Olympic Fever--Gymnastics!

And now for the main event! On Tuesday, Riley and I hopped on a train to North Greenwich Arena in London with our friend Ella and her mom, Aubrey, for the Women's Gymnastics Team Final! We were so excited and totally looked the part of the proud Americans rooting on the Fab Five--Gabby, Jordyn, Ali, McKayla and Kyla! The train conductor made us promise to wave our Team GB flag as well (don't tell him but we forgot!), even making an announcement reminding "the American ladies in Coach C." Oops!

All aboard!

Outside of Greenwich Arena...Getting excited!

We were amazed to find how easy it was to get from Paddington to the arena and how quickly we got inside...no crazy lines or security hassles at all! There were volunteers everywhere to help and everyone was so pleasant and friendly to the kids. Since we were early, we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to our seats to get ready for the big event! We were shocked to find out our seats were AMAZING! Top section but front row with an awesome view and plenty of room for the kids to move around! We got our flags ready and took some pictures to pass the time before the event began.

Once it started, we were glued to our seats, watching all of the action unfold! I was worried about watching four separate apparatus at once but found that I only focused on the US when they were up, which was about half the time since there were 8 teams and 4 apparatus. There were also big lulls between routines while the judges calculated the scores, which meant more time to scope out the competition! The US ladies did AMAZING and kept us cheering and excited the whole time!

Meet Team USA (and Russia)!

Kyla on bars

Gabby on beam (She's Lyla's favorite!)

Gabby on floor

Low and behold, the USA won Team Gold for the first time since Atlanta in 1996, beating out Russia, who earned silver, and Romania, who received the bronze! I was shocked at how engaged Riley was...yelling for the USA, pointing out Russia and China's "bobbles" and even crying during the Victory Ceremony! It was truly touching and amazing  to see USA win gold here in London, made exponentially sweeter by being with Riley, who was totally overwhelmed and inspired by the whole experience. I LOVE the Olympics and I felt like she finally understood why and instantly became obsessed right along with me!

Watching the scoreboard to see the final results..

GOLD!!

The arena lit up for the Victory Ceremony

Gold Medalists

Riley watching, cheering and crying

The entire day was amazing and reminded me of exactly why I love the Olympics so much...the idealist in me loves to see so many countries put aside their differences and celebrate their shared humanity for a few weeks. Everyone warned me about the headaches of heading into London with security hassles and overcrowded trains and young children up way too late at night, but none of that really materialized or even mattered. People were happy and friendly and the energy in London was amazing....I cannot even tell you how many people stopped us to ask about our face tattoos, to give the girls a high five or to talk to us about the gymnastics or other sporting events. It. Was. Amazing.

And so, I will cherish the memory of holding Riley's hand during Gabby's beam, wiping her tears while the girls received their gold medals, and of her giant hug and thank you for getting tickets. I will forget the train ride home without seats (the girls sat underneath the luggage rack!) and remember that Riley has not stopped asking to take gymnastics lessons since we left the arena. Each time I pick up the blanket that is spread out across our living room floor, I will picture my baby practicing her cartwheels and perfecting her floor exercise. And most of all, I will remember her answer when I asked her why going to the Olympics was so special, and she answered, "because I was with my Mommy." We are so lucky to be in England during the Olympic games and we are doing our very best to take advantage of it! And on July 31st, I am confident we did just that.

Olympic Fever--Football!

We love the Olympics here in the Schmidt house! We started counting down at the 100 Day Countdown event in Times Square in New York back in April and then continued to count down when we watched the torch travel through Cheltenham in May. Imagine our excitement when the games finally began!! We celebrated with our own Olympic decorations, crafts and snacks, along with heading to a few Olympic events! 

Torch snacks--ice cream cones and popcorn!

We are keeping track of the medals and rooting on Team USA!

Even the playroom bookshelf goes Olympics with Riley's portrait of the Queen, a globe to find all of the countries we see on tv, our book about London and our American flag!

Flags!

Riley and I made Olympic Rings paper chains!

Our first Olympic event was football (soccer) in Cardiff, Wales on July 28th--Women's New Zealand vs. Brazil, followed by Team GB vs. Cameroon. We donned our very best red, white and blue--Wayne even had a way cool GB hat!--and helped cheer Brazil and Team GB onto victory! The girls did great, with Riley cheering while Lyla madly waved her Union Jack. Hope you enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for the rest of our events--Women's Team Gymnastics Final (!!!), Men's Football (Mexico vs. Switzerland and Team GB vs. Uruguay) and the Women's Football Final (Go Team USA!). We can't wait!

Hosting the Honeymooners--Part II, London & Tewkesbury

No visit to England is complete without a trip to London! We decided to try out the train trip to London (about 2 hours) with Uncle Craig and Karen in tow. The girls liked the train ride....especially the tvs on the backs of the seats, complete with cartoons and games. We arrived in London and caught the tube to the Tower of London, where we embarked on a tour led by the famous Beefeaters (Riley got confused and kept calling them Meateaters. Tehe!) We had actually visited the Tower and done the same tour in December but it was much more enjoyable this time without the bitter cold! Uncle Craig especially loved learning about the way they tortured prisoners there! We also got to check out the Crown Jewels, which was much more impressive than in December. It looks like the exhibit was revamped for the Jubilee. Hooray! The Tower Bridge also looked gorgeous with the Olympic rings!

Serious train rider

With the Meateater....I mean Beefeater!

Tower Bridge looks amazing!

After the Tower, we boarded a boat for a quick ride on the Thames. It had been drizzling on and off but suddenly started down-pouring the moment we boarded the boat. Luckily it was covered and we somehow avoided getting soaked! By the time we reached Westminster, the rain had stopped and we decided to walk around and take in the sights. We saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the London Eye, and Buckingham Palace. Riley learned about London in school this year and was our tour guide, pointing out the sites and teaching us about the Great Fire of London.The girls were champs, with Riley walking and occasionally hitching a ride on Uncle Craig or Daddy's shoulders, and Lyla taking a short snooze in her stroller. We learned how much easier travelling is when you add in two more adults...especially when going up and down metro steps with strollers and kids!

Enjoying the boat ride!

Posing with the London Eye

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Finally it was time to board the train home and everyone was exhausted...except the girls! They kept us busy singing, chatting and dancing for the two hour ride. Poor Uncle Craig and Aunt Karen got the worst of it but they were great sports. An exhausting but amazing day out!

Instead of resting up the next day, we decided to head to the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival. We arrived and parked in surplus parking and found we had to walk along public footpaths to reach the festival. Craig and Karen quickly learned that public footpaths just mean fields that people can walk across...alongside animals and over stiles. The fields were COMPLETELY mud-covered...where were our wellies when we needed them? When we finally reached the festival, it was time for a reenactment of the Battle of Tewkesbury, the final battle from the War of the Roses. There were hundreds of reenactors dressed in armor and a huge crowd to cheer them on. The whole thing was very long and loud and Lyla hated all of the shooting. We hung in there for awhile and then decided to head back along the public footpath. This time a bunch of horses blocked our way over the stile and we had to enlist the help of some locals to help us. Watching Wayne try to "shoo" the horses out of the way provided a great laugh though, complete with Craig yelling warnings about standing behind the horses. Pure comedy! Despite the festival being a bit different than we expected, we had a fun day out that we would never forget!

We shared the public footpath with these guys!

All dressed up and ready for battle!

Guarding the entry! Climbing over in the mud, avoiding these guys= comedy!