A Finale of Olympic Proportion

Four and a half years ago, in 2008, we had a newborn baby.  We named her "Mary Vivian," after both my grandmothers, and decided to give her the little pet name, "Mamie."  She is our third child and I think in the mayhem of adjusting to life with three, we had this amazing dream of transcendence beyond our then-current stage of feeling blessed, bleary-eyed, and mostly overwhelmed as parents....  Since London had been awarded the 2012 Olympics, we thought, "wouldn't it be awesome to plan to return in that year, when our little baby child would be four years old and a capable little traveler?"  We could go as a whole family and really do it up right--a two-weeker (soo European) so as to have time to dwell in Northern Ireland again--an actual whole-family trip adventure!!

It seemed LIGHT YEARS away.  But, in fact, we blinked three times and twitched our noses and somehow, two years had passed and it was time to enter the lottery for Olympic tickets.  So we did!  It wouldn't be until a year later, summer of 2011, that we would learn we'd actually been allotted tickets for athletics (track and field) and the trip was suddenly official.  Mamie was three by then and the idea of the trip started to feel more and more real, all the time.  It was time for Lesli's favorite part:  planning! 

The London portion of the trip did not come together easily.  The Olympic Committee had put blocks on all the major hotels in the city and by the time I got serious about booking our flights, I still hadn't been able to secure any accommodation for the London portion of the trip.  Dean and I got nervous about that whole part of the trip and decided it felt too chaotic to try to make it work.  We very reluctantly scrapped the whole London portion and resolved to sell our Olympic tickets once we had them in hand.  We would go forward with the trip as an Ireland/Northern Ireland-only trip, which was still exciting, but a little disappointing, considering all the prep work I had put in for the Olympics, yearS in advance.  

And then something lovely happened.  About two months prior to our trip, a smattering of hotel rooms started popping up in central London, as if to say, "Well, we thought we were all sold out, but just kidding!  We found a few more!"  Because of the timing of our event, we were able to add two nights onto the end of the trip and attend the Olympics after all.  The trip finally felt complete!  What a truly special, once-in-a-lifetime thing to get to do as a family.  The night was pure magic and the kids were so caught up in the patriotism and electricity of the crowd--it was just a huge gift.  Team USA, we were cheering our little hearts out for you!!  

Hey, stranger man.  Hope you don't mind if I hover while you plink away at words with friends.

Walking the rather long (20 min.) path from the West Ham tube stop to the Olympic Park and Stadium.  Good thing Dean was practically speed-walking like those dudes in the 20K and I had blisters from my flip-flops by the time we got there.  I would've had to run to keep up, so we can all know that didn't happen.  This picture was the closest I ever got to him and this was taken with a big, fat zoom lens.

What a happy sight!!  Flip flops, don't fail me now.

Gorgeous, multi-colored wildflower plantings across huge sections of lawn as we got nearer to the stadium.

Team USA, baby!  We are here!!

Coming into the stadium for the first time.  Beautiful place!!

View of one of two big screens at either end of the stadium and the cauldron.  So awesome.

Ready to cheer, DECKED in some red, white and blue!

Genius little remote-controlled minis that went back and forth during the shot put competition to get the thrown discs and return them to the front!  Ha.

Our big moment on the live camera shots!  Love Dean taking the pic of the screen while we waved.

Sanya Richards Ross winning her heat in the 400 semifinals.  Yes!!

Former University of Tennessee track star, Dee Dee Trotter, running in her heat for the 400.  She would ultimately get a bronze medal in the final for this race!  Go, Dee Dee!!

Dee Dee Trotter on the big screen.  Fierce!!  Go, girl!

Lovin' this little yankee doodle dandy!

British heptathlete, Jessica Ennis, who would take home gold for Team GB.  The crowd went WILD for her.  It was such an awesome moment for Great Britain.  They normally don't rack up the medals at the Olympics, but this year, they've done amazingly well.  Go, Jess!!  P.S., these women have zero body fat.  Zero.

Saturday night at track and field, Great Britain scored three gold medals and the evening was hailed the next morning in the British media as possibly the greatest night in the history of British athletics.  It was so so energizing to be in the home crowd on a night like this--completely heartwarming and infectious.

We came to cheer for the USA, but there was no way we couldn't shout and celebrate with these happy people.  It felt so good to be a part of something so special for them--and really, for us, as spectators, to be able to cheer for humans--regardless of nationality--was a gift to us.  Just the overall triumph of the whole thing was exhilarating!

Men's 10,000 meters final.  Crowd favorite for Team GB, Mo Farah (in 4th position here), starts to make his move up to the front.  Running beside him with the blond hair was USA's Galen Rupp.  This race was unbelievable.  I don't know all the stats, but no one from Great Britain has ever even come close to winning this race.  The electricity in the crowd during this race was physically felt.

One of the last few laps.  I'm no math major, but these guys basically run around the track like a million times and at a pace that looks to be two shades under a sprint.  AH-mazing.  See the Kenyan and the two Ethiopians out front?  They are used to winning this thing.  Guess what?  They're not winning it tonight.

Gold and silver finish, GB and USA!!  Ahhhhhh ((and the crowd goes WILDDDDD))!!

Farah came over to the US and trained in Oregon for a while WITH Rupp.  These two guys, who have trained together, under some famous marathoner coach (don't ask me his name), taking gold and silver at the freaking Olympics, right beside each other.  It was a beauty-FULL sports moment (from someone who does not consider herself to be very sporty).

Praising God that this 4-year old was able to transcend her whining from earlier in the day to allow us all to revel in this magical night.  No small thing at 10 p.m.

Last event of the evening:  women's 100 meter final.  Gimme some US women in this final!!  3 out of 8 spots!  Carmelita Jeter, Alyson Felix, and Tianna Madison.  C'mon, girls!!!

Big screen shot of Felix during her heat of the semi-finals.  She was so strong.  I was bursting with pride and we don't even know each other.

Taking OFF!!  Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce would take gold here (lane 6) for Jamaica, but what an awesome sight to witness such beauty and POWER.  Makes me teary just thinking about it.

My honey, 'tis of thee.

Almost forgot the beret!!  We are shameless!!

The boys were loving it--they cheered so loudly for Team USA.  This is Walker thinking something Truman did or said was hilarious--a new stage in their friendship as brothers.

Truman being super brotherly and loving, giving Mamie a piggyback ride on our way out of the stadium.  Olympic fever has its benefits!

So long, Olympic Stadium, and a bunch of extremely fit, superhuman athletes.  What a night.  We will remember it for a lifetime!  And until we meet again, dear London--I LOVE YOU.

Taking Tea, Take Two :: aka The Burkhart/Douglass British/American Extravaganza

The day before we left Doonbeg for London, I had this brand new and inconvenient thought:  Mamie would probably do well to have a stroller in London.  Because my wiring is to plan, it always annoys the dickens out of me when I forget something so obvious.  I made a few desperate e-mail attempts from my phone on the way back from Bunratty to some London children's equipment rentals websites, but no one had anything available.  Plus, no one could hear my pathetic excuse for a Southern accent via e-mail or see my best pitiful face, so I came up empty.  It was decided then:  Mamie would just have to tough it out and walk London.  God, be with us. 

We had plans to meet our friends, Jon and Jo Burkhart (and their kids, Olivia and Toby), for an "afternoon tea, take two" late lunch at Fortnum & Mason.  London doesn't really have any big food craves for me, but they really shine on afternoon tea, which just so happens to be one of my primary love languages--thus, the twice-in-two-days approach to taking tea.  I mean, really, can you have too much afternoon tea--ever?  Don't spur me on toward laughter.

So for the first half of the day, we decided to do one of the hop on-hop off, double-decker bus tours around the city, with plans to end up around Piccadilly for lunch.  This felt like a good decision because 1.) the bus tours are actually quite educational and interesting, 2.) one of Walker's goals for his London experience was to get to ride on the top of a double-decker bus, 3.)  we had good weather and 4.) it minimized 4-year old walking.  

We hopped on and rode around for about an hour before I heard our tour guide murmur something about Changing of the Guard at 11:30 and that, incidentally, we were very near Buckingham Palace.  I thought, "What fun!  Let's hop off!"  So we did.  Aaaand it took about five whole minutes of walking before Mamie and Walker, who were (only minutes before) happy as larks on the bus, to start whining like royal nails on a chalkboard from "all the walking."  As parents, we all have our whining quota for any given day--and it doesn't always reset at the end of every day.  It sometimes carries over.  And Dean and I both were at our max.  For the love, please SHUT IT.  It was the kind of whining that makes me just want to run screaming down the street with Cruella Deville crazy eyes, pulling out whole sections of my hair and crying out for the return of Jesus.  By the time we took Olympic cycling path-induced detours and got stuck in a bottlenecked section of fencing into Green Park, Mamie was beside herself and I wasn't far behind.  Did I neglect to mention that once we got to the Palace, we found out the Changing of the Guard was cancelled, due to the aforementioned cycling?  My family was LOVING me.  

Needless to say, we promptly made our way back onto the bus at our earliest convenience.  But trying to "do London" with three kids had very much left its mark on me.  And the battle between what I would have loved for us to have done and what our capacity actually was as a family--it was constant.   We resolved to just stay on the bus until it was tea time with the Burkharts.  And THAT was a rare treat, indeed.  There is truly almost nothing in my life I've found that crustless sandwiches on soft bread, scones, and endless cups of tea, milk and honey won't cure, at least momentarily.  Ahh, sanity reclaimed.   

 Breakfasting at the hotel, Walker was keen to sport his complimentary visor he scored from the Penguin shop the night before in Covent Garden.

 No table in the UK or Ireland is ever without brown and white sugar cubes and a pair of tongs.

 French press coffee pots are pretty much standard.

 Maybe it's just our family, but breakfast "buffet" bars are extremely high-maintenance.  On the outset, it would seem more of a low-maintenance concept--let the kids get their own breakfast, easier on mom and dad.  Not true.  They end up with meals that consist of three different kinds of cheese and a danish pastry.  Or in Mamie's case, a bowl of cornflakes with a croissant torn into pieces and arranged on top.  Breakfast of champions.  Then they have to get up and down from the table at least five times a piece because they forgot jam for their toast or to put milk in their cereal.

 Massive photo displayed on the side of this building along the Thames, in honor of the recent Diamond Jubilee celebration.

 All smiles on the double-decker tour bus.  that would soon change.

 Buckingham Palace breakdown.  Are we having fun yet?

 Now are we having fun?  All three faces here are telling.

 Note to the mothers:  when your kids start smiling like this, call it a day with the camera.

 This sign is displayed on the check-in counter at Fortnum & Mason's tearoom.  A good rule for tea time and, probably, life in general.

 It's Jon and Toby, tearing up the "dance floor" in the tearoom.

 If you know Jon Burkhart, you can just know that incorporating dancing into an afternoon tea experience isn't that much of a stretch.

 The beautiful Burkhart family!  Jo and Jon, Olivia and Toby.  So awesome to be with them!

 This sweet little thing tortured me.  Just wanted to grab him!!  Seen here wearing his trademark furrowed brow.

 Ohh, Olivia!  You are so beautiful!  And look at little Blancita, the kitty cat, watching you drink your lemonade.

 The children's menu at Fortnum & Mason.  You might think tea rooms would discourage children from attending, but that isn't the case at all, as you can see here.  In fact, at the Savoy, Mamie's tea was free and the boys had discounted rates.  Love it.

 An afternoon tea "first" for Lesli.  I take my tea with milk and honey, not the regular sugar.  So I usually have to request the honey as it is not usually set out unrequested.  F&M actually brought me a warmed jug of hot honey.  Warmed.  Heated honey.  For my hot tea.  Brilliant.

 Love seeing these two families together!

 Pink-tinged roses and boxwood sprigs!

 Toby just loved playing and interacting with the boys--it was adorable.

 I have ten other pictures like this!  They were loving it.

 Checking out the cake carriage.  Walker's proximity worries me.

 Lemon sponge, almond tart, chocolate sponge, and Battenburg = spoiled for choice.  Walker seems to be making his.

 Sugared red currants.

 An edible Union Jack butterfly atop a tiny Victoria sponge layer cake bite.

 Is it possible to enjoy something more?  In other news, my diet starts tomorrow.

 Our friend, Jon, and his daughter, Olivia.  What Memphis and London combined look and sound like.

 Little individually-wrapped boxes of tea to take home as favors!

 One final group pic in the toy department at Fortnum & Mason.  Never knew there was one.  The things you learn when you take your children to tea!

Samford bulldogs taking tea, 20 years later.