Bum...Bum...Ba...Bum...Bum...Bum...Bum

This evening, we attended a Beijing Olympics Party. Our hosts made delicious Chinese dumplings and had several Chinese sodas for us to sample. The buddies were so excited to eat dumplings, since their favorite tv character enjoys them. They were delicious! And Ben, who thinks he speaks Mandarin, said, "Xie-Xie, Miss Elaine" after slurping his down.

Steve and I volunteered to coordinate games for the kids and we got started right after dinner. Thunderstorms thwarted our backyard plans, so our friends pushed back their furniture and we held our meet indoors. The kids marched in to the Olympic Theme Song during opening ceremonies and then we began our games with a 100 meter dash. After a couple of false starts by a few of the 8 three year olds present, we finally got it right. Next up was the hop-ball race, followed by the balance beam. Then, each family chose a song for the floor exercises. Since none of the kids could resist dancing, the floor exercise event turned into one big free for all of giggling pre-schoolers. Our Summer Olympics completed with a water balloon shot put competition on the back porch. Then, we held an awards ceremony where each of our Olympians earned a gold medal. Everyone stood so proudly and so seriously during their turns on the podium.