Although I didn’t write a Thursday Rundown on the first Thursday of August (darn vacation), I am here to write a Thursday Rundown on the last Thursday of August. Dang, I just wrote the word “Thursday” a lot for one sentence. So as we all get in back-to-school mode, let me offer five non-academic topics…

Silverwood Trip – This past Sunday, my family took our annual excursion to Silverwood Theme Park in north Idaho. The end-of-summer tradition allows us to reward Sloan and Beau for meeting reading goals during the previous school year. Let me summarize how much fun we had by saying this: We arrived at the park before it officially opened and left after it closed. We hit up both the theme park and water park as Sloan rode the roller coasters and Beau showed off the swimming skills he has developed over the summer in the wave pool. The highlight was when the four of us piled onto a raft and went down Avalanche Mountain, the largest water slide at Silverwood. Tap here for more pictures.

A family photo from our Summer 2026 Silverwood visit. We had a lot of fun!

Now That’s A Corn Dog – Please allow me to add one final anecdote regarding Silverwood. In between the theme park and water park, we ate lunch. Sidney scouted out a restaurant near the park’s main entrance called the High Moon Saloon. It serves exclusively hot dogs and corn dogs while offering a quirky dinner show of taxidermy animal heads talking to each other. Anyway, I ordered a corn dog that was drizzled in honey and covered in crushed Cheetos. It was a flavorful experience to say the least. By the way, I have written a lot about corn dogs.

This was the High Moon corn dog I ordered at the High Moon Saloon in Silverwood. It was really good.

Last Indians Game of Summer – We attended our fourth and last Spokane Indians game of the summer on Friday. This final game was significant for a few reasons: My brother and niece joined us, the kids got to go down on the field to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” we made the video board, there was a post-game fireworks show, and Beau got to play plenty of wiffle ball on the mini field right outside of the stadium’s concourse. The Spokane Indians organization does an excellent job at making these games ultra family friendly.

We attended our last Spokane Indians game of the summer this past Friday. The kids sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, we watched fireworks, and we made the video board! Best of all, we welcomed special guest…my brother and niece!

College Tips – It was 14 years ago this week that I was feeling old. It had been 7 years since my freshman year at the University of Montana and I felt the need to impart my elderly wisdom on students going off to college. Although my reasoning was beyond corny, I thought the tips I provided were relevant. If you have a son or daughter heading off to college, you might want to send them this post I wrote in 2012 about how to make the most of their freshman year. From embracing school spirit to eating right to getting involved to taking class seriously (and lots more), I tried to offer a pretty comprehensive guide.

This was me on my first day of college at The University of Montana (August 2005).

Picture of the Week – This past Saturday, Beau and I attended an event called Millwood Daze (yep, “Daze” not “Days”). Millwood is a small community in Spokane County and the event is spirited and fun. Not too long after strolling down the residential street that serves as the focal point of Millwood Daze, Beau encountered a lady “wearing” a snake. He proceeded to touch it. That a boy, Beau!

Beau approaches a lady with a snake at the 2026 Millwood Daze event.

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It is the last weekend of the summer for Sloan and Beau before they head back to school on Monday. Verdict is out on whether it will be used to go out on a bang or to rest up. Don’t Blink.