Gymnast-Triathlete-Divers

For years, our girls were obsessed with the Ironman World Championship. For their TV time, they would almost always choose race re-caps from youtube. They could easily recite the winners from the last 6 years, plus their times, sponsors, and possibly the athlete's shoe size.  I would often be begged to fill water bottles and ink race numbers on their arms, all so they could enthusiastically reenact their own versions of the Ironman, complete with helmets, sneakers, bikes, and leotards.

Chrissie Wellington is an icon in this house.

Somewhere along the way, we introduced the girls to the Olympics. (Can we all just pause a moment to sing the praises of youtube and all the wonders it holds for a family without cable? Thank you, youtube. You have been a life-saver on numerous occasions.) But not just any Olympics. The 2012 London Olympics quickly shot to the top of our most-watched list.

Which meant I often found the girls with couch cushions piled up on top of the coffee table so they could perfect their "diving" skills. Or running random laps around the house (it should be mandatory that houses with small children have floor plans that allow for "laps") as marathoners. Or twirling batons through the kitchen as rhythmic gymnasts.

But my very favorite part? Hours spent watching Olympic events commentated by British announcers resulted in my children narrating all their moves in their best British accents. Oh. My. Goodness. This is, by far, one of my favorite motherhood memories to date.

Lately, the household Olympic obsessions have been tightly focused on gymnastics, which is why scenes like this are common:

Or this:

And this:

And why the girls spend most of their time at home dressed like this:

Check out this video for a glimpse of Pickle's "vaulting" skill with bonus British accent...

Some days life with girls is glitter and Barbies and hair bows and nail polish.

But some days it's cartwheels and head stands and sprinting and "just one more lap".

And British accents.

I love it all.