Category: Summertime

Best Moments of the Olympics

Lauren4 Comments

I know, I know, the Olympics ended days ago, or as far as my mom’s concerned, the Olympics ended after Michael Phelps’s last event.  But.  I went on vacation so I’m a little behind.  And also, I wasn’t ready to come to terms with the fact that the event I’ve been waiting four years for is… over.  I have a feeling a little reminiscing will cheer me right up.

Here were the best moments of the Olympic games.  In my opinion at least.

10. Mr. Bean at the Opening Ceremony.

Maybe it was the sangria I was drinking, but I was hysterical during the scene when he was “playing” Chariot of Fire with one hand, and checking his iPhone with the other.

9. Team USA winning the Women’s Team Final in gymnastics.

Guys, we rocked it.  And really what made this moment so amazing, was getting to see Jordyn Wieber get her gold after seeing how crushed she was to not make it to the all-around final.  But I still missed Shawn Johnson.

8. Kirani James and Oscar Pistorius exchange bibs.

Do I really need to explain?  Anyone who saw can understand how touching this moment was.

7. Danell Leyva wins bronze in the Men’s All-Around Gymnastics Final.

All these athletes are too hard on themselves, if you ask me.  They should all be proud that they even made it to the Olympics.  After seeing so many people disappointed for not winning gold, it was really nice to see someone who was happy just to medal.  That relationship he has with his dad seems super weird, though.

6. Missy Franklin domination.

She’s from my home state and she did us Coloradans proud.  And not just during the “Call Me Maybe” video.  

5. Usain Bolt is still the fastest man in that world.

It would be cooler if Usain was from the US.  And if he was less cocky, but I’ll still admit it’s pretty amazing to watch him compete.

4. Sam Mikulak hugging Yang Hak-Seon.

Sam came in 5th during the vault final, but I give him the gold for his positivity and sportsmanship.  His congratulatory hug to the Korean gold medalist was plain awesome.  And sorry guys, apparently no one else liked this moment enough to snap a picture of it.

3. The Spice Girls at the Closing Ceremony.

Because I was a girl who grew up in the 90’s.  And that should be all the explanation you need.

2. Kerri Walsh and Misty May Threepeat.

I was so happy for them when they won, and mostly because they were so happy for themselves when they won.  Did you see Misty’s celebration dance??  These two women are the true definition of partnership and every interview they did together was so precious.

1. Michael Phelps

Oh, is that not a specific moment?

Here’s the thing.  I love Michael Phelps.  He’s been America’s Olympic poster child since 2004.  We’ve watched him do our country proud in 4 separate Olympic games.  We’ve counted on him to astound us, race after race.  We’ve seen him smile, cheer, celebrate and occasionally look disappointed.  I felt like we knew him and seriously, the Olympics won’t be the same without him.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go figure out how I can afford ticket to Rio in 2016.

Last Summer Hurrah

Lauren2 Comments

It’s about this point during the year when I realize it won’t be summer much longer.  Then I’m in panic mode and am frantic to fit in one last summer hurrah.  This year, that last summer hurrah turned out to be a weekend getaway to Vail and although we were only gone for 48 hours, it was the perfect “I need one last summer adventure before I can let go” trip.

We wanted to go up to Glenwood Springs, but I’ll be honest, the hotels there are not that nice.  And not that cheap.  So we opted to stay an hour away in Vail.  Which happens to be a pretty cute little mountain town.

Turned out the Vail International Dance Festival was also going on this weekend, so after getting into town on Friday evening we grabbed dinner and the Ballroom Spectacular.  Both were fantastic.  We ate at Bol, which is this sophisticated restaurant with a super swanky bowling alley hidden away in the back.  And I ate the best gnocchi ever.

We spent the entire day in Glenwood on Saturday.  Well, after Joey fit all this somewhere.

As a child, my parents drove us, and usually Hannah, up to the hot springs where we could spend countless hours in the pool and somehow never be bored.  I have so many fond memories of that pool, and even though I hadn’t been in two years, being there felt so familiar.  Except now I can leave the pool and get a “Naughty Rootbeer” at the Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co.

We woke up early on Sunday morning to watch the sunrise then immediately went back to bed.  It was 40 degrees and we were freezing.  I almost forgot what it felt like to be cold.

Before we headed back we stopped at the Vail Farmers’ Market, which turned out to be huge and much more artist and restaurant-friendly, than farmer-friendly.

Aaaand, I got to see this little guy.

So maybe it wasn’t technically a perfect vacation.  We got lost, were 25 minutes late to our show, almost hit a bear, got lost again, were cold at times and some of us may have been hungry and crabby on Sunday morning, but you know what?  It’s the imperfect parts of vacation that make it so memorable.  I needed that reminder.

Now we’re home, unpacked and finally ready to say goodbye to summer.