I am an unabashed Olympics junkie.  We’ve never even had a TV, but for the Salt Lake City games in 2006 we borrowed one from Joey’s parents and set it on the floor of our little living room in Iowa and watched Olympics from 5:00 – 10:00 every evening for two weeks.

It was delicious.

We happily returned the TV after Closing Ceremonies (yes, I watch all of the Opening and Closing ceremonies and I love every minute of it, that’s how far it has gotten) and I immediately began worrying about what I would do for the 2008 games.  And at that time, I didn’t even know we’d be moving to Texas and extremely far away from the in-law’s extra TV.

But Houston, we have a problem.

Guess when the Olympics are this year?  August 8-24.  Guess when Jenna is going to Boundary Waters and will be completely off the grid for one entire week?  Yeah, pretty much August 9-17.  This means I see the Opening Ceremonies somehow in Texas, maybe catch an couple hours of it in some hotel in Cloquet, MN on Saturday night, and then I am completely out of it until Sunday the 17th.

HOLY COWS!!!

I am already stressing out.

I have been for, like, two months.

I told you it was bad.

So since I’m super addicted and nerdy, I have already put the offical NBC Olympics website on my little quick-likes favorites bar on the ‘Fox, so I can check it neurotically throughout the day.  (Not like anything’s happening yet, except Olympic trials which are still very cool, but they have this little countdown clock on the top left of the page…)

Anyway.  I remembered today that they have Canoe/Kayak as an Olympic event.

Um – awesome!  I’ll be canoeing for a whole week!

So I think I’ll make up my own Olympics and force my siblings, and potentially my parents, to play them with me.  I’m currently trying to think up events.

Pops informed me that we’re getting ultralight canoes this year (apparently he’s getting soft…he used to make us get Alumacraft every year because ultralights are more expensive to rent), so my favorite idea of having a contest to see who could swamp their canoe and then bail it out it the fastest — while remaining in the canoe –  got nixed.   Also my second favorite of rowing out into the middle of the lake solo and standing up in the canoe while hopping on one leg the longest amount of time before falling in the lake also got nixed.

Lame.

So I’m currently working on relay ideas for ultralight canoes.

I’ve come up with a couple…they’re not as funny as jumping in the canoe, though.

1. Fastest time while paddling solo (a set distance)
2. Fastest time team paddling a set distance using improvised paddles made from whatever you can scrounge up from the woods or around cam
3. Fastest time team paddling a set distance out in the lake, turning around in your seat and then paddling the canoe back to camp…backwards.

That’s all I can come up with.  I probably need my sibs to help me.

I think I’ve got “medals” figured out though.  Mom got us some gourmet hot drinks in individual packets and put them in our stockings a couple years ago, and I think they are in sort of metallic packages.  A couple gold, silver and bronze ones would do the trick and keep Pops happy because they wouldn’t be dead weight.

So we’ll see if Canoe Olympics really materializes.  I kind of hope it does…I really want to see Pops try to paddle a canoe backwards.