Olympic Family Fun

Four years ago we held our first Family Olympics. This year I planned to hold a similar event. But as all the cousins were getting older, I decided to host a Olympic kick-off party as well.

On Friday, 08.08.08 we invited all the cousins (14 including my own kids) over to play, eat Chinese food (in honor of the host country) and watch the opening ceremonies. Then, all but the youngest (a two-year-old) slept over in our make-shift Olympic Village -- lots of sleeping bags strewn out on the basement family room floor. The next morning I prepared sausage links, orange juice and French toast and served them with an awful imitation French accent.

By 9:30 A.M. we all gathered at the park for the official Family Olympic fun. Each family dressed in the same color shirts, had chosen a mascot and created a family flag. (My own little family were the hornets.) While the men and oldest two boys were completing a golf scramble, the rest of us made and threw paper airplanes, competed in a cushion pushover contest(contestants used scrap cushions to try to push their opponent outside of a small hoola hoop), and tried to see who could hoola hoop for the longest. I lost.

Once the guys showed up we had a combined family game of kickball. Yeeha! Everyone really seemed to have a great time. Afterwards the men took their turns in the cushion pushover contest and then we had lunch -- a six foot hoagie ordered from WalMart's deli. (Thanks, Shal!)

We wrapped up the day's festivities with a medal ceremony. Each kid was crowned with a laurel wreath (made from dogwood branches by Lou and Kenz) and given their own Family Olympic medal (a juice can lid hot-glued to a curling ribbon loop). Go Olympians!