USA!

Our home has Olympic fever. My parents have even made a deal with Bodie that he can watch 90 minutes of the Olympics every night if he'll take a nap during the afternoon. This would normally be near impossible, but Bodie is TOTALLY on board and crashes every day on cue, wakes for dinner, then heads downstairs for the big event. I am well into my REM sleep by this time, but I have heard some cheering in the night - though perhaps that's just me dreaming about the Olympics.

With the Olympics has come a barrage of questions in our house, "Where is that country located? Is men's hockey playing tonight? What is this event called? Is figure skating really a sport? How fast is he going? Is that a two man or four-man bobsled? Is he American?" and the list goes on and on and on. My parents smile at the initial curiosity but by about the 4,000th question, one of them usually says, "Shhh, let's just watch the event, okay?"

They even got him a talking globe so he could find the countries himself and start to answer his own questions. It may have backfired a bit because he now has more questions about even MORE countries, "Mom, tell me about Kazakhstan....", and thinks we should be flying to see them! (Which could have been part of my mom's plan....she sure is sneaky!)

Bodie's Olympic fever is just as strong in the daytime. Luckily we've had more snow days this winter than in any previous year my folks can recall, so we can recreate the winter Olympics in our neighborhood. Snowboard jumping has been popular - always involving the noises, "Swoosh, swish, shwaaaaaaaaaaa..." as he leaps around the yard. Ski jumping has been mimicked while using his "snow tire" bike (see previous post for explanation). After an impressive wipeout the other day, my dad - in an attempt to redirect Bodie's attention from his pain - told him he'd done a full flip before his head introduced itself to the pavement (yes, he was wearing a helmet). Bodie totally forgot the pain and has subsequently retold the "I did a full flip on my bike" story to several people.

Sledding is an easy duplicate for the bobsled and skeleton (depending on which direction you're facing). The bigger the crash, the better the sport. I even got into the action while I was strapped to my mom in a front pack - how did she think she would steer, with here eyeballs?!?!! Probably not our brightest idea but we survived.

With so much energy about winter sports, we headed to the local outdoor ice skating rink today so Bodie could try out speed skating - one of his favorite events. And while I admit I have been asleep and haven't actually seen any of these events, the name implies - at least to me - that a person would skate fast. This, however was not what I saw at the rink.

Initially on the rink, Bodie gripped a large, penguin statue like his life depended on it. (Note: I checked my kid's LeapFrog laptop and there are NO penguins in speed skating.) Then, with assistance, he pushed said penguin around the rink. The penguin, however, was no match for my brother and was forcefully shoved to the ground multiple times in an effort to keep my brother in a somewhat upright position. Oddly, Bodie thought he was the Apollo Ohno of Arlington and confidently discarded the penguin to another flailing child. This is when the entertainment value skyrocketed.

My parents, neither of who claim to be ice skaters, were then responsible for not only remaining upright themselves, but also keeping my brother from spinning out like a moose on a frozen pond. Each took a turn attempting to get the Bodester to skate solo. This did not happen but I remained fully entertained throughout the activity.

The winter Olympics will always have a very special place in my parents' hearts because, as they recently shared with my brother and me, the last winter Olympics took place right after Bodie's heart surgery. My parents had been told a possible complication to the surgery was that Bodie may never be able to be in high altitude and enjoy the mountains. Then they learned Shaun White had the exact same heart defect and surgical repair and watched him fly through the sky and earn a gold medal during those Olympics. Shaun's success gave my parents much needed hope.

Oh, and one more thing. Bodie announced this week when he grows up he'd like to "Be an Olympic snowboarder, an American, and a dad." USA! USA! USA!

Sledding, Sculpting, Splashing, & Slicing

Our Vermont weekend was action-packed. We took full advantage of the Vermont snow and found every sledding hill in town. The level of difficulty varied greatly - from fun and steep to basically insane. My dad might have been a bit scared here....

And I think someone needs to tell my mom to open her eyes, it's safer that way...

And this photo was taken of my first solo sled ride, I was racing my cousin Bridget. My dad shoved me with all of his force, causing me to fling back and lay nearly flat on my back as I went 1000 miles per hour down the hill. Once I got going I realized one small detail, no one mentioned how to stop the sled. I decided to just enjoy the ride - the wind whipping by - while in the background I heard frantic screams coming from the top of the hill, "Bail! Bail out Bodie! Jump off Bodie! TREEEEEEEE!" And then WHAM! SPLAT! SMASH! My sled hit a tree at full force, flipped - with me still connected to it - and slammed into a SECOND tree. My mom ran down the hill like she was on fire with my dad close behind her. The first words out of my mouth were, "Did I win the race?" Followed by, "Was that awesome?" My mom said she lost a few years off her life and my dad proudly replied, "Yes, you won. And yes, that was awesome...but NEVER do it again." We then practiced bailing off the sled.

 

It was Bennington's Winterfest so we headed downtown to the ice sculpting competition. I think Gates and I were two of the youngest spectators so almost every sculptor let us help them which was pretty cool. I chipped and chiseled - it was awesome. We also watched crazy people splash into sub zero water for the Penguin Plunge- a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. We stayed dry for that one. 

Nana and Pop Pop are great hosts and let us play all over their fun house.

 

Lastly, my mom sliced her hair off - here are a few shots of the new "do." Fun change, huh!