It was a tough question. As I sat around the dinner table with my brother, his fiancée, Sidney, and Sloan, we tried to identify our top highlight from the five days we spent together. We had so much fun doing so much, that I really wasn’t prepared to identify one specific moment. But since then, I have been able to reflect on the epic Fourth of July weekend.

We had a wonderful time spending the holiday weekend with Glen and Carrie.

In an effort to answer the question and to provide a respectable recap of my brother and Carrie’s visit to Myrtle Beach, I decided to rank our many experiences in a top 10 countdown form (Note: because it would be an automatic #1 and because I have already written about it, I am not including my brother asking me to be his best man in the countdown). Like I did with our Florida Keys wrap up post, I hope to use more photos than words.

Although we had many more than 10 great moments, how about we start there?

10. Playing Hard (Dave & Buster’s, Bowling, and Putt Putt) – We satisfied our competitive natures by playing a variety of different games. Dave & Buster’s at Broadway at the Beach, 810 Bowling by CCU, and Captain Hook’s Putt Putt on King’s Highway were all locations we converged on to have some fun. In the end, we all won at something.

We competed in putt putt, bowling, and video games!

9. Nightlife – Speaking of Broadway at the Beach, we spent an evening under the lights at Celebrity Square. It was Carrie’s first time at the nightlife destination so it was exciting to take her to the various themed bars and show her a good time.

It was stimuli overload at Celebrity Square.

8. Hibachi Dinner – On Saturday night, we went to Nakatos, a Japanese steakhouse in Myrtle Beach. The best part was that Sidney’s parents ate dinner with us, allowing them to reconnect with Glen and meet Carrie. Sloan was a challenge but the chef put on a good show and our out-of-town visitors were very impressed by the food!

Sloan tested our patience during dinner but the food sure was good!

7. Fourth of July – We did a few different things on the Fourth of July but the highlight took place in Murrells Inlet. My co-worker and friend, David Russell, invited us out to his family’s Independence Day celebration. With numerous red, white, and blue decorations surrounding us and the Inlet serving as a backdrop, we sat around in a circle and chatted with David, his wife (the famous Robin Russell), their young adult children, and their friends. It was relaxing and entertaining!

David invited us to his family’s Fourth of July celebration and we sure had fun!

6. Pelicans Baseball Game – With Sidney’s parents taking care of Sloan, the four of us went to a Myrtle Beach Pelicans game. Just like with our time at David’s celebration, it was very relaxing. The weather was perfect, the ballpark food delicious, and the on-field promotions engaging. To top it all off, there was a fireworks show at the end of the game.

We had an easy going time at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans game.

5. Homemade Dinner by Carrie and Glen – The whole trip, Carrie and Glen spoiled us. But they really outdid themselves when they cooked us dinner the night before they left. Chicken parmesan, pasta, salad, and bread comprised the menu as we feasted like kings and queens. The only thing better than the food was the conversation we enjoyed.

Glen and Carrie made us a delicious chicken parmesan dinner!

4. Our Own Firework Show – The evening of July 4 was dampened by a thunder and lightning storm. However, that didn’t mean we were going to let our fireworks go to waste. The night of July 5 we lit off the contents of a “toddler friendly” fireworks package I purchased a couple days before. We all enjoyed ourselves as Sloan shrieked with glee as we lit off fountains, strobes, and sparklers.

Glen, Carrie, Sid, and Sloan look on as we lit off “little guy” fireworks.

3. TopGolf – There is no mistaking how much fun TopGolf is. In fact, it is such a good experience that a four-hour wait did not deter us from playing. Once we finally got to our bay, we had an absolute blast! Carrie outplayed us all as we shared plenty of laughs (and drinks).

As usual, TopGolf was a blast!

2. Bonding Time at Home – Out of all the things we did around town, nothing beat the time we spent together on the couch. Whether we were watching Family Feud, Jeopardy, the Home Run Derby, the women’s World Cup final, or the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, hanging out in the living room was the best. It was there that we shared laughs, stories, opinions, and outrage. We were completely ourselves and it was so much fun.

Hanging out on the couch while talking and watching TV was actually one of my top highlights of the visit!

1. Playing With Sloan – I loved watching Carrie and Glen interact with Sloan. To see how much they cared for her and how much Sloan genuinely loved them was heartwarming. I couldn’t have asked for anything more than to see them all get along in such a loving way.

Watching Glen and Carrie spend time with Sloan was really special!

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As always, the time went by too fast. But we had so much fun and will have experiences to reminisce on for the rest of our lives. Thank you, Glen and Carrie, for visiting us. We (especially Sloan) love you! Don’t Blink.

One of the best honors of my life was bestowed upon me over the holiday weekend.

As you might have read about in last week’s Thursday Rundown, my brother and his fiancée are visiting us from Spokane. They arrived in Myrtle Beach on July 4 and celebrated Independence Day with us. They also celebrated the one year mark until they tie the knot––Glen and Carrie are getting married on July 4, 2020.

At 365 days out from the big day, the future husband and wife had already nailed down many major details and settled on important decisions regarding the wedding. However, when the Fourth of July passed and they dipped under the one year mark until they get married, one appointment still needed to be made.

My brother needed a best man!!

Not to say that I was cocky, but I had a suspicion that it might be me. Glen was my best man and we have always been close. With his groomsmen already selected, I thought Glen might ask me to be his right hand guy during his visit to Myrtle Beach. However, I had no idea how he would “pop the question.”

Glen was my best man…but would he want me to be his?

On Friday, July 5, we returned from a packed day doing fun Myrtle Beach-type things. Once we were all settled and comfortable in our house, Carrie and Glen asked if I wanted to do a taste test. I know this might sound a little weird, but I like taste tests, both giving them and doing them. I have given a couple to Sid and last December I participated in a bottled water one. The taste test that Carrie and Glen wanted me to do dealt with beer.

Hello, that is what you call a no-brainer.

I was blindfolded and handed different cups of beer. I tasted them and offered my opinion on each one. Supposedly, they were trying to see whether I could differentiate between a couple of different brews. After about 5-6 rounds of tasting and analyzing, not knowing whether I was right or not, I was told to take off my blindfold. When I did, the below six-pack was right in front of me.

This special six-pack was waiting for me when the blindfold came off.

After what was on the packaging registered in my brain, Glen asked me if I would be his best man. It was an easier decision than deciding to do the taste test in the first place.

Glen posted this photo to Instagram after “I said yes.”

The bottles are actually Blue Moon, my favorite beer. Glen and Carrie ordered the labels and affixed them to the glass of each bottle. Honestly, I don’t know if I will bring myself to drink any of them.

This is what the individual bottles look like (the brews I tasted alternated between Blue Moon and Coors Light).

I am excited to serve in this role for Glen and hope I do as good of a job as he did for me. Thank you for this special honor, brother, I love you. Don’t Blink.

Happy Independence Day and welcome to a holiday version of my Thursday Rundown. I don’t got much time to mess around so let’s get started…

Fourth of July Guests – In about an hour or so, I will be headed to the airport to pick up my brother and fiancée. They have traveled all night to spend the Fourth of July weekend with us. This will be Carrie’s first time visiting Myrtle Beach and Glen has not been here in over two years. They have not seen Sloan in over six months so they are looking forward to playing with their niece again. It is going to be a fun next few days!

We are excited to welcome Glen and Carrie to Myrtle Beach!

Career Highlight – Late last month, my boss and I found out that we have been selected to present at the 2019 American Marketing Association (AMA) Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Ed! This is a major conference for top marketing executives in higher education. This year’s edition will take place in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace. Lindsi and I will be presenting on what we are doing at CCU to reach Generation Z on social media. Things got real this week when the association’s website was updated with our names and synopsis of what we will be presenting. The symposium will take place in November so we have plenty of time to perfect.

Lindsi Glass and I will present at the 2019 AMA Symposium for Marketing of Higher Education.

Fourth of July Fun – I love everything about the Fourth of July from the fireworks to the hot dogs to the patriotic displays. I also really enjoy dressing up for it! In conjunction with my now defunct holiday text messages I would send out, here are some of my wardrobes from past Independence Days.

When it comes to July 4, I dress accordingly.

Nature – Over the past week, I have encountered a couple cool animals. Last Friday, I came across this red-tailed hawk on the CCU campus. If it wasn’t for the dead squirrel it was standing over, I would have used it for social content on our #CCUSocialMedia accounts. Then, on Saturday, Sidney noticed something in our backyard. As she looked out our kitchen window she turned to me and said, “What is that creature?!” I went out and investigated. I almost thought I was back in the Florida Keys as I was once again face-to-face with a large reptile. But this guy was different from the iguanas of our vacation. I posted a photo of our backyard visitor on Twitter and my followers told me it was a bearded dragon. Not native to South Carolina, it was probably an escaped/released pet.

Last week, I encountered a bearded dragon and a red-tailed hawk.

Creative Photographers – Our photographers at CCU are dedicated and creative. This week, they showed up to work in the early morning when it was still dark out. They trotted out to the Chauncey statue and placed sparklers in his hands and took several incredible shots. The images made for perfect Fourth of July Eve content on our social media channels.

Kudos to our CCU photographers for doing cool and creative things.

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Celebrate our country today, folks. We are extremely blessed and I am damn proud to be an American. Don’t Blink.

July 1 has always signified different benchmarks for me. At most jobs I have held, it has been the start of the fiscal year. When I worked in intercollegiate athletics, we designated it as the unofficial kickoff of the “busy season.” When I lived in Washington and Montana, we treated it as the beginning of summer––because in those places, you only have two months of it¬¬––July and August.

There is another July 1 distinction that I am especially mindful of, more so than the three reasons listed above. The first day of July marks the beginning of the second half of the year. That’s right, 2019 is already 50% over with. Where did the time go?

But wait a second. I challenge you not to frame this point of the year in terms of “where did the time go?” Rather, give yourself a frank assessment of how the first six months of 2019 went for you. Did you hold true to your resolutions? Are you on your way to completing your yearly goals? Do you feel good about yourself?

Or, did things not go according to plan? Did you stray away from your goals and ambitions?

Well, if you have faithfully stayed the track for the first 26 weeks, great job! Keep up the good work and don’t get satisfied. The prize awaits! But what about those who fell off? Listen to me: don’t give up…

How many times have you watched a sports team start a game flat? Players take the court or field and can’t get anything going. The opponent takes advantage of the team’s struggles and opens up a big halftime lead. In the locker room, players are dejected. When you are down by 25 points in basketball or four touchdowns in football, it can seem like a lost cause. Why even go back out and try?

Thanks to personal will and perhaps a good pep talk, athletes have learned that the game can be won, even if the first half did not go according to plan. Even after the disappointment and embarrassment of the first two quarters, we are shown that it is possible to turn things completely around and emerge victorious. Even when a win on the scoreboard might not be possible, opportunities exist to make a run at it and secure a respectable result when the horn sounds.

If the first half of the year didn’t work out for you, use today as a new starting point. I promise you, 2019 can still be a record year! If you wrote down your goals or resolutions on January 1 (I always do), go back today and evaluate your initial intentions. Your goals are still achievable. I wish everyone a great second half of 2019. Don’t Blink