Monthly Archives: June 2021

Rehearsing This Thursday Rundown

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I hope the lack of a Thursday Rundown last week didn’t put you in that bad of a mood. Thankfully your favorite weekly blog post is back. Here are tonight’s topics…

Dessert Date – One thing I did not share in last night’s recap about our Myrtle Beach trip was a nice outing that Sidney and I shared. Last Sunday evening, once both of our kids were asleep, we slipped out of my in-law’s house and went to a restaurant I have blogged about before called the Sneaky Beagle. We ordered dessert and a round of drinks. We split a slice of “Death by Chocolate” cake and Oreo pie. Both desserts were delicious and the two of us sure enjoyed our hour of alone time together.

Dessert at the Sneaky Beagle was a great way for Sid and I to escape and enjoy a little time together on our vacation.

Five Years Ago – As nice as the Sneaky Beagle was, it can’t hold a candle to the place we ate at five years ago on this date. The location was Thoroughbreds Chophouse and the occasion was our rehearsal dinner. The evening wasn’t perfect just because the food was superb (Sid’s uncle said it was the best prime rib he has had in his life, beating out a 5-star restaurant he ate at in Las Vegas) but because how intimate and special it was. I will always remember my dad’s speech and sharing the head table with both of our parents. I wrote this blog post about our experience.

A couple different views of the head table for our rehearsal dinner at Throughbreds

National Ballpoint Pen Day – Yet another quirk of mine is that I always carry at least two ballpoint pens in my pocket at any given time. The origin of this habit can be traced as far back as middle school. Before you laugh at me, you need to realize how many times I have saved the day by pulling out a pen when someone was in desperate need of a writing utensil. My ballpoint pen obsession reached a new level when I ordered 262 of them with Don’t Blink branding on it in 2014. Happy National Ballpoint Pen Day, everyone.

I always have ballpoint pens on me.

Family Movies – While on vacation I watched a couple movies that would be great for the whole family. We watched “Blue Miracle,” a Netflix film starring Dennis Quaid in which he plays a washed-up fisherman just looking to be relevant again. It is a short film with a strong message. We also watched “Raya and the Last Dragon,” an animated film that you can catch on Disney+. This movie has strong themes of teamwork and selflessness. If you have young teenagers, watch “Blue Miracle.” If you have smaller children, watch “Raya and the Last Dragon.”

I enjoyed watching “Blue Miracle.”

3-For-1 – On Tuesday night, I gave a Twitter shoutout to the pizza guy at the Minneapolis Airport. Well, tonight I want to give him the Don’t Blink treatment as well. I approached a pizza place near the G gates of the airport and ordered a single slice. After I put in my order I had to pay at a different checkpoint. When I returned to pick up my pizza the employee lifted the box it was in to reveal THREE slices instead of just one. He gave me a sly smile and I expressed my gratitude.

The fact that the pizza place was about to close for the night was probably a major factor in him giving me three slices.

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Glad I could put together another Thursday Rundown. Hoping my wife and kids are continuing to enjoy themselves in Myrtle Beach and I hope that you have a fabulous weekend. Don’t Blink.

Our Summer Vacation to Myrtle Beach

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Yesterday I returned from a nice trip to Myrtle Beach. In our second trip back after our move out west, our schedule wasn’t as packed as our holiday visit last December. This allowed us to both enjoy some more downtime while also connecting with people we had not seen in a year and a half. As I typically do with vacation recaps, I thought it would be best to identify five themes from my* June trip to Myrtle Beach.

We were all smiles as we flew to Myrtle Beach.

Meet the Newest Member of the Family – We were most excited to meet our new nephew/cousin. Sidney’s sister, Court, and her husband welcomed their first child into the world on May 17. FaceTime can only fill the geographic void to a certain extent and we couldn’t wait to hold Jack for the first time. He surely didn’t disappoint! I know Sidney fell in love with Jack the moment she laid her eyes on him and it was a pleasant reminder to me about how little newborns truly are (crazy how you forget so quickly). What joy it brought us to meet Jack!

Meet Baby Jack!

Family – Yes, we were ecstatic to see the newest member of the family but we couldn’t wait to see the non-newborn members as well! The four of us spent majority of our time visiting with Sid’s parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, nephews, and niece. We ate meals, played volleyball, watched baseball, and spent precious time visiting. A couple of my personal highlights included Sidney and I having a sleepover with our niece (Russell, 12) and nephew (Harrison, 8) and also enjoying a birthday celebration for Russell and her youngest brother, Henry (4). I am so blessed to be part of Sid’s family!

Being with Sidney’s family was the reason for the vacation.

Summer Activities – Although we didn’t receive summer-like weather while we were in Myrtle Beach, it didn’t stop us from engaging in summer fun. It may have rained more days than not, but I still wanted Sloan to do things while on vacation. We hit up a Myrtle Beach Pelicans game and despite only getting to see a few innings due to rain, we still ate plenty of ballpark food and were treated to a fireworks show. One day I took Sloan to Myrtle Waves, a huge water park in Myrtle Beach. While it drizzled most of the time we were there and I secretly hoped that the sun would come out, Sloan didn’t know the difference. She loved the lazy river and the kiddie slides. My last full day we were there we headed to the beach. It was Beau’s first time seeing the ocean and Sloan spent the time with her cousin building sandcastles and collecting seashells. Throughout the trip we didn’t let a little rain dampen our fun!

Yes, it rained. However, it couldn’t keep us away from the beach, water park, and ball game.

Nice to See You Again – In addition to spending lots of time with Sid’s family, we also saw some of our closest friends. Sloan played multiple times with her Myrtle best friend, Jacqueline, and I got to visit with her mom, Susannah. We went over to the home of our spiritual mentors, the McCormicks, for pizza and conversation. I also stepped foot on the Coastal Carolina University campus for the first time since February 2020 and had a reunion with my University Marketing and Communication team. It was so nice to catch up with everyone and see how they successfully managed through the pandemic. After I left the offices I went across the street with my CCU bestie, Geoff, to our favorite burrito joint for lunch (Welcome to Moe’s!).

We joined the McCormicks for an evening (top photo), I got to have lunch with Geoff (bottom left), and Sloan and Jacqueline got to see each other a few times and I got to catch up with Susannah (bottom right photo).

Enjoying Our Favorites – Sid and I managed to do some of our favorite Myrtle Beach things. We attended mass at St. Andrew, got dessert at our favorite ice cream spot (Bruster’s), went through the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru countless times, and managed to find Mr. Softee. I also got in several workouts at Iron Legacy, the gym that holds a dedicated spot in my heart. We didn’t take for granted the opportunity to visit and enjoy these places that are so special to us.

From church to ice cream to the gym, we got to enjoy some of our favorite Myrtle Beach things/places.

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Myrtle Beach will always be part of who I am. I met my wife, had two kids, and spent some of the best years of my life there. To have the opportunity to go back and visit is something I am incredibly thankful for. I am happy that Sid, Sloan, and Beau still have several days left to enjoy. Don’t Blink.

* – I say “my” because Sid, Sloan, and Beau are still making memories in Myrtle Beach. They will be returning next Tuesday.

Checking In From Detroit

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Good afternoon, everyone. I am writing this blog post from the Detroit Airport as I have some time to kill and felt like I would check in with my readers.

My view from my seat at the Detroit Airport.

I am in the middle of my return travel from Myrtle Beach. After I leave Detroit I will be en route to Minneapolis and then finally home to Spokane. I am projected to arrive a little past 11 p.m. PT. It definitely feels a little lonely as I am traveling without my wife and kids. When we purchased airline tickets we opted for a later return date for Sid, Sloan, and Beau so they could spend more time with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. As for me, there is work to be done and more vacation time later in the summer to enjoy so it was necessary to get back to Spokane. I would be lying if I said I didn’t already miss them.

If you noticed, I took an entire week off from blogging. Hope my readers don’t take offense but it was really nice! After 10 years, it felt good to take a break. For the most part, I stayed disconnected from work as well. Thus, it was eight days of strictly family time and relaxation.

Tomorrow I hope to touch on those carefree days but for the time being I wanted to just say “hi.” Well, excuse me as I savor these last couple minutes in Detroit, the excitement is mind boggling. Don’t Blink.