It's Olympics all the way, baby!! USA! USA!

This is such an exciting time in my house!! On Friday we had an Olympics Opening Ceremony Party with the star attractions being Megan, Chris and Lily coming to town, rocking good food, and of course, the Olympics Opening Ceremonies!!

We made pulled pork macaroni and cheese with four cheeses and carmelized onions, topped with Panko bread crumbs - can you say yum, yum? With garlic bread and salad it was a real hit - followed by assorted chocolates and lots and lots of laughs. It was a night to remember.

The Murray family has a long history of being totally over the top for the Olympics, and these Winter Games are no exception. We love Canada, and anyone who watched the opening ceremonies couldn't help but love Canada, too. They did such a good job - they were so creative and fun and true to their multicultural heritage. It was really special, especially coming on the heals of the extravaganza that was Beijing, China. Now don't get me wrong, the Beijing Opening Ceremonies were a miracle - a presentation that set a new standard like Avatar sets a new standard in animation ... but the Vancouver presentation was so ... real ... so ... personal ... what the Chinese made me feel with millions of dollars, thousands of people and state of the art technology, Vancouver made me feel with some sail fabric hung in the shape of the Canadian Rockies and a Joni Mitchel song with a single flying acrobat. They are completely different events - like opera and country music - and I can understand it if anyone felt differently than me. But for my sense of pleasure, Vancouver really hit a home run, and I was really, really proud of them for their efforts and creativity.

And watching it with my family, including Chet (and in absentia but always in our hearts Zack and Carriza) was the icing on the cake. Lily's first Olympics. Yahoo.

So now the struggle is to work the Olympics schedule of events into the tax season work schedule ... a task worthy of Solomon, but unfortunately tasked to me. Still, I will do all I can. Megan, Chris and Lily are spending all week with us, so I expect this might just be the best week of my entire life ... not that I'm too excited or anything to have everyone together.

Go USA! Go Canada! Go the WORLD and learn from the lessons the Olympic brotherhood can teach us!