Cheryl, Philip, and Julia help to make the torches.

Raise those torches high! And let the games begin!

Ben carries out the flag.

Leah, Olivia, and Ben helped decorate cookies. We put rings of frosting around the edges in the colors of the Olympic Rings.

We made 80 frosted cookies! We think that makes us cookie champs!

Olivia, Emily, Abigail, and all the other children had their faces painted with Olympic rings and the flags from various nations. Julia competed for Great Britain... or at least that's what the flag on her cheek suggested.

Did you know jump rope is an Olympic event? Well, it is here!

Cole gets a quick lesson.

Adah is part of the highly selective "Ride a Bee" team.

Trey and Liam make up our fan base.

Julia and Luke start up a game of badminton.

We kicked off the Olympics with a torch relay.

Leah gets ready for her big moment.

Ben waits with his coach, Jacob, for his leg of the relay to start.

Julia waits for her
leg of the race to start.

Sarah shows Leah how to run.

And she's off!

The hand-off is good.

Go, Ben, Go!

Julia made it part-way through her leg of the race, and decided that it would be much easier if she were carried.

Julia lights Emily's torch...

...and Emily is off and running!

Sarah passes it to Abigail.

Luke runs like the wind!

Adah gets ready to race.

Adah lights Brett's torch.

Brett passes to Cole...

And Olivia carries it home!

After the "torch-lighting" (or putting all the torches in the metal waste-basket), the kids gathered around for China's national anthem.

We started the event with a foot race.

Adah

Olivia

We tried to get the kids to race two at a time, but it didn't take long before it was just a mass of children racing back and forth.

Cole

Ben and Julia finished strong.

Everyone had the chance to race. When it was Philip's and Brett's turn, they had assistance from some of our staff, but they still received the cheers!

They were all winners
in our book!

Sarah has a close eye
on the competition.

Addison and Peter make sure all
the competitors get enough cheers!

Although it might not be an official Olympic sport, our Olympics had a tug-of-war.

Everyone gave it their best and pulled mightily...

...but in the end, it was Ben and Leah who really held their own.

They are both very competitive, and we might have had a little argument on our hands if we hadn't ended it by declaring both sides victorious!

Luke, Olivia, and Leah start the game of t-ball.

Cheryl steps up to the plate.

When Luke took his turn, he would always lick the ball before placing it on the T. We aren't sure what this did... maybe for good luck? Maybe to make it "stick?" Whatever he thought it did, he looked cute doing it!

Cole whacks it
out of the park!

Brett has a lot of upper body strength, so he could send the ball flying!

Adults and kids joined together for a game of soccer.

Ben really loved it, and wasn't afraid to get in the middle of the grown-ups to try and "steal" the ball away!

Leah chased the ball down the field!

Olivia and Luke work
to kick the ball.

Camille never quite understood the purpose of the game. She stood for quite a while in front of the ball. We waited for her to kick, but she never would!

Leah and Emily both have such radiant smiles. Who needs the gold, when they're lighting up a room?

That's a Yo-Yo, Cheryl... you can't eat that!

Next time we celebrate the Olympics, you'll be ready to play, Annie!

Nathan shows us his future
as an All-Star Pitcher.

Addison checks out all the excitement.

Julia and Olivia try to
make the Yo-Yo work.

Adrian and Chris were both integral parts of our fan base.

We called this the blanket toss. Again, not an Olympic event, but certainly a big hit with our kiddos! Basically it involved 4 men on 4 corners of a blanket; then one child crawls in the middle, and they get gently tossed up and down!

Luke really loved it.

Leah goes for a ride.

Emily loved the ride.

Adah waits for her turn.

Julia did it once on her stomach and once on her back!

Julia and Leah play Badminton.

Camille helped Philip play a combination of tennis and baseball.

Leah, Olivia, and Emily practice skating.

Madeline cheers for her team!

Emily and Adah display their flags
with the Olympic mascots.

Wendel doing what he does best... running!

Cole is a basketball star!

Cheryl was still trying to figure out that Yo-Yo...

Time for the awards ceremony!

The medals are waiting
to be passed out.

And the winner is...

EVERYBODY!

Ben

Julia

Everyone received a medal and a handshake, congratulating them for their excellent performance!

Abigail

Cole

Madeline was awarded the medal for
"Most Enthusiastic Fan."

Felicity

Time for lunch!

Yummy Olympic ring cookies.

A picnic under the trees.

So... what do Olympians eat? McDonald's Hamburgers of course!!!

Luke carefully ate his cookie in a circle... one ring of frosting at a time.

Cookies.

Bananas.

Hamburgers.

I'd say that is a good lunch, wouldn't you?

Adah

Chris

Ben

Trey

Adrian has his mouth full.

Brett

Julia ate her whole hamburger... one layer at a time.

Liam and Trey

Jack