Carlson Family Adventures

It was truly a super weekend here ... weather was cool and clear ... and we were out and about. Saturday started with my going to water aerobics (YES! it has been a while, and I was missing it), then on to Alek's football game (they won again!). After that, Gary and I took the manual belay class at the gym so we could belay Ben on the rock climbing wall. The dictionary defines 'belay' as:
Mountain Climbing. a. to secure (a person) by attaching to one end of a rope. b. to secure (a rope) by attaching to a person or to an object offering stable support.
Mountain Climbing. a rock, bush, or other object sturdy enough for a running rope to be passed around it to secure a hold.
Basically, we hold the bottom of the rope using a device so that Ben won't come crashing down off the wall. We're literally holding his life in our hands. This was a pretty serious training, and we learned a lot. We both passed, so now we can take Ben on the manual belay courses on the rock climbing wall any time it's open. This is great, because it's one of the few activities Ben enjoys.

After belay class, we head up to Duke University for their football game. We stayed through the first half. I have to say, I'm biased coming from the Big 10, because I had high expectations for an Ivy League school ... the stadium was old, the technology was old, and the band was small. Not too impressive. But a bit better than the UNC game we went to last year, which was more like a high school stadium. I guess NC State is the local place to see a great football game ... and so goes the local rivalry ...

Anyway, after the game we came home and had a quick dinner and ended the night with a few songs on Rock Band.

Sunday morning we slept in and then headed out to the North Carolina State Fair. What fun! We rode rides, ate corn dogs and stuff, walked through the exibits, held the baby ducks and ended the day at the Tractor Pull. It was rather cold, so we were ready to come home after 5 hours. We like going on Sunday morning because the attendance is low, and then we can leave early afternoon when it starts getting crowded.

We just hung out for the rest of the day and night, and went to bed early. Everyone was up and ready to go to school this morning ... we're hoping for the best ... later!