CLIF Kid Backyard Game of the Year!

A few months ago, my mom saw an ad for a contest put on by CLIF Bar where kids could invent a backyard game and win some cool prizes.  With Sam's penchant for creativity and leadership, it seemed like a great contest for him to enter.  We thought about some ideas for a few weeks and then he made a game called "Monkeys Go Bananas" and we entered it (right before we left for Flagstaff).  We got the call a few weeks later that he was chosen as a finalist and when I played the voicemail for him and Evan and Annie, we had some monkeys going bananas in our living room!  Sam won an all-expenses paid trip (including a $500 prepaid credit card) for 2 to San Diego and he took me!  He also won a $1,000 scholarship, a Specialized bike, and a Bell Helmet.  It seemed like the trip would never come for an excited 8-year-old (and for a mom who has only so much patience for questions like "When is it going to be time for our trip?" or "Is it time to go yet?")

Early morning at the Flagstaff Airport...still waking up but very very excited!

Boarding the plane...walking out to it made the whole thing seem more special!

It was so fun riding with a kid who wanted to take pictures out the plane window and point out everything he saw.

In Phoenix, we discovered that we had First Class tickets for the next leg!  (We also discovered that the planes engines weren't working properly and were delayed for a few hours).

Enjoying every moment of the VIP treatment

Thanks for the trip, CLIF Bar!

We were picked up by our own extremely tall driver...who kind of reminded me of the blonde guy from Dumb and Dumber.

At the hotel, we prepared to meet the other contestants and their families.  I couldn't help but think about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...

Fortunately, everyone was quite normal and nice and no one turned into a blueberry or got stuck on a chocolate slide.

The CLIF Kid staff were super nice and easy going with the kids.  They made name tags and got to know each other a little bit.

There were 5 individual finalists and then 3 kids who had already won the group game submission (they won $15,000 for their school in Mississippi)

We enjoyed a night on the town with our personal tour guide, Aunt Kendra (since the whole event was taking place only a few minutes from her house).  We had yogurt and vending machine moustaches.

One kid in a big bed with 5 pillows...almost too good to be true.  What was even better was that I got my OWN bed to myself with 5 pillows as well.  Ahhhh...the sleep was wonderful!

Off on the shuttle bus to the big Play Offs!

The 5 finalists and 3 group winners.  Joe (from Florida), Tovar (Virginia), Brett (Wash. DC), Ben (Michigan), Sam (Placentia--not Placenta as was mispronounced by the emcee! That's why we should have said Orange County or Flagstaff), and the Misfits (Mississippi).  The games were chosen without knowing anything about the contestants, so they just all happened to be boys.  There were entries from every state in the union!  

The finalists being introduced to the CLIF Bar staff.

It was so exciting to see Sam's game all set up and so official!

We enjoyed the music of Hullaballoo, a San Diego band.  More kids came, I promise!

Sam got a lot of experience talking to the press!  I tried to not be a tiger or helicopter mom and busied myself nervously eating free CLIF Bars off to the side.

Grandma, Crampaw and their friends, Dale and Nancy Rinard came to support Sam.

I was worried about how the CLIF staff was going to do with getting our supplies since Sam had some different options in his game instructions.  They surprised us by finding fake bananas and coordinating belts and leis for each team by color.  

It was fun to watch Sam help lead his game, though I was unsure what my role should be, so I took pictures and collected free stuff.

Tony Hawk arrived, ready to judge, along with the authors of this book:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Kids-Outdoor-Adventure-Book/dp/0762783524

The finalists were introduced

Tony Hawk gave some opening remarks

Kendra and Paul came to watch and cheer Sam on (and to help me collect free stuff)

Sam explaining his game to the judges...he says he wasn't nervous

Aunt Kendra played

A little surreal to see Tony Hawk donning a plastic lei and torn tshirt belt for my son's game!

The kids had so much fun playing each other's games.  They were all such great sports!

Sam being interviewed for the newspaper.

I didn't want to be too enthusiastic and embarrass Sam, but Joe's dad had no shame!  He was so much fun, playing all the games like a kid and recording everything on his discrete helmet cam!

Getting ready to announce the winners...

It was Ben from Michigan, whose game was called "Card Sharks"--it was memory but you had to run in between hula hoops to find matches.  He was a sweet kid and we were excited for him.  Sam's acceptance speech was honest: "I'm excited that I won this.  It'd be good if I won the $10,000 but it's okay that I won the $1,000."  True!

Sam said (and I think he meant it), "There's just one problem--how is this check going to fit in my wallet?!"

When you are 8, a giant chocolate chip cookie is almost as exciting as $10,000.

Tony Hawk was a good sport about signing autographs...that would have to get tiring!

Here are some pics from the CLIF Kid Facebook page.  

After the event, we had a lot of fun hanging out with Tovar and his dad & Ben and his mom--we rented a van and went to La Jolla where Sam had a close encounter with a sea lion (a few minutes before this pic was taken, the sea lion lunged at his arm like it was going to bite him!  It was so close, I thought it had!)

Later that night, we ate dinner by the pool, watched the dive-in movie (UP), watched schools of flying fish jump out of the water (crazy!), and watched the Sea World fireworks on the dock in our robes (over our swimsuits).  Those were some of my favorite moments with just Sam and I...I have no pictures, but cherished memories in my heart.

Breakfast on Sam and his American Express card!

Wave running with Aunt Kendra, also thanks to Sam's prize money!

Walking to Belmont Park with the fam...I also was cold, wet, and chaffing, but I managed to smile for the picture.

Sam and I rode the wooden roller coaster...I asked him if he was okay and he shouted "I D-O-N'T K-N-O-W!"

Us and a few million other people decided to enjoy some time at the beach...

...but somehow Sam happened to befriend a nice boy from Dewey, AZ.  Small world!

Saying goodbye to our beautiful hotel...

One more ride in our snazzy town car

Some much needed caffeine at this point...though I'm not sure what's up with how they spelled my name?

Relaxing in first class...the leg room was ridiculous!

More oohs and ahs out the window, and a beautiful sunset with my traveling buddy.

I was so shocked at the ridiculous amount of leg room, I had to text a picture to my large-framed husband to gloat.

In case you were wondering, the seats in first class have 14 buttons for your comfort.  

Sam was very tired and fell asleep so hard I could barely get him up to get out of the plane.

Now I am in the in-between place between the memorable event and the just plain memories.  I love fun events and I love fond memories...but I struggle moving from one to the other.  I cry after summer camp, am sentimental about momentos found in luggage while unpacking, and want the good feelings of an experience to linger for as long as possible.  I am sad that this event is over...as surprising as it came upon us, it feels over and finished.  Sam is fine, he's back to normal life without skipping a beat.  Me, I am mixing up brownie batter and looking at photos to soothe my sentimental heart.  What a special trip that I was blessed to go on with my son...thank you CLIF Bar (we'll be fans for life!).  And if you were feeling bad for Jeremy that he didn't get to partake in the fun, he will get to go pick out a fancy mountain bike with Sam, so I think he will be pretty stoked about that!

How to Have a Ninja Girls Birthday Party

You choose the theme of ninja girls because that is an imaginary game your 3-year-old daughter made up with a pole in the backyard and you think it's cute (and easy).  

You go to your favorite thrift stores and find supplies that are cheap and work things out from there.  You are proud of yourself for scoring a black ninjago shirt for the birthday girl.  Costume? Check!

You DON'T google "ninja girl" because you might see images of scantily-clad "ninjas."  You DO start watching YouTube videos on how to make a homemade pinata about a week before the event.  A day before the party, you repair said pinata because the 6-year-old stinky brother decides to prematurely attack the pinata with a broom stick while he was sweeping.  He claims he didn't know it would break, but upon questioning, does admit that the purpose of a pinata is to be broken by being hit with a stick, such as a broomstick.  You tell 6-year-old brother he cannot partake of the official pinata-hitting at the party. 

Assuming the pinata survives the process of being transported to the party, you hang up the pinata in a low position so it can be kicked and hit by little girls (and also because it was the only place the pinata could be hung on)

The night before the party, you google "ninja eyes" and your work is made easy...8 minutes later you have gift bags sporting better ninja eyes than you could have drawn yourself (but you would have run out of time to draw them anyway).  You also find an old door on the side of the road and use it for a simple backdrop, getting a few splinters along the way.  It's the price we pay for our kids' happiness and we NEVER hold it against them later.

You make cheese and jam sandwiches because that's the birthday girl's favorite food and it is a waste of good bread and cheese and jam because no one except the birthday girl and her grandma and maybe some British people like that kind of sandwich, so they go straight in the trash after the party.  Lesson learned.

You cut the eye holes out of black masks and cut a thrift-store t-shirt into strips for head bands and add thrift store pink ribbon for belts and there you have it: Ninja girls!

Because you are running out of time at the last minute, you have your 8-year-old son and his friends make a ninja obstacle course on the playground.  In a stroke of genius, you substitute pool noodles (that have been filling up the entire bathtub all summer from another activity and you can't bear to throw them away) for the metal poles you had intended to use.  I'm sure the other moms will be grateful that you did that.

You commence pinata-bashing...

The little girls are delicate and gentle...

...and then big brother smashes it with one hit (middle brother was sitting on the sidelines, pouting).

You hurry up and do a game called "Sticks" (see previous post for instructions) and then cake and presents because it is summer in Flagstaff and the thunderstorms are sudden and ferocious...you can hear one rumbling in the distance.

That's it, there you have it.  A ninja girl party!  Oh, and Jeremy had thought of giving Annie a first-aid kit for her birthday because she loves to pass out Band Aids.  What do you know, a few minutes later, she had her first First Aid EMT opportunity...Audrey bumped her lip and Annie made it all better.

Happy Birthday to our spunky, caring, athletic, independent, messy-haired, bike-jumping, skateboard riding, horse-loving, doll dressing and undressing, vibrato-singing, bathroom-narrating, expressive Annie.  We love you!  The things you have learned to do as a 3-year-old have astounded and entertained us...we can't see what's in store with 4!