And the Golden Medal goes to...

The Olympics is something I look forward to every time it comes around. Having a swimming background myself, I obviously always enjoy the swimming, and with Michael Phelps competing and breaking all sorts of records it's all the more fun. And gymnastics, too, of course. And diving is always fun to watch so the first week is the best to me. The second week is always track and field and I think I usually get a little burt out by then and don't find it as interesting, but still I watch. Not to mention all the crazy sports like ribbon and hula-hoop are on then. And did you catch any of the synchronized swimming this year? Cirque du Soleil anyone? Granted, I can honestly say I don't care about any of these sports the rest of the year, but for 2 weeks every 4 years I love them! And I loved having the opportunity to introduce it all to the kids.

After suffering through and incredibly boring open ceremonies (sorry London) we started recording the coverage at night so that we could fast forward what we wanted to and doing our best to avoid the headlines, which of course is impossible. Then I would watch it the next morning with Pippa and Lincoln. They have never watched so much TV in their life, to be sure! But we had a fun time oohing and awing and cheering for whoever was winning. Lincoln especially got into that part, clapping and yelling enthusiastically. And while I never intend to let Pippa become a gymnast I did make sure she saw all the different event and explained what they were doing. She took special interest in the balance beam and got very upset when they fell. She's very empathetic right now and gets upset easily. Just wait until she sees the skiers fall!

So, obviously, I had to take advantage of all the interest and play 'Olympics' with them. We made 'Golden' Medals and took turns doing tricks (usually jumping, spinning, or standing on one leg) and then receiving our medals and cheering for each other. It was good, wholesome fun that lasted for weeks. Gotta love the Olympics!