08-08-08

Last week I took the kids to the Olympic Training Center here in Colorado Springs. We have never been there before and the timing was perfect, just a week before the Opening Ceremony in Bejing (which is tonight).

I was completely fascinated by the facility and gained so much more respect for the games and the athletes. We got to tour the entire facility, seeing where the athletes eat, sleep and train 5-6 days a week. We even got to see some of the wrestlers, swimmers, syncronized swimmiers, shooters and trampolinest (sp?) who will be at the Olympics this year.
At the facility, they had life size statues, lines to show distances of courts and fields, and the exact heights and widths of beams, goals and baskets. Here were some of our favorites

Equestrian

Judo


Basketball

Soccer

Field Hockey



Baseball

Shooting

Skating and Skeleton

Bobsled

I tried so hard to get Mason to cooperate, it just wasn't working. I didn't tell the kids until after the picture that the top podium was for the Gold Medalist. I didn't want to deal with the fighting over that one!

When I was little, the same age as Taylor, I used to pretend I was Mary Lou Retton. Juli, Heidi and I would spend our summers pretending we were gymnast in the Olympics, we'd even pretend we were on the podium accepting our gold medals. Remember that girls? Taylor also loves gymnastics so I had to get her with the balance beam and then in the Hall of Fame with Mary Lou's picture



As we were walking out the torch that was carried in the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics was on display. I had to get my picture with it because when I was 6 yrs old, I got to hold the torch with a man who was running with it. The picture is somewhere at my parent's house in an Olympic frame. I also was able to go to some of the events with my family that year, I would love to be able to do that again someday.

And proof that Mason was there with us

There are 5 Mascots for the Olympics. Each one represents each of the Olympic rings and together convey the message "One World, One Dream." These 2 are Nini and Huanhuan.

They even light the flame at the Olympic Training Center the same time the flame will be lit during the opening ceremony and then put the flame out during the Closing Ceremony.

We are really excited for the Olympics this year! Tomorrow night we'll be watching the Opening Ceremony with our friends. We'll be in our new Beijing Olympic shirts, and as requested by the kids ......... eating Chinese food and a fruit pizza shaped like an American flag. Bring home the Gold USA!