Making Olympic Memories

I love the Olympics! I let the boys stay up until the very end of the Opening Ceremony (which was awesome). They are usually in bed around 8:00, so that was a big deal.



I wrote a TV schedule for Braden yesterday listing all the times and channels for events he might want to watch today. He was most interested in fencing, table tennis, and equestrian (events he enjoys playing on his Olympics Wii game). I taught him about beach volleyball (bump, set, spike), and commented on how I wish they would wear shorts instead of skimpy bikini bottoms. He agreed.


We watched Ryan Lochte win the first US Gold medal in swimming today. The boys donned their goggles for the event and pretended to swim around the living room.



Braden has been asking me a lot of questions about how you get to be in the Olympics, and told me this evening that he wants to sign up for swimming lessons. YAY! We have been avoiding pool parties for the past two years because he has not yet learned to swim (he had a negative experience when he was about 4 years old, and has had a fear of water ever since).

Swimming and Diving are two of my favorites, but I think I'm most excited about Gymnastics. I clearly remember watching Mary Lou Retton land a perfect 10 to win the Gold in 1984. I was 8 years old at the time, and Braden is 7 1/2 right now. I'm very aware of the possibility of him making memories that will last a lifetime as we enjoy the 2012 Olympics together.



Just for fun (and maybe a few tears of Olympic joy), here's a list of The Greatest Moments in Olympic Gymnastics. The 1996 Kerri Strug vault is high in my emotional memory bank also! :) GO USA!