gone... yes, gone. i really didn't think i would ever have to say this, EVER. but i am saying it. i really am saying it. it's gone.

my camera is gone. it's gone from me, but it is somewhere. man, i sure do wish i knew where that somewhere was. we looked high and low, up and down, and in and under. it took 4 hours to look through our little apartment. i asked hudson if he knew where it was an he took me to the cereal cupboard... i think he was hungry at the time. he wasn't much of a help.  we re-traced each step. we've gone through where we were and where we've been. it's now been 4 days and we still haven't found it. luckily, we still have the 4 lenses that go with many different digital cameras. 

we are headed to florida in 3 days. it's my hope that the camera just shows up miraculously before our departure. if it chooses not to, we'll be borrowing a camera from a student. i can't imagine not having a camera at disney world. i'm sure people have done it before. i'd just rather not try that scenario out! it doesn't really appeal to me. so, let's hope for some good news. maybe a post saying "i found it" would be a good title for the next post...

we've been attending quite a few on campus games. this particular night we were at a volleyball game. hudson doesn't do well in a setting that he has to sit in a stroller or seat. when we're at sporting events, he does just this, he roams the stands, tries to "play" with the players, and hangs with the guys. i'd say he's enjoying himself down here! 

sweet pic with the donkey, right? i wouldn't call him sweet. read on for details! entering the corn maze!  an amazing rainbow joined our evening at the maze. what a site! it was halloween day and we were trying to decide on a fun activity for the family. the rankin's called and invited us to the mayfield corn maze. what a great idea they had!!! this place was nothing short of fantastic. the weather was dreary and the rain began to sprinkle on us. this sure didn't stand in our way for having fun! when we arrived after a 25 minute ride, we found one other car in the parking lot. things looked grim, maybe this wasn't a good idea...  NO ONE WAS THERE! as we entered the chilly barn to pay the $8 per person charge we really were sketchy about the "fun" that was out in that corn maze! well, i judged too quickly. this place was incredible. a butterfly greeted us at the beginning of the maze. she handed all of us bags to trick-or treat through the maze with. she had a scavenger hunt planned for us as we found our way through the maze. there were several spots along the maze where halloween themed employees filled our bags with treats. after the maze, everyone headed over to the hay. they had mattresses covered in hay for the kids to jump on. about 50 feet over was  a large tent that housed a halloween themed band playing country tunes. a blazing camp fire also lit the sky for all the corn mazer's to enjoy. next, it was time for a hayride through the farm. did i mention NO ONE was here? it was our group and a few extras on the hay ride. the kids thought it was great! after the ride we enjoyed kettle corn and games. this place was a complete hit! we'll be back next year for certain!

ok, so i saved the donkey story for the last portion of this post. this little donkey was adorable. so cute and small. the boys were feeding the donkey grass and we all thought it was cute. it was cute for about 5 minutes until that cute little donkey bit hudson's finger. luckily, he didn't break the skin. hudson's finger was extremely red and you could see the bite mark for quite some time. next time, the little ones will keep their hands inside the fence.

halloween 2009 didn't start out so great. it's not halloween yet, but today was payton's school's day to dress up and show their little halloween spirit. last night, we thought we'd have a test run with the costumes. to say the least, it didn't go so hot. we were extremely excited to see hudson in his little dalmatian costume. as soon as the costume was on, hudson made a run for it. we went to look for him and found him crying underneath our bed. he was terrified. he hated the hat and wanted nothing to do with being a dog. my first thought was to put the costume back on craigslist. this is where i found it. i was optimistic though and figured we'd give it another go in the morning. as you can see, we were successful. i bribed him with skittles and promised him there was more candy to come. we left the puppy head off of him for most of the trick-or-treating experience. payton's little friends were super cute and well behaved. we were able to visit all of the campus offices while trick-or-treating. the staff were all friendly and had lots of special treats for all of the kids. nana was also in town to see payton's class and trick-or-treat along with them. what a fun start to a halloween weekend!

oktoberfest is in the air. it's the second celebration we've attended for oktoberfest this year. today, we ventured to chattanooga to join in their festivities. we brought along nana this time! she's visiting this week from michigan. it's her first visit to our new home, so we're showing her around this beautiful state! it was a windy and chilly 62 degrees. ok, you northerners think that would be a heat wave! for those of us that are used to 89% humidity and 95 degrees, 62 degrees and windy feels like an arctic blast! maybe not an arctic blast, but it certainly calls for bringing out the socks, shoes, sweatshirts, and coats! the leaves are changing bright orange and yellow and the cool air brings thoughts of pumpkins and warm apple cider. i love this time of year. i always have. we enjoyed the walking bridge and the vendors today in chattanooga. lupi's pizza was a favorite of the day as well. who doesn't like eating a fresh baked loaf of bread before eating a pizza? oh, and i can't forget the cup of melted butter and fresh garlic they bring out to dip the bread in. pure yummy is all i can say. i'll be back again. and until the next time, i will continue to think about that delicious fattening treat. mmmm. 

the boys just love having visitors. it's so nice to see them love on their nana. tomorrow we're headed to alabama to meet family i've never met! brandon's aunt and uncle live in alabama, so we're paying them a visit in the south.

dancin' in the street! hey, why not dance by a big paint spill in the middle of the parking lot? i just love kid's. they find fun in the "boring" things that most people would think would be ridiculous! lately i've been noticing that hudson wants to be just like payton. he tries to do things that he does. with 21 months between each of them in age, it always becomes a bit of a challenge for hudson to be "just like his brother." i've had a few laughs this week. with all the sporting events we are able to attend here, both boys want to be more athletic and rough with each other. a popular activity around the dorm is for the guys to "pile" on top of one guy. this usually consists of 8-10 guys total. if you can imagine, it's quite the thrill for a 2 and 3.5 year old boy to watch this. we're trying to learn the meaning of the word "gentle." i've used it quite a bit in the last month around here. i hope it's sinking in!

a follow up on my little sleepy sleeper from the last post...

on certain days that a nap doesn't seem necessary, this is what typically happens. whether it be at home or outside in a heavily populated place on campus, someone just doesn't seem too happy. cheer up my little man!

ok, so we've all had kid's that fall asleep in odd places but i think the top photo takes the cake! as i was washing dishes, hudson managed to find my purse. as you can see, he emptied it completely and found a few treats inside. please pay close attention to the dum-dum suckers. i see three of them and every single sucker is missing it's wrapper. it appears that he finished off the red one that he's holding in his hand as he dozed off and fell into a deep sleep.

the second picture happened one day after the "sucker" nap. it wasn't necessarily time for a nap. i came walking through the room and there he was, sound asleep on the couch. oh my little darling, you may refuse to have naps, but mom knows best that you NEED your rest!

makeover project revealed!

my sister bought this super "gorgeous" dresser at a resale shop. i know what you're thinking. you're thinking "i hope it was free because that thing is ridiculously ugly!" well, she had a little vision. she wanted the new baby's room to be a little "shabby chic." she said the people looked at her a little crazy when she said she was going to put it in her newborn baby's room. well, i think i saw what she saw. it looked a little beat up and the color was a little "dated." after several trips to the spray paint section of wal-mart, hobby lobby, and home depot, this is what we came up with. a turquoise treasure that fits elisia's nursery perfectly!

makeover project revealed!!