New town, new house, new school.

One of the things I was most nervous about when we moved was Kemper starting over in a brand new (to him) school.  If anything, I'll admit that this is one of my biggest anxieties of our military lifestyle.  He and Hudson are going to be the new kids more times that I want to imagine.  When we first moved, he kept telling anyone who asked that he was most excited about school so he could make new friends (cue my heart breaking every single time).  The closer it got, the less we heard him mention that.  On the night we went to his school to meet the teacher and see his classroom, his teacher asked him if he was excited for school to start.  My sweet boy who has always been excited for school looked her square in the eyes and said, "no."  I asked him later why he had said no and he mumbled a bit about new people and being nervous about the work.  

I want to add that even though him being the new kid has been one of my biggest anxieties, I have tried so very hard and will continue to try to not show him my anxieties or pass them on to him.  James is the same way, and by nature is less concerned with being the new kid or having to make new friends.  We have been excitedly talking about school and how he'll get to meet new kids.  We excitedly bought school supplies together and have just in general been talking it up like it is the most exciting thing in the world.  Even with all of that, I was almost dreading the first morning of school.

Kemper and his 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Stokes

The school he's attending this year has changed their hours and school starts at 7:25.  It's not as quick of a drive this year which means that we need to leave our house by 7:00.  Kemper's always been an early riser but so far, I've had to wake him every morning at 6:25 so that he has enough time to eat a quick breakfast and get dressed.  I hate to rush him through breakfast but he really doesn't have much of an appetite that early and I feel like he needs as much sleep as possible.  We may start experimenting with taking some form of breakfast in the car with us as the school year progresses.  Early start time means that he also gets out fairly early.  He loads the bus at 2:30 but has quite the bus ride before he makes it home.  

The first morning, it just so happened that James was off so he could go with us to drop off.  I got up and got myself ready then woke Kemper.  After breakfast and getting dressed, he was a good sport and let me take first day of school pictures.  James woke Hudson up and got him loaded in the car with a cup of milk and snack cup of cereal.  Mrs. Stokes had told us that on the first day, we could walk him in if we wanted to help him find his way.  I was planning to walk him in but on the way when I asked, he said that he knew where he was going and didn't need me to walk him in.  We pulled up to the car drop off line and as soon as the door opened, he was out and didn't look back.  We barely got a bye out of him.  I don't know why I was expecting otherwise because he was the exact same way last year but I couldn't help but feel a little sad.  The little sadness was overshadowed by being so incredibly proud and in awe of this awesome little guy who is so resilient and ready to tackle his new school.  If he was feeling insecure or nervous, he didn't show it.  Hudson wasn't happy at all that "Temper" got out of the car and didn't come back.  His face was pitiful and he never actually audibly cried out but he was struggling to hold it in.  All day he kept asking when Kemper was coming home.  

We ran some errands and it just felt strange without having him with us.  From about 2:30 on, James and I had our eyes on the clock.  I don't know which of us was more excited for him to get home.  The bus driver had told me that it would probably be 3:15-3:30 before he got home so we waited in the house as long as we could stand it before going out to wait for the bus.  James went outside around 3 and I was somehow patient enough to wait until 3:10.  And then we waited....and waited...and waited.  We waited so long that I eventually called the transportation office to find out if the buses were running behind.  She assured me that being over 30 minutes late was normal the first week of school as the drivers are making sure they hit all of their stops and making sure that each little one has a parent waiting for them at their stop.  The bus FINALLY pulled up at 4:15...an hour after it should have arrived.  Kemper got off and was not smiling.  He said he never wanted to ride the bus again...can you blame him?!

It was like pulling teeth to get him to tell us about his day.  He said it was good, he didn't make any new friends yet and that he liked his teacher.  We asked as many questions as we could think to answer and got the shortest answers he could come up with.  :)  For the most part, all he could talk about was how he didn't want to ride the bus and how boring it was.  Poor guy.  Unfortunately, the bus is going to have to work because to pick him up, I would have to wake Hudson up from his nap about an hour into it and I don't think any of us (including Kemper) want to make that sacrifice because he will be a bear the rest of the day.  Thankfully, the last few days have been better and he's been getting home a little earlier each day.  

Overall, he's enjoying 1st grade and is excited.  I can tell that he's exhausted so we've started to push his bedtime up a little bit each night.  Having to wake him up in the mornings just kills me because I already feel like he doesn't get enough sleep (he typically lays in bed for 45 minutes to an hour talking and playing once we put him to bed) but I'm counting on it getting better once we get into a routine and he gets used to being at school all day.  He still says he hasn't met any friends yet but I know that will come with time.  He was happy to report that he sits in between 2 little girls and across from another so I look for the girlfriend announcement any day. ;)  It only took a week in Kindergarten.


This has been a summer of change for him and he's had his whole world turned upside down.  No matter how closely we try to recreate "his room" in a new house, there will always be differences.  No matter how hard we try to ease the transition, there will always be an adjustment period and things that we can't make easy for him.  I pray that he will grow up to be resilient and will be able to handle the moves and being "the new kid" well.  A friend said it best about Kemper when I was telling her about him telling his new teacher he wasn't excited - "Kemper is a loyal kid...his new teacher has to earn his loyalty because right now, his loyalty lies with his old teacher."  I think that description fits him to a tee.  I love this kid and I am continually amazed and proud of him and how he handles whatever life throws his way.  

June in Virginia - Part 1

The weekend we arrived in Virginia was also the 70th Anniversary of D-Day and since Bedford has such strong ties to D-Day, there were lots of activities that weekend including a parade!  We loaded the boys up and found a nice, shady spot to view the parade.  My friend, Noelle, showed up with her little boy Owen and joined us for the parade.  

To say we were a bit disappointed with the parade would be an understatement.  To be honest, I didn't have HUGE expectations but considering the community's ties to D-Day and ceremony they hosted at the D-Day Memorial the day before, I did expect it to appear that someone had put a bit of effort into securing entries.  Not a single marching band from our own county participated in the parade but two marching bands from neighboring counties marched and did fabulous jobs!  Those who did participate seemed to really enjoy themselves and to see the veterans who were riding in the parade was a wonderful experience.  The boys were given little flags to wave and of course collected quite a bit of candy that was being tossed by the parade participants.  

It was nice to see VMI Cadets leading the parade presenting the colors.  We told Kemper that when Daddy went to college, he had to wear that uniform and he thought that was hilarious!  Even if, the parade was a bit dinky (less than 15 minutes worth of entries), the boys had a good time and enjoyed seeing the old cars, the bands and waving to people.  

To round out our first weekend in Virginia, we went with Grandma Rita and Grandpa Phil and then went down to MeMe and Grandma Peggy's church for their annual Sunday School picnic.  Hitting two churches is each Sunday is challenging with the boys but it means so much to Grandma Peggy to see the boys and to get to show them off so we always give it a go and hope for the best!  After the church service, everyone headed outside for a delicious potluck.  We had a birthday party that afternoon so I left a bit early with Hudson and took him to Grandma Peggy's for a nap.  

We were lucky that we got to Virginia just in time to attend the 7th birthday party of a sweet little girl.  I grew up going to church with her dad and now, she goes to Grandma Rita's church and is usually at MeMe's church, too!  She was having a tie-dye birthday party at her Granny's house so the kids could swim, too.  The tie-dye station was so neat and the guy running it had a TON of colors and all sorts of designs.  Kemper and Hudson each got a shirt...orange and blue, of course!  We did all of the twisting/rubber banding/squirting of colors at the party and took the shirts home in ziploc bags to wash the next day.  Aside from getting out of the pool long enough to quickly make a shirt and grab a cupcake, Kemper was a little fish!  Hudson almost slept through the entire party but woke up in time to come swim for about 20 minutes.  

To cap off our first weekend in Virginia, Uncle Charlie came over and played with the boys.  Hudson is a BIG fan of Uncle Charlie!  We played basketball, rode bikes, played with the stomp rocket and with the balloon rockets.  I was worried about finding things to keep the boys busy for our 3 weeks in Virginia but luckily, we stayed fairly busy and found plenty to keep them entertained!  A trip to North Carolina, a trip to the zoo, many sleepovers with Grandma Rita and Grandpa Phil and even a Chuck E Cheese trip for the boys!  

The trip to Alabama and settling in

We knew that it was going to be a long day on the road and we were traveling with 3 vehicles.  James was driving his truck, my dad was driving his car and then mom and I were in the van with the boys.  The gentleman who was going to be meeting us with the keys to the house and doing the walk through needed us to meet him by a certain time so we decided that James and Dad should push on with fewer/shorter breaks while Mom and I would take our time and take breaks as the boys needed them.  

Right after I snapped this picture, he woke up.  All it took was turning a movie on for Kemper and his eyes popped open and he was asking for headphones.

The night before we left, the boys spent the night with Grandma Rita and Grandpa Phil.  We picked the boys up at 8am and were on the road by 8:15.  We had a 10.5 hour trip ahead of us with no breaks factored in.  Our hope was for Dad and James to arrive around 4:30 (Central time so we would pick up an hour along the way) and for mom and I to get there by 6.  

Welcome to Alabama!

Our trip went pretty smoothly with no major hiccups.  I drove the first leg to Sevierville, TN where we stopped for lunch and then Mom took over for a bit.  The boys did AWESOME (with the exception of Hudson deciding to snap his headphones in half as we were pulling off the interstate for an ice cream stop)!  Kemper is always such a great little traveler and Hudson has gotten better over time.  We had made the decision to turn his car seat around right before we left Tennessee so that he would be able to see the movie and to make it easier on Grandma Rita and I to hand him things along that drive.  That has helped some but he still gets bored and tired and makes sure everyone in the car knows it.  

The before and after of Hudson's room

We didn't have to make nearly as many stops as we were expecting so the guys never got all that far ahead of us.  They arrived to the house about 45 minutes before we did and got started painting Hudson's bedroom.  It was a very PINK shade of pink and while he's still little enough to not care, the landlords had said we could paint it so we went ahead and painted it a neutral.  

The boys were SUPER excited to get out of the car and check out their new house.  A wrestling session with Daddy in the empty living room was just what they needed to blow off some steam.  They checked out their rooms, ran around the empty house and enjoyed exploring all of the little nooks and cranies.  We went and grabbed dinner then checked into our hotel.  The guys headed back to the house to finish up painting and then everyone crashed.  We had an early morning and a busy day ahead of us!

Kemper conked out after a long travel day.  

James and I headed over to the house around 8am to wait for the movers.  A truck showed up at 8:15am but they just dropped the trailer off and told us that the unpackers would be there in a little bit.  They showed up around 9am and got to work.  

The above picture shows our inventory from when they packed us up in Tennessee.  Every box or piece of furniture gets a numbered sticker and when it's brought in the house, the number gets called out and I have to check it off.  James stood in the garage and called numbers out while telling them where to take the boxes/furniture.  MeMe and Pops were on kid duty.  Kemper was such an angel and stayed out of the way and entertained himself with no issues.  Hudson was a handful, as usual, and I think MeMe and Pops were worn out by the end of the day.  We had a crew of 8 movers and 2 of them were women.  They were there to unpack boxes but we asked them to not unpack since having piles of stuff just stacked around the floor was a thousand times more daunting than the boxes.  We had them unpack a select few things such as our crystal and picture frames just to make sure nothing had broken and needed to be noted.  The truck was unloaded and furniture was put together by 4pm.  

We have received the warmest welcome of any of our duty assignments in Alabama.  I think James met all of our neighbors while standing outside and directing the movers.  Hudson was excited to meet the dog from next door but I'm not sure how excited the dog was to meet Hudson.  Our neighbors to the right brought over a chicken pot pie casserole for us with a lovely note saying that since moving was so hectic they thought they would help us out and take that task off of our plate for the night.  We were so thankful for their kindness and the delicious casserole was devoured by all!  

Our main goal for the first night was to get all of the beds made and ready to be slept in and then to work on the boys rooms until it was their bedtime.  I don't think anyone had problems going to sleep that night.  Thanks to MeMe and Pops, we had 95% of the boxes unpacked and put away by day 4 of being in the house.  They were here through Monday and by the time they left, things were looking great!  After being told by the movers that they wouldn't come back for the boxes if we didn't let them unpack, our move coordinator through the Army told us that was false and they arranged to have the boxes picked up which definitely lit a fire under us!  

We are really enjoying Alabama thus far and love the house.  This is the house we decided to rent having only seen the outside and a few small pictures of the inside.  I am so very happy with our choice and we have plenty of room and storage for all of our stuff!  One thing that we've (well, I've) had an issue with is that the previous tenants had 2 large and apparently very fluffy dogs.  We didn't realize that when carpets are cleaned, they don't vacuum beforehand.  After the first couple of days, my allergies were really acting up and giving me a hard time.  We vacuumed and had to empty the vacuum probably 20 times and could have made an entire new dog with the amount of hair we got up.  Blech.  Thankfully, the purchasing of some super duty allergy air filters and vacuuming almost daily has really helped.  When we house hunted for this house, we made sure to ask if there was a linen closet after moving into our Tennessee house and realizing there wasn't a single linen closet but now, we'll know to ask if they have allowed pets (and I don't even want to imagine how bad of shape I would have been in if the previous tenants had cats).  

Hopefully in the next few days I'll have pictures of the house now that we're all settled and can get a house tour up.  School starts in 3 weeks for Kemper and James started last week so the boys and I are trying to stay busy and meet new friends.  Kemper is most excited to start school so he can make friends but I have a feeling Hudson isn't going to be pleased when his buddy isn't here to entertain him this fall...little does he know he'll start his own school a few weeks later!  

Home is where the Army sends us...

And in this case, the Army sent us to Fort Campbell on the Tennessee/Kentucky border where we purchased our first home.  

Our beautiful home...the one we fell in love with almost instantly.  It was probably the 3rd house we looked at and even though there was only subflooring down, no kitchen and no bathroom fixtures, we knew it was the perfect house for our family.  

So many things happened to our family in this house.  Many wonderful things but some bittersweet and downright sad things.  This is the first house that Kemper will ever remember and a house that Hudson probably never will.  This is the home that Kemper mastered climbing the stairs and left his pudgy little handprints up and down the wall.  This is the home that Kemper and I returned to the day we said goodbye to James for his second deployment and this is the home that we welcomed him home to after a long 12 months.  This is the home that we brought Hudson home to and where he quickly added his pudgy handprints to the walls and learned to climb the stairs.  Kemper stood on the front steps of this home on his first day of Kindergarten and ran down the sidewalk each day from the bus stop.  This home holds so many memories.

This is the home where we welcomed friends who turned into part of our Army family.  This is the home where we planned for holidays and parties.  In this home, we gathered around the table with part of our Army family and celebrated Thanksgiving with delicious food, but most importantly, lifelong friends.  

Many kitchen disasters happened in this kitchen (and Pinterest disasters that James swears were attempts to poison him), but there were far more delicious meals and treats.  These counters held Kemper as he helped me cook and held Hudson while we gave him doses of medicine.  The counters were almost always cluttered with papers and drawings and mail.  The table where Kemper and I looked over his daily folder and worked on homework together for the first time.  Many donut dates took place in this kitchen and many rounds of "high point/low point" as we ate dinner.  

We entertained and threw birthday parties in this house.  So many amazing Army women gathered in our home for coffees and Christmas parties.  So many wonderful, amazing, thoughtful friends gathered to celebrate 4 of Kemper's birthdays and Hudson's first birthday.  As hard as we tried not to let them, toys cluttered this room and Matchbox cars left tiny tracks on the tables.  Picture frames and baskets were rearranged.  Coasters stacked and restacked because they're way more fun than blocks.  I always thought that this room looked most beautiful at Christmas with the tree twinkling and stockings hung on the mantle.  It has definitely been a room we haven't often used but it's always been cozy and welcoming to family and friends.  

This house is where Kemper got his big boy bed and his big boy room.  I was so terrified to move him out of the crib but when we did, we decided to completely give him a different room that was decorated for him.  Many changes have been made over the last few years but I have always loved this room and how it turned out.  Our marriage was tested when we painted the room but I loved how it turned out.  Kemper's hosted his first sleepover in this room with Joey when her family came to visit from North Carolina.  Toys seemed to multiply in this room and it seemed like we were always trying to cram just one more thing in here to keep it out of Hudson's reach...Legos, markers, all of the toys that come with tiny (tiny, tiny) pieces.  Kemper's own little corner of the world where he stores (and sometimes hides) his most prized possessions.

Our room was often the catch all, throw it in there and shut the door because company's coming room in the house.  Many Matchbox cars and tiny toys have graced the floors and my feet have always found them in the middle of the night.  Kemper and I spent almost every morning cuddling in my bed watching cartoons while James was deployed.  Hudson spent his first few weeks at home in our room next to my side of the bed.  We moved a rocking chair in our room where we spent MANY hours rocking and nursing.  Precious mornings of both boys joining us to snuggle and watch cartoons.  

Hudson spent the majority of his life sharing his room with the guest room.  He routinely got kicked out when visitors game but when we removed the guest bed and gave him his own room, he seemed to really love all the new space and toys.  MANY hours were logged in the rocking chair nursing and rocking him to sleep.  Many nights pacing in front of the crib trying to lull him to sleep, or sitting just outside of his room willing him to sleep.  Now he loves sitting in his little chair and listening to us read every night before bed.  Always the same books, with very few changes in our repertoire.  Goodnight Moon, Snuggle Puppy, But Not the Hippopotamus, Horns to Toes and In Between, and Are You a Cow? rounded out the favorites.  He went from barely taking up any of the changing pad to barely fitting on it.  This room went from Kemper's when he was in a crib, to Hudson's.  

The bonus room is what sold us on this house.  We walked in and immediately knew that this house fit our needs perfectly.  How blessed we have been to have this amazing second living space.  We were able to keep almost all of the toys upstairs in the playroom.  It has been our family room and the boys' playroom.  We've had movie nights, we've set up tents and forts, it has looked like a bomb went off more times than not and it has hosted our families when we moved our guest mattress in after Hudson came along.  It has hosted MANY playdates, a few early Christmas mornings and Santa visits.  It is where our second Christmas tree has always gone because it just doesn't seem right not to be able to see a Christmas tree from the front of the house.  Babies have played on this floor and those babies have grown into big kids who have run around and wrestled on this floor.  

This house has been such a blessing and will always hold a piece of my heart.  We moved into this house as a family of 3 and are moving out as a family of 4.  We moved into this house without knowing a single soul and are moving out with hearts full of amazing friends who have visited and hung out in our house.  

Home is where the Army sends us and it sure knew what it was doing when it sent us here.  

Easter Egg Hunt 2014

One (sometimes) perk of being an Army family is that there are typically always family events put on by the FRG around holidays.  This year, James's Battalion hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for all of the families in 426BSB.  I volunteer with the FRG and was lucky enough to be able to work on this event with some amazing ladies.  One downside to this is that usually, by the time the events roll around, we are ready to pull our hair out and looking forward to the giant glass of wine that awaits us after it's over.  :)

Alivia and Kemper modeling in front of the Easter Egg 

We planned for approximately 200 kids and were going to limit it to 10 eggs per kids...it's never fun to be at an Easter Egg hunt and see that child that only got 2 or 3 eggs so we wanted to make sure we had PLENTY.  And we did!  We stuffed over 2600 Easter Eggs and didn't have to ask kids to limit themselves to 10.  

One downside of Mom being on the planning committee is that you always have to arrive super early and entertain yourself while she helps set up!

We had 4 age groups (0-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9+) and his one Golden Egg in each age group.  There was a slight snafu with the hiding of the golden eggs and we ended up losing track of one.  We stuck tickets in the other 3 (and ran one into the older age group after it was found in the youngest group) and hoped that nobody found the "lost" egg.  

The lovely and AMAZING ladies who worked so hard on this egg hunt.  So thankful for these wonderful women!

We had other events planned because we knew that once the actual egg hunts started, they would be over in 15 minutes!  Kids are fast!  We had a craft table, the egg & spoon race, face painting, pictures with the Easter Bunny, a cake walk and refreshments. 

My boys had a great time...Hudson was particularly smitten with the Easter Bunny.  He kept photo bombing other people's pictures.  Oops!  Kemper was off and running with Alivia...we barely saw him once the event got going.  

Kemper and Alivia doing the egg and spoon race.

Hudson looks scared but he was far from it!

Kemper with the bunny ears he made at Mrs. Kathy's craft table.

I am so, so, so thankful for this amazing man who, even though he may be rolling his eyes and huffing in his head, steps up and helps out when I need him to.  Due to some unusual circumstances, I had to ask (tell?) James to be the "announcer" for the event and he was amazing, as usual.  He helped to get each age group started (we did staggered start times for each age group) and gave instructions for the hunts.  Thankful for this man who will step up and take charge when needed.  

Hudson got the hang of it this year!

With his loot...he didn't really care that he didn't have a basket full of eggs.  

So, remember that "lost" golden egg that we were hoping nobody would find because it didn't have the prize ticket in it...thank goodness my kid was the one who found it!  In the middle of his age group's hunt, he starts yelling to me that he found a golden egg while he sprints by looking for more.  I had a sinking feeling that it was the one that had been misplaced and sure enough, there was no ticket inside.  Even though he was disappointed that he didn't get the prize, he was such a good sport and so understanding when I explained to him what had happened that I told him I would buy him a special prize for finding the golden egg.  I was so proud of how well he handled it and that he didn't get upset.

Kemper with his eggs...one of the few times he was still and without Alivia.

Showing off his face painting...Cavman of course!

Overall, it was a successful event and everyone that attended seemed to have a great time.  It has been so nice to have events like these the last 4 years at Fort Campbell.  We've made lots of fun, happy memories at egg hunts, fall festivals/trunk or treats, and Christmas parties!  Who knows what the next year will hold since we won't be in a unit setting and will be at an Air Force base!  

Where a kid can be a kid!

For Kemper's birthday this year, we had a Chuck E Cheese party...and it was by far the easiest and least stressful party we've ever thrown!  Kemper has wanted to have a turn in the Ticket Blaster ever since he set foot in Chuck E Cheese for the first time around age 3.  You used to be able to buy a turn in the blaster but they did away with that option and now the only way to try it out is to book a birthday party.  Darn you Chuck E Cheese.  

Kemper posing with the treat bags he helped me make.  Still a Ninja Turtles party even if it is at Chuck E Cheese.  

We booked a party for 8 kids and then all of their parents.  When we arrived, they had everything all set up for us and tokens separated out for the kids.  They were off and running and completely, 100% entertained and happy until the pizzas came out.  

Kemper riding Hudson's favorite "game" with him.

Once the pizzas came out, the kids were all called back to the table and it was time to eat.  While they were finishing up, our individual party assistant came over and told us that Chuck E Cheese would be out in just a few minutes.  The party theme at Chuck E Cheese is Rock Star.  There was an entire "sketch" that went along with the mouse coming out to mingle.  

Kemper with his friend, Alivia.  I think of everyone at the party, he was most excited that Alivia came. :)

After Chuck E Cheese visited our table, it was time for cake.  Our party assistant cut the cake for us and then boxed it back up so we could take the leftovers home.  It was pretty great to not have to worry about the little things and to just be able to enjoy his party!  

Happy Birthday boy!

Finally, it was time to wait for his turn in the Ticket Blaster!  He was so excited and not nervous at all.  They let him wear his birthday crown in which helped because there were quite a few tickets tucked in there when he came out.  Our party assistant threw some vouchers in there for 100, 200 and 1000 tickets.  When it was over, he kept shoveling tickets to Kemper and he ended up with well over 1500 tickets at the end of the day.  He was so pleased with the blaster experience!

Kemper and Gavin...the big 6 year olds!

The friends Kemper invited this year were Gavin, Trenton, Alivia, Ava, Devon and Briley.  Briley is his little friend from the bus that he has been begging to invite since earlier in the year.  Luckily the invitation I sent along with him made it to Briley's mom who contacted me and was able to make it!  Navigating the school friends has been an adjustment and I'm thankful for friends with older kids who have offered some guidance on that topic!

Kemper doing his guitar solo with Chuck E Cheese

Kemper and I made the goodie bags to look like the different Ninja Turtles and we filled them with random little things that Kemper likes.  Everyone got a little notepad and a small pack of markers because Kemper loves to draw and write notes.  We also included some jelly beans (because Kemper loves sweets), Ninja Turtles temporary tattoos (because what 6 year old boy doesn't love those), some Ninja Turtles stickers (and some other stickers for the girls), and Ninja Turtle pencils.  

Modeling his Rock Star medal.  

Overall, he was super pleased with his party and everyone seemed to have a great time!  I know it was certainly a plus not to have to clean the house, make all the food, and then clean up after everyone left!  We simply rounded up the boys and left!  

Kemper with his Donatello cake...it sure was yummy!

Mom and Dad with the new 6-year old

From the left: Ava, Alivia, Devon, Gavin, Kemper, Trenton, Briley...and poor Hudson was still in the high chair and we completely forgot to get him out for the picture.

Taking his turn in the Ticket Blaster

Gathering up his tickets!