LEGO UNIVERSE IS GONE!!!

I AM SO MAD!!!!!! IT WAS SO FUN!!!! MY NAME IS H H A RRR RRR H H A A R R R R HHHH AAAAA R R R R H H A A R R R R H H A A R R R R

soccer

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

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

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

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

olivia

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

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.