Enjoying the Olympic experience with the family

Kirk and the kids pose at a photo poster near UBC Thunderbird.



Here we all are outside UBC Thunderbird Arena.



Highlight of the game for Katrina was getting an autograph from an athlete after the game.

This is how crowded the bus is!

The Schulz family in our "Go Canada" gear

I'm not sure how I managed to get the entire weekend off of volunteering -- everyone else seems to be working! I realized very quickly to keep this on the down-low...since the first few people I told seemed to be ticked that I didn't have shifts! Ha ha!

So, on Saturday we actually had tickets to the women's game at 2:30...my mom and I took Kat and Emma and Kirk met us there straight from work. It was neat knowing the venue (and where the hidden bathrooms were at intermission)...also cool to know all the workers on our way into the venue. I've made some great friends and they all wanted to meet my girls. It was neat being a spectator at my venue and seeing the high level of service that the "smurfs" (as we are called) gave to the public...we arrived over an hour early for the game and made it through security in plenty of time. Even saw the mascots as we made our way into the building.

After the game we ventured downtown and went to see the Olympic cauldron. It is AMAZING how many people are wandering the streets of Vancouver. The Olympic spirit and pride is something else...I've never seen Vancouver so crowded or so patriotic. We ate dinner after seeing the flame, even ran into some people we knew (including Kat's best friend -- what are the chances of seeing friends from Langley in the thousands of people downtown??). We went to the Royal Canadian Mint -- hoping to see the medals. Unfortunately it was a 6 hour wait...so we went in the shorter line and saw the million dollar coin and held the half a million dollar brick of gold instead. I am hoping we can go back to the mint and see the medals during the paralympics? We'll see I guess.

Then we went to the Bay (HBC) to see the Olympic store (Kat really wanted to shop!). The worker said it was at least an hour wait and the line looked long. It was already 10pm, so Mom and I decided to take Emma home (she had HAD it) and Kirk stayed in line with Katrina. Turns out they got into the store in 10 minutes! Can you believe it? Too bad we didn't stay...but since then I have been back a few times. Amazing how much stuff is there!