For Lindsey’s 31st birthday dinner, she went, as she likes to say, “out of the box”–the cereal box that is.
First, we started with dessert. Pat made a delicious pineapple upside-down cake–Lindsey’s second in as many days–and we devoured it instantly.
Once the cake was sufficiently settled in our stomachs, we moved to the main course which was both a meal and an event. But not a bit healthier than the cake.
To end all childhood debates, we created the first-ever Sugar Cereal Bowl. The competition that would determine once-and-for-all which Sugar Cereal is the greatest.
The six judges were selected from thousands of candidates; each possessed a sensitive palate and an iron stomach–or so they claimed. Each judge had two bowls, one spoon, and a selection of milks that included 2%, skim, and vanilla soy. In each pairing, judges could eat as much of each cereal as needed to determine their favorite of the two. Excess milk and cereal would be deposited into the Junk Bowl between rounds.
16 cereals were separated into two regions and four divisions, the pairing selections for the 1st round were selected randomly as follows:
Wheaties Region
Tony the Tiger Division
Honeycomb
Apple Jacks
Sugar Free Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Cocoa Puffs
Count Chocula Division
Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch
Froot Loops
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Chocolate Lucky Charms
Special K Region
Snap, Crackle, & Pop Division
Trix
Reese’s Puffs
Cap’n Crunch
Fruity Pebbles
Honey Bee Division
Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
Lucky Charms
Cookie Crisp
Cap’n Crunch Berries
Divisional Semi-Finals
The competition got started in the Tony the Tiger division, as Apple Jacks beat Honeycomb by a unanimous 6-0 vote, and Cocoa Puffs narrowly defeated Reduced Sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch in a 3-3 tie breaker (Lindsey’s pick won).
In the other half of the Wheaties region, Froot Loops beat Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch by a 4-2 margin, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch easily defeated Chocolate Lucky Charms 4-1 in the Count Chocula division.
The toughest division appeared to be Snap, Crackle, & Pop with four strong contenders–including both of Lindsey’s pre-competition favorites, Reese’s Puffs and Fruity Pebbles. Reese’s Puffs defeated Trix 4-2, and in the upset of the competition, Cap’n Crunch defeated Fruity Pebbles 3-2.
Apple Cinnamon Cheerios somehow snuck into the Honey Bee division (named after its sister cereal’s mascot), but there would be no nepotism here. In back-to-back landslides, Lucky Charms defeated Apple Cinnamon Cheerios 6-0 and Cap’n Crunch Berries defeated Cookie Crisp 5-0.
Divisional Finals
By the time we reached the divisional finals three of the six judges had relinquished their positions. Calin, Trilby, and Tristen had all dropped out due to stomach ailments, taste bud numbness, or any of another dozen excuses that none could back up with scientific evidence. Only Micah, Lindsey, and Skylar remained to determine the Sugar Cereal Champion.
In the Tony the Tiger division, Apple Jacks destroyed Cocoa Puffs 3-0 to earn its place in the Wheaties regional finals.
In the Count Chocula division, Froot Loops smeared Cinnamon Toast Crunch 3-0 and earned a trip to the Wheaties regional finals.
In the Snap, Crackle, & Pop division, which was suddenly wide open, Reese’s Puffs narrowly defeated Cap’n Crunch 2-1 and saw its way to the Special K regional finals where it would meet Cap’n Crunch Berries who had waltzed into the regional finals with a 3-0 victory over Lucky Charms.
Regional Finals
The regional finals were both heated battles, worthy of all the pre-taste hype surrounding the event. Froot Loops was the first to reach the Sugar Cereal Championship by defeating Apple Jacks 2-1 in a fierce battle that was not without its share of controversy. Rumors of judge tampering ran rampant after Skylar appeared to change her vote to match Lindsey’s; slow-motion replay could neither confirm nor deny the accusations so the results stood as reported. However the voting process would be changed to a blind vote for the remainder of the competition.
The Special K regional final was an epic slugfest. Cap’n Crunch Berries defeated Reese’s Puffs 2-1 setting the stage for the long-awaited Sugar Cereal Championship.
Championship
The Championship was a battle of cereal heavyweights. Froot Loops, the lone survivor from the Wheaties region, squared off against the Special K region champ Cap’n Crunch Berries.
Lindsey had voted for the winning cereal in each of the preceding 14 matches, so odds makers anxiously awaited her vote. Tension mounted when she revealed that she had voted for Cap’n Crunch Berries, but in a late charge Froot Loops cornered the final two votes to claim the first-ever Sugar Cereal Championship.
Yes, it’s a tradition. Whenever the family gets together (mostly whenever the Brockbank kids are around) I get in my Speedo and spend the day tanning my thighs. The kids think it’s the most disgusting thing on earth, and I’m all about the good laugh. I’ve gotten some good mileage out of the new pink version.
Lindsey has her tradition too. Not to be outdone, she finds the ugliest bathing suit she can find, steals one of the kid’s goggles, and refuses to put on sunblock. It’s all in good fun.
I suppose she is the ultimate winner–she beat me in Bocce ball.
This post is seperate from the fourth of July post because I didn’t want it to get lost in the mix! Micah thinks it is funny to pull out these disgusting pink striped Speedos every time my family is around. I will admit I thought it was funny the first few times, and he is a HUGE hit amongst the grandkids! BUT, I am now wondering if he likes these things a bit too much. It is now at the point, that we all ask when he is going to put the lovely Speedos on. So of course, after we all got down to the pool….Micah starts unlacing his trunks to expose WHAT ELSE…his favorite Speedos! His usual timeframe is about 45 minutes until he puts his trunks back on, but this time he lasted about four hours! Even when we were playing Bocci Ball, there he was…out collecting the balls in the lovely things. So in an effort to get him to stop the madness, my sister started snapping pictures so I could embarrass him by posting the pictures. Who knows if it is going to eliminate or exacerbate the problem??? I would bet this is only going to put a little fuel on the fire, and next time we can expect some thong Speedos!
Our fourh of July was really fun this year. We started the day off with a race event at the Laguna Niguel park. I ran a 5K, and Micah ran a 10K, and then strolled Scout in the 5K. My time was pretty slow, but I finished and felt pretty good.
Afterward, we had a BBQ/Swim party at my house with a lot of my family in town. We started the morning off with a little DDR, and the classic was my mom vs. my dad. I don’t know who looked more uncordinated. My mom was really slow and couldn’t get the concept of jumping on the rolling arrow when it met the permanent arrow. On the other hand, my dad was jumping like he had ants in his pants. Megan got it on video tape, and it will definitely be a Ure classic.
After getting hot from DDR, we all headed down to the pool for swimming, relay races and diving contests. I got a serious wake up call when I was picked last for the relays until I was the team captain. But the really sad part is that I should have been picked last. Due to me and my slow swimming, my team lost. Whoops! We also played Bocci Ball and Badminton. I am proud to say that I was the two time winner in Bocci Ball - more than anyone else. And as far as Badminton goes…..Bryan and I could use a little work. We rallied for a while, and were trying to hit 20 back and forth hits, but only made it to 13. But, to our credit, there was a pretty strong breeze.
We went inside for some tasty burgers my mom made, and then headed back out for more swimming, fun and games. Finally, we ended the night with fireworks. We initially planned on going to Three Arch, but decided to stay in Bear Brand. First, Bryan lit a ton of fireworks he brought on our driveway. I know they are illegal, but we like to live on the edge! Then when the fireworks show started at Marco Forster, they are almost right above us. Calin and Skylar wanted to get an even better view, so we drove up to the Hill of Terror to watch. We stopped just shy of the hill, and had spectaculor seats!
What a fun holiday, and especially with so much family around!
Nice stash Brook!
Last summer we were indoctrinated into the San Onofre summer family nights. This past monday night was our first trip down this year. We met up with our friends -Megan and Nathan Harris, the Storys, the Smiths, and the good old Goodsells who put it on. Sometimes we bring dogs, and all of the stuff to make S’mores. And it wasn’t until last year that I learned to like S’mores - thanks to Micah’s impeccable touch with the marshmallows. Last year, Micah and I would ride our bikes down (about 25 miles) for exercise, and Trilby and her girls would be waiting there with food and a car for our ride back. This year -so far- Micah rides down and I meet him with the car and the baby. This was Scout’s first official bonfire. He slept most of the time, and next time I need to remember a blanket instead of a towel, but he loved it! I think he thought the fire was especially cool, because I caught him staring at it a few times.
Micah and I had a great time on memorial day. He woke up and went with some buddies to the park to play ball. Scout, Skylar and I headed down in support and stayed for a bit. Afterwards, we headed to the beach. We met up with the Brockbanks at “Trail 1″ at San Onofre. While there, I was the judge of the sand castle contest. Micah and Chloe were a team, and took first prize! The weather was beautiful, and unlike other beaches, it was not crowded at all. We then topped the day off by heading over to the Samuelian’s house. Britni and Jason are housesitting. We ended up having a BBQ — hamburgers– and finished up with a little 1 month birthday celebration for Scout with our new favorite treat….Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream. Scout went with my mom and Trilby to South Coast Plaza, and then met up with us at the BBQ. He was angel for them and also for me! Happy 1 month….and I can’t believe it has already gone by this fast!!!!
The other night, we dyed easter eggs. We ended up having a contest to see who dyed the best one, and the entries were from Me, Micah, Calin, Skylar and Bryan Thacker. (He was over watching a movie with Micah and joined in on the fun.)
I had the winning egg with my “golden delight” glitter covered egg at first. Then everyone stole my method, which bumped me to third place. But in the end, Bryan Thacker took first place with his “Endless Summer” egg. It was pretty awesome, but I will take credit for giving him the idea. He dyed the egg, and it looked pretty cool, but certainly was not worth a spot in the competition. Then I casually walked by and mentioned that the colors looked like the background of the Endless Summer poster. Next thing you know, he free handed a surfer on the front and took first prize. Congrats B. Tacky! But the funniest part was when my mom judged the eggs and Tacky got first place, Micah took his last place egg and free handed a surfer on it. He thought it might get him a bump up in the ranks, but he stayed in dead last. You can’t really see it in the picture, but his is the blue egg on the right side AKA last place!
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