Monthly Archives: March 2026

SOLD! The Meaningful Auction Item We Brought Home

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This past weekend, Sidney and I attended the St. Mary School Auction. Similar to the first time we attended the event, we were blown away by the generosity of the St. Mary community. The way so many people gave their time, talent, and treasure is something that Sid and I aspire to emulate one day.

Sid and I pose in our backyard before heading off to the 2026 St. Mary Catholic School Auction.

Although we didn’t draw close to the way that many invested in the event, we did manage to come away with an auction item. Lucky for us, it was a very meaningful one.

In addition to the many silent auction and live auction items that people donate, each St. Mary’s class creates its own project/gift to contribute. For example, Beau’s kindergarten class made a cookie jar that is refillable with two dozen cookies each month for the next year (parents of the class take turns baking them each month…I am up in October!). Another class made a framed poster that included a professional black-and-white photo of each student praying. Another class offered up a mirror with inspirational quotes around the frame and signatures of each student on the back.

This cookie jar was the kindergarten class item. Jaysanna Wang was the parent who spearheaded the project and the jar is “refillable” with 2 dozen cookies for the next year. It went for more than $5K.

With the cookie jar way out of our bidding range (it went for $5K+), we set our sights on the project that Sloan’s third grade class worked on. With Sid managing the bidding as I had already left to relieve the babysitter, my wife offered up the winning bid and we took home a table and prayer book.

But of course it wasn’t just an ordinary table or prayer book.

Sloan stands next to the table and holds the prayer book that Sid successfully bid on during the 2026 St. Mary Catholic School Auction. Mrs. Mary Remer and her third graders brought this project to fruition.

Sloan’s teacher, Mrs. Mary Remer, asked her husband to commission an end table that would be cherished by any Catholic family. The center of the table top features a rose, which is a symbol of the Blessed Virgin Mary, intertwined with a rosary. Inscribed around the perimeter of the table are the words to the Hail Mary prayer. It is beautiful!

A look at the table top. It depicts a rose surrounded by a rosary with the words to the “Hail Mary” circulating around the perimeter.

The table, made out of rich wood, includes a lower shelf.

This view shows the lower shelf and how the prayer book is positioned.

That lower shelf is perfect for the prayer book that Sloan and her classmates made. The book is special before you even open it. The cover depicts a colorful cross that was made from the fingerprints of everyone in Sloan’s class.

The prayer book’s cover depicts a colorful cross. The cross was made from the fingerprints of the third grade students and Mary Remer.

You can open up the prayer book to the inside cover to see which paint color matches each student and then on the opposite page is a class photo.

This is the inside cover of the prayer book. It contains the color code of the children’s fingerprints and is opposite a class photo.

Once you start browsing through the pages is when the real humility and faith of Mrs. Remer’s third grade class shines. Each student was given their own section. Each section opens with the featured student’s photo and autobiography. Following each intro are handwritten pages of that particular third grader’s favorite saint quote and their favorite prayers. The prayers range from morning prayers to evening prayers, creed-based prayers to Eucharistic prayers, petition prayers to repentful prayers.

This is the beginning of Sloan’s section. She actually closes the book out.

Sloan is the last entry in the prayer book. After sharing that her favorite color is purple and her best friend is Allison, my daughter used the next several pages to write the prayers of the rosary.

This page is devoted to the “Fatima Prayer,” which was added to the rosary in 1917. Sloan’s classmate, Mateo, created this page.

The past two days I have experienced great joy when walking through the front door to see our new table near the entryway. I am grateful to Mrs. Remer and her husband for undertaking such a significant project. I am impressed by the third grade students for the effort they put forth to help. And, finally, I am humbled by many of my fellow St. Mary parents for the generosity and passion they have for the faith and education of our children. This humility is especially extended to Adam and Anne Mileski (aka the parents of Sloan’s best friend) for inviting us to sit at their table. As always, I am proud to be part of the St. Mary community. Don’t Blink.

The Smell and Agony of Pencils

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It is the smell that really still gets me.

I will never forget how mornings started my first couple years of elementary school. Before the school day officially started, our teacher would sit down at an electronic pencil sharpener and we would get in line. When one of us would advance to the front, she would take the writing utensil we held in our hand and shove it into the pencil sharpener.

After about 10 seconds and a cacophony of high pitch noises, she would hand back a freshly sharpened pencil with a long and sharp lead point.

The machine was revolutionary for the time and the result was on-point, but it was that fresh aroma of wood that suggested, Okay, the school day is about to start…get ready, that I can still remember to this day.

But the start-of-morning pencil sharpening ritual ceased around fourth grade when the introduction of mechanical pencils hit our school. I immediately swapped out my traditional pencil with a Bic .7mm mechanical writing mechanism and never looked back.

The introduction of the mechanical pencil didn’t kill the traditional pencil. My kids use the old school writing utensil every night at the homework table.

That was of course until I was able to use pen. Sorry, there is no doubt about what the superior writing utensil is. I just assume avoid something that can be erased, smears the side of my palm, and breaks easily.

Nowadays, I never use a pencil unless I am helping my kids with homework. And based on all the pencils we have in our junk box, you would think my children must be doing homework every waking hour. Thank goodness it is not actually like that.

Unfortunately, it just so happens that about 80% of our million pencils are unsharpened and the ones that are sharpened somehow need to be re-sharpened. Thus, the same routine plays out each night where our kids need to take one of our cheap, handheld sharpeners to sharpen whatever pencil they feel inclined to use that evening while managing to get pencil shavings all over the place.

Yes, we do have a couple mechanical pencils around. In fact, Sidney, who was a teacher, prefers our kids use them because she thinks they allow Sloan and Beau to write more legibly. I just have to get my son to stop clicking the eraser over and over to create a lead point that is over a foot long before he actually uses it to write (and then proceed to break the said lead point).

Even though Sid says mechanical pencils help kids write better, I usually shove a traditional pencil in Beau’s hand because of his tendency to fool around with the mechanical variety.

Did I mention that I prefer pen over pencil?

However, on this National Pencil Day it was kind of nice to wake up and smell the wood. Don’t Blink.

Holy Week 2026: Carrying The Cross

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The beginning of Holy Week is here. Can you believe that Ash Wednesday was all the way back on Feb. 17? Now we enter the home stretch to Easter Sunday.

Perhaps I should be more careful with my words. By describing the next several days as the home stretch, it might convey that the road from today through Easter will be easy or quick. Hardly.

The holiest week of the year culminates in the joyful resurrection of Jesus Christ but to get there we must encounter denials, betrayals, injustice, violence, and murder.

Palm Sunday leads off the grind and is pretty much a microcosm of Holy Week itself. This morning the opening gospel reading depicted Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem as crowds paved his way with palms and shouted “Hosana!” However, the heroic sentiment quickly turned to shouts of “Crucify Him”. Christ’s Passion is not for the faint of heart.

Sloan and Beau stand outside St. Mary Catholic Church (Spokane Valley) after Palm Sunday mass this morning. Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week and a great reminder how we can profess to love Jesus Christ but then quickly betray him.

During his homily today at St. Mary Catholic Church (Spokane Valley), Deacon Dan Glatt likened the change of heart from the crowd to our own sins. There is no doubt that some of the same people who laid palms for Jesus would later demand his crucifixion, swaying Pilate to put him to death. However, Christ didn’t die simply because of cruel public opinion. He also died for our sins—the minor and major misgivings we commit each day. In the same way that the crowd pledged allegiance to Jesus but then turned on him, we do the exact same thing by calling ourselves Christians and then sinning. We need to own our culpability in the death of Jesus.

One way we can do this during Holy Week is to carry the cross. During his Passion, Christ painstakingly carried the barbaric mechanism of his death until he received assistance from an onlooker who carried some of the load. We need to always do our part to carry the load, too. However, as Fr. Leonard Mary explained in a homily I watched before my family headed to church this morning, Holy Week provides an opportunity to perhaps carry more weight than we usually do.

So what does it mean to carry the cross? Well, we can start by denying our own desires and embracing suffering. We can be especially cognizant of our sinfulness and do whatever we can to choose holiness instead. When we feel like the load is too heavy to carry, we can summon the strength to go a little further.

Thus, instead of treating Holy Week as the home stretch of Lent, let’s consider it the pinnacle. That way, when we arrive at Easter Sunday, instead of finding ourselves at the end of a road, we will instead find ourselves reinvigorated and inspired by Christ’s resurrection to continue on the path to salvation. Don’t Blink.

No Pizza Thursday Rundown

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It has definitely felt like spring around here which I guess makes sense…the first official day of spring was this past Friday. So as we enjoy warmer temperatures and tend our gardens, let me contribute to the positive vibes with my latest Thursday Rundown…

Ice Cream For All – I left the “after party” portion out of Sloan’s birthday bash blog post so let me fill you in. After we finished at Lush, we took the girls down the block for lunch at Red Robin. However, we had to switch gears when we were told that it would be a 45-minute wait. We instead ushered everyone across the street to the food court of River Park Square. It was there that I planned to buy a couple pizzas from Sbarro for everyone to enjoy. There was just one problem: Sbarro had not a single slice of pizza to sell that day (not kidding). Thinking on our feet, Sid and I just decided to take the kids to the Ben & Jerry’s stand in the mall. After they had their cones I expressed how sorry I was that we didn’t feed them a real lunch. No one seemed to mind.

Sloan and her friends enjoy ice cream cones from Ben & Jerry’s inside River Park Square.

Song Sung Blue – This week I watched “Song Sung Blue” and really enjoyed it. The film is about a recovering alcoholic and musician who becomes a Neil Diamond impersonator while falling in love and adding his girlfriend (and then wife) to his act. After the disappointment of Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, this latest musical biopic truly hit the mark. Of course you have the awesome music throughout but there is more. The film kept me guessing between reality and dream throughout its duration and all the acting performances are superb. I found the character of Mike Sardina (the Neil Diamond impersonator played by Hugh Jackman) to be inspiring in an everyday guy kind of way. I recommend!

I think you should give “Song Sung Blue” a chance. It will give you some vibes.

Happy Birthday, Kenny – Today is Kenny Chensey’s 58th birthday. I think it is worth mentioning just because this blog is named after one of Chesney’s songs. I have been a true fan of the singer for 20 years and have enjoyed the opportunity to see him perform live multiple times. Kenny, please let me tell you one thing: Don’t Blink, 58 years go faster than you think.

One of the times I saw Kenny Chesney perform was on College Gameday when he was the guest picker. The show that week (Sept. 2014) was in Columbia, SC, and if you look closely at the arrow you will see your favorite blogger. But at the desk is Kenny Chesney on the left, Lee Corso (wearing the mascot head) in the middle, and Kirk Herbstreit on the right.

French Fries As Main Course – Yesterday I read an article from the Washington Post titled Make Fries the Star. It was a piece that encouraged all of us amateur cooks to consider and embrace ways to make French fries the star of a meal. Usually fries are relegated as a side (albeit one of the most prominent sides) but the WaPost author told readers to think a little more creatively. Believe it or not, my family has been thinking “more creatively” for 30 years. A marquee Friday night meal in the Reser household growing up was chili cheese fry bowls. My mom would bake curly fries and we would drop them into a bowl. We would then top that first layer with chili, cheese, onions, and whatever else we desired. I still enjoy them to this day.

Now is the time to share one of my favorite info charts of all-time. This list is lovely.

A Dozen Years Ago – On this date 12 years ago, I wrote about a road rage incident I had to break up. But I prefer the blog post I wrote a day later on March 27, 2014. This entry entailed me counting down the top five country music stars I met according to kindness/genuineness. I won’t spoil the whole list for you but I will include one of the photos below (spoiler alert: Kenny Chesney is not on the list…I have never met him before).

This is me with Dierks Bentley many years ago.

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Holy Week begins this weekend with Palm Sunday. Hope everyone has a blessed end to March as we enter the holiest time of the year. Don’t Blink.

Butcher Knives

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Over the past five years, I have engaged in a recurring debate with our family priest. Yes, I admit it, I argue with our priest. But to know Fr. Jeff Lewis and the relationship we have with him would taper any astonishment you have over such a seemingly sacrilegious act on my part.

Fr. Jeff takes a photo with our family after he blessed our house. You would think since he does such nice things for us that I wouldn’t argue with him 😂.

Anyway, the debate centers on this: The merits of digital media to evangelize and promote the case for Christ and the Church.

As you can probably guess, I am a proponent of the wide-reaching positive impact that Catholic-based social media, blogs, e-newsletters, podcasts, and more can have on believers and non-believers alike. Fr. Jeff is more skeptical.

But this past weekend when Fr. Jeff wrote his weekly pastor’s column on the topic, he ended the very well-thought-out piece with an even better final notion…

The internet and other digital media are like any other tool, such as butcher knives: they sure can be helpful…and, if mis-used, very dangerous.

I thought his conciliatory statement hit the mark and provided guidance that I can totally rally behind. If you have time, you should read his entire column as he directly addresses topics such as internet traps (online gambling, porn, etc.), YouTube, and social media.

Fr. Jeff and my family playing some Bingo. We may have very well debated the merits of digital media at this table!

He also touched on one final digital media “plague” that anyone who attends any church of any belief is probably all-too-familiar with: phishing scams.

It happens all too often. People receive text messages and/or emails from their pastor asking for money or gift cards. The “Pastor Jones” impersonator says it is urgent and that he can’t speak on the phone at the moment. But if you just donate, the priest or pastor explains, you will help the poor or support an important charity.

Folks fall for this all the time. Well-meaning and elderly are especially prone to the scam. And it is rampant. Like seriously rampant.

I have attended events hosted by other Christian denomination churches and ended up on their email lists. Sure enough, I receive the same communications from those pastors warning of the scam and offering the same, “I will never text you for money…” spiel that either Fr. Jeff or our parish secretary recites every month. Seriously folks, watch out for the people who are vulnerable in your faith communities.

I do prefer the approach that my parish takes with these cases after issuing the standard few sentences about how Fr. Jeff would never do such a thing. After the copy and paste warning is out of the way that every other church uses, ours always ends with the following: Please say a Hail Mary for the conversion and repentance of those perpetrating these scams.

Yes, let’s do that. Don’t Blink.

Chuck Norris Memories

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I was shocked to hear of Chuck Norris’ death last week. Apparently, the Spokesman-Review post I once retweeted wasn’t accurate.

In the end, Chuck Norris didn’t beat death.

But in all seriousness, I did feel disappoint that Norris had died. The man figured prominently in my childhood, especially when it came to Saturday nights.

Just five things about Chuck Norris…

1. My siblings and I grew up big fans of “Walker, Texas Ranger.” In fact, after suffering through extremely early bedtimes for most of our childhoods, my parents would let the three of us watch the new “Walker” episodes when they would premiere on CBS at 10 p.m. on Saturday nights. Such nice memories.

2. Believe it or not, my grandma was a big Chuck Norris fan. Nothing gave her more of a thrill in her latter years than when Norris would perform his martial arts on bad guys.

3. I found the non-Walker version of Chuck Norris via constant infomercials for Total Gym. They were a little painful to watch and Norris never seemed to bring a lot of personality to those spots but he definitely saturated the exercise market.

4. I just started college when the Chuck Norris memes really started to take off. In fact, I remember people in my residence hall writing the Norris jokes on the dry erase portions of their doors.

5. Chuck Norris was great because even though he was a superstar and billed as the toughest man in the world, he was also relatable. He just seemed to embody a “regular guy” mystique. Norris actually reminded me of a normal dad who lived a few houses down from where I grew up.

Chuck Norris was THE MAN on “Walker, Texas Ranger.” I sure enjoyed watching it on Saturday nights with my brother and sister.

Let’s pray for the repose of Chuck Norris’ soul. May eternal rest be grant unto Chuck Norris, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. Don’t Blink.

A LUSH-ious 9th Birthday Party for Sloan

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Tap here to watch highlights from Sloan’s 9th birthday party at Lush Cosmetics

Our daughter is currently obsessed with soaps, lotions, and body sprays. Bath & Body Works has surpassed Claire’s as Sloan’s favorite store in the mall and it isn’t uncommon for our entire upstairs to smell like You’re Cheeky fine fragrance body spray.

Because of this love of girly bath/body products, the location for Sloan’s 9th birthday party was a no-brainer. We held it at Lush Cosmetics.

Lush Cosmetics (River Park) in downtown Spokane was an obvious choice for Sloan’s 9th birthday party. This photo is of Beau walking into the store.

Lush is the company owned by the inventors of the bath bomb with stores that are so vibrant and appealing to the senses that they can leave even the most masculine dudes feeling impressed. Lucky for Sloan, there is a beautiful Lush store in Downtown Spokane that offers birthday parties. We were fortunate to get on that location’s schedule for a prime Saturday late morning slot.

This is a blog post about an epic 9th birthday party for Sloan at Lush Cosmetics (River Park) in downtown Spokane. This photo is of Sloan and her friends with Lush employee/party host Sydney.

But Sloan’s Lush birthday party experience actually started a week before the date on the invitation. The manager of Lush invited Sloan into the store the Saturday before her bash for a “birthday party consult.” It was there that she met her party host, Sydney, and had the opportunity to sample/choose products and activities for the party. They rolled out the red carpet for my daughter and injected within her a deep enthusiasm for the following week.

But before there was the photo of the girls at the party, there was the initial birthday party consult. This particular photo shows Sloan and Beau with Lush Cosmetics (River Park) employee Sydney. We found it so cool that they put forth the time to do this.

When we arrived at the store this past Saturday, Sydney was waiting for the birthday girl and her friends. We could tell from the start that our party host had brought plenty of energy and patience. After the girls sat down for a moment and got settled, things started off in earnest with an icebreaker as Sloan and her friends tossed a ball of shower jelly around a circle.

Sydney started the party off with an icebreaker game for Sloan and her friends. Lush Cosmetics (River Park) in downtown Spokane was a great place to have a birthday party.

After the game, everyone gathered around a showcase of store inventory resting on a bed of ice. It was there that Sloan was able to pick out some products for the first beauty activity.

Sloan identifies products she wants to use for face masks during her Lush Cosmetics (River Park) birthday party.

The girls returned to their homebase in the middle of the store and applied face masks on each other. Please excuse my continued generalization of referencing “the girls.” Although this party was for the girls in Sloan’s third grade class at St. Mary (and her cousin, Mikayla), Beau was an honorary guest and participated in all of the party activities…except for the face masks 😂.

Sloan, Mikayla, and Colie have a fun time applying face masks at Lush Cosmetics (River Park) in downtown Spokane.

Next up were bath bombs! Sloan had picked out “Toby’s Magic Cow,” a rainbow-colored laundry-smelling bath bomb for her party to make. Everyone slipped on face masks and gloves to fill their bovine-shaped molds with different colored powders.

The main event for Sloan’s birthday party at Lush Cosmetics (River Park) was probably the creation of bath bombs.

Once the bath bombs were made, Sydney led Sloan and her friends to use brightly-colored soap pieces to make sculptures and different shapes. The girls (and Beau) made hearts, fruit, a soccer ball, and more.

Sydney helps Sloan and her friends make fun shapes with soap pieces.

They then used remaining scraps from the soap pieces to wash their hands in one of the signature Lush bowls. Now is a good time to point out that Lush birthday parties take place right on the store floor during regular business hours. That means customers are shopping during the actual party but I feel it just adds to the overall positive vibe.

Sloan washing her hands with a big smile on her face.

From there, the girls and Beau had a tasty time applying lip scrubs. I didn’t use the word “tasty” for nothing—the scrubs are edible!

Nora and Charlotte apply lip scrub.

Following the luxurious handwashing, suds from the bowl were used for some soapy high fives. There is just something satisfying about the feeling and sound of two soapy/foamy hands connecting squarely with each other.

Colie and Mikayla exchange high fives inside Lush Cosmetics River Park Square.

It was then time for the peak moment of any birthday party as Sydney and Sloan’s friends sang “happy birthday” as store customers joined in as well.

Sydney leads everyone in singing “Happy Birthday” to Sloan.

At that point, our time in Lush was nearing its end. Each party-goer received the bath bomb they made and other Lush party favors. Sloan hauled out her bath bomb plus THREE exclusive gifts she got to choose during her birthday consult.

Sloan opens her gift package from Lush in River Park Square after we left the store. The value of the party was superb.

Reflecting on Sloan’s birthday party at Lush, I can think of three reasons why it was special/successful. First, it was totally unique. In a birthday party culture dominated by trampoline parks and Chuck E. Cheese, doing something at a cosmetics shop is a welcome change (well, at least if you are a girl). Second, this party allowed you to make something with your own hands and take it home. Finally, we had an incredible party host. Sydney was engaged for the entire 90 minutes and worked so well with the girls. But most of all, like I already mentioned earlier, she just had a whole lot of patience 😉.

Sloan and Sydney pose in a photo frame at the end of the party. Lush, and Sydney specifically, put on a wonderful party for Sloan

Thank you to the Lush team for a memorable birthday party. We brought home a happy 9-year-old girl. Don’t Blink.

Housemaid Thursday Rundown

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How is your bracket doing? If it isn’t busted yet and you are intently watching the NCAA Tournament games tonight, hopefully you can take a few minutes during a timeout to read my latest Thursday Rundown. Because I don’t want you to miss a moment of the action, I will try to breeze through tonight’s topics…

Educational Advertising Awards – I was stoked when I received word this month that my team won multiple national awards for our work. Our recognition stretched across many different categories as Eastern Washington University took home six different honors—including two gold awards. As I said in the story that was written about the accomplishments, this recognition not only affirms the work we have done but it also motivates us to continue to do it. Our University Relations team is killing it!

I have a talented team at Eastern Washington University and it was great to see them receive the recognition they deserve.

Sloan’s Birthday Recap – What a nice birthday celebration it was for Sloan. She chose Five Guys as her birthday dinner and insisted we eat it at home. She then opened gifts as Uncle Glen, Aunt Carrie, and Olivia cheered her on. Sloan then blew out the candles on her purple unicorn-themed birthday cake.

Sloan had a really nice 9th birthday. This is her with her unicorn cake.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2026 – To be honest, I didn’t think we would be attending Spokane’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year. The forecast the night before wasn’t looking favorable and we have just been so busy lately. But when the sun was shining this past Saturday for a parade that didn’t start until noon, I made the choice to take Sloan and Beau downtown. We picked out a front row spot toward the end of the parade route and really enjoyed a couple hours of bagpipes, candy, and community fun.

The weather was great for the 2026 Spokane St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Good Luck, Jeremy Lagoo – My favorite local meteorologist announced this week that he was stepping away from news. Jeremy Lagoo started at KREM about the same time that we arrived in Spokane. I always appreciated his loose and eccentric style but at the same time respected the fantastic job he did at explaining weather concepts and patterns. We met Jeremy a couple times at the annual Bloomsday tradeshow and he was always so fun and engaging with the kids. I wish Mr. Lagoo nothing but the best in his next chapter!

Despite pleas from Sloan and Beau, they couldn’t get KREM 2 meteorologist Jeremy LaGoo to change his rainy forecast for Bloomsday in 2024. I am going to miss Jeremy!

Housemaid – Sidney and I paid the $9.99 rental fee to watch the Sydney Sweeney/Amanda Seyfried psychological thriller. I don’t know if it was worth it and I am certainly glad we didn’t see it in theaters but “Housemaid” wasn’t bad. However, it was graphic in spots that didn’t sit well with my stomach. Not to brag, but I saw most of the plot twists coming. If you want a film with some solid performances and a decent flow, “Housemaid” is a safe pick but I would wait until you don’t have to pay anything to watch it.

It won’t be the end of the world if you don’t see “Housemaid” but it did keep our attention.

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Okay, back to the basketball! Thanks for taking some time to read my blog and I hope you have a nice weekend. Wish us luck, we have a birthday party to execute on Saturday for a certain 9-year-old girl. Don’t Blink.

A St. Pat’s/Birthday Tradition: UPDATE

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The tradition is still going strong.

Each year for Sloan’s birthday, we take a photo together. We re-enact the first picture we ever took as daddy/daughter by posing the same way we did that fateful day on March 17, 2017. For the occasion I always throw on the  same green polo but Sloan’s outfits have evolved over the years for obvious reasons.

I delved into this tradition in detail back in 2022. But since it has now been several years since that post and because we just took our TENTH St. Patrick’s Day photo together I thought it is worth an update.

Hang on as we time travel through the past decade…

Here is the one that started it all. On March 17, 2017, I was a brand new dad and had the beaming smile to prove it…

After this picture was snapped a tradition was born.

This photo from St. Patrick’s Day 2018 was taken at my in-laws’ house with a sweet little lap baby…

By the time this photo was taken, Sloan had already developed her sweet smile.

In 2019, we posed in our Myrtle Beach house. Sloan was starting to grow some of her first curls but she was still small enough to fit on just one leg…

Sloan turned 2 the day this photo was taken.

Full disclosure, this next photo was not taken on St. Patrick’s Day. Instead, it was taken about a week prior. I was sadly not with Sloan on her 3rd birthday because I had left for Washington to start my new job (Sid, Sloan, and Beau would join me a couple months later) but I wasn’t going to let the tradition die. The photo was once again taken at my in-laws’ house and Sloan snuck some cucumbers into the frame…

This photo was actually take about a week prior to St. Patty’s Day because of life events.

On March 17, 2021, we celebrated Sloan’s birthday in Spokane for the first time. With her curls flowing, I had to hold her tight as she was a bit squirmish…

It took some effort to get Sloan to stay still during this photo taken on March 17, 2021.

Our 2022 photo found us in a new house but with the same polo and the same cute girl……

Sloan sported her lucky t-shirt for this March 17, 2022 photo.

The ensuing photo shows Sloan looking comfy in her Old Navy jacket. My eyes actually dart to a better-organized refrigerator than the year prior. It includes a wedding invitation from our friends Brendan and Sarah Quinn.

In this photo from March 2023, Sloan is looking pretty comfortable in that Old Navy jacket.

This 2024 photo was snapped in our current house and it looks like Sloan may have confused the holidays because instead of green she is sporting hearts from the previous month’s Valentine’s celebration.

We may have confused St. Patrick’s Day with Valentine’s Day in 2024.

Last year’s photo shows me looking a little more weathered but Sloan’s smile is just as sweet…

A true beauty (Sloan) and the beast (Brent) photo. Age doesn’t look good on me.

And that brings us to the photo we just recently posed for. I am in desperate need of a haircut while Sloan appears for the first time in her school uniform.

Not my least favorite photo but not my favorite. Hopefully by next year I will have gotten a haircut.

I don’t see this tradition stopping anytime soon. As long as I don’t take it too hard on the cake, I hope to continue to fit into my green polo and hold the sweetest little girl I know. Kudos to the nurse who took our first ever photo but huge shout out to my wife for taking the past nine. These are images we will always treasure. Don’t Blink.

Sloan: Leveling Up To 9

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When I think of Sloan’s defining moment as an 8-year-old, it comes to me quickly. On a cold Saturday night in January, my daughter was called up to the lectern at St. Mary Catholic Church and asked to read an essay she wrote. In front of the entire congregation, she courageously shared her faith. As she wrapped up, she asked everyone seated in the pews: “Is Jesus a priority to you?”

So yeah, there’s that. But besides the defining moment, Sloan had a packed year with a boatload of other special moments. I don’t want to go on too long, but let me share just a few…

Sloan had a wonderful year as an 8-year-old. Here comes 9! (photo courtesy of Nicole Lynn Photography)

Although sports might not be her passion, she still put herself out there by playing another season of soccer and trying basketball for the first time. And while athletics might not be her thing, she discovered a different competitive activity that might suit her better—chess. Sloan performed in front of her peers during the St. Mary talent show and performed on a cruise ship in a Taylor Swift karaoke competition. When it comes to that cruise ship, it took her to different places in the western Caribbean to complement her other 8-year-old travel adventures to Disney World, Leavenworth, and Missoula.

Sloan chilling out in Leavenworth as an 8-year-old.

Sloan ran with me in a Color Run and ran around the bases at the local minor league ballpark. She embraced her feminine side by getting her ears pierced and going on a special spa day with a family friend. She took up chores (thank goodness) and improved her cooking skills so that she can confidently prepare herself a hot meal whenever she feels like it. My daughter dressed up as Lilo for Halloween, swam her heart out during the summer, built complex Lego sets with ease, and read the Harry Potter books.

Sloan completed a Color Run this past year.

Returning to her faith, Sloan was a lector during mass, she gave her first confession, and she started First Eucharist/Confirmation prep. Her love for God continued to grow.

Sloan made her first confession on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Spokane Valley. The middle photo is Sloan with Marie Bricher and Sloan’s friend, Charlotte. Marie is St. Mary’s director of religious education and led the reconciliation prep for Sloan.

How does Sloan top the above as she begins her new journey as a 9-year-old? To be honest, I think a lot of it will come naturally. My daughter embraces opportunities (sometimes a little too willingly 😉) so she will no doubt navigate through another year of activities and adventures. Sid and I hope that this trip around the sun will bring more maturity, especially when it relates to her temper and sassiness. I also hope she realizes drama for what it really is—unnecessary.

Sloan will continue to be adventurous as a 9-year-old but hopefully a little less sassy.

But as long as Sloan continues to heed what she wrote in her essay by prioritizing Jesus, I have no doubt that her 365 days at 9 will be her best year yet. Don’t Blink.