Our Olympic Experience!!!!

We were thrilled to see the Olympic torch when it came through Chippenham back in May.  That was about as close as we were going to get to the actual Olympics here in London.  Tickets were sold by a lottery system last year, and we did not know any more tickets were available.  We were glued to the TV that first week of the Olympics!  Both Dylan and Amelia enjoyed watching the sports, especially the swimming and gymnastics.  I downloaded the Olympics app on my iphone, and Dylan was obsessed with checking it for the medal count ALL THE TIME!  It was very cute.  He learned many new countries and their flags.  It led to a geography lesson when we got out our big world map to find all of them.

After watching the U.S. women's soccer team qualify for the gold medal game, we started saying how neat it would be to attend that game.  I just happened to look on the official Olympic website, and I found TICKETS to the women's gold medal soccer game!!!  They were not cheap, but we had to do it!  After all, Eric is the son of Al Trost, one of St. Louis' all-time best soccer players who is in the National Soccer Hall of Fame and played on the U.S. Olympic Team in 1972!

I was so excited!  I spent the next day painting U.S.A. signs with the kids.  I got out all of our red, white and blue apparel.  Eric and I hardly slept the night before.  We were excited and anxious about the timing of the drive with traffic, parking, kids, etc.  But it all worked out just perfectly!  We picked up Eric from work at 2:00 (remember we only have one car), drove about two hours, had minimal traffic and parked right across from the stadium with two hours to spare!  We were about 6 miles from downtown London, so we did not see the Tower Bridge, Lodon Eye or Big Ben this time.  I included a LOT of pictures and several videos to show how many people were there and give a feel for what it was like for us.  It was an exciting evening that I will never forget!

Driving into London...lots of Olympic signs on buildings

A typical London neighborhood

Walking into Wembley Stadium.  Getting pictures with the 2012 logo in the background

Crowds were not too bad since we were 2 hours early.

Bobby Moore: An English football (soccer) player who captained the only English team to ever win the World Cup in 1966 against Germany.

The Olympic rings on display on a building across the street

Wembley Stadium was the nicest, cleanest stadium in which I have ever been.

The staff were all so friendly and helpful.  I was very impressed.

The crowds were starting to make their way to the stadium.

Yep, we got to our seats early!

Amelia picked up every feather from the girls wearing red boas behind us. 

She had her pockets full of feathers by the end of the night.

We're ready to cheer on the U.S. Team!

Beautiful Wembley Stadium

The Jumbotron

One of the youngest U.S.A. fans in attendance, I'm sure!

This was her first soccer game...an Olympic one!  Not bad for 5 months old.

Dylan had to tell me every flag!  We looked up a few of them on my phone, but he knew most of them!

I painted their faces in the parking lot before we came into the stadium.

VIDEO: Pre-Game Music

The U.S. coaches

The U.S. Team warming up

VIDEO: U.S. warming up

Hope Solo warming up.  It was amazing how many times she dove to the ground just in warm ups!

Both teams warming up.  The stadium was filling up quickly.

VIDEO: Around the stadium

VIDEO: First play of the game!!!

Game time!  Notice all of the camera right behind the purple Olympic wall.

Look at the crowd now!

VIDEO: Hope Solo's Save!

Yes, that says 80,203 people!

They did the "wave" several times, and the kids loved it!

VIDEO: 2 to Nothing!

Dylan loved watching the Jumbotron right behind us.

VIDEO: More Game Action and LOUDNESS

VIDEO: Excitement in the air!

VIDEO: Halftime

There were LOTS of U.S.A. fans!  Some even painted their bellies...

It did not matter who you sat next to...everyone was happy and cheering.

Notice all of the camera men and women

Look at all of the cameras set up behind the goals.

VIDEO: U.S.A. WINS THE GOLD!!!!

VIDEO: Eric's view of the gold medal celebration!

Our gold medal poster was a hit with the fans around us!

Setting up for the medal ceremony

 

Some of the MANY U.S.A. fans

Cora was OUT on my lap! It was past her bedtime.

VIDEO: Players entering for medal ceremony.  This is a long video.

VIDEO: Medal Ceremony

Team U.S.A. receiving their gold medals

VIDEO: National Anthem

Cora woke up again just in time to celebrate!

Gold: U.S.A  Silver: Japan  Bronze: Canada

What a night to remember!

Back to England with Great-Grandma and Marilyn!

The last week of July came too quickly.  I will be honest.  I was not ready to leave St. Louis.  I mean, I was packed and ready to go, but I truly wanted to stay longer.  The kids and I were having such a great time with everyone, but we made the decision to live in England as a family, so it was time to get back home.  I did miss Eric like crazy.  We hardly talked that last week due to the time change.  He had to call me since I could not make international calls on the pay-as-you-go phone I used those 3 1/2 weeks in St. Louis. 

I was looking forward to having my grandma and her friend, Marilyn, fly back with us and stay for a week to visit.  You get a better understanding of other's lives when you can go visit them.  My grandma has visited me in each of my homes.  She came to stay with us in Michigan, South Carolina and now England.  I can only hope and pray that I am as happy, healthy and busy as she is at 80 years old!  And I pray that I will be able to spend as much time with my grandchildren and great-grandchildren as she does.  She is an amazing woman who gives so much to others.  I admire her faith, patience and heart!  

 

  

The kids were excellent travellers once again.  Amelia sat between Grandma and Marilyn.  She took Grandma's sweater at the airport and I don't think my grandma got it back until we arrived at our house.  Amelia had it tied all around her in about 6 knots.  Good thing Grandma had a blanket!  Dylan sat next to me, and I had Cora most of the time.  Grandma held her a few times too, which was a big help to me. 

We managed to get all five suitcases plus our carry-ons and the double stroller on our own before seeing Eric.  There was no way we were all going to fit into our seven passenger vehicle with all of the luggage.  Eric and Dylan helped us get loaded into the car, and they took the train back to Chippenham.  It worked out great! 

A six hour time change is VERY hard for the kids.  They did well going to the states because we arrived in the middle of England's night, and we still had a whole night to sleep.  Coming back to England is much harder.  We got a few hours of sleep on the plane, and when we arrived, it was morning.  It makes it difficult to stay up all day.  Apparently the jet lag hit Amelia when she was on her way up or down the stairs.  She napped there for over an hour.

The first few days back were rough because we were all off schedule...staying up late, and then sleeping in late.  Grandma and Marilyn got to see the good, the bad, and the ugly that week.  After a few days, we stayed busy during the days and got the kids to bed earlier.  We had SUCH a great time with Grandma and Marilyn!  The kids enjoyed baking zucchini bread and chocolate chip cookies.  They played lots of games together, read books and learned how to play Sudoku.  We had warmer weather than expected and very little rain.  Here are some pictures from our fun week together.  Both Dylan and Amelia were sick with different bugs during that week...one tummy and one throat and ears.  Marilyn was so smart to keep a journal of everything we did that week.  She also kept a list of words that have different meanings or pronunciations here in England.  I think her favorite is that they pronounce "garage" as if it rhymes with "carriage".   

My 5-month old, blue-eyed baby!

Ready for the Opening Ceremonies            Happy Birthday to Aunt Emily

We walked to McDonald's for lunch one afternoon.  Both kids rode their bikes.  We have a nice path in our neighborhood that leads to Mc Donald's and the grocery store.

One day, they took the train to Bath on their own!  They enjoyed the day exploring and shopping.  They took the train back to Chippenham in the evening and called for a ride after dinner.

We explored the very quaint village of Lacock.

The Bakery...It doesn't look like Panera, does it?

A restaurant with pretty flowers

The Bowood House (18th Century)

We are standing by the door.  I am wearing a pink shirt. 

Our Church: St. Mary's Catholic Church

A few sprinkles after church on our walk through town to get donuts

The girls after church

A rainy, but fun day exploring Bristol

Our boat tour on the River Avon

The boat tour was great, even in the rain.  We were covered, but we could still see.

St. Mary Redcliffe Church in Bristol

Cora loved having Great-Grandma hold her!

These three kiddos had so much fun with Great-Grandma Reed!

A BIG thank you to both Grandma and Marilyn for all of their help that week.  I was able to run a few errands by myself, take my time in the shower and the dishes were always done!  We had a great time with both you!  It was fun getting to know Marilyn better and hearing about her sweet family and grandchildren.  We hope you had a nice time in Paris after visiting us!