Halloween Fun & International Families Day

We have had a fun month. I have been delinquent about blogging but I am going to try to be more regular. October flew by and before we knew it, it was Halloween. Hudson was Dumbo the Elephant and was a great sport about his costume. We went around to a few friends' homes. He didn't really understand the trick-or-treating but loved seeing the other kids. We had a ton of fun. He had an encounter with our friend Matt who was a turkey. He wasn't sure what to think. LOL

Hudson is waving and is talking a ton. He points to everything almost to say, "what's that?" He is such a happy baby and laughs all the time. he loves Tahoe. He calls her "Ta Ta." He calls her every morning and she comes running. Tahoe loves mealtime with Hudson. He loves to feed her from his high chair.

This past weekend we had International Families Day. Each country had a booth set up to share a part of their country with others. It was so crowded. We had a ball! It was fun to show others about the United States and we got to learn a lot about other countries. We got to eat Swiss chocolate, Italian pasta, french wine, bread, and cheese, and native dishes from all over. I even tried crocodile. LOL Kwenton tried that as well as kangaroo. I couldn't stomach the thought of eating such a nice cuddly creature so I passed. It was a neat experience. Hudson loved looking at all the people. There were Spanish flamenco dances, Indian dances, and too many other things to name. Our booth served chili, popcorn and m&ms for kids and Jack Daniels and Coke. Our booth was decorated with pictures from across the USA and we all wore sports team shirts or jerseys. The Kuhlmans showed their Colts pride of course:):)

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. We are loving it here and we can't believe how fast time has flown by. As they say in England ... Cheerio!

Beautiful fall, visitors, and a birthday

So it has been a very long time since I have posted so this may be a lengthy update. We are really enjoying the fall here. The leaves are beautiful and the weather is overall mild. We still get several nice days and sunshine which is nice. Kwenton is enjoying school and is definitely in the thick of it. He is staying busy for sure. He has a major paper due in mid-November.

Kwenton's parents came for a visit in early October and we really enjoyed that. We met them in Ireland to attend a friend's wedding in Doolin. We had an absolute ball! The wedding was gorgeous and it was a part of Ireland that we had never been to. Kwenton's parents enjoyed watching Hudson while we were at the wedding. They came back to England with us and stayed for 10 days. We enjoyed taking several day trips. We went to Blenheim Castle (birthplace of Winston Churchill), Bibury, Burford, Lechlade, Stow on the Wold, Stratford on Avon, Oxford, and spent an overnight in Crickhowell Wales. We had a great time!

Hudson's first birthday was on October 11th and we had an awesome celebration! Several of our friends from over here came over to celebrate with us. We had a Baby Einstein birthday and a baby Einstein caterpillar cake which I made. We were up pretty late the night before and I enlisted the help of Kwenton, Larry, and Pat to all help me. Everyone was awesome and it was a lot of fun. The cake wasn't magnificent but I think Hudson liked it ... at least the look of it. He didn't really try the cake at all ... just smashed it. LOL He loved all of his gifts and loved playing with the kids who were over for his party.

The last few weeks have been low-key. We are hoping to take a couple of trips in the near future and still love taking day trips exploring our area. We really love it here and are having a ball. We feel so lucky to have this opportunity!

Backyard fun

We have had a great week of beautiful weather. It is definitely fall here but the sun has been shining and there haven't been any signs of rain. Tahoe has been enjoying the outsdoors and we bought Hudson a little red car and he loves it. He will push it around, then get inside and doesn't like it when we have to go back inside. Hudson is fascinated with Tahoe. We are pretty sure he is trying to say her name because every time we say Tahoe, he says Ta ta ta ... lol.

Hudson turned the corner with walking this week. He is walking more every day ... he is slow but gets where he is going. He is just growing so much and he is so much fun to watch. I can't believe he will be 1 in just two weeks!! Where has the time gone!!!

Tahoe's Home!

We had an exciting weekend! After two months without Tahoe, she finally made it to England to be with us! She had a slight delay in Houston but she made it safe and sound!!! She was so excited when they brought her out. She has slipped back into life with us like no time had passed at all. She has been extra sleepy but she did have a long journey:) We took her to a place where she could swim in the Thames River on Sunday and she had a ball. There were several swans swimming around. She barked at them but when she was swimming, she only had eyes for her toy. Hudson loves Tahoe! He is fascinated and tries to follow her around. Tahoe on the other hand is unconcerned with Hudson. She quickly moves away when he comes near her.

We are all doing well. Kwenton had a busy week last week and this week will be busy as well. He took a horseback ride on Sunday and enjoyed that. I have my first International Dinner with several other wives this week which will be interesting. Hudson had his little music class again and he seems to like it ... well, he loves looking at the other kids and is fascinated with the whole thing. LOL He had a big weekend with getting Tahoe here and you can see from the pictures, he was so tired that he fell asleep while he was eating. Eating is a lot of fun right now! He loves to crunch anything! He loves Ritz crackers and yogurt ... he fusses when the yogurt is all gone:)

Tennis lessons and such

I had my first tennis lessons last week and loved it. I think it is something I will enjoy and will hopefully get better at. The weather has been getting cooler here. We finally turned the heater on in Hudson's room.

We went to a polo match this weekend. We were supposed to watch Prince William play ... the times ended up changing and we got there after he played. We had a good time anyway. You can see a picture of Hudson stomping the divots.

Hudson loves being outside. We have taken him running with us and he loves biking along in his little trailer. We took him in his Radio Flyer wagon the other night. Anything outside is fun for him!

Kwenton's classes are going well. They are keeping him busy with reading and such but overall he is enjoying them. I am staying busy with work, Hudson, and hanging out with friends. If everything goes as planned, we will have Tahoe home with us this weekend. We can't wait! We are anxious to see how she reacts to Hudson and how he reacts to her. LOL

Warwick Castle

We took a day trip to Warwick Castle today and had a ball!!! The castle was amazing and exactly what you would think a medieval castle would be like. There was a sort of festival going on with fencing, reenactments, and other activities. It was a kids dream! We climbed the towers and toured the staterooms. Hudson enjoying riding along in his backpack. It was a great day. This evening we went to a neighbor's house for a cookout. It is getting chilly here, especially in the evenings. Fall is upon us and I am afraid we are not far from needing our winter sweaters.

Kwenton and I both had a busy week. Kwenton had his first week of classes and so far is enjoying his small group. I had a spouse's night meet and greet on Wednesday. I enjoyed meeting some of the other wives and decided to sign up for a few groups. I am going to take some tennis lessons and I will take Hudson to a Musical Munchkins play group. It should be a good time.

Tomorrow we are off to church and then will head to watch a polo match. Kwenton is really excited about this and I think it will be a lot of fun too. Hopefully the weather will be nice.

Buckingham Palace

We have had a very fun week! Kwenton's international student orientation class ended last week and he had a week off before he starts his school on Tuesday. Kabot was here for a good part of the week. They went fishing on the Coln River and had a great time. We also went to a few towns on day trips. We live in such a cool area and have so many things close to us. We are getting to know our area pretty well and are falling in love with it.

We took a trip to London today. For two months during the summer, Buckingham Palace opens its doors and you can tour the state rooms while the Queen is living in one of her other castles:):) We wanted to do that before it ended so we went and had a blast. The state rooms were over the top ... Hudson slept through the whole thing until we had tea at the cafe by the gardens. Kwenton and I both enjoyed touring the Mews ... the palace stables. We were able to see the gold coach (built in 1762) that is used during coronations and is so heavy that it ihas to be pulled by 8 horses. There were lifesize statues of horses and Hudson wasn't sure what to think about them. We also saw some of the cars in the Queen's fleet ... Bentleys and Rolls Royces ... it was a fun museum.

On the Hudson front, he is just a happy guy! He is so easy going and is a great traveler. He is getting more and more adventurous with food. He loves finger foods and feeding himself but spits most of it out after chewing it up ... he seems to like anything he can crunch with his 6 teeth:) He still likes his baby food but is much more interested in our food. Tonight at dinner, he kept grabbing fries off of Kwenton's plate. LOL He is so much fun!

We have one more day to get the last touches finished on the house before Kwenton starts classes on Tuesday. Hopefully iy will be a relaxing day.

England

We are slowly starting to get settled here in England and are loving it! Hudson and I arrived about 3.5 weeks ago and we finally got our household goods last week. We are still living surrounded by boxes but we are slowly chipping away at them. One thing we realized pretty early is that we brought a little too much stuff. Storage is non existent here and the closets are small. But, we are making it work and we're in England so everything else is details:) Kwenton is enjoying his class so far. It is just the inprocessing for international students. He will start his UK class in September. He will have next week off and we are planning to take several day trips.

Life in England is awesome so far. We are in a town on the outskirts of the Cotswolds. We are about an hour west of London and the area is beautiful. The towns have so much character. Each town seems to have its own church and its own pub! We are about 20 minutes away from a U.S. Air Force base so we have access to a commissary which is nice. We have already had a couple of visitors. My mom came with Hudson and I and stayed for 10 days to help us get settled which was awesome. Kabot was here this week and will be back for a few days next week.