10 1/2 years (72.2 lbs)

Hudson is in the 5th grade and has Mr Kostohris again as his teacher which means little to no homework except for reading. He is learning about decimals in Math, ecosystems in Science, and free writing in English. His classroom is in a portable and he swaps rooms for reading which is taught by Ms McKutchen (Sam's teacher). His parent/teacher conference is this week so we hope to learn more and get a good report.

Hudson took a week long Robotics camp the first week of summer break w Sam. After going through an interesting Summer and hardly seeing Sam at all, they seem to be back on track and spending more time together. It's too bad they're not in the same grade. He (and Beckett) did a sleepover a couple weeks ago so mommy/daddy could enjoy a date night.

We did several fun activities over the Summer/Fall:
We raced in three different 5K races, went to a Strawberry Festival, geocaching, emerald downs, swimming at the pool, drive-in movie, disc golf, museum tour, wild waves (twice), franklin falls, the fair, and the pumpkin patch. Hudson's birthday was a soccer party at the park!

Hudson has been reading Cameron's book "Chasing Rumor" and seems to be enjoying it. This is a good thing as we can't seem to find any series that he's open to and willing to invest time to read.
I'm fine w this since he finished reading Lord of the Rings this Summer which was over 1000 pages.
He still goes through stages of semi-enjoying reading and feeling like a slave to it.

This Fall, Hudson played down in soccer (13th season) in order to be with the usual suspects and coach Corey. They had an amazing season (undefeated w only one tie until the final tournament) and Hudson has improved SO MUCH. It seemed like every piece of the game came together for him. From dribbling, passing, shooting, and looking for opportunities to set up assists to strong defense and team leadership. He was the best player on the team and so much fun to watch. I'm glad I didn't press pause this season like I thought I might given Skyler's transition. This season his jersey was Black and their team name was the Shadow Ninja's. He played w Chase S, Matthew, and Dylan.

We took a couple trips to Bellingham this Fall as a family and had a really nice time all in all. The boys did lots of swimming, walked all around the WWU campus and the arboretum and the historic district of Fairhaven. We visited several breweries, played disc golf and visited a farmer's market. One night after dinner we had a dance off and watched a scary Halloween movie w the lights out. Hudson's costume for Halloween this year was Tony Hawk. More a factor of what we had lying around than his level of interest in skateboarding. (Beckett was a Parisian painter)

This Winter, we hope to get Hudson back on the ski hill at Crystal Mountain. He left last season looking really good and feeling pretty confident so I look forward to seeing what this year brings.
We hope to ski at Great Divide in Helena this Xmas so optimistic he'll be open to it.

Hudson has a strong personality. He is opinionated and stubborn, decisive and strong willed. At the same time he is also still sensitive and sweet. He definitely has a love/hate relationship w his brother but when they are getting along it is the sweetest thing to watch. I love that they have each other and that they're close in age.

We love you SO MUCH Hudson Gray! It's hard to believe you'll be in junior high next year!


Hudson's Current Favorites:
Colors: Orange
Book: Chasing Rumor (Cameron's book)
Song: 5 Seconds of Summer
Breakfast Food: Pancakes
Dinner Food: Sushi
Number: 8
Best Friend: Sam