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So, it's all over. All the medals awarded, the final party has been and gone and the athletes and officials are heading home. And that means one thing - our Olympic Scrapbook has been completed. It is a bittersweet moment. We are all proud of what we have achieved with our scrapbook and we have completely loved every minute of the Olympics, from the start of the first women's football match to the very end of the closing ceremony.
I must show you how we have finished it off. First, Saturday's page.
And yes, we have the same picture twice - Mo Farah and Usain Bolt doing each other's celebrations on the podium. Saturday was an amazing night - we watched Mo Farah together in the living room and as a family, we all shouted, "Yes!" when he crossed the line in front. We have also included Ed McKeever, who won the K1 200m canoe sprint, Luke Campbell who won boxing gold, Liam Heath and Jon Schofield who won bronze and on the right, we have Tom Daley winning diving bronze and a picture of them all jumping into the pool at the end, which we thought was great.
Then there was the page for the last day of sporting action and the closing ceremony.
We have some included some shots of the closing ceremony (which we thought was great, incidentally) but also the USA basketball team, Stephen Kiprotich the Ugandan marathon runner and Anthony Joshua, all of whom won gold on the last day. Also, there was Sam Murray who won Team GB's very last medal of the Games, a silver in the modern pentathlon. A truly fabulous ending to the Games.
With all the medals awarded, we were ready to complete our medals table. Flags drawn by the children whilst we were waiting for the closing ceremony to start. Look at that - Great Britain in third!
And then, we chose pictures for the middle page which has space to record more London 2012 memories.
I've managed to chop off Mo Farah in the picture, but we chose him as our favourite memory of the Olympics. Also, we have a picture from the opening ceremony, Chris Hoy crying on the podium after winning the Keirin, Laura Trott after winning the Omnium, Oscar Pistorius competing in the 400m, the heptathletes on a lap of honour, and a group of athletes running past the Olympic flame.
And then, finally, we visited The Times website to download our certificate for completing the scrapbook.
I have since filled it out and it's stuck proudly in the back page of our scrapbook. Because we've done it - it's been a bit of a marathon, but we really have enjoyed it, although my living room will be tidier without newspapers spread across it, and scissors, glue and scraps of paper scattered everywhere. We'd like the real medal, but you know, our achievement pales into insignificance compared to those of all the Olympians over the last 17 days.
You've still got time to get a copy of The Times today to complete recording your memories of the London 2012 games in your Olympic scrapbook. I hope if you started this along with me, you've made it through to the finish line and have enjoyed compiling it as much as we have. I'm off for a lie down.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
Showing posts with label scrapbook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scrapbook. Show all posts
Monday, 13 August 2012
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Olympic Scrapbook hits the home straight
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We're nearly done. We have reached the home straight and struggling for the line. Well, not really struggling - we're powering to the line, a bit like Mo Farah did last Saturday night. Time is passing very quickly it seems and I can't believe that it will all be over tomorrow night.
We'd had a bit of a lull in our last post, but Team GB returned to winning ways on Thursday with a bang! Three gold medals, all won by women, in an eclectic mix of sports - boxing, taekwondo and freestyle dressage. All of them dancing, after a fashion.
Our page reflects that - Nicola Adams, Charlotte Dujardin and Jade Jones all feature on our page. We also included Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir - a Jamaican 1-2-3 in the men's 200m, David Rudisha who broke the world record in the 800m, and the GB rhythmic gymnastics team - just because their participation was so historic. Keri-Ann Payne is also on the right - I was really gutted that she didn't win a medal.
And then, Friday. A day of no golds for Great Britain but medals a-plenty nonetheless. Lutalo Muhammad getting a bronze in taekwondo, Luke Patience, Stuart Bithell, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark all winning silvers in sailing, Anthony Ogogo who lost a boxing bout to gain a bronze, and the women's hockey team. I also included a shot of the BMX riders and Oussama Mellioli who won the open-water swimming. We also had some more challenges to do and I've added all the medals even though we have not quite yet filled in ALL the pages in the scrapbook but we will do very soon.
We're headed to the line. One more day of competition and a closing ceremony to go! Do remember that you too can continue to collect The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Olympics.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
We're nearly done. We have reached the home straight and struggling for the line. Well, not really struggling - we're powering to the line, a bit like Mo Farah did last Saturday night. Time is passing very quickly it seems and I can't believe that it will all be over tomorrow night.
We'd had a bit of a lull in our last post, but Team GB returned to winning ways on Thursday with a bang! Three gold medals, all won by women, in an eclectic mix of sports - boxing, taekwondo and freestyle dressage. All of them dancing, after a fashion.
Our page reflects that - Nicola Adams, Charlotte Dujardin and Jade Jones all feature on our page. We also included Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir - a Jamaican 1-2-3 in the men's 200m, David Rudisha who broke the world record in the 800m, and the GB rhythmic gymnastics team - just because their participation was so historic. Keri-Ann Payne is also on the right - I was really gutted that she didn't win a medal.
And then, Friday. A day of no golds for Great Britain but medals a-plenty nonetheless. Lutalo Muhammad getting a bronze in taekwondo, Luke Patience, Stuart Bithell, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark all winning silvers in sailing, Anthony Ogogo who lost a boxing bout to gain a bronze, and the women's hockey team. I also included a shot of the BMX riders and Oussama Mellioli who won the open-water swimming. We also had some more challenges to do and I've added all the medals even though we have not quite yet filled in ALL the pages in the scrapbook but we will do very soon.
We're headed to the line. One more day of competition and a closing ceremony to go! Do remember that you too can continue to collect The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Olympics.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
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Thursday, 9 August 2012
Olympic Scrapbook - a slight pause for breath!
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Well, another post after two more days of Olympic action. Recording our memories of the London 2012 Olympics with our Olympic Scrapbook from The Times and The Sunday Times is proving to be a worthwhile experience. Every day, we turn straight to the scrapbook page to see if we like the pictures, then scan through the rest of the paper to try and ensure we have a picture of all the British medallists and any other significant people (like Usain Bolt - you couldn't miss him out, could you?).
But these last two days have been that little bit quieter. Including a whole day when Team GB didn't win any medals. I mean, really? I have to pinch myself because we keep trying to explain to Monkey how in some Olympics, Team GB only won as many medals across a whole games as we have on some days this time. But yes, a whole day without medals yesterday - probably a nice pause, given the rate we are running out of stickers in our pack.
Missy Woo insisted muscling in on Tuesday's page as she helped me compile the page. We have the Brownlee boys on the left hand side. We also have our 3 medals as we completed our challenges again - the children loved running upstairs to bed in particular, and Monkey did sterling work carrying shopping back from our walk into town. Talking of which, I took this picture yesterday whilst we were in town.
The children with Bradley Wiggins's gold postbox, which is located opposite the Town Hall in Chorley. The children were very excited to see it.
Anyway, on the right of the page is Charlotte du Jardin of the dressage team, Robbie Grabarz who won high jump bronze, Victoria Pendleton after she won silver (still gutted about that), Laura Trott winning another gold, Sir Chris Hoy winning yet another gold, and Rob Dempsey winning a windsurfing silver.
So, Wedneday was a lot quieter day. I mean, for goodness sake, I even have some Aussies winning a gold medal in the sailing! On the right, I put Nick Skelton (who was unlucky not to win a medal), Mo Farah doing his Mobot, and Shanaze Reade doing BMX time trials - there is even space for a crowd picture and a picture of a random Chinese table tennis player. Yes, really, that quiet. The last day we didn't win any medals was Day 1, which seems like a lifetime ago.
Only four days left now. I can't believe it is nearly over. And there is still more to come for our Olympic Scrapbook. If you're joining in with this, don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
Well, another post after two more days of Olympic action. Recording our memories of the London 2012 Olympics with our Olympic Scrapbook from The Times and The Sunday Times is proving to be a worthwhile experience. Every day, we turn straight to the scrapbook page to see if we like the pictures, then scan through the rest of the paper to try and ensure we have a picture of all the British medallists and any other significant people (like Usain Bolt - you couldn't miss him out, could you?).
But these last two days have been that little bit quieter. Including a whole day when Team GB didn't win any medals. I mean, really? I have to pinch myself because we keep trying to explain to Monkey how in some Olympics, Team GB only won as many medals across a whole games as we have on some days this time. But yes, a whole day without medals yesterday - probably a nice pause, given the rate we are running out of stickers in our pack.
Missy Woo insisted muscling in on Tuesday's page as she helped me compile the page. We have the Brownlee boys on the left hand side. We also have our 3 medals as we completed our challenges again - the children loved running upstairs to bed in particular, and Monkey did sterling work carrying shopping back from our walk into town. Talking of which, I took this picture yesterday whilst we were in town.
The children with Bradley Wiggins's gold postbox, which is located opposite the Town Hall in Chorley. The children were very excited to see it.
Anyway, on the right of the page is Charlotte du Jardin of the dressage team, Robbie Grabarz who won high jump bronze, Victoria Pendleton after she won silver (still gutted about that), Laura Trott winning another gold, Sir Chris Hoy winning yet another gold, and Rob Dempsey winning a windsurfing silver.
So, Wedneday was a lot quieter day. I mean, for goodness sake, I even have some Aussies winning a gold medal in the sailing! On the right, I put Nick Skelton (who was unlucky not to win a medal), Mo Farah doing his Mobot, and Shanaze Reade doing BMX time trials - there is even space for a crowd picture and a picture of a random Chinese table tennis player. Yes, really, that quiet. The last day we didn't win any medals was Day 1, which seems like a lifetime ago.
Only four days left now. I can't believe it is nearly over. And there is still more to come for our Olympic Scrapbook. If you're joining in with this, don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
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Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Olympic Scrapbook passes the bell
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We're onto the second week of the Olympics - not quite the home straight, but we've certainly heard the bell now. None of us want it to end in this household - well, maybe Missy Woo is not as excited as the rest of us, but she does loving Team GB winning golds. In terms of our Olympic Scrapbook, in which we are recording our memories of these games with pictures from The Times and The Sunday Times.
It's been two days since my last post and we've encountered a bit of a crisis. We've run out of Team GB gold medal stickers! I'm sure they were trying to be conservative and not over-confident but I guess we couldn't have predicted we'd win so many medals in the list of who won what - which is not a complete list of medallists as some days, there are over 20 medals on offer. We've had to stick on gold medals and stick a union flag next to it!
This is Sunday's page, which was a bit mad. Andy Murray won men's singles gold incredibly easily so he's on the left, with Ben Ainslie, Andy Murray, Laura Robson, Louis Smith and Christine Ohuruogu all winning silver. And then, of course, Usain Bolt winning the 100m - which of course, I couldn't leave out. And not to be left out, Max Whitlock is at the bottom winning his bronze in the pommel horse. (You might also notice there is a Chinese athlete called Ling Dan who won the badminton men's singles, largely to fill a gap!
And here's Monday's. A somewhat quieter day - since when did a quiet day at the Olympics meaning winning two golds and a bronze? That would never have happened when I was a child the age mine are now! So, we have included Holly Bleasdale coming 6th in the women's pole vault - because she's from round here and went to the school the children will probably go to in a few years. We could only find a small picture of the showjumping team - it was that or a huge picture that wouldn't have fitted in! And then of course, there is Beth Tweddle finally winning a medal in the uneven bars. On the right, we have put Beth again, as well as Jason Kenny blowing the opposition away in the sprint and Laura Trott doing well in the omnium races.
We know already we have more gold medal performances to add to today's page, so I'll show you that in a few days.
Don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
We're onto the second week of the Olympics - not quite the home straight, but we've certainly heard the bell now. None of us want it to end in this household - well, maybe Missy Woo is not as excited as the rest of us, but she does loving Team GB winning golds. In terms of our Olympic Scrapbook, in which we are recording our memories of these games with pictures from The Times and The Sunday Times.
It's been two days since my last post and we've encountered a bit of a crisis. We've run out of Team GB gold medal stickers! I'm sure they were trying to be conservative and not over-confident but I guess we couldn't have predicted we'd win so many medals in the list of who won what - which is not a complete list of medallists as some days, there are over 20 medals on offer. We've had to stick on gold medals and stick a union flag next to it!
This is Sunday's page, which was a bit mad. Andy Murray won men's singles gold incredibly easily so he's on the left, with Ben Ainslie, Andy Murray, Laura Robson, Louis Smith and Christine Ohuruogu all winning silver. And then, of course, Usain Bolt winning the 100m - which of course, I couldn't leave out. And not to be left out, Max Whitlock is at the bottom winning his bronze in the pommel horse. (You might also notice there is a Chinese athlete called Ling Dan who won the badminton men's singles, largely to fill a gap!
And here's Monday's. A somewhat quieter day - since when did a quiet day at the Olympics meaning winning two golds and a bronze? That would never have happened when I was a child the age mine are now! So, we have included Holly Bleasdale coming 6th in the women's pole vault - because she's from round here and went to the school the children will probably go to in a few years. We could only find a small picture of the showjumping team - it was that or a huge picture that wouldn't have fitted in! And then of course, there is Beth Tweddle finally winning a medal in the uneven bars. On the right, we have put Beth again, as well as Jason Kenny blowing the opposition away in the sprint and Laura Trott doing well in the omnium races.
We know already we have more gold medal performances to add to today's page, so I'll show you that in a few days.
Don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games.
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Sunday, 5 August 2012
Our Olympic Scrapbook runs out of superlatives
Sponsored post and all that...
The other day, I said we'd gone medal crazy. I hadn't banked on the days to come. On Friday, I sobbed as Katherine Grainger finally won a gold medal with Anna Watkin in the women's pair. But then yesterday, wow. We were at Old Trafford as the men's four won their gold and caught the end of that race. We heard that the lightweight women's pair had also won during the match we attended (Japan beat Egypt 3-0 in case you're wondering, a result that was never really in doubt when an Egyptian player got sent off in the first half.
Once we got home, we then enjoyed the ladies of team pursuit winning gold for Britain, but we were totally not prepared for what happened next. Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all winning gold on a very very special night. It was a great night to be on Twitter, I lost track of the number of tears I shed for them and shared the stunned amazement and jubilation the whole country seemed to be feeling.
With all this success, how on earth do we even manage to fit everything into our Olympic Scrapbook, which we are using to record our memories of the London 2012 games using pictures from The Times and Sunday Times? Well, it's been a struggle but we've tried to include everybody by doing montages in the big boxes on the relevant pages.
So, this is Thursday, which seems so long ago now. Winning 2 gold medals in the space of 5 minutes, and a silver to boot, was pretty amazing but that almost pales into insignificance of the days since. We have Sir Chris Hoy, the other team sprint boys Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes, Peter Wilson, the canoe boys Bailie, Stott, Florence and Hounslow, and off in the corner is Gemma Gibbons winning an emotional silver medal in judo. (Sorry for chopping you off in the photo!)
Friday, we have fitted in the men's team pursuit, aforementioned ladies pair, Alan Campbell, Karina Bryant, Victoria Pendleton and some early shots of Jess Ennis taking part in the first day of the heptathlon.
And then finally, Super Saturday, which I'm renaming Superlative Sunday, because I've run out of them. More Jess Ennis, and tucked away in the left are the ladies of the team pursuit and Kate Copeland and Sophie Hosking of the lightweight pairs. On the right, we have the mens four, the lightweight pair who won silver, and Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford on the bottom right. I snuck in Andy Murray and Laura Robson for good measure as they reached the final of the mixed doubles. You'll notice the medal challenges up on the left, which the children completed, having learned the words to God Save the Queen, played tennis and done 10 press ups (which was quite entertaining, they don't really have perfect technique on that one!)
Phew! I have run out of superlatives for the London 2012 games now. It's been amazing and we're only halfway through. I can't wait for the next week, when we will be continuing to collect The Times and The Sunday Times to record our memories of these Olympics. Are you?
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
The other day, I said we'd gone medal crazy. I hadn't banked on the days to come. On Friday, I sobbed as Katherine Grainger finally won a gold medal with Anna Watkin in the women's pair. But then yesterday, wow. We were at Old Trafford as the men's four won their gold and caught the end of that race. We heard that the lightweight women's pair had also won during the match we attended (Japan beat Egypt 3-0 in case you're wondering, a result that was never really in doubt when an Egyptian player got sent off in the first half.
Once we got home, we then enjoyed the ladies of team pursuit winning gold for Britain, but we were totally not prepared for what happened next. Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all winning gold on a very very special night. It was a great night to be on Twitter, I lost track of the number of tears I shed for them and shared the stunned amazement and jubilation the whole country seemed to be feeling.
With all this success, how on earth do we even manage to fit everything into our Olympic Scrapbook, which we are using to record our memories of the London 2012 games using pictures from The Times and Sunday Times? Well, it's been a struggle but we've tried to include everybody by doing montages in the big boxes on the relevant pages.
So, this is Thursday, which seems so long ago now. Winning 2 gold medals in the space of 5 minutes, and a silver to boot, was pretty amazing but that almost pales into insignificance of the days since. We have Sir Chris Hoy, the other team sprint boys Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes, Peter Wilson, the canoe boys Bailie, Stott, Florence and Hounslow, and off in the corner is Gemma Gibbons winning an emotional silver medal in judo. (Sorry for chopping you off in the photo!)
Friday, we have fitted in the men's team pursuit, aforementioned ladies pair, Alan Campbell, Karina Bryant, Victoria Pendleton and some early shots of Jess Ennis taking part in the first day of the heptathlon.
And then finally, Super Saturday, which I'm renaming Superlative Sunday, because I've run out of them. More Jess Ennis, and tucked away in the left are the ladies of the team pursuit and Kate Copeland and Sophie Hosking of the lightweight pairs. On the right, we have the mens four, the lightweight pair who won silver, and Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford on the bottom right. I snuck in Andy Murray and Laura Robson for good measure as they reached the final of the mixed doubles. You'll notice the medal challenges up on the left, which the children completed, having learned the words to God Save the Queen, played tennis and done 10 press ups (which was quite entertaining, they don't really have perfect technique on that one!)
Phew! I have run out of superlatives for the London 2012 games now. It's been amazing and we're only halfway through. I can't wait for the next week, when we will be continuing to collect The Times and The Sunday Times to record our memories of these Olympics. Are you?
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
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Thursday, 2 August 2012
Our Olympic Scrapbook goes medal crazy!
Yes, this is another sponsored post...
I don't seem to have any time to blog at the moment. I'm permanently glued to the Olympics. I worked out earlier that I've seen all of Team GB's medal performances live (on television, not at the venue!) so far and there has been a lot of jumping up and down and shouting at the box in the corner of our living room.
Well, that and continuing to complete our Olympic Scrapbook from The Times and The Sunday Times. If you've missed this so far, the idea is you collect pictures from the newspapers and you stick them in the scrapbook.
The children are joining in but they are a little camera shy today. That is actually code for they are joining in and cutting out but often wander off, leaving me to finish it all off - well, once they have applied all the glue to the pages anyway, that seems to be their favourite thing.
A bit photo heavy but here are our pages from the last few days.
This is Sunday's page, featuring of course, Lizzie Armitstead and Rebecca Adlington after their medal winning performances. We also chose a picture of Ryan Giggs scoring a goal at Wembley.
Here's Monday's page, featuring the divers and the men's gymnastics team - plus Ruta Meilutyte, because she trains in Plymouth! They're slightly out of shot here but we completed all but one of the day's challenges - because it involved doing a length of the pool and Missy is doing dance summer school this week.
Tuesday saw another medal in the team eventing and we also chose a fantastic action shot from the women's football as we were so proud of Team GB beating Brazil.
And of course, Wednesday was the day it turned gold for Team GB. Monkey and I put together a montage in the big picture featuring Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Michael Jamieson, the men's eight, Andy Murray and Kristian Thomas. And we cannot, of course, forget Helen Glover and Heather Stanning who won gold in the women's pair. I've almost impressed myself with that.
Don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games.
I don't seem to have any time to blog at the moment. I'm permanently glued to the Olympics. I worked out earlier that I've seen all of Team GB's medal performances live (on television, not at the venue!) so far and there has been a lot of jumping up and down and shouting at the box in the corner of our living room.
Well, that and continuing to complete our Olympic Scrapbook from The Times and The Sunday Times. If you've missed this so far, the idea is you collect pictures from the newspapers and you stick them in the scrapbook.
The children are joining in but they are a little camera shy today. That is actually code for they are joining in and cutting out but often wander off, leaving me to finish it all off - well, once they have applied all the glue to the pages anyway, that seems to be their favourite thing.
A bit photo heavy but here are our pages from the last few days.
This is Sunday's page, featuring of course, Lizzie Armitstead and Rebecca Adlington after their medal winning performances. We also chose a picture of Ryan Giggs scoring a goal at Wembley.
Here's Monday's page, featuring the divers and the men's gymnastics team - plus Ruta Meilutyte, because she trains in Plymouth! They're slightly out of shot here but we completed all but one of the day's challenges - because it involved doing a length of the pool and Missy is doing dance summer school this week.
Tuesday saw another medal in the team eventing and we also chose a fantastic action shot from the women's football as we were so proud of Team GB beating Brazil.
And of course, Wednesday was the day it turned gold for Team GB. Monkey and I put together a montage in the big picture featuring Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Michael Jamieson, the men's eight, Andy Murray and Kristian Thomas. And we cannot, of course, forget Helen Glover and Heather Stanning who won gold in the women's pair. I've almost impressed myself with that.
Don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games.
And of course, the cycling starts today and the athletics tomorrow. It can only get more exciting.... if that's possible.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
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Sunday, 29 July 2012
Our Olympic Scrapbook gets started!
This is a sponsored post, but you know that by now, don't you?
So, it's day 2 of the action at the Olympics and we've completed our first two of our Olympic scrapbook from The Times & The Sunday Times. After my post on Friday, we all watched the opening ceremony - I know I said they were going to bed but they just seemed to stay up; once it started and was so magical, it seemed wrong to deny them . We all loved it - it was bonkers in a good way, it entertained, enthralled and gave us goosebumps. And, in an act of family unity, we all simultaneously laughed out loud when Mr Bean appeared in the orchestra.
So yesterday, Monkey and I sat down to choose some pictures for the scrapbook. Excuse the cheesy grin.
We struggled a little, as the ceremony finished so late, it seemed that a lot of pictures from the second half of the ceremony didn't make it into the paper. We chose to include a picture of Bradley Wiggins ringing the bell at the start as we are big cycling fans in this house, and anyway, he lives a few miles away from here. I wanted to include a picture of the cauldron so I printed a picture of it from the online edition. Our favourite picture was of the five rings that was forged together during the show as that was spectacular. We had to include Mr Bean of course, and Monkey was overjoyed to find a picture of Voldemort (he was very excited when JK Rowling appeared during the ceremony) so that has made it in too.
The children had a go at the challenges to win medals on Friday - eat 3 carrots to win a bronze, do a sit up for each year of their lives to win silver, and run 100m to win gold. I'm happy to report they completed all 3 challenges to win all the medals. They actually ran more than 100m as they went and ran round the small block, a ploy on my part to get a second's peace.
So that was the opening ceremony page done, now it was time to get going with the pages for the first day's action. We filled in quite a bit as we went along like the names of winners of some events - some definitely, not all.
Then, this afternoon, Missy Woo helped me choose the pictures from the paper to go in the scrapbook. She is very good at cutting out - much more accurate and careful than her brother.
We cut out some of the suggested pictures from the scrapbook page but didn't go with the one of Vinokourov winning the road race - not because we were bitter that Cav didn't win but because we don't like his stance on drugs. Instead, we found a picture of the GB women's team winning at football last night and Fabien Cancellara after he came off his bike towards the end of the road race. The GB women's picture, I have had to do a bit of a fold job on to fit it in. We also have small pictures of Louis Smith, the gymnast, and Ryan Lochte, the swimmer.
We're busy filling in today's page but obviously, we won't be putting in the pictures until we get tomorrow's paper.
If you are joining in, I'd love to know how you are getting on with your scrapbook. There will be more posts as we continue to fill our scrapbook so keep an eye out on this blog.
Now all we need to really get going is a gold medal for Great Britain!
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
So, it's day 2 of the action at the Olympics and we've completed our first two of our Olympic scrapbook from The Times & The Sunday Times. After my post on Friday, we all watched the opening ceremony - I know I said they were going to bed but they just seemed to stay up; once it started and was so magical, it seemed wrong to deny them . We all loved it - it was bonkers in a good way, it entertained, enthralled and gave us goosebumps. And, in an act of family unity, we all simultaneously laughed out loud when Mr Bean appeared in the orchestra.
So yesterday, Monkey and I sat down to choose some pictures for the scrapbook. Excuse the cheesy grin.
We struggled a little, as the ceremony finished so late, it seemed that a lot of pictures from the second half of the ceremony didn't make it into the paper. We chose to include a picture of Bradley Wiggins ringing the bell at the start as we are big cycling fans in this house, and anyway, he lives a few miles away from here. I wanted to include a picture of the cauldron so I printed a picture of it from the online edition. Our favourite picture was of the five rings that was forged together during the show as that was spectacular. We had to include Mr Bean of course, and Monkey was overjoyed to find a picture of Voldemort (he was very excited when JK Rowling appeared during the ceremony) so that has made it in too.
The children had a go at the challenges to win medals on Friday - eat 3 carrots to win a bronze, do a sit up for each year of their lives to win silver, and run 100m to win gold. I'm happy to report they completed all 3 challenges to win all the medals. They actually ran more than 100m as they went and ran round the small block, a ploy on my part to get a second's peace.
So that was the opening ceremony page done, now it was time to get going with the pages for the first day's action. We filled in quite a bit as we went along like the names of winners of some events - some definitely, not all.
Then, this afternoon, Missy Woo helped me choose the pictures from the paper to go in the scrapbook. She is very good at cutting out - much more accurate and careful than her brother.
We cut out some of the suggested pictures from the scrapbook page but didn't go with the one of Vinokourov winning the road race - not because we were bitter that Cav didn't win but because we don't like his stance on drugs. Instead, we found a picture of the GB women's team winning at football last night and Fabien Cancellara after he came off his bike towards the end of the road race. The GB women's picture, I have had to do a bit of a fold job on to fit it in. We also have small pictures of Louis Smith, the gymnast, and Ryan Lochte, the swimmer.
We're busy filling in today's page but obviously, we won't be putting in the pictures until we get tomorrow's paper.
If you are joining in, I'd love to know how you are getting on with your scrapbook. There will be more posts as we continue to fill our scrapbook so keep an eye out on this blog.
Now all we need to really get going is a gold medal for Great Britain!
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.
Friday, 27 July 2012
Ready, Steady, Scrapbook!
This is a sponsored post, you know the drill.
The waiting is over. Almost. Some of us have already had an Olympic experience (we went to a football session at Old Trafford last night) but tonight, finally, the Olympics officially opens. I've explained before how excited we all are but it's taken on a slightly different meaning for us since I agreed to be involved with the Times Olympic Scrapbook, detailing our experiences of cataloguing the events of the next 17 days.
I've just been told that if you've missed out getting a scrapbook before, there is one last chance to get your mitts on one before it all kicks off tonight. What you will need to do is to go here and print the voucher, fill it out and take it to your nearest WH Smith or Waitrose before they close TONIGHT. Yes, that's right. If you really want to join in and get scrapbooking the games with your children, you need to be quick off the mark! That way, you'll be ready and raring to go to start scrapbooking tomorrow.
If you've been away and have no idea what I'm talking about, my original post about this project explains more. The Times and Sunday Times have already given away more than a million of these scrapbooks, so there are a lot of people poised to start collecting their favourite memories, starting of course, with the opening ceremony. Even today's edition has a special games section - I liked the clever world map showing which nations excel at which sports. We're good at "sitting down" sports and the Americans just about everything, of course.
From tomorrow, there will be 15 special souvenir editions of the Times and we'll be cutting out our favourite pictures. For the children, tonight's ceremony is going to be just too late - normally, I'd let them stay up as a special occasion but we did that last night and then they only slept until 7 so both are somewhat lethargic. I have promised to record it all so they can see it in the morning - memories don't have to be watched live, do they?! I have high hopes for the ceremony after seeing the briefest of sneak previews - I love Danny Boyle's style and the way he doesn't take himself too seriously so I suspect that something of him may go into this, along with all the over-the-top events that can only feature in an opening ceremony.
Come back again soon and see how we got on with scrapbooking the opening ceremony, but don't forget to be quick if you want to grab that voucher and get one of the last scrapbooks so your family can join in too!
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative.
The waiting is over. Almost. Some of us have already had an Olympic experience (we went to a football session at Old Trafford last night) but tonight, finally, the Olympics officially opens. I've explained before how excited we all are but it's taken on a slightly different meaning for us since I agreed to be involved with the Times Olympic Scrapbook, detailing our experiences of cataloguing the events of the next 17 days.
I've just been told that if you've missed out getting a scrapbook before, there is one last chance to get your mitts on one before it all kicks off tonight. What you will need to do is to go here and print the voucher, fill it out and take it to your nearest WH Smith or Waitrose before they close TONIGHT. Yes, that's right. If you really want to join in and get scrapbooking the games with your children, you need to be quick off the mark! That way, you'll be ready and raring to go to start scrapbooking tomorrow.
If you've been away and have no idea what I'm talking about, my original post about this project explains more. The Times and Sunday Times have already given away more than a million of these scrapbooks, so there are a lot of people poised to start collecting their favourite memories, starting of course, with the opening ceremony. Even today's edition has a special games section - I liked the clever world map showing which nations excel at which sports. We're good at "sitting down" sports and the Americans just about everything, of course.
From tomorrow, there will be 15 special souvenir editions of the Times and we'll be cutting out our favourite pictures. For the children, tonight's ceremony is going to be just too late - normally, I'd let them stay up as a special occasion but we did that last night and then they only slept until 7 so both are somewhat lethargic. I have promised to record it all so they can see it in the morning - memories don't have to be watched live, do they?! I have high hopes for the ceremony after seeing the briefest of sneak previews - I love Danny Boyle's style and the way he doesn't take himself too seriously so I suspect that something of him may go into this, along with all the over-the-top events that can only feature in an opening ceremony.
Come back again soon and see how we got on with scrapbooking the opening ceremony, but don't forget to be quick if you want to grab that voucher and get one of the last scrapbooks so your family can join in too!
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative.
Friday, 20 July 2012
Olympic Scrapbook - have you got yours yet?
This is a sponsored post (but it's not that bad really).
If you read my post last weekend, you'll know that I'm going to be blogging about our experiences completing the Olympic Scrapbook that appeared in The Sunday Times last week.
If you missed out last weekend, don't fret as you have one last chance to get one. Get yourself down to a WH Smith or Waitrose this Saturday as you'll be able to get one free when you buy a copy of The Times. Then, the next day, The Sunday Times will have an exclusive sticker set which you'll be able to use in your scrapbooks, and I've been allowed to give you a sneaky preview of how those stickers are going to look.
Monkey, in particular, is excited about the stickers so I'm going to have to try and rein him in so that he doesn't stick them all over the scrapbook within half an hour. We've been looking at The Times all through this week but nothing has yet made it into the scrapbook as we're waiting for our Olympic experience to begin (which will be next Thursday as we are going to some of the early games in the football tournament the day before the opening ceremony). We're going to collect front pages, choose the pictures to cut out and stick in, and fill in the statistics - another Monkey job; he'll be there with his statto hat on, and will probably try to write the results in almost as they happen!
Olympic legends have been supporting the Olympic Scrapbook this week as the two papers build towards the London 2012 Olympic Games. Here's the lovely Roger Black:
And also, the great Ade Adepitan, pictured at the recent premiere of Chariots of Fire.
Take a look at this (very short) video which shows you how the scrapbook works.
You can also find this video here.
This time next week, the Games will be upon us. Excitement is reaching fever pitch here. If it is with you, get your scrapbooks and stickers and join us cataloguing this very special occasion.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative.
If you read my post last weekend, you'll know that I'm going to be blogging about our experiences completing the Olympic Scrapbook that appeared in The Sunday Times last week.If you missed out last weekend, don't fret as you have one last chance to get one. Get yourself down to a WH Smith or Waitrose this Saturday as you'll be able to get one free when you buy a copy of The Times. Then, the next day, The Sunday Times will have an exclusive sticker set which you'll be able to use in your scrapbooks, and I've been allowed to give you a sneaky preview of how those stickers are going to look.
Monkey, in particular, is excited about the stickers so I'm going to have to try and rein him in so that he doesn't stick them all over the scrapbook within half an hour. We've been looking at The Times all through this week but nothing has yet made it into the scrapbook as we're waiting for our Olympic experience to begin (which will be next Thursday as we are going to some of the early games in the football tournament the day before the opening ceremony). We're going to collect front pages, choose the pictures to cut out and stick in, and fill in the statistics - another Monkey job; he'll be there with his statto hat on, and will probably try to write the results in almost as they happen!
Olympic legends have been supporting the Olympic Scrapbook this week as the two papers build towards the London 2012 Olympic Games. Here's the lovely Roger Black:
And also, the great Ade Adepitan, pictured at the recent premiere of Chariots of Fire.
Take a look at this (very short) video which shows you how the scrapbook works.
You can also find this video here.
This time next week, the Games will be upon us. Excitement is reaching fever pitch here. If it is with you, get your scrapbooks and stickers and join us cataloguing this very special occasion.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative.
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Saturday, 14 July 2012
Preserving London 2012 memories with the Olympic Scrapbook
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This is a sponsored post (but you might like it anyway!)
Two weeks to go, after seven years of waiting. I remember sitting, holding Monkey (a nearly 4 month old baby) in my arms watching the announcement of the host city of the 2012 Olympic Games and tearing up with joy and excitement when Jacques Rogge uttered the words "the games of the thirtieth Olympiad are awarded to the city of London." (I just looked those words up on YouTube to make sure I got them right and it set me off again!) I was excited, not just for me, but for the baby that I was holding in my arms, that such a fantastic thing was going to be happening in our country and that it would be something we would be able to share as a family.
Seven years of waiting, but once it starts, the Games will be here and gone again in the blink of an eye and we will be left with will be some - hopefully fantastic - memories. I've been pondering how best to do this with the children for a while. Monkey, in particular, loves his wall charts - he dutifully filled out his Euro 2012. But I wanted more than that - a keepsake that can go into their memory boxes to remind them of the this once in a lifetime event. Then, I was asked if I'd like to be involved with the project I'm about to tell you about. Being a sports mad family, I jumped at the chance as we will be devouring the Games in all forms when it starts.
The scrapbook, supported by London 2012 sponsor P&G, will feature editorial content from The Times and The Sunday Times’ award-winning journalists, including an Olympic timeline along with stats and facts about this summer’s Games and past medal winners. Readers will be able to collect pictures, athlete profiles, medal tables, as well as adding in their own images and memories – plus an exclusive sticker set that will be available inside The Sunday Times on 22nd July.
Stickers? Monkey will be overjoyed! He has that geeky, slightly obsessive quality that little boys often have, collecting stickers and cards wherever he can. I suspect Missy Woo wants to join in as she likes stickers although they will have to be pretty ones.
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| A sample page from the scrapbook |
We have had a sneak preview of the scrapbook as we were sent a copy to get going. The scrapbook is a really nice size (just under A3) with Jess Ennis on the cover, and a foreword by Lord Coe. Every page is in colour, with information for you to cut out and keep from the newspaper or their website (although that is behind a paywall) as well as interesting information about the Olympics, like profiles of high profile athletes and a series about Olympic villains over the years. There's space to write in who won what on each day.
Monkey is very excited about the prospect of filling out this scrapbook over the coming weeks. Missy Woo is less so, but I know she will enjoy it too. This is going to be a great summer holiday activity, which we are going to need if the weather carries on the way it has been! I think it's nice to be able to do something like this together - choosing the pictures, cutting them out, sticking them in - to make memories the way we see them, not anyone else.
Over the next month, I'll be blogging about our experiences of putting the Olympic Scrapbook together, and showing you what we're doing with our scrapbook. If you'd like to join in, please do. I'd love to see what other people do with the scrapbook. In my next post, which should be early next week, I'm hoping to share a How to video with some useful tips for completing the scrapbook with your children.
Get your copy of The Times & The Sunday Times OlympicScrapbook free this weekend with The Sunday Times and you can visit: http://bit.ly/STOlympics for more information. If you have arrived late to this post and missed your chance, all is not lost. You'll have a final chance to get your hands on the Olympic Scrapbook by visiting your local Waitrose or WHSmith on Saturday 21st July and purchasing a copy of The Times.
If you want some more ideas for Olympic related activities to do with your children, you can visit the Olympic Fever section of Netmums throughout the summer.
I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative.
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