My daughter and I in particular, are REALLY not sport people. It doesn't even matter very much what sport it is - we are just not interested.
Except during the Olympics.
For about two weeks, once every four years, the people who do know us look on in bewilderment, as Caitlyn and I suddenly become sports fanatics. We watch as much of the Olympics as we can. There are some exceptions, mind you - still a few sports we just can't get into - but there are so many we get genuinely excited about - gymnastics, swimming, beach volleyball, diving, water polo, equestrian events, archery, trap shooting, high jump, sailing, the marathon, cycling - the list goes on! Once the Closing Ceremony wraps though, the shine fades, and we go back to our sport-less ways.
We are the first to admit that this is very weird.
So anyway, we enjoyed the canoe slalom during the last Olympics in Tokyo, and yes, admittedly, we probably paid it more attention than we might have because Australia had a medal chance in it: a young woman named Jess Fox. This time around, Jess returned for the Paris Olympics, and this time she won gold medals in both the C1 and K1 slalom events!
Sometime around this time, I had mentioned that the Sylvanian Family Collectors Forum had an "Olympics" themed creative challenge happening, and Husband said, "Hey, do you have any foxes? You could make a kayak!" I loved this idea, and set about making a "Jess Fox" costume for one of my fox figures. Here she is, sporting the Aussie green and gold:
Interestingly though, the best was yet to come: a new sport was introduced this year, called the Kayak Cross - or, as Caitlyn described it, "Canoe Slalom: Melee Weapons Edition" (this may perhaps make it sound slightly more brutal than it actually is. Slightly. But it is SO much fun to watch). And the cool part is, this is when we discovered that Jess Fox's little sister Noemie was also an Olympian! And she did well - not only beating her big sister, but everyone else too, winning gold in this new event.
I just had to make a Sylvanian version of her, too!
So this is my entry for the "Olympics" creative challenge, and it is a Sylvanian tribute to all the amazing men and women who have competed as Olympians. Whether they won medals or not, they all fought so hard to be there and represent their countries.
Of course I think especially of our Australian athletes (because that's where I'm from), and in this case, if only because their last name is just so perfect for this, especially our golden Foxes, Jess and Noemie!
