Memories of 2002: Winter Olympics pins

Watching the current Winter Olympics has been so fun--come on, how awesome was Shaun White last night? I was jumping up and down like a fool when he did that crazy trick on his second run, weren't you? And between Lindsey Vonn, Julia Mancuso and the Austrian girl that medals podium looked like a shampoo commercial or a Charlie's Angels promo, what with all the toothy white smiles and gorgeous long hair.

I've been reminded of when my hometown, Salt Lake City, hosted the Winter Games in 2002. I will admit that up until 2002, I wasn't too thrilled at the idea of the whole world showing up and seeing what a good thing we had going, and messing it all up. I thought having the Olympics in SLC would prove to be a BIG mistake.
Boy, was I wrong. The 2002 Olympics were like having the most amazing party ever in your own backyard for two solid weeks! The city was beautiful and as cliche as it sounds, there truly was excitement in the air. I even got to attend a biathlon competition--I don't particularly care about the sport, but at least now I can say I've been to an Olympic event.

My big regret is that I wish I could have volunteered. Thousands of citizens volunteered and many had amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I had a full-time job when the call for volunteers went out so I didn't bother to apply. By the time the Olympics actually rolled around, my job was gone and I would have been free to volunteer, but by then it was too late. Rats!

One of the fun things about any Olympics is the pin trading. Hundreds of pins are designed for each Olympics and we had fun searching out those that were funny and significant to us. Compared to the amount available we bought only a teeny handful, but I thought I might share them with you (and my Utah & Mo friends will get a giggle out of them, I'm sure). The Fry Sauce pin was one of the most coveted for collectors. It was sold only at Arctic Circle, a Utah fast-food chain that claims to be the inventor of fry sauce. I tried to get one but they sold out quickly, but somehow Quin was able to get his hands on one and that was when I knew I should marry him. Okay, I was going to marry him anyway (we were engaged at the time) but that certainly confirmed that I'd made the right choice! In addition to the fry sauce pin, there were a green and a red Jello pin that were coveted and rare as well.In addition to the pins, one company made a series of special Utah-themed charms. I'm a big ol' sucker for charms, so I bought a whole bunch and made a bracelet: (click on the photos to enlarge so you can read the writing)It's been fun to look through my charms and pins and remember the fun we had in 2002. It reminds me that I need to get my pins framed or put in a shadowbox or something so that we can enjoy them more than every four years!