot chocolate I think I have ever had!

Yummy hot chocolate

Fun in Santa Fe, NM

At the beginning of March, Bentley and I took advantage of his last Spring Break and headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Even taking our two dogs with us, the drive was not bad at all. We left our house at 6:23AM (we took a picture of the clock so I know EXACTLY what time it was) and arrived around 4PM (no clock picture so just a guess). We made several stops so that probably added about 45 minutes but all-in-all we made good time.

The boys in the backseat with their "Winter Coats". (Don't worry, they have had hair cuts since then!)

Our casita for the week

We went skiing the first two days we were there and had such a great time. It was Bentley's first time to go snow skiing and he did a great job learning so quickly. I think he even wants to go back!! It snowed on us pretty much the entire time we were there. Our second day skiing was great because Santa Fe had gotten about a foot of snow. The drive back down the mountain was a bit scary, and reminiscent or our drive home at Christmas, but we made it safe and sound back down the mountain.

Bentley putting on skis for the first time

On the first lift - this is a ground lift and great to learn on. I wish this was around when I learned.







The drive up the mountain the second day was completely different than the first. There was so much snow that it made the drive difficult. Thanks for getting us up and down the mountain safely Bentley!

Beautiful snow covered landscape

There was a road here yesterday

After skiing for two days, we decided to go sledding, build a snowman and make snow angels. We had so much fun sledding the last time we were here (2008) that we just had to make time. One big difference between this trip and the one before - the amount of snow.

Bentley climbing up to make a sledding trail. The last time we were here there was not as much snow and the trails were already there.

Our snowman!

Not only do we love the scenery and relaxation that comes with Santa Fe, but we also love all of the yummy food! While we were there we visited a few places that we had seen on shows like Diners, Drive-in's and Dives. Our favorites were Sage Bakehouse, Cowgirl BBQ, Andiamo, Bobcat Bite and Zia Diner (from DD&D) and Tecalote (thanks Licia).

What a fun trip! I think this will be a place that we make a tradition of visiting! Cheap skiing, good snow, great food - what else could you want?

Holiday Party and The Donut Bandits

This weekend we had the SMU Holiday Party and got to spend some time together and hang out with some of Bentley's friends from school. It was fun to get dressed up and go out. Before the party we went to Roy's and had a really yummy dinner.

At the party

After the party on Saturday, we had a breakfast with our Life Group on Sunday to discuss the next Bible study that we are going to do. We took donuts with us and had several left over. When we got home from church, we put them on the table (where we thought they were safe). Later that afternoon when Bentley and I were in the living room, we noticed the dogs hanging out by the table. That is when we realized that they had somehow managed to open the box of donuts, from on top of the table and eat a few donuts. We cannot figure out how this happened but it sure was funny! Here is a picture of the box they had to open and the way the mess they made.

Crazy dogs - don't they know they aren't supposed to eat donuts!!

Fun Times

So it has been a while since I have posted anything so I thought that it might be good to update our blog. A few weekends back Bentley did not have too much studying so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent some time outside. We went to the Dallas Arboretum and had a picnic, looked at all of the beautiful flowers, enjoyed the pumpkin patch and then played Top Golf. It was some much needed time for us to relax and spend the day enjoying each other.

Here are some pictures of our time at the Arboretum.

Both of the above pictures are from inside the Arboretum.

Us by a waterfall (the water looks funny in the picture).

Pumpkin patch house - There were tons of unsual pumpkins as you can see.

This was a really cool looking horse at the pumpkin patch.

Second Anniversary

On July 21st Bentley and I celebrated our second anniversary. We decided to celebrate by going to the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. It was nice to get "away" (sort of) and spend some time at the hotel since the last time we were there was the night we got married and arrived so late and left so early. We had so much fun relaxing by the pool and spending time together. It was a great anniversary!

Our Precious Niece

Kristen and Robbie's daughter, Kaelyn Elizabeth, was born on July 6, 2009 and is so precious. Bentley and I are very proud of our little niece. It has been so much fun to hang out with them and listen to all of Kaelyn's funny little noises.

Here is a picture of us holding Kaelyn. She is such a cutie!

Weekend with Family

This past weekend my parents, Brittany, Russell and Kylin came to visit. It had been several months since we had all been together so we had a good time. Kylin kept us laughing the entire weekend. We went to the Forth Worth Zoo on Saturday and on Sunday we took him to play at Willow Bend Mall. I am not sure if he had more fun or if we had more fun watching him. Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Here are a few pictures of Kylin getting ready to take a bath and playing in his swimming pool. Who knew this was so much fun?

Kylin decided to sit in the sink before his bath

Bentley blew up Kylin's pool inside the house so they decided to climb in!

Bentley and Kylin playing with the camera