It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (at the Mulders)

Well Brenda has been up to her usual Christmas magic. The house looks beautiful. Take a look (I did the moose!) We can't wait for everyone to be here for Christmas.

Getting the Christmas Trees - 2008

For the last 23 years, our family has cut a fresh Christmas Tree. This year we went to Butler Christmas Tree Farm. Philip, Brenda and I picked out two perfect trees. While it isn't like the old trips with our full family (remember when Keith gave Philip a bloody lip?), we still have lots of fun. In addition to the traditional hot chocolate, Philip got to pet the reindeer and the hound dogs and feed the llamas and the horses. For those of you who missed the trip, here are some photos:

Hunting with Mike

One of the real joys of visiting Houston is hunting with Mike. He is very patient with us novices. This time instead of duck hunting, we were in the field hunting pheasant, quail and chucker. Luckily, we had Scott, Jared and Mitchell with us as the expert shots. Mike served as our guide and Maddison was the mule driver. Thanks Mike for a great time. I promise to become a better shot! At least we didn't pull a Dick Chaney.

A Houston Thanksgiving

Cranberry Fluff has been a Hudson family Thanksgiving staple for years. This year Scott (Mike's son) and Philip were responsible for it's preparation. We made a little too much, but it makes for a great left over. I used a sign up sheet to get everyone involved in the meal process. We had shift leaders and the kids could sign up for the shift they wanted (e.g. Wednesday night, Thursday morning, clean up, etc.) It was a complete success as many hands make for light work.

It was 75 degrees in Houston and it was fun just to sit outside and enjoy and cup of coffee and a post meal walk. Bryan and Jessie could not come to Houston but they enjoyed Thanksgiving in Chicago with Jessie's parents. They got to make use of their new dining room table.

Parent's Day at U of M

Yesterday, Brenda and I went to Ann Arbor for Parent's Day. Since U of M schedules Parent's Day in mid November, of course it was 37 degrees and raining. We went to Laurel's rental house first (Laurel and I have different views of cleanliness) and then we went to a tailgate party put on by some Portage Northern parents. Since it was cold, rainy, and Michigan has a losing football team, we skipped the football game and went shopping instead (Laurel did not mind). Laurel needed a winter coat and the mall was having great sales. Laurel said she was glad we were having an economic recesssion - it makes all the sales even better.

Here is a photo from Laurel's kitchen. They are holding a cupcake that another Mom brought to share.

Uncle Odus Passes Away

Popi's brother Odus passed away on November 3, 2008. Odus was born on November 27, 1920 and was about to celebrate his 88th birthday. Odus was Popi's only full sibling and he still lived near Fouke, Arkansas. I had only seen Odus a few times but Brenda has many fond memories of Uncle Odus from her many trips to Arkansas as a young girl.

Popi was able to see Odus in October and then went back last week for the funeral.

When Keith was about two years old and was a real "spitfire", Odus gave him the name of Pedro Pasquale. Popi will still use this nickname for Keith today.

Grandma and Grandpa hit the big city

Recently I found out that Grandma and Grandpa had not been to downtown Chicago in over 50 years. Plus they had never seen Bryan and Jessie's apartment in Hyde Park. So today they came down to our house and we rode together over to Chicago. After having a wonderful brunch that Jessie prepared, we drove over to see the Law School and Bryan's future law office building. Next, we walked around Marshall Fields. I had to talk Grandma and Grandpa out of buying the 15 foot dragon (see picture). After dinner in Hyde Park, we came home. In fitting style, it was windy and about 37 degrees in Chicago.

Partying with Barack in Chicago

Brenda, Philip and I have been very excited about the 2008 Presidential Race. So when it came to election night, we wanted to be "part of history. I left work at 3:00 pm and we drove to Chicago to have dinner with Bryan and Jessie in Hyde Park. Hyde Park was hopping and it was fun to see the excitement in Barack's home neighborhood. After dinner, we took the bus to the Grant Park celebration. We had a blast and bought some souvenirs from the street vendors. We left Grant Park at 10:30 cst and watched Barack's victory speech from the apartment. We arrived back in Portage at 2:30 am. A long day, but it is not often that you get to witness part of history.

More Halloween 2008

Our friends the Whislers have an annual Halloween Party. This year's theme was Broadway. So Brenda and I went as Billy and Roxy from the play Chicago. We came in second in the costume contest. It was fun.

Halloween 2008

Wow, life really changes over the years. Not too long ago, Halloween was a major production with costums for four kids, a fully decorated house, and lots of candy. Four years ago was my last chance to trick or treat with Philip and this year we did not even hand out candy. Brenda has been fighting a cold and with my busy work schedule, we didn't have a chance to carve pumkins or pull out the decorations. Since Philip was off to a Haunted House with his band friends, Brenda and I decided to have a nice dinner at Oakwood Bistro and then we took a pumpkin pie over to Noni and Popi. You know you are old when your house is dark on Halloween night. We may just have to wait for grandkids.

So that we don't forget Brenda's great talent for pumpkin carving, I am including a picture from last year. Happy Halloween!

Why a blog? What will I be writing about?

As our family gets more spread out, I find it a challenge to share news with everyone. This blog will provide a great format to share family news and photos. I am not going to bore you with news about the stock market or share thoughts about politics or religion. It will simply be a way for all my readers (my family) to stay abreast of our activities. I hope you enjoy.

Philip's Band Rocks

Tonight was the final performance of "Category Five", the 2008 Portage Northern Marching Band Show. Since Brenda was home sick, Grandma and I went to Muskegon to see the show. The band was wonderful. While we are not going to the state finals, Philip had a great year. Here is a brief video clip of the show.

Wow, I am a blogger

My knowledge and use of computers has been a long journey. It started by playing Wagon Train with stick figures in the 9th grade at Lowell High School. I used word processing for the first time at Kalamazoo College during my senior year. But my real inspiration for computers has been Bryan and Keith. So here I am writing my first blog posting, having become addicted to reading the blog postings of Bryan and later Keith (see my links to their blogs). I enjoy reading their updates and the opportunity to add my comments. Since Bryan was our first family blogger, I am including a great photo of Bryan and Jessie in Chicago. Thanks Bryan for your computer support. Not too many forty six year stock brokers are blogging.