1 Day 8 Hours and 3 Minutes...

until the freaking the Olympics are here!!!!!!!! I maaaay have mentioned once or twice* how much I freaking love the Olympics. There is nothing else like it in the world. There is something about the idea of watching the pinnacle of an athlete's struggle for success combined with an overwhelming nationalist sentiment that just gets to me. Perhaps it is because, like my father, I have always had a great burning desire to achieve success athletically, or perhaps it is just because I love the way that the Olympics brings together nations of sometimes very disparate people. I tackle everything in life like it is an Olympic sport.**

I force let my kids watch the Olympics from the very moment of the opening ceremonies until the last synchronized swimmer has finished her flip kick. I am so Olympic obsessed that I even watch the Olympic torch bearers with interest. I remember watching the Olympics in Seoul in 1988 where one of the torch bearers was a former Olympian from 1932 who was denied his medal at the time (it was given to Japan who happened to be occupying Korea at the time). That is the epitome of what the Olympics means. So, sorry, Shark Week. I'm afraid you're going to have to go on without us this year. Awesome as you are, nothing tops the Olympics.***

*or multiple times with a preceding eff bomb. Don't judge me. 
**This does not go over well in "sports" like grocery shopping. Pussies.
***What if we combined Shark Week and the Olympics for the most awesome sporting/adventure event the world has ever seen? Rhythmic gymnastics would be just that much more interesting.

Random Links + Olympics vs. Sharks

Debating Herr Hilz.

Debating College or what is the worth of a liberal arts degree.

The challenge of making friends as an adult.

Also, it is totally time for the muthah fucking Olympics, people!! And you all know how excited I get about the Olympics. The only bad part is that is interferes with fucking Shark Week. And you all know I feel about freaking Shark Week. How will I rectify this situation with no DVR?? Living overseas is really fucking with my television watching habits.

Family Traditions

Okay, so there's no time to blog about how ConGen is progressing (quickly!), or how my MS is going (slowly & painfully!), or how the summer is flying by. But, there is always time to write about one thing: Shaaaawk Weeeeeek!!!!!!! This has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember (or at least for the last couple of years). Every summer Discovery Channel has shark week in July, and every summer we watch it with the kids and reminisce about all of the shark infested beaches we have been to/lived near.*

In other family tradition news, I just have to gloat for a minute. You may not recall my previous posts on the great list debate, but AinA sent out what I consider the final word on the matter in an e-mail earlier. So, in the spirit of gift giving: in yo face, sistahs!!!

*Fun fact: Florida has the world's most dangerous shark-filled waters in the entire world, yay! :)

Catching Up

I realized that in addition to not posting any updates, I also haven't posted any pictures. So here' some recent pics from T&J's combined b-day party (ice skating party in FL in July? Makes perfect sense to me!) and a couple from the great butterfly experiment, which was a big hit with all the kids (not just the girls).

Shark Week is this week, so if you've got the cable the kids highly recommend tuning in for this defining week (we watch it every year!). Next week we'll be at Disney, so I expect I'll have lots of pics to post following that.