fall in charlotte

fall here in charlotte was short but beautiful. the street picture is actually salisbury, the small town north of charlotte were i work. it is a great little town and i really enjoy working there. i know korea is beautiful in the fall. i think that fall is great just about anywhere. maizie shot the pictures of the kids a couple sundays ago after church, she said the colors where just perfect. she took about a hundred pictures because the kids just would not cooperate. i think she did a great job. madelaine and harrison are really enjoying school and ben and olivia are becoming good friends (more like partners in crime). Olivia will really miss him when he goes to school next year.

mud fight!

i often wondered what went on while i was away at work. well, i only wish work was this much fun. i know cleaning it up will be. maizie's sister nikki and her kids (harper, paul and brooklyn) came for a visit last week. i guess they had a good time. i don't know where they get it from. i'm sure i never did anything like this when i was young, right mom. the mud (red clay) was literally everywhere, check out the ground behind ben, that is our patio under there.

always smiling!

scooter is always smiling. we love having her around. she makes the day a little brighter.

name the movie...

"you don't thank a man for hanging you, you leather-brained ignoramus."

name the movie...

mom said she loves playing the movie game. she wanted me to post this one for her.
can you name the movie?

"i love it when guys peel out!"

we have a winner!

i must make a correction. last week i posted an installment in our series "name the movie..." well i pronounced gina to be the winner. however we had an alternate submission prior to her comment, even prior to audra's (denny's) comment about earnest going to hollywood.

mom submitted the correct answer, "the importance of being earnest," before anyone, via email. thank you mom, for waiting patiently for me correct the error.

i imagine she is pretty happy right now. I wish everyone could see her face when she gets the news she is the winner.

but alas all we can do is imagine. for those having a hard time visualizing it, i bet she looks something like this right about now. your a winner mom!!!

this works too.

okay gina, you name the movie...

anyone can have a go.

"The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square."

"good ole tator soup!"

remember when mom would make potato soup. it was so yummy. she never used a recipe but it always tasted the same. this weekend i made some and it tasted just like mom's. maizie really liked it and wanted me to write a recipe for it. colder weather is coming and it is cheap and easy so i thought y'all might like to try it and tell me if it does taste like mom's.

(grandpa brown always called it "good ole tator soup")

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion finely chopped
3 stalks of celery chopped
4 to 6 large potatoes peeled and diced
3 cups chicken stock (if you don't have stock just double the milk, omit cream and add a bay leaf, that is what i remember mom doing.)
3 cups of milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper (fresh ground pepper will taste the best with the milk base)

melt butter in a large soup pot. add onions and celery and saute five minutes. added potatoes, chicken stock (or milk and bay leaf) and salt and pepper. cook until potatoes are tender. add milk and cream. bring to a simmer and make sure there is enough salt. you are done.

"scooter" is one

today is olivia's birthday (i call her scooter now that she walks). she is one year old. frankie was here and nick and liz came down. we had barbaque and homemade "chunky monkey" ice cream. olivia is such a sweet baby.
happy birthday scooter!!
happy birthday to you too duncan!!

the "official" zoo!

okay, i am playing catch-up. on labor day we went to the "official" zoo here in asheboro (we have to reassure ourselves that there are animals wilder than our children). when you turn onto the street that leads to the zoo there is a pack of elephants (a metal sculpture). we stopped to let the kids play on them. they were apprehensive at first. madelaine was worried that the elephants would come to life (you may remember the blood sucking mammoth mosquitoes, dragonflies). they finally warmed up to them, our kids are so paranoid. they had a blast playing on them. when we got back into the car to actually go to the zoo, maizie and i decided, okay we can go home now.

if everyone else is doing it. why can we.

i have enjoyed seeing all the nieces and nephews on their first days of school. maizie took the pictures of harrison and madelaine but i just haven't posted them. so if i am not too late. here are madelaine (3rd grade) and harrison (1st grade) on there first day of school.


look out!aaaahhh!

from under the shade of the tall southern pines

maizie and i are finally back home. we moved back to charlotte in mid august. we really enjoyed utah and find we miss it a lot. we had planned to sell our house here while we were in utah but that did not work out (its the economy, stupid!). we are really glad to be back in north carolina, we love our house and love being in it. by chance i got in contact with a classmate from school and through her found a great job in salisbury, nc. we are very blessed. so, from now on, our blog will be coming to you from under the shade of the tall southern pines.

primary activity @ battle creek 8th

the kids had a blast at the primary summer activity. they took a huge vinyl sign and put it on a hill with water hoses and dish soap to make it extra slick.

rubba dub dub!

this morning the tubs were all used up getting ready for church. so i gave olivia a sink bath, just like mama use to do. she looked so happy there i thought i would show you mom... she sure loves that tongue.

caratacatacatus potts the famous invennntor our something like that!

harrison always has great inventions. he calls this one "ball travel." he is currently thinking of modifications and different uses. the purpose is; get the ball flying in the air. he informed me that tomorrow all we have to do is to is work on the flying part. he is currently marketing this particular invention to children. for the price of one penny all this fun could be yours. adults will have to pay one hundred dollars if they want to join in the fun. he and his business partner, Madelaine, are currently working on "garbage travel" this involves a high speed conveyor belt (mom's treadmill), a human engine, a garbage can and the essential component garbage.

the idea (shop drawings).

the demonstration.

the trial.

daisy crazy

mom last time we talked you asked about the daisies in the front. i said they weren't coming up. i was wrong. a small clump popped up out of no where. thought you might like to see them.

battlecreek

we went on a "hike" friday night. i say that because we got to the first pond and turned back.....we got a late start. the kids had fun. harrison and ben were calling out to nick "the red power ranger" in search of "root core" the power ranger lair. madelaine was freaking out because of the dragon flies. she thought they were huge mosquitoes swarming to bite her.....we did not tell her different. that probably explains the paranoid look on her face the whole time.