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.