Olympic Trials: Canoe Slalom

Friday evening Grady came home from work a and we jumped in the van for an evening at the US National Whitewater Center here in Charlotte to watch some of the Olympic Trials for the Canoe Slalom. So cool!

The boys thought everything was interesting and were full of questions asking when they will be tall enough or old enough to come and try it all out for themselves! From rock climbing to high ropes courses, from zip lines to rafting, from mountain biking to kyaking... it's an outdoor adventure land that is a short 20 minutes from home.

We arrived in between sets of competition and took some time to explore. There were a lot of spectators, but not an uncomfortable and crowded amount. In fact, the people added a fun realm of excitement to the event because they were there to cheer on specific individuals competing. Cow bells, whistles, cameras, and shouting.

The boys thought it was cool when some canoes would hit a set of rapids and flip. "Did you see that? He did a somersault in the water and he's not even hurt! I wish he would do that again!" Or, when a canoe would fly through the water and rub against a pole rather than clear it the boys would shout, "That's cool when he crashes into the pole, huh Dad?" Grady had to give them (and me!) some explanations on the rules.

I love walking behind my stairstep-men and listening in on their conversations. My boys adore their dad and when it comes to all things sports, he can usually give answers or stories or suggestions.

Lil Miss Annalyse was, as usual, a force to be reckoned with. If her brothers were walking, clearly that meant she should be walking as well. If her brothers were sitting near a canal edge to watch the race, clearly she should be able to also. Don't let her smile fool you: she was not happy to be in her stroller!

I can't say I'm itching for a canoe or kayaking adventure anytime soon. Way too much work that requires way too much upper body strength, which I absolutely have none of.

After two plus hours of walking and watching, we gathered our things to leave and Grady told the boys he had one more treat planned for our night out. Micah assumed that meant we were going to stay in a hotel and go on vacation and Grady Lee assumed that meant we were getting a piece of candy once we all got back to the car. My goodness - talk about a spectrum of expectations from using the word "treat"!

Although we didn't head out on vacation and although I had no candy in the car, the boys were still quite happy with their treat of ice cream! After all, is there ever a time when ice cream isn't a good treat? I think not!

The funny thing is that we drove through McDonald's to get the boys a simple vanilla cone and then Grady went into Coldstone Creamery to get real ice cream for he and I. The boys didn't think anything about this and, in fact, Grady Lee told me that he was "much luckier because my ice cream is way bigger than yours!" His might have been bigger, but I'm sure mine was better. Way sure mine was better.