6th Annual Studer's Invitational Beer Olympics

A few weeks ago, we hosted our annual Invitational Beer Olympics - our sixth!- and it was another fun, hilarious, and awesome year.  I will say it again and again:  we could not host this event year after year if it wasn't for the generous and dedicated participants that set up, donate, play, and clean up that weekend.   (thank you guys so much).

We kept our participant list to a max of 32 people to give us eight teams of four.  This is our ideal number so that we have even competition brackets and still a manageable group; more than eight teams gets too be too difficult to keep everyone focused.

We were lucky to have The Hunting Daddies co-sponsor our event and purchase the kegs for the day, so that allowed our participating fee to be lower in price this year.  The Hunting Daddies were also the inspiration for our donation this year which the event raised $572 for Hunt of a Lifetime; an organization that arranges and pays for dream hunting and fishing trips for children with life threatening illnesses.

If you're solely here to see a highlight reel of all of the days' awesomeness and why you should host one yourself (or wish you came to ours! hah), please check out this amazing recap video created for us by Anchored Films of this year's events.  (Thank you, Anchored Films!)


6th Annual Invitational Highlights from Anchored Films on Vimeo.

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Now, if you are sufficiently pumped up about our event and would like to learn more - read on for a more in depth look about our event and games...

The day started as all Beer Olympics do; players and refs arrive to set up their pot luck contribution (roasters, salads, cookies, slow cookers line our garage walls) and then they get signed in with their participation fee, receive their tshirt, and sign our accident & release waiver.

After getting checked in, participants ease into the day by catching up with each other and playing a casual game of Sloshball in the yard (kickball/baseball but with beer). While the players are involved with Sloshball, the refs and I organize the teams for the days event - keeping only last year's champion team as the same.  Our reigning champs this year was Team Joker. 

This year, we decided to try something a little different; in the weeks leading up to the Beer Olympics, we chose 7 confirmed participants as Tributes that would not be placed on a team, but rather be up for selection through an auction prior to the start of the games.  Our Tributes were selected for their years of veteran beer olympic experience and special skills.  Each Tribute would be an asset to have on any team, but could bring a special talent to teams that might have been lacking a particular component like fast chugging, agility, or team motivation.  

On the day of Beer Olympics, teams of three were announced and then we had our Tribute auction.  Tributes were announced one by one along with their skills and an opportunity to show off their talents.  We obviously had selected entrance themes for each of them too - hahaha.  Teams had the opportunity to spend up to $15 dollars ($5 from each participant) to purchase tickets to place in Tribute bags for a chance to have them join their team.  

One by one, our tributes were auctioned off to teams until each team had a total of four players.  Team facepaint and hairspray were applied and it was time to get the games started!

Our first event is always a Beer Pong Tournament.  The first game is played like regular beer pong (house rules) and the winners move on to a winner's bracket while the losers from each first game move onto a loser's bracket for the next round.  

Every year, Beer Pong has taken a huge amount of time up for our event, so we decided that after the first round of Standard Beer Pong, we would play subsequent rounds using the Hungry Hungry HipPong version of the game from College Humor.  This decision turned out to be a big success and also kept the Beer Pong event to a more reasonable time frame.

Following Beer Pong, we play Dingbat relay which is always hilarious.  The game is played relay style with each player of a team chugging a beer than spinning around six times before (attempting) to run around a post to tag their teammate.  We were too busy filming Go Pro footage of the Dingbat relay to take any actual photos (see highlight film above)!

Following Dingbat relay, we play Do or Die Ice Cube Tray Canoe Race Tournament.  This is a funny event as some players don't mind it at all (and excel at the task!) while other players absolutely hate this event.  The first round of play is with an entire Ice Cube tray filled while subsequent matches are only filled with one row of the tray.  Only winners move on to the next round.

Next in the day's event line up was an opportunity to receive a few extra points for your team if you hadn't done so well yet in the games.  We offer a chance for each team member to participate in a keg stand (upside-down and right-side up) for +3 points to be added to your team score for each teammate who could successfully complete a keg stand (Boys for 7 seconds and Girls for 5 seconds).  --Our keg stands run out of a real live tap system (not a pumper) so the beer comes out fast which is why our keg stands are set at those times--  Drinkers are held up for their keg stands by other players while a ref counts aloud and another person operates the tap system.

Following the Keg Stand challenges, we go straight into Slippy Cup that is played in four heats.  A representative from each team plays in a heat:  drink, flip cup, slide down our slip n' slide, then drink, and flip another cup.  (The key for documenting who finishes in what order is to have the players sit down as soon as they successfully flip their second cup).

We finish out the first half of the day with the same event every year; Anchorman.  Each team receives a pitcher of 2quarts of beer and has to finish the whole pitcher.  Each team member takes a drink and passes the pitcher to the next player.  Once the pitcher is passed, it cannot be passed back; leaving whatever is remaining in the pitcher for the 'Anchorman' (last teammate) to finish themselves.  

After an intermission in which everyone fills their bellies with carbs and other delicious food contributed by the players and refs - we get back to the games and ease back into the evening portion of the day with a standard Flip Cup tournament including winners' and losers' brackets.

Our next event is a player favorite; Bong Races which are played as a Do or Die tournament.  Our QuadBongs were diy-ed by Brandon's dad using PVC pipes, plastic tubes, and wood (all purchased at a local home improvement store).  We've used our QuadBongs in all 6 Beer Olympics!  (Ref tip:  Have players step back and put their hands behind their back when they finish to help decide winners easier).

This year, for our 8th event, we played (our first time) Survivor Flip Cup which turned out to be a great addition.  Although we play multiple versions of Flip Cup throughout the day, it is always a good game as it seems to be an equalizer for all players; those that can drink a ton and those that can't.  Thanks to the Canfield Beer Olympics for the inspiration for the game!!  We had a representative from each team play at a table (8 players, each from one team, at a table that played flip cup all at once); last one at the table to drink & flip was 'kicked off the table and another round started - until there was only one player left at the table who received the most amount of points.  This was a game that made it possible for one team to win a huge amount of points if they were able to have a team member make it to the final round on each table!

Things at this point are fairly hazy for all the participants.  Dance parties explode out of nowhere...people are adding chili, nacho cheese, heaping piles of onions, and Doritos to top their hot dogs & sauerkraut, and it takes a lot of effort to get anyone's focus to the game at hand. 

We give the teams one last chance to get some extra points before the final event with Chug Off Challenge.  Teams are able to challenge another team to a chug off and the winner receives an extra 5 points to their overall score.  

Finally it's time for our last challenge of the day - an obstacle course that involves all four teammates. We have changed up the obstacle legs over the last years and this year was no difference.  It included a 'tire run,' rolling down hills, a golf/frisbee section, and even a potato sack hop.  This event somehow always ends up happening after dark and this year my camera battery had run out.  So unfortunately no pictures!  The teams are ranked in order of speed and then given points based on their obstacle performance. 

Scores are then tallied up and nominations for the awards ceremony finalized by the refs while the rest of the participants continue to eat, drink, and be very very merry (ie. dance parties, spraying each other with water bottles and laughing hysterically until they literally fall to the ground). 

Our awards ceremony is always hysterical and received with immense amounts of enthusiasm.  It's a known fact that everyone likes to be recognized and we hand out awards for all kinds of skills, talents, and mishaps that were observed during the day.  Our awards range from 'Crybaby' (biggest whiner to the refs) to 'Puke n' Rally' (first to throw up but keep playing), to 'Shark' (someone who doesn't look like a competitor but sneaks up on ya), to 'Zophagus' (fastest chugger).  Our highest awards include "MVD: Most Valuable Drinker", "Rookie of the Year," and this year we included "Tribute 2015 Nominations" for participants who displayed superior performance throughout the day.

After the awards are distributed, teams are then announced by ranking; beginning with our last place team up to our first runner up team until...finally we blast Queen's We Are the Champions on the stereo to announce our new Beer Olympic Champions for 2014:  Team Olaf  (congrats Team Olaf!) in which they receive the first sips from our Studer Torpedo and the chance to defend their title as champions at the 2015 Beer Olympics.  

Before photo:  Team Olaf

After photo:  Team Olaf and the Studer Torpedo

Here is the root of the root
and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky
of a day called Beer Olympics:
It is all about the friends, charity, and laughs.

if you don't have those things - you won't have a successful Beer Olympics.  And we have been lucky to have those things (and people that understand those things) for six years running.  Thank you all so much for making Beer Olympics one of our absolute favorite days of the year.

How we talk to our very young kids about alcohol

Last night at dinner, my two and a half year old daughter asked her grandma what she was drinking at the restaurant (it was a chocolate martini) and when her grandma told her "it's a drink for grown ups," my daughter responded, completely unphased, "Like beer?" shrugged, and then went back to chasing her brother around the restaurant table annoying all of the other patrons like normal.

Inspired by a post I recently read at Rage Against the Minivan, I want to write about how we have chosen to Talk Early to our kids about alcohol.  As early as toddler/preschool age level in our case!  

It takes only a quick pin-search of my blog and you'll find that the top hit on my site is about the Beer Olympics.  Followed closely behind by all my other posts about being a mom to little kids; which don't necessarily seem like they go together in any capacity.  But I'm here to tell you - they can, and do!

Our very young kids have attended parties where alcohol is present and have sat at the same dinner table while their parents enjoyed a glass of wine or beer.  Alcohol is not a secret at our house, but something that our kids see regularly.  But more than that - and this is the really important part - it is something that we have talked about together as a family.

We have had conversations together about how drinking alcohol is a grown up activity and dangerous for kids; like many other things we talk about with our preschoolers (see below).  We have explained that beer and alcohol can make a kid really sick if they drink it; that they will likely throw up.  We also talk about how when grown ups drink too much beer or alcohol - they get sick too and throw up.  We have discussed with them, as preschoolers, that beer and alcohol can make grown ups feel confused and sleepy which can make it hard for grown ups to make good choices.  (TV and movies offer no lack of examples of intoxicated actors making poor choices - even the G rated movies usually have some comic relief actor who behaves drunkenly!)

And so we keep talking about it.  And talking about.  And talking about, in hopes that it is clear that drinking is not something that is a secret, or mysterious, or exotic.  It is something we can ask questions about, we can notice, and we can talk about now and forever together.

When brainstorming about writing this post, I sat with our kids to test their understanding about the concept of grown up activities versus kid activities.  So we created together two lists:  One for the things that only grown ups and parents do and the other a list of things that only kids do that grown ups and parents don't (or at least don't do regularly)....keep in mind, my kids are only 2 and 4 years old, so this list is extremely basic.  I asked them their thoughts and they supplied the items in the list* 

Grown ups & Parents Do (but not kids):

• Drink beer
• Use tools by themselves
• Not wearing diapers
• Chewing Snuff (tobacco)
• Smoking cigarettes (we don't smoke, but they see other grown ups that do)
• Saying curse words
• Going to work
• Drinking coffee

Things Kids Do (but not grown ups or parents usually):

• Playing with toys
• Climbing on furniture or doors/walls
• Getting carried and held
• Wearing a diaper

*I cleaned up the language a little to make it more clear for readers- ie. 'bang a hammer' (4year old description) to 'Use tools by themselves' (Mum's cleaned up version for the blog) and 'hold you' (2year old description) to 'getting carried and held' (Mum's cleaned up version for the blog).

As parents, we know that it is important (obviously - but I gotta say it aloud, right, internet?) that everything should be kept within moderation; alcohol and cursing alike.  And it's vastly important to us to not only explain to our kids about moderation, but be models of moderation as well.  

We want to be as transparent as possible to our kids that there are certain things that grown ups do that are dangerous or inappropriate for kids to do...yet.  Just like lots of things (riding a bike without training wheels, driving a car, etc) there are activities that kids are not yet ready to do, but will be ready someday in the future.  

And although drinking alcohol or smoking are a little more awkward of a conversation to have than say why they can't drive a car yet - it's still an important discussion to have.  The more we approach the uncomfortable topics with explanations and confidence (just like we would with why they can't drive a car) the easier it seems for them to accept and learn about it, rather than making it taboo.

Our list of 'grown up' activities will no doubt expand as they get older and become more curious about various (less G rated) activities, and we will tackle those awkward yet insanely important conversations as well when the time comes.  And someday in the future - we hope to have been as clear as possible to our kids on how to approach all of those 'grown up' activities with awareness, knowledge, and safety.  The goal is to take the mystery and scariness out of topics and situations so that they can see them with a clear head and make a decision for themselves when that day comes.

Footnote: our kids have not attended the Beer Olympics for two years, and will continue not to attend as the event is not an example of moderation.  But rather a raucous - albeit safe!!- event that is entirely for grown ups.  Instead, they spend the day with their Pappy and Gigi doing little kid activities like swimming and visiting amusement parks.  We talk about the event together though and they see pictures of the day in our family yearbook.  We answer their questions if they have them (which usually is about who was the winner) and remind them that they get a fun day of kid stuff to do while we spend the day with other grown ups doing grown up things.  Again...the key being we talk, talk, talk about it.

Family Yearbook: Category Layout Design

Creating our family yearbook is one of my biggest (and time consuming) projects of the year but one that I love doing and our kids love having on hand at the house.  I use Shutterfly to create my family yearbooks (and to store all of my pictures).  Shutterfly might be a little more expensive than other places (I wouldn't know, I've always been loyal to them) - but throughout the year they offer regular specials including sometimes 50% off of photo books (!) and free shipping.  So, it's always been worth the money to order our high quality yearbooks from them.  (these opinions are entirely my own and not endorsed in any way).  

I started the family yearbook project in 2012 and since have gone back and finished a 2011 yearbook and finished our 2013 yearbook this spring.  I'm currently working on finishing a 2010 yearbook (the year our first child was born) and then I think moving forward we'll just stick to the current years.

For our 2013 yearbook, I tried a new organizational plan instead of sticking to the chronological months of the year like I had in previous yearbooks.  And I must admit, I love the new organization.  It has given me the opportunity to use many more miscellaneous pics without trying to use up a whole page on something relatively insignificant in the year just because I love a particular picture. 

By setting up the yearbook by category instead of by month/seasons, the book flows by grouping pictures together that are connected in some way.  The kids have really enjoyed this 2013 yearbook because all of their favorite things are mostly grouped together - so it's easy for them to find all the holiday pics at once, or all the vacation/trip pictures at once.

At the suggestion of a friend, I'm going to share below the categories/questions on how our 2013 yearbook was set up.  If you are in the process (or planning) of creating a family yearbook, I hope these categories/questions can help you brainstorm various ways to organize your family pictures in a meaningful way.

Each category/section transitions like the page above with the overall theme listed and some photos that correspond to the category - usually pictures that I like but don't warrant a full page spread on their own.  In the case of the first category (Our Family), it is a double page spread photo of our family all together (which has been the same for all of our yearbooks regardless of set up).

Categories:

1. Our Family -  this is a great section for using our favorite pictures of just the kids or us.  Lots of instagram pictures included in this section that are captured randomly throughout the year on random days.

Dad and Mum Page pictures and questions:

• What was your favorite trip of the year?
• What is your favorite holiday tradition?
• What was the hardest challenge of the year?
• Favorite husband&wife moment
• #ParentingFail
• Favorite meals
• Best Lesson Learned

Pets Page
Individual Kids Page:  include what they were like this year.  Favorite activities, movies, books, funny things they said/did, knicknames, and things they learned

What was it like to live in our home this year? - This section also used many instagram and phone pictures.  Just the everyday captures of what it was like in our days.  It was a chance to showcase the tiny little things we do to spend the days away in this year, with the kids this age.

Home improvements
Things we did at home (playtime, cooking/baking)
Misc. pics of us at home together

With whom did we spend our days? - The kids love these sections as they are filled with familiar faces and obviously so much love.  These pages are usually created as some of the last pages when creating the book because many of the pictures are overflow from the holidays or events pages.

Big Brother & Little Sister page
Just us (Immediate family)
Family
Friends

What milestones did we accomplish this year? - This was a fun addition to our book this year and was inspired by my 30th last year and Brandon taking on his first year of coaching.  After seeing the connection between those - lots of other things made it's way into this section including big Firsts for the kids and an obstacle race we participated in last year.

Milestone birthdays (30th)
Races/Runs
Big Firsts (first haircut, ride a bike)
New jobs/change in jobs

What gave us cause to celebrate this year? - The pictures here are obvious and these pages would be included in any yearbook regardless of layout.  The benefit of a category organization though groups all of the parties and celebrations together which makes for a very happy and fun section to look at :)

Birthday parties (our friends and the kids')
Showers (wedding, baby)
Family reunions
Weddings
Anniversary

What seasonal traditions did we enjoy?  - This is one of my favorite sections; it's all the little things we do throughout the seasons that have become like traditions for us.  They aren't huge events that we spend months planning, but rather the little things that keep us happy and specific to the seasons.  It's as though these little bits of fun sprinkled throughout the year are what keep us always looking forward to new fun events.

Yearly traditions (Screen Free week, Alumni events, Shark Week, local festivals)
12 Months of Kindness
Winter events (sled riding, hotel sleepover)
First day of Trout/hunting
Annual parties
County fairs

Where did we go to visit? - lots of pictures available because they are the events that I have my camera on hand.  These are the things I'm obviously documenting because they took some planning to accomplish.  It's nice to have them all in one section together and this is section that gets a lot of comments from the kids like, "When can we go there again?!!"

Kid playdate trips to new places (circus, indoor playground, outdoor concert, petting zoo)
Family Day trips (Lincoln Caverns)
Family vacations

What do the holidays feel like? - If there is a most joyful section of the yearbook, it is this one.  Which is part of the reason I made it last (it's easy to locate!)  The holidays are filled with so many smiles and loving traditions.  This is by far the kids' favorite category and we have spent time looking at the previous year's holiday adventures as we approach the same holiday in the current year - as a reminder to what we'll be doing and what it means for our family.

Single page photo collage for most holidays (Halloween, 4th of July, Easter)
Multiple pages for 'big' holidays (Christmas) including traditions, Kids & their Santa wish list, celebrations/parties

My favorite part of this style of yearbook has been that I believe it represents a more true to life picture of what it is like to be a part of our family for the year.  The overall feel of what it is like to be in this family this year; our kids this particular age, the family and friends we spent time with, and just the regular life that we experience right now.

Do you create family yearbooks?  How do you organize the pictures?