têt chargé

soccer

2009-09-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

we are so excited to have the kids in soccer this year. they have had a few games and i can tell that they have their mothers intensity. ben is on his own team (5 yr olds), harrison and madelaine play on the same team (9 & 10 year olds) and maizie is their coach. in their first game they played another team with mostly 10 year old boys (harrison, age 7 is the only boy on their team) but harrison and madelaine were right there with the ball the whole time and were not intimidated at all by the big boys on the other team. maizie loves coaching them. and i, having little sports experience am very proud of all of them

benjamin

2009-09-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

ben really enjoys playing on his soccer team. this was his first game and he scored the first and only goal for his team, after which he did the most awesome victory dance. i did not think he even knew what those were. i am sorry i was too caught up in the game, i forot to get a picture of it. way to go ben.

harrison

2009-09-20T17:57:00.001-07:00

this is harrison trying to hold still for a picture the first day of school. at least he is trying. he is alot of fun.

madelaine

2009-09-20T17:37:00.000-07:00

she is the perfect big sister and so helpful around the house and everywhere.

olivia

2009-09-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

she has a mind of her own but she loves all the pretty things her mom makes for her.
(maizie made all the dresses for the girls. i remember when we were in high school, maizie was always drawing dress designs in her notebooks. i think she does a great job. she also started giving madelaine and her friends formal sewing lessons on saturday afternoons. maizie puts alot of preparation into them and they both enjoy it very much.

fall in charlotte

2008-11-22T18:38:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-11-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

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

name the movie...

2008-10-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

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

name the movie...

2008-10-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-10-16T05:31:00.000-07:00

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!"

2008-10-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

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.

hey grammy and papa

2008-06-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

we miss you and hope you are doing good. we just got out of school on friday. now we are free for the summer. we just wanted to remind you how "cute" we are. madelaine is our helper, a great big sister. harrison has trouble expressing himself.... benjamin is all thumbs, and olivia is everybodies favorite little rag doll.

happy birthday to me!

2008-05-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

for my birthday maizie got me an ice cream maker. it comes with two bowls so i have to make the most of it. here are two of my first attempts, apricot ice cream (that through the rubbermaid ressembles pimento cheese) and raspberry sorbet. thanks to maizie and the kids for a great birthday.

some cute pics

2008-05-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

well you can see i have not updated this blog in awhile. here are some resent pictures.

we all love "uncle duncle." p.s. that is not a lollipop in ben's hand mom.

what-a-cutie

a visit with gee gee

2008-05-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

i went to visit gee gee on mother's day. i went alone so i could spend the time with her and not chasing kids. she is doing really well. i visited her as she started lunch. she was able to eat her whole meal. she only got frustrated when she tried to drink a cup of jello, it looked just like juice. here are some pictures of our visit, (note the cup of jello).

happy mother's day

2008-05-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

we had a very busy mother's day. our family is so fortunate to have so many great mothers. Maizie is keeping up the tradition. she is such a loving mother and we hope she had a great day.

liv-ers

2008-02-19T22:42:00.000-08:00

olivia (or "liv-ers", as she is known to some) is getting to be such a good baby. she is very pleasant. she likes to smile and laugh a lot. now, if we could just stop her from spitting up everything she eats and scratching herself.

hey baby...nice glass!

2008-02-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

i got a new lens for my camera. it sure is pretty. hopefully i will have lots of new pictures to post soon. nice shower curtain!

cruppen

2008-02-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

we have been sick since christmas. but the culmination of our sicknesses came while i was away in missouri. harrison was complaining that he had trouble breathing. maizie called the pediatritian and had about two hours before he could be seen. harrison's complaining got to the point she dropped everything and took off, luck for us. after 5 minutes in the car harrison stopped breathing and began kicking the window trying to get air. maizie saw the instacare and pulled right in. she carried him in and everyone dropped what they were doing and began working on him. they called the ambulance immediately. a brother in the lobby was able to give him a priesthood blessing. and he was rushed to Utah Valley. there where about 12 doctors and nurses that saw him in the emergency room. it was the crupe, he was admitted and stayed there tuesday, wednesday and was release thursday afternoon. we took him back thursday night because he was having trouble again but he came home that night. we are so blessed to still have him with us. everything worked out. he still has alittle trouble breathing and is forced to whisper, something new for him.

he knows how to make the most of a bad situation.

the pediatric wing was better than home with every video game console known to man. Harrison i have cookies for you! really, cookies, and candy!

one of the great nurses at utah valley. harrison really seems to like her.

it's beginning to look alot like christmas

2007-12-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

we have had two good snows here in utah valley. the kids have really enjoyed it. "we" were able to make our first "successful" family snowman (we named him "goob"). when i say "we" i mean madelaine and i while harrison had us running all over the yard telling us we had to get it done before the snow melted. ti general nou-a (our little general), he is a good dictator (oh i mean delegater). we all hope there is snow in missouri this christmas. we will be there at the harpers for christmas having a ball. well, we hope weather is good going and coming but we hope to have a white christmas while we are there. until then, here's hoping everyone a very merry christmas.

here are some pictures of our newest edition "goob," the snow here in utah and our sweet olivia who is too young for the snow, although we know she is a party animal.

a visit with "gee gee"

2007-11-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

we went to show off our new baby to her great-grandmother. maizie and i think olivia has gee gee's expressions, we see alot of gee gee in her. i think it is the eyes.

this is for you mom and dad

2007-11-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

hope korea is treating you well.

here are (some of) the ones who miss you.

opening arguments

2007-11-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

the sun rises and falls in its own time...
you cannot stop the sun from setting...
and you cannot stop the sun from rising...!