Olympic Talk

Can we talk about the Olympics? We've been diligently watching every night and will need a few days to recuperate from the late nights once it's all over!

What I really need to discuss is the men's figure skating event. I remember the Russian skater, Plushenko, from the last Olympics. I have to be honest...he wasn't my favorite then. In the wake of winning the silver instead of the gold it seems to me that he has been a very poor sport and has shown really unbecoming conduct. But when my friend Brian posted this article today I really couldn't believe what I was reading! Seriously? Plushenko has now decided that he won the Platinum? What Platinum?!?! What I think has been most impressive is how the gold medalist, Evan Lysacek, has handled the whole thing. He has been nothing less than a class act! They have both provided a great opportunity for me to talk to the children about sportsmanship and how to act gracefully in a disappointing situation.

Did you see the ice dancing competition? I'm not usually on fire about this event but how cute were the Canadians who one? Her costumes were so lovely (the others...not so much) and classic. At the end of their dance I was fully expecting a Cutting Edge moment (love that movie!) so I was disappointed when it didn't happen.

p.s. Also, does anyone else cry every other commercial? Proctor and Gamble's commercial about Moms gets me every single time.

Winter Family Olympics

I'm going to go ahead and apologize for this epic post now. I couldn't help myself.

Our love for the Olympics is well documented. Here, here and even here. Fortunately for us, we know another family whose love for the Olympics rivels our own! So just as we did for the summer Olympics, we decided to hold our own Winter Family Olympics! The deal was made all the sweeter by the massive amounts of snow that we have gotten in the past few weeks! Perfect for the Winter Games.

The Olympians

Marshall, Grace, Hannah, Harris and Elliot

(Grace and Harris made the sign!)

Prepping for the first event with an Olympic official. Bryce had set up several games for the children, including building up a pretty fun sled hill. It helped that the gentleman who plowed our driveway deposited it at the very end!

The Torch Relay

Of course, every Olympics begin with the handing off and lighting of the torch. We made the torch following these instructions.

The first handoff.

Coming in to the homestretch!

The Downhill

Competition was tight.

Flying down the hill!

This event is not without it's risks...

but with skill you can right yourself!

We even had a two man bobsled team!

Snowball throwing

(You had to try to hit targets with the snowballs.)

Tug-of-War

Snowrunning

(The children ran around the "snow track." Some needed more help than others.)

The Food

When everyone came inside we had dinner together and watched the Olympic opening ceremonies. We had to watch bits and pieces due to technical difficulties (we had recorded the night before but the DVD split and then we had difficulties streaming it off the web) but that didn't dampen the fun too much.

Gretchen and the boys made flags for many of the represented nations. Aren't they amazing? She put them in a pile of snow (technically mashed potatoes).

For dessert we had an Olympic Rings fruit pizza. I got the recipe from Taste of Home. I love how it turned out and it was easy! It will definitely become an Olympic staple.

Of course, no Olympics can be without gold medals. I made these following instructions from here. The real bonus is that there is a cookie inside!

The Olympics are here!

Well, the Olympics have officially begun.  We had a Family Night last night and watched the opening ceremony.  I was surprised at how much Grace enjoyed watching it - she watched up until the athletes marched in (for three hours!).  She had a lot of questions which made me realize the games really are a great opportunity to talk about other countries and cultures.  Now she's a little more interested in the books on China that we got from the library.  

Grace and I made rice crispy treat torches for dessert and they turned out really cute.  They were really easy to make and a lot of fun to eat!   

Olympic torch recipe

Combine 1 (10oz) bag of marshmallows and 2 Tbsp. butter in a large glass bowl.  Microwave 2 minues to melt marshmallows completely.  Stir in 6 cups crisp rice cereal.  Let mixture cool slightly and form handfuls into flame shapes (coating your hands in vegetable oil helps).  Place in ice cream cones.  Combine orange, red, and yellow sprinkles and press onto flames.