You're a Natural

It's been too long! Almost six months have flown by, starting off with Carson's 9th birthday at XL Sports, where he played floor hockey and busted a pinata with Nolan, Samantha, Evan and all of his buddies. Next it was time for his second ever roller hockey tournament, and this time his Dragons won the championship! Carson looked like a natural out there and won 'Top Goal Scorer' plus a gold medal to take home, and also played a game as goalie that ended in a 3-3 tie. Little buddy passed his EOG exams and finished up third grade no sweat! In the short break between grades, dad and C took a Carnival Cruise from Charleston to the Bahamas! According to Carson, it was like 'a whole new world' on the ship, and he would ask to see the nightly talent show in the Blue Sapphire lounge. C also enjoyed having our picture taken repeatedly by the on-ship photographers, and also ordering Arnold Palmers, and 'hot chocolate, hot, with whipped cream, hot, with chocolate' whenever dad got a coffee. The beaches on Princess Cays and Nassau were incredible, and Carson loved snorkeling and floating on a raft we rented. Before the summer was over, we managed to escape to Portland/Seaside,Oregon to see his cousins Lilia & West. The kids had a blast running miles on the sand and playing hide and seek at the condo. Back at home, Nolan joined Carson for a Bulls' game where spotted dancing the hype, floss and orange justice between plays. Carson also has increased his love for music, especially the Imagine Dragons variety like 'Natural', and looks forward to one day seeing the band live. Now 51 inches tall and 56 pounds this fall, Carson and dad fit in a trip to Universal Studios (E.T.!!!) and Volcano Bay, right before Halloween!, and surgery :( . Carson was 'Dash' of the Incredibles and laughed when one neighbor gave out pencils instead of candy. He's recovering like a pro, loves playing xbox NHL (put the biscuit in the basket!) and looking forward to getting back on his skates and seeing Lil/West at Christmas.

How Time Flies

Back at it after a long break, it's been a busy few months wrapping up winter and looking forward to the warmer months! Lilia and West joined cousin Carson at Christmas which included lots of play time and even a Canes game! In addition to watching hockey, Carson made his mark on the roller rink by tallying goals in all his games, including several hat tricks and an 8-goal performance in the local 2Hot4Ice tournament on the Dragons team. The game had to be called via mercy rule at 9-1. That performance made Grandpa exclaim 'holy s***'. Little buddy (steadily becoming a bigger buddy) is a shark around the net and always calls for the puck. Carson also made strides as a goalie, and gets excited about all the cool equipment too. His 2Hot4Ice team won a silver medal! During the one winter snowfall, buddy had fun building a huge snowman and snowboarding down our street. He also did great skiing with Nanny/Grandpa in the mountains! Aside from sports, Carsy has developed a love for the math game Prodigy, and found time to read several Roald Dahl books too. He is fast approaching his 9th birthday, and 4th grade...how time flies :)

Go West!

We just got back from Orlando where Carson spent the last few days of his trackout exploring Disney, Universal and Volcano Bay! While at the Cabana Bay hotel, Carson got a kick out of seeing a family of ducks in the lazy river (lol) and playing ping-pong in the sand nearby. We had a chance to meetup with cousins Deb,Ryan,Alex,Austin for dinner at the Rainforest cafe, where the kiddos giggled and got along really well. Harry Potter land at Universal was one of Carson's favorite areas (and he was Harry for Halloween too), and he repeatedly found places where his wand would animate an object. He also told everyone that 'dad's least favorite ride was the Simpsons because it gave him a headache'. But we managed to ride ~9 different attractions, in what turned out to be a full and fun day. The Magic Kingdom was crowded, but still memorable, and finally C enjoyed the water and sunshine at Volcano Bay, equipped with his 'tapu-tapu' wristpass. Throughout the trip, he was patient in line, studying the park maps and making me laugh. Prior to the trip, we attended a Canes game (thanks Grandpa) where he caught a puck! This fall was also marked by the birth of new cousin !West! and judging by his size, he will be a power forward in the NHL. Carson is excited to see Lil and West at the holidays, and has planned to take Lilia skating at our new neighborhood outside rink. Meanwhile, it's back to school now along with his ongoing roller hockey season. Hoping you will score another one top shelf tonight buddy!

Back on Track

It’s back to school on Monday for this 8 year old, after a fun summer trackout period, following the start of third grade. The festivities kicked off with a trip to the NC mountains, where we hiked to the peak of Mt. Mitchell, glided down the French Broad river in inner tubes, and conquered the Tropical Gardens mini golf! Next it was off to Orlando to explore Harry Potter world at Universal, explore Volcano Bay water park and play in the hotel’s lazy river! After the roller coasters whipped us around, Carson kept asking me ‘D, how is your headache, from 1 to 10?’ Back in NC, Carsy visited Wrightsville beach with his nanny and grandpa, where they fought the waves, and devoured ice cream and pasta - even though the noodles had little green bits in them :) . Carson is keen on playing baseball these last few weeks, and nearly took my head off with a few line drives. He just finished his first season of 10U hockey, and the coaches noticed how fast he is, even against bigger kids. Car rides to my hockey games (where C is my #1 fan) usually involve listening to Ed Sheeran’s castle-on-the-hill song over and over, or laughing hysterically to the Motoki Maxted xmas video. Thanks for being a great sidekick C.

Need to Read

Carson just turned 8! And celebrated at Pump It Up again this year, with his friends Evan, Alex, Lohitha and classmates too. One of his favorite gifts was Lego Star Wars for Xbox, and he’s always excited to reach new chapters of the game. He has really grown fond of reading, especially Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Often he will just read quietly on long car rides without a peep. He’s finished 8 books of 200+ pages in less than 2 months. Carsy also took an interest in acting this spring, playing the role of the March Hare in Alice in Wonderland. He spoke clearly and knew all his lines and the final performance was a success! Now he keeps asking me when Nickelodeon producers are coming to NC for tryouts! (He was inspired by shows like Henry Danger and The Thundermans). C also enjoyed some fun experiences since my last post, like touching the Stanley Cup, holding a baby gator in Myrtle Beach with nanny and grandpa, riding the waves at Great Wolf Lodge, and catching minnows at Wrightsville Beach on Memorial day. Thanks for the great iDad father’s day card buddy!

8U Mathlete

Christmas was one of a kind this year, as a real quantity of snow hit the Triangle, forcing cousin Lilia and fam to extend their visit. The kids loved sledding down the golf fairway and diving into the bunker on hole #14. There was also some top notch touch football action that took place once the sleds were stored. The new year of 2017 kicked off with a couple of trips for mr.carson, first traveling to Disney-Orlando where he rode Thunder Mountain, and got soaked from head to toe on a raft ride at Universal. Next, carsy was off to Myrtle for a winter beach excursion including loads of mini golf with nanny+grandpa. Around mid-February, he finished up his 8U roller hockey season with a slick wrap around lifter over the goalie, only to begin a new 8U soccer season as a member of the Green Beans. So far in two games he has 7 goals, and his new coaches love him. Lil buddy is engrossed in the Pokemon series (both cards and the show), and trades his cards at school with Geo and even with his buddies Evan/Alex. C is excelling in math in second grade, including 3-digit addition and subtraction. Approaching his eighth birthday, my boy has lost 5 teeth altogether. As you are growing up so fast buddy, I wanted to share a few words of advice that I came up with a while ago. Maybe some of them will help you one day.

Seeing RED

It has been 80 days since my last post so you can imagine that a few events took place. Halloween came and went, and soccer season wrapped up. Carson set the tone on his U8 team by being tenacious on the ball, having a nose for the net and he really developed his passing this season, to go along with his scoring. I really enjoy watching him play, it's a special feeling because he's really good. On October 31, Carson (aka Red the angry bird) made out quite well, filling his bucket to the brim after only 20 houses or so. He was a bit reluctant at first to walk up to the doors and ring the bell, especially for those homes with dogs. But that quickly changed when he saw how much candy he was acquiring at each place. We ran into a crowd which included his friend Lohitha on our street (she was dressed like a fairy) and the kids had a few laughs at each other's attire. 'Drop your nuts and move your butts,' said Red. Earlier in the fall, Carson had a three week trackout that gave us time to 1) visit a pumpkin patch and corn maze near us, and 2) take a road trip to Atlanta! At Green Acres farm, Carson tried a bungee trampoline for the first time and soared above my head like an angry bird. In Atlanta, we went to a Falcons game on the subway (well half a game, he was tired after a footlong hot dog and two quarters of football :). We caught the rest of the game at a pizza bar near the hotel where he got to form his own dough and bake it. We also visited LEGOLAND! C was intrigued by the people-sized characters made only of small legos and the 4D movie was fun because the theater sprayed water and soap suds at us. On the way home, we stopped in Greenville for a break at the waterfall, and then Charlotte for the Great Wolf Lodge waterpark. His favorite part of GWL was a giant bucket of water atop a sliding structure that would dump loads of water every five minutes. He got to play in a wave pool there for hours too. He also had several laughs when I pretended his Matt Ryan doll was driving our car. C is currently at the beach for a night with Nanny/Gpa before he starts school again Monday. Happy movember to all!