Alek's Meal Plan

Alek finished his Aquanauts achievement for cub scouts over the summer. His next achievement he is doing with his pack is Fitness. We started on it last week. He had to make a week's meal plan and keep track of what he ate for a week. We did the first part, and below are pictures of Friday night's meal: buckbuck (bbq chicken, a recipe from our friends Jeff & Cindy!), whole wheat rolls, milk, and asparagus. Yes, asparagus is the only vegetable he will eat. The meal was yummy!

Football Snacks

I made a new snack today for football watching. We had lil smokies in bbq sauce, meatballs in sauce, cheese and crackers, and Nutella filled strawberries. These were awesome, and much easier than dipping them in chocolate!

Pulling Weeds

The weeds in the backyard have gotten completely out of hand ... last weekend the boys got out there and pulled the trees out of the playground. The squirrels must have been really busy this summer, because the whole mulched playground was covered in little trees.

Football Weekend

Last weekend Alek's football team had a game Saturday and Sunday. This weekend he had no games. Here are some pictures from his first game. So far, his team is 2-0!

Last week

Last week we settled into a more predictable homework schedule, and the boys did pretty well managing it on their own. They each missed a couple things, so I think next week will have room for even more improvement.

Most our our after school activities were in play last week: music lessons, climbing team, and football practice. This week cub scouts starts up, and we'll be fully loaded.

Ben's new team is called Triangle Rock Club Climbing Crew (the older kids are the TRC Climbing Team). They practiced on Weds and Friday night, and here are some pictures from Friday:

The kids on the crew are the entire team from LTF - we call came over to TRC together. I've heard there are to be 2-3 new kids joining the TRC team, but we haven't met them yet. These kids all get along really well, and are very supportive of each other. It's a great environment for Ben. And you can see that the climbing gym is so much more colorful and challenging than the rock wall at LTF.Ben topping out on the boulder - it's 14 ft high.

Ben climbing a challenging overhang on the boulder.

Ben climbing the overhang on the boulder with encouragement from Amanda and guidance from Coach Shane.

More Ghost Town Pictures

We took a tubing trip down the river in Cherokee, NC. The water was cool, the day was hot, and it was a lot of fun.

Ben, Alek and Gary at the campfire area.

An Elk sleeping the day away in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Pap, Ben, Alek, Gary on the footbridge in the Great Smoky Mountains while we were on an Elk hunt.

Alek, Marna, Ben, Gary at Ghost Town in the Sky ... there was a beautiful view behind us, looks like we missed it in the picture, but this is one of the few we got with all four of us in it.

Ben and Alek and the Cherokee Indian dancers.

Alek petting the Red Wolf.

At the shooting gallery at Ghost Town in the Sky ... it shot back WATER!

Alek watching the Ghost Town bank robber show.

Alek, Ben, and Gary with the dancing girls from the saloon at Ghost Town.

Alek's First Jam Session

Today the music studio where Alek takes lessons held a JAM session. Here's a video of Alek's first performance! We are so proud of him for being brave and having the confidence to get up on stage and play in front of an audience!