Get Some Sand Between Your Toes

Beach Volleyball at the Beijing Olympics + Visiting Manhattan Beach

Michael Phelps and the Opening Ceremony may be dominating the Olympic news this week, but the hottest ticket in Beijing is for Beach Volleyball. The two top ranked women’s teams in the world are from the US, and superstars Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh hail from Southern California. We set our TIVOs to record the US women's competitions, and pulled up the excellent NBC Olympics website to give our kids a sense of the prominence of our local sport. They were hooked -- and after a few near misses from bumping and digging around the living room, we took our kids to Manhattan Beach, a town famous for its beach volleyball. We spent a few blissful hours playing in the surf and sand, checked out the perfect pint-sized Roundhouse Aquarium, took a leisurely bike ride along the beach, and ended a perfect summer day the old fashioned way, with some yummy locally-made ice cream.

Most beach players start playing indoor volleyball, which is a highly popular sport for girls, in particular, in Southern California. These top athletes are great role-models for all kids, and watching them compete is exciting for the whole family.
Click here for the scoop on where to rent bikes, shop, and eat in Manhattan Beach,

Countdown to Beijing Olympics (Part 2); Mulan + Terra Cotta Warriors at the Bowers Museum = Kids Off The Couch

Olympic fever has struck our families and we are counting down the days (and studying our Tivo settings!) until the opening ceremonies this Friday 8/08/08.

The Games are always captivating -- the athletes inspire us, the settings intrigue us. Wanting to enrich our kids' concept of China during this Olympic summer, we headed back to that nation's Imperial era by screening Disney classic Mulan, a beloved folk tale about a heroic girl warrior. From there, it was an easy transition to the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at Santa Ana's Bowers Museum, a spectacular collection of the famed artifacts from over two thousand years ago. The Warriors, constructed to protect the underground tomb of China's first emperor, ignited our kids' imagination so that we talked about the show for days after -- clearly a feat worthy of Olympic Gold!

Click here for tips on tuning in for the Olympics, a link to the NBC schedule, and to learn about a History Channel documentary about the Warriors, airing this week

Click here for Part I in Kids Off The Couch's Olympic Countdown: Kung Fu Panda and the Flowing Fragrance Gardens at the Huntington Gardens.