What a perfect day for a grilled cheese cook-off – Mom blogger style!

Got my grilled cheese and a toy - what more do I need?

Tillamook and the Loaf Love Tour invited local Orange County and Los Angeles Mom bloggers, as well as their families, for a special day of Loaf Love family fun on March 27th.  The day included face painting, balloon animals, frisbee, a special appearance from Loafy (who was a big hit with the kids!), and a good old-fashioned grilled cheese competition.

The kids battle Loafy (good thing those swords are made of balloons!)

The stakes were high (Grand Prize – a Tillamook Cookbook and a year’s supply of Tillamook Cheese) and the competition was fierce (10 of the OC’s top Mom Blogs) this weekend at Costa Mesa’s Tewinkle Park. Moms brought reinforcements (husbands, little ones, and even grandparents)  to help them choose a variety of accoutrements (asparagus, Tillamook Pepper Jack, Tillamook Medium Cheddar, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, banana peppers, zucchini, bell peppers, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, pesto, bacon…) that combine perfectly to create the tastiest grilled cheese sandwiches. And boy oh boy, did these families deliver!

The ingredients table - getting creative!

Top winners:

Best Teamwork – Shelby Barone from OCMoms.com and her adorable family won for the variety of sandwiches they created such as “Tomato Love”, “Trees of Love”, “Surprise Sandwich” and the “Plain Jane”.

Best Teamwork Award - Shelby's family members

Most Creative – Priscilla Willis from She’s Cookin’ won for her inspired sandwich the “Spring Fever”.

Most Creative Award Winner

Best overall – This coveted prize went to Kristen Howerton of Rage Against the MiniVan. Kristen has her husband Mark to thank for the year’s supply of Tillamook Cheese. The Howerton family won the prize with his “So-Cal Delight”. They also get the prize for most excited to receive a prize!

Best Overall Award - Kristen's husband Mark

Honorable mention goes out to:

Angela Bishop of Nine More Months, Caryn Bailey of Rockin’ Mama, Jenny Klein of 3 Before 30, Resa Michelle of Making Geek Look Good, and Marcie Taylor of Suburban Mamas.

HUGE thanks to everyone for coming out and spending a sunny Sunday with us here at Tillamook Cheese! We so enjoyed meeting you and sharing some delicious grilled cheeses. See you again soon!

Aww... too many cute kid moments to count!

By Gillian

Brand Ambassador Noelle and me with a stingray!

Saturday was a great day for everyone wearing orange in Long Beach, California. The Loaf Love Tour visited the Aquarium of the Pacific, and we were met by Tillamook fans showing off our favorite color. The first 100 people wearing orange were happy to receive free admission to the aquarium (and lots of tasty cheese samples, of course!). The day was perfect: we had beautiful weather and a gorgeous view of the lighthouse atop the hill at Shoreline Park.  The masts from a schooner in the harbor towered amongst the palm trees and reminded me of the Morning Star of Tillamook, the schooner that graces all of our cheese labels and the front of our Baby Loaf buses.  I truly “loaf” our sailing vessel, as it reminds us of the history and tradition of Tillamook and it makes me think of fond memories I have sailing tall ships prior to driving short buses on the Loaf Love Tour!
 
Meanwhile, inside the aquarium, Loafy was a splash with families, schools of students, and schools of fish. Loafy even made a new friend with a stingray, and I took my photo with it!
 
As the day progressed, the orange outfits were replaced with masks, beads, face paint, and outrageous costumes. The Mardi Gras celebration was beginning, and we had lots of “Loaf” buttons to add to the outfits! The Mardi Gras parade started at the Aquarium, and Loafy brought lots of smiles and energy to the festivities. Meanwhile, I used up most of my energy attempting to run ahead to catch Loafy on film and video. This was quite the task because Loafy was surrounded with many excited Loafy lovers!
 

I hope sharks don't eat cheese...

As the sun was dropping over the water, we shared our last conversations of the day with new and old Tillamook fans. What a perfect beginning to our time in Orange County and L.A. We are looking forward to the next 2 1/2 months in this area and to reporting back with more stories from the road…  

-Andrea, Loaf Love Tour Brand Ambassador

By Andrea