Vancouver 2010 - Our Olympic Experience

What a fantastic time we had in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics! The atmosphere was amazing and we were thrilled to be a part of it all.

When Liam saw the chefs he went running to the window to watch. When I told him what this place was he was he got so excited! Can you tell what he wants to be when he grows up?!
Teigan in the new Olympic sport of hopscotch!


Our four man bobsled team!
This was pretty funny - another Swiss guy just picked Liam up and put him on this guys shoulders!
Skating outside at the Richmond Olympic Zone. Great fun!
Captain Canada and his sidekick Olympic Man.
The Victory Ceremony inside BC Place for Alex Biledeau and Canada's first gold medal!


Alex Biledeau! Samuel's "hero" in his sport. This is who the kids got to meet and Samuel even got to ski with a couple of weeks before the Olympics.
The Olympic cauldron is absolutely beautiful.

Samuel's Big White Competition

This was Samuel's first competition. He did very well and placed 5th in slope style on jumps and aerials. Here he is doing a daffy off of a very big jump!

This is mute grab off another jump.
And more air. Samuel loves the big air. He really enjoyed the competition and can't wait until the next one! I was so proud of him.

Canadian Olympic Moguls Team!

It all started after training Saturday afternoon. The mountain was closed and we were having a nice, cozy hot chocolate in the dining room, when one of Samuel's coaches came in and asked if they boys could help prepare the mogul course for the Olympians! We all got our gear back on and took the, now closed to the public, t-bar part way up the hill and across to the course. The boys got to "slip" the course (slide down side by side pushing the fresh snow away). That first night we got to watch Kristi Richards, Chloe Dafour-Lapointe and Jenn Heil and Alex Bilodeau training. It was AMAZING.

This picture shows the course as well as our spot for the training. We ended up going up multiple times throughout the week to watch them and on the last night Samuel even got to ski the course with the athletes!

Jennifer Heil and Teigan.
Kristi Richards. (Teigan's very favourite!)
The boys and Chloe Dafour-Lapointe.
Samuel and his very favourite, Alex Bilodeau!

After training the athletes would come and talk with the kids. They were really great. Such a fantastic experience to watch them train and be so close. Next week there will be thousands of people, and we had our own private nights!

"Treetop" and "Backyard Mountain"

The kids love to hike up "Backyard Mountain" as they have dubbed it. It's actually a pretty good hike, and lots of fun. Here's Teigan fully prepared with her backpack complete with snacks and water.

The kids at "Treetop". They are pulling all of the branches from anywhere close (some not so close) and starting to construct their little area.
Here they are trying to get a fire started. The wood was far too wet!

Fun and Games...

We do love our games, and they come in all different shapes and sizes. We have a plethora of dice, from four sided pyramids to 30 sided, tridecahedrons. We have made up some pretty fabulous games.

Here Samuel and I are playing one game around factors, while Liam and Teigan are playing their own game that has a lot of probability in it.
The boys built and dug this little fort and tunnel. On this day, they are having their snack and hot chocolate in the fort with our dog Boru.
Chemistry fun - safety first!
The boys counting their money from shoveling driveways.

The Olympic Torch comes to Summerland!

What an exciting day it was when the Olympic Torch came through our little town of Summerland! We were all out, proudly sporting our Canadian gear and even suited up our American friends for the event.

Liam being oh so very Liam!

Our crew owned that little corner!
Cheering on the Olympic Torch.
We ran through the back streets to get over to where they were lighting the next torch - it was very exciting.

The kids got to meet our hometown hero and favourite Kristi Richards. The kids all ski freestyle - and Samuel has gone competitive this year in the same discipline as Kristi. (Moguls and aerials.)
Holding one of the torches!
What a wonderful day!

Our visit to CROC TALK

A very fun and educational visit to Croc Talk. They are an educational, conservation habitat.

Arianna and Teigan with one of the young, smaller crocodiles.
These ones were born in the habitat and have been raised from the eggs.



They had a few other kids of exotic animals. This is an African Cougar. Almost like a cross between a cougar and a linx.
This big guy was a rescue and has come a long way since he first came to the shelter. He had been experimented on for years with no anesthetics. It took a very long time to trust his new owners.
This guy was rescued from an abusive home. He has terrible calcium build up in his shell, which indicated very poor malnutrition.