Olympics rings

A Look Back at Milano Cortina 2026

16 days of glory go by very quickly, and the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics have sadly already come to an end. Here’s a quick look back at all of the fun we’ve had!

Of course we had to stop by the Olympic Spectacular outside Francis Olympic Field at Wash U in St. Louis…just last month, (future) Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu visited these same rings!

Chickadee and I made our favorite edible Olympic torches:

And we cooked a ton of (very delicious) Italian food!

  • Biscotti
  • Zuppa Pavese
  • Frullato di Frusta
  • Italian Bread
  • Carbonnade à la Flamande
  • Insalata di Arance e Finocchi
  • Radicchio in Padella
  • Limoncello Spritz
  • Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole
  • Marinara
  • Basil Pesto
  • Ravioli
  • Zeppole di San Giuseppe
  • Italian Grilled Cheese
  • Peposo
  • Creamy Polenta
  • Italian Limonata
  • Sporcamuss
  • Pork Milanese
  • Antipasto Salad
  • Seltz Limone e Sale
  • Panna Cotta with Berries

We also picked up a few Italian treats from the store:

There were crafts:

And a girls’ outing to go ice skating:

We had fun keeping track of the medal count at the end of every day…here’s a final look at our chart:

I love the Olympics, both winter and summer, so much, and I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with myself now that they’re done…but I’m already looking forward to L.A. 2028!

Summer School 2024

I can’t believe that both the Olympics and summer vacation are over, but here we are. There were so many great moments, and today I’m taking a look back at our Paris 2024-themed summer school, starting with our visit to the Olympic Spectacular right here in St. Louis:

We made our favorite edible Olympic torches, and had a lovely toast to Paris 2024 with sparkling cider. I’m not going to lie, I was a little mad that we had already built the Lego Eiffel Tower years ago, because it would have been a nice summer school activity, but at least we had a ready-made centerpiece!

Our big activity for the summer was trying out some French recipes. We cooked a lot of different things, starting with a special series of meals for the Opening Ceremonies, and culminating with the pièce de résistance of the summer (and maybe my culinary career!), the Croquembouche. It’s nice that we’re finally at a point where both Ladybug and Chickadee can do a lot in the kitchen!

  • Croissants
  • Salade Niçoise
  • Vichyssoise
  • Bœuf Bourgignon
  • Macarons
  • Crepes
  • Salade Lyonnaise
  • Quiche Lorraine
  • Chocolate Soufflé
  • Gougères
  • Lavender Madeleines
  • Steak au Poivre with Red Wine Pan Sauce
  • Plateau de Fromages
  • Lemon-glazed French Sable Cookies
  • Croquembouche

I had a good book list, but coming up with crafts beyond cooking was a bit of a challenge. We did try to be fashion designers…do you think we’re ready for French haute couture?

And of course we made medals:

We had a lot of fun being creative with cooking and crafts!

I’m so glad Ticket to Ride Paris came out in time for us to play this summer! And we also played Ticket to Ride France (and watched all of the episodes of Rick Steves’ Europe we have set in France), which educated us on just how little we know about French geography!

Here’s a look at our complete medal table…Team USA definitely won!

Summer wrapped up quickly…on Monday, we begin the 2024-25 school year!