Family Olympics

Being that today is the 1st day of the Olympics in Beijing, we decided to kick things off with some spirit.  We held our 1st Family Olympics event here behind our elementary school, with all the coolest families in town.

(Sidenote: This is my 2nd attempt at digital scrapbooking--I'm so excited!)

Thanks everyone, for all these great events! Here they are in order:

1. The Wallaces started us off with the Sponge Pass Relay, which ended with the dads cheating by aiming our buckets toward the sprinklers for extra water, and then they dumped the buckets over one-another.  Great fun Kristine and Dave!

2. The Butlers brought Hula-hooping (View VIDEO).  Oh my, we discovered hidden talent in so many!  The winner of the event was Bela Fitzpatrick (View VIDEO), and boy did she deserve it.  She is able to run, sit-up and down, turn-around, and go forever.  I've never seen anything like it.  Branden Butler was a close second--that kid is unstoppable!  3rd was Alex Wallace--wow, she can run while hula-hooping!  Kristine Wallace was for sure 4th place (Thanks for representing the adults so well!), and than I think Natalie Shorr and Niki Wallace tied for 5th.  Let me know if I got these off a bit, or if you want recognition!  I discovered Max is a very good hula-hooper (View VIDEO) also, and that, I didn't know.

3. The Fitzpatricks headed up our Mummy Wrap competition.  This was great!  The Red team was very impressive:  They wrapped up Braden Butler, and I was very impressed with executing the objective to include all the children in the wrapping of their mummy.  The Blue, on the other hand, won the event by finishing first, but (although they are my teammates) the dad's were a little too competitive and didn't let anyone help wrap our mummy (Alex Wallace).  :-)  The photos are hilarious, with the men wrapping, and all the children standing around them just watching!  We loved this one.  Thanks Fitz!

4. The Woods thought up a Gauntlet event!  So medievally awesome.  Tawnya and Randy are so creative.  They lined up the kids, and loaded them up with balls of all sized.  Then they got some brave souls (the dads) to run through the line of fire.  Holy moly, this was hilarious.  I'm laughing just thinking about the sounds of the men getting pulverized as they ran through (View VIDEO).  None of them had a chance, with 30 kids pelting them from all sides!  We got some good photos of this one.

5. The Cruzs did the Straw Javelin.  I love this one, it's so simple and fun for all.  The kids did great!  To the best of my knowledge, Ethan Pierce won the Javelin.  Good job Ethan!  I loved the red, white, and blue straws.  That was a great idea Tiffany and Errol, the different colors made it so much easier to tell the straws apart after they were thrown.

6. The Pierces and the Kofford's brought the Water Balloon Toss.  Aaron and I actually got to be partners on this one, that was very cool.  We did well, and I loved our finish.  I tossed the balloon about 100 yards and Aaron did catch it, but it exploded in his hands just under his chin.  It was perfect!  Then, of coarse he gave me a big hug to share the love.  I have no idea who won, be we all had a great time.

7. The Thomas' did the Paper Plate Discus (View VIDEO), I love this event too!  Everyone was able to participate, and was quick.  I think Dave Wallace was the winner, although, his plate did roll all the way back to the starting line.  Does that count?!  I think he should still be the winner, but his reaction of disappointment was the best ever!  Dave, I've got you on video, you are too much!  And BTW, the video revealed many cheaters in this event.  Carol Bahooth, I am shocked!  But, she was not alone, Niki Wallace, Adam Butler, Alex Wallace, Evan Fitzpatrick, Aaron Wood, Tristan Cruz, and I'm sure I missed a few.  These are just who I caught on tape.  That was so much fun, thanks Clay and Sunny!

8. The Shorrs (us), did a Tug-of-War (View VIDEO), with a kiddie pool in the middle.  The idea was good, and we even had professional military knots tied by Stacy Pierce!  But, the second the teams pulled, the rope snapped in half!  Did you know that could even happen?  I sure didn't, but now I know not to by the cheap rope for tug-of-war.  I still think that strips of sheeting would work.  I'll have to test it out sometime, because I'm not too excited about the idea of spending $50 on a rope for a game.  It turned out fine all-in-all.  The dads just picked up the pool and dumped it on a few people.

9. The Deans finished up our events with the 3-Legged Race (View VIDEO).  Everyone participated, and I was very impressed with those who cared their partners all the way.  I had never thought to do that.  Hmm... I guess when you're with a bunch of cheaters you learn a lot of new things!  Boy, cheating sure does make everything more fun.  I think the winner of this event either Dave and Kristine or Niki and Alex.  But, I think Bryson and Bailey should be declared the winners, based on cuteness.  They are the sweetest little kids ever!  Both are 4-years-old, and carefully completed the race with total concentration--impressive kids.

We ended it all with Popsicles, and clean-up.  For those who asked, the Popsicles are made by Cool Classics.  They sell them at Ralph's, 1 bag of 12 is only $2, and the three flavors are: Cherry/Pineapple, Cherry/Mango, & Strawberry/Banana.