Haircuts

The boys got their hair cut a couple weeks ago. Ben's hair had never been so long, so we took some picture!
The front of Ben's hair, before being cut. The side of Ben's hair, before being cut.

AFTER! He likes it short, and it looks good on him!

The front of Alek's hair before being cut - he likes it long, which is fine, but sometimes it needs trimmed up. Looking a little bushy here ...

And AFTER ... much cleaner looking, but this was VERY SHORT for him!

The Cruise and Costa Maya Mexico

My favorite part of the ship - our room had a large balcony overlooking the back of the ship. I spent a lot of time out here reading. Ben crashed the first afternoon on the ship. He slept for three hours on the couch. The first night, we were all up after midnight doing fun stuff on the ship. After that first day, we all got into the late night/late morning groove.

In the hallway of the ship, ready to depart for Costa Maya.

Getting off the boat. Ours was the Grandeur of the Seas, one of Royal Carribean's smallest ships. On the right is the Independence of the Seas, two classes larger than ours. They were on a 6 day cruise, they went everywhere we went, but had stopped in Belize first.

Getting into the town of Costa Maya. The few building there are all painte bright colors. We got into a bus and drive for about 20 minutes to the Jungle Beach Club where the beach was awesome. We did a little shopping.

The Carlsons all together in Costa Maya. What a peaceful day.

The boys loaded up for sea kayaking.

Alek in the crystal clear waters in Costa Maya. The dark part of the water was coral that you could snorkel over.

Gary was pretty happy at the Jungle Beach Club in Costa Maya. It was hot that day, but the breeze was cool. Oh, and the drinks were FREE!

Ben and Alek on the beach at the Jungle Beach Club in Costa Maya. What a lovely place --- look at the clear blue sky and that aqua water. Absolutely breathtaking.

Carolina Crush 2010

Ben took first place in Youth D boys category in the Carolina Crush at TRC.
Climber's meeting to start the comp: Great reach Ben!

Looking strong!

He's really developed in his strength and stamina this season!

Awesome job!

Core strength is so critical ...

At the top!

One of Ben's Climbs from Carolina Crush

Check it out at You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3j6ZmH1Mhg

Alek's first scrimmage

Busy sports day today! Ben had competition at Triangle Rock Club (his home gym) today - and he placed FIRST in his age group! What a wonderful success. Even more impressive was his ability to handle his emotions and frustrations when he had a fall. He's getting better and better at handling himself at competitions.

Gary took Ben to climbing, so I got to spend the day with Alek. We started out this beautiful morning (68 degrees and clear and sunny!) at a baseball scrimmage! We absolutely love his colors this year - Illini and 'Cuse ORANGE! Guaranteed to be a great season! I love that the Apex league also matches their hat colors to their shirt colors. The team looked so great! (of course, all the pants are still white at the beginning of the game!).

Alek did well today - this league is kid-pitch, and it takes a lot of pitches to get the ball over the plate. I think Alek will probably give pitching a try during the season. Here are some pictures of his action today! Scooping the grounder at 3rd base for an out!

Just missing a foul ball at 3rd.

Smacking the ball for a base hit! Great form Alek!

Fun before and after the comp

Ben and Mom survive another comp, celebrating with hamburgers and ice cream at Friendly's.

Ben, Cameron and Paxton at dinner before the comp. Everyone was in good spirits and having fun!

Our hotel had a nice indoor pool, so the boys had a lot of time to swim!

Some lean and muscular climbers!