Olympics

Okay, so Mitch and I have both been so tired the last week and a half because we stay up WAY too late watching the olympics. Most nights we're home from work around 5:00. We hurry and eat dinner and make sure we're plopped down in front of the TV by 7:00 to watch the night's events. My personal favorite is womens gymnastics.

I LOVE Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin. Mitch thinks Shawn looks like a cute little chipmunk. I think she's adorable and she seems like she's having so much fun. I was so happy she won gold on balance beam last night.

Nastia is definitely more serious about her competitions. But that's why I love her. You see, many people think Nastia is snotty, which I can see why they'd think that, but it's really just her Russian characteristics that make her appear so. Her dad and mom are both Russian and her dad was an olympic gymnast as well ... Maybe her Russian parents are the reason why Nastia is as pretty as the Russian girls I met on my mission. Anyways, Russians put their entire heart and soul into whatever it is they love. I think that's why Nastia is so serious and seems so snobby about it all. She has put her heart and soul into the olympics and will not let anything stand in her way, which is why she won gold in the all around.

Besides the two athletes, I've also loved hearing from Bela Karolyi. If I remember right, he's married to the USA womens gymnastics coach. He knows a lot about gymnastics too and I think he has been a coach before. He and his wife are both Russian. Bela is hilarious. I love him because he is the epitome of the Russian men and women I spoke with everyday in Latvia and Lithuania. Bela is passionate, energetic, dramatic, excitable, loud, opinionated, proud, and good natured. He made me laugh everytime he pounded the table with his fist and got all riled up. I loved hearing his comments about each event and seeing his suit coats that never quite matched his tie. So totally Russian. I love it.

I'm so sad the gymnastics is over, but I want to give a shout out to Shawn, Nastia, and Bela. (Not that they'll ever read this.) Thanks for making the last week so much fun and for your amazing gymnastic skills! As far as the age of the Chinese gymnasts, I'm not going to even start ...