One of the many bonuses of summer is backyard games with your pals while enjoying a cool and refreshing beverage in the warm afternoon sun. Our pals? Well, they take it to the next level. This past weekend we participated in the second annual Lawn Olympics. In matching t-shirts and sporting at least one sweatband each, we all prepared for the days festivities by listening to the Olympics opening ceremony theme music.

To kick off the event, Jason shot a FLAMING ARROW at a target, completely igniting it into flames (after….um at least two tries). This is exactly what the weekend called for- hoosier golf, beer, and fire. It’s just how we do it.

After the opening ceremony, the teams split up for their assigned games. They each played (at least) one round of croquet, badminton, bags (sandbags thrown at targets- like washers), washers, hoosier golf, bocci ball, beer pong and horseshoes. My sister took my place in the games while I watched Addison in a section of the backyard unoccupied by games or beer.

Tom is extremely competitive, so I steered clear of him while he was in Game Mode. Teamed with Aaron, he had a good shot at placing, but by the end of the festivities,(SPOILER ALERT!) it would not be so.

I love our friends. They played with my niece as much as they played their games. Julie taught Addison how to play croquet and Katie taught her cartwheels and front rolls. My sister and I took turns rolling down a grassy hill with her, which sent Addison into an insane fit of giggles. I may still have grass in my hair.

The soundtrack of the day was a mix of Jock Jams and the Top Gun Soundtrack- all played by Beaver, our wedding DJ. Addison was a big fan of “Eye of the Tiger” and “Dude Looks Like a Lady” (which she sang as ‘dude likey lady‘) and she proceeded to recruit anyone near her into impromptu mini dance parties on the lawn.

At the end of the day, we crowned the winners. Taking the bronze: Tim and Patrick who, with the powers of their matching sweatbands, pulled through with improvement from last year’s tie for last place. Taking the silver: Sean and Bryan who, despite their amazing game faces and fierce competitiveness, came just short of nabbing the win.

Our champions: Jason and Matt. With both the distracting magic of Matt’s t-shirt and the sweat absorbing powers of the sweatband I knitted for Jason, they just couldn’t lose.

Jason (above) would like to thank Coca Cola Classic for helping team $hithawk acieve their dreams.