A Bit of a British Summer

From Post Cards 2012

With our summer prefaced by the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (hope to document before Elsie turns 20), we were in the spirit of celebrating everything British--including the Olympics! Spencer loved cheering and waving to the parade of police, Olympic vans, and most importantly the torch which ran ran right down our main street in Melton.

From Post Cards 2012

Elsie and Spence sported their Olympic Wenlock shirts, while Elsie was sure to wear her Olympic medal, and make noise with the shaker she made at pre-school. All the excitement and preparation really wore her out! We were lucky to have Kyle visiting who was so good with the kids--and pushing the stroller for a pregnant sister.

From Post Cards 2012

Then came the Olympics and my hat goes off to Corey for finding good deals for multiple events! Our Olympic retreat wouldn't have been possible without lots of sweet friends looking after the kids while we "nipped" away to London for a few days. First event: Fencing. We wanted tradition and originality--and fencing won. The prestige sport reminded me of Europe and I've always thought it was cool looking, so Corey nailed those tickets. Fencing is a lot more articulate than I realized, and there are various types/forms. Seeing the medal ceremonies for both the Women's Sabre and Men's Eppe was something we'll always remember.

From Post Cards 2012

Olympic Park: Favorite. Stadium: Awesome. Atmosphere: Buzzing. The Olympic Park was one of my favorite experiences from the Olympics. Just to walk by the Aquatic Center, Olympic Stadium, and other venues with cheering volunteers in their bright pink and purple uniforms got my heart pumping with enthusiasm to see participants compete and do their best.

From Post Cards 2012

Second Event: Basketball. Our Spanish friends came to stay with us, and Corey locked in tickets for not only a Spain basketball game, but also the US! It was a perfect event for our group. We sported Spain jerseys (given to us by our friends) during the Spain game then whipped out our red, white, and blue (attempting to look like the American flag). We couldn't believe we were really watching the Dream Team. They were a show and amazing at every play. I felt so bad for the Nigerians, I couldn't help but cheer for them, too. Will never forget seeing so many key players from the US playing all together.

From Post Cards 2012

Third Event: Table Tennis. The table on the court impressing me the most was (not the Americans who actually didn't have the best game), was Natalia Partyka from Poland. It was amazing and humbling to see the coordination of the one-armed athlete in her zone. She was so accurate. Love watching people who really motivate me and make me want to be better.

From Post Cards 2012

Our final and fourth event was as classic as they come:  Archery at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. The arena was pristine and as posh as they come. To see someone shoot an arrow about 76 yards from the target--spot on--was just jaw-dropping. Loved this sport and loved seeing the final men's medal ceremony. Most of all, we couldn't help but feel the enthusiasm and patriotism of our friends here in the UK. Union Jack bunting zig-zagging from shop to shop above narrow streets in small villages, Olympic paraphernalia in all the shop windows, and people unified in sport made our summer the best British summer so far! Here's to the London 2012 Olympics!