Monthly Archives: August 2023

Family Seabrook Vacation

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For the first true time as a family of four, we went on a vacation together. Last week, Sidney, Sloan, Beau, and I headed to the west side of Washington for several days of summer fun. In the past, I have commemorated trips by utilizing different writing methods for my Don’t Blink recaps. After giving it some thought, I figured I would write this summary by recounting the main events of each day while also reflecting on a special moment as well. To be honest, my biggest objective with this post is to have something for Sloan and Beau to look back on from this vacation. With that said, here is a glimpse at a very special week for the Resers…

Tuesday, August 8 – With excitement at record levels for the four of us, we departed Spokane early in the morning. We arrived in Seattle around 11 a.m. and played at a 100-year-old park called Wallingford Playfield. After stretching our legs at Wallingford we visited Woodland Park Zoo. The kids loved the otters but I was partial to the sloth bears. We checked into our hotel and then took the light rail to T-Mobile Park for the Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres game. On a gorgeous night we ate way too much ballpark food, enthusiastically participated in all the between innings video board games/cheers, and passionately cheered for the home team as the Mariners blanked the Padres 2-0.

The four of us at the Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres game on Aug. 8. 2023.

A Special Moment – Since it was the first-ever Mariners game for Sloan and Beau, they were both celebrated by the stadium staff as they were presented with certificates memorializing the event.

Some of the photos and moments from our first day of vacation.

Wednesday, August 9 – After eating breakfast as a family in the hotel lobby, we swam in the hotel’s pool. We checked out and drove 30 seconds to the family fun center located right next door. Called Bullwinkle’s, the kids played arcade games and exerted energy in the play structure before eating lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We then drove 2.5 hours to Seabrook where we checked into our cabin and walked down to the beach for a quick taste of what was to come.

When we arrived in Seabrook on Wednesday night we took the kids to the ocean. Didn’t take them long to warm up to it.

A Special Moment – We stopped in Aberdeen to shop at Walmart before entering Seabrook. While there, Sloan was adamant that I take her over to a homeless woman who was asking for money. I honored my daughter’s request and she gave the lady some of her own vacation allowance.

Some of the photos and moments from our Wednesday of vacation.

Thursday, August 10 – We hit our first full day in Seabrook hard. After baking cinnamon rolls for breakfast in our cabin we swam in the town’s indoor pool. By the time we finished there the sun had made its appearance so we ventured to the outdoor pool and luxurious hot tub. After lunch we would spend most of the afternoon at the beach. What fun it was to dig in the sand and make castles with the kids! We ate tacos for dinner and then made s’mores in the fire pit of our cabin’s back yard. We then headed back to the outdoor pool for a majestic round of night swimming.

Thursday was full of trips to the pools, ocean, and more.

A Special Moment – Sid and I set up beach chairs about 30 yards from where Sloan and Beau played on the shore. When I returned to our chairs after helping Beau with something, my wife had written “Sid ♥’s Brent” in the sand.

Some of the photos and moments from our Thursday at Seabrook.

Friday, August 11 – The morning started with the four of us walking over to the shuffleboard courts. Sid and I split two games against each other while Sloan and Beau played their own game on the neighboring court with new friends they made. We fit in a beach trip and pool visit before the morning was done. During lunch we watched “Big Brother” and put Beau down for a nap. Sloan and I then went to the arcade and candy store. A bit later on, we all went over to Seabrook’s green space where a fun cover band performed a free concert. I took Beau to the playground while Sid made dinner and by the time we returned a delicious pot of chicken bog was waiting to be served up. We capped the night by making s’mores again.

Making s’mores was one of our favorite activities while in Seabrook.

A Special Moment – Sloan had the guts to run up to the stage in-between songs during the concert and request a track. Sid put her up to it and encouraged her to ask for “Bad Moon Rising.” Even though the True Romans were a little caught off by the request they played it!

Some of the photos and moments from Friday of our vacation.

Saturday, August 12 – The alarm clock went off early as Sloan and I awoke at 5 a.m. to hunt for sand dollars. Except for a man and his dog, we were the only ones on the coast as we found 22 intact “sand bucks” (as Sloan calls them). Later that morning the four of us traveled 40 miles to a place called Amanda Park so we could attend mass at Our Lady of the Olympics. After eating brunch at the town’s local diner we traveled back to Seabrook and browsed the community’s farmer’s market. The afternoon was spent swimming in the indoor pool. We then had our “nice” out-to-eat dinner of the vacation as we dined at the Rising Tide Tavern. The four of us all had a really nice time at dinner and afterwards the kids played games on the downtown streets (i.e. Jenga, cornhole, sidewalk chalk). We then walked to the ice cream shop for dessert. The day ended with an encore trip to the outdoor pool and one final s’mores session.

What a fantastic vacation it was. We took our photo at Seabrook’s signature oversized chair.

A Special Moment – Watching Sloan’s face light up when we found whole sand dollars was pretty cool. We had looked for intact dollars the previous two days but couldn’t find any. Sloan was rewarded for getting up early and browsing the beach at the time in which sand dollars were plentiful.

Some of the photos and moments from our Saturday in Seabrook.

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Sunday was spent making the nearly seven-hour drive back to Spokane. This time we didn’t have a Seattle excursion to break things up but the kids did awesome (all things considering). We sure had a lot to reminisce about from the vacation and we all agreed that we can’t wait to return to Seabrook again. Having six days to spend exclusively with my wife and kids was a blessing beyond words and I will always cherish the memories we made. Don’t Blink.

Homeowners

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We bought a house!

After seven years of nomadic living, we decided to establish some roots and secure something a little more long term. The Resers are now the owners of a four bedroom/three bathroom house in the Spokane Valley.

This is our new home by D.R. Horton.

Because of our careers and family on both coasts, renting made sense for us. In fact, I have nothing bad to say about renting—I loved the flexibility! But after living in four different houses since we tied the knot coupled with what we have established here in Spokane, making the big investment seemed like the right thing to do at this point.

We landed in a brand new development in the southern part of Spokane Valley. We are one of the first families to move into a neighborhood that currently has about 20 completed houses built but will eventually boast more than 300! To be one of the “originals” is kind of cool.

The “location, location, location” real estate cliché proved true for me. Sid made sure that we were taken care of house-wise while I focused on where exactly the foundation would sit. I wanted to live in a bustling neighborhood near school, church, and work. We checked the boxes on all three of those items. Sloan and Beau will each attend St. Mary this fall and instead of a nearly 20-minute drive, it won’t even be a 10-minute drive. We confirmed that yesterday when we drove to mass and realized how “early” (relatively speaking) we were when our car entered the parking lot. I also now have easy access to the highway that will lead me to Pullman on those days I work on campus.

All credit for our new status as homeowners goes directly to Sidney. She had the drive to buy our own place while I continued to sing the praises of renting. My wife flipped me and then took the lead to find our dream home. Many of you know that purchasing a home is a wild roller coaster and Sidney was in that front seat navigating the whole ride.

We can’t wait to start inviting our family and friends over as we begin the process of making memories under this roof. What an opportunity! Don’t Blink.

Morning Thursday Rundown

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It is with enthusiasm that I wish you a happy Friday Eve! Hopefully your August is off to a fantastic start and you have fun weekend plans on the horizon. Let’s get started with the latest rundown…

Froyo Combo – I always enjoy sharing the froyo combinations of my children because, well, kids have different tastes than adults. Sloan and I walked to Didier’s, a classic north Spokane frozen yogurt shop that came way before self-serve “froyo,” from my parents’ house over the weekend. I think Sloan picked solid flavors (island coconut and vanilla) but her choice of Sour Patch watermelon pieces and Nerds was a little questionable. Oh well, she liked it.

Cotton Candy Soda – How dare I poke a little fun at Sloan for eating like a kid when I am over here drinking like a kid. I found this cotton candy soda four-pack at the Dollar Tree and couldn’t help myself. I brought it home and gave it a try. For someone like myself who is pretty easy to please, this cotton candy stuff might be some of the worst soda I have ever tried. It maybe tasted like cotton candy for one second before it got bitter and then ended with an aftertaste that seemed very similar to what smoke bombs might taste like. It does pour as a vibrant blue liquid so it has that going for it but the taste itself is pretty bad.

This was the cotton candy soda that I bought. Just not very good.

Mariner Drought About to End – On this date nine years ago, Sidney and I were in Baltimore to watch the Mariners play the Orioles. Little did I know that it would be more than 3,285 days before I saw the M’s play again as that streak will end next week…but more on that down the road. Camden Yards was a sweet ballpark with my favorite feature being the mini monuments in the outfield seating area that mark where noteworthy home run balls landed.

Sidney and I in Baltimore at Camden Yards in 2014. It was the last time I saw the Mariners play in-person.

Happy Birthday, Mom! – My mom celebrated her 66th birthday yesterday. I don’t know what our family of four would do without her. She embraces her mom, mother-in-law, and grandma roles with such selflessness, dedication, and enthusiasm. But her role as a party animal might be diminishing a bit. Yesterday, my dad took her to a bar and the bartender told my mom that she was entitled to a free birthday shot. My mom turned him down and ordered an iced tea instead. Cheers, mom!

Happy Birthday, mom.

National Watermelon Day – Today is National Watermelon Day and I celebrate it with some sadness because I haven’t ate any excellent watermelon this summer. Despite trying a decent amount, I haven’t found a melon that is crisp, juicy and flavorful…yet. Hopefully something will come around this month. Speaking of watermelons, I will never forget when my sister made a watermelon cake for my nephew’s birthday and paired it with chocolate chunk watermelon ice cream 😂

A look at the watermelon cake my sister made along with how it looked when paired with the ice cream.

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Thanks for your time today. I am always humbled by those who don’t mind my ramblings. Let’s pray for those souls who have recently left this earthly world and for their grieving families still here. Don’t Blink.

Big Things In August

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August is here and I have strong feelings about this month. In fact, a year ago on this date I wrote an ode of sorts to the eighth month of the year. I explained that for so long August was a transitional month for me—leisure and summer the first half and then back to business and autumn the second half. It doesn’t hurt my feelings that over the past few years the month of August is no longer split between the two extremes but rather a complete extension of summer.

Stock up on your ice cream this month and savor every scoop!

Boy, I sure am glad that the “extension of summer” August will once again be in effect this year. Why? Because it is safe to say that this month will be unlike any other August I have ever experienced. In fact, the month will forever be immortalized starting TODAY. More on the event that will shape this August like no other in a future blog post (sorry for the tease). But besides the “big” event, our family has so much to look forward to this month including a wedding, baseball, vacation, and much more.

But enough about my August. I want to encourage all of you to enjoy this month as much as possible. I understand that for many, as my father-in-law would say, “the party is over” this month. If that is the case for you, I hope you can enjoy the remaining days of leisure before your responsibilities heat up. Savor these sweet days of summer, my friends!

In closing, I do want to extend heartfelt sympathy to all the children I know in South Carolina and other states who must return to school in the coming weeks (yuck). But as I have already alluded to in this post, don’t find yourself dreading the beginning of the school year so much that you can’t enjoy what you have left. Happy August to everyone—make it memorable! Don’t Blink.