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Pavillion Park Thursday Rundown

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Good evening! I hope your summer week is going well and that you are surviving on a heavy diet of ice cream. Here are this week’s five topics…

Fourth of July Recap – We spent our Independence Day evening at Pavillion Park in Liberty Lake. A live band started jamming out at 7 p.m. and played all the way until the fireworks show at 10 p.m. In between that time, the kids played on the playground while Sid and I lounged in lawn chairs. The fireworks lasted just 10 minutes which was actually perfect considering it was already way past the bedtime of two children I happen to know.

The four of us take a selfie as we wait for the fireworks show to begin at Pavillion Park in Liberty Lake.

RAK – Before we went to the park, we stopped at Krispy Kreme to take advantage of their “Red, White, and Blue” promotion. The chain was giving away a free doughnut to any customer wearing the colors of the flag. Since the four of us were decked out, we couldn’t resist. However, we walked out of the store with a lot more than just four doughnuts. A young couple approached us while we were inside and asked if we wanted one of their boxes of glazed doughnuts. It turned out they were given a buy one, get one free deal but they didn’t want the burden nor calories of a second box. They asked if we wanted them and we humbly accepted. We left Krispy Kreme with 16 free doughnuts without paying a dime.

Sloan and Beau take a look at the selection at the Spokane Valley Krispy Kreme on July 4, 2022.

Upheaval – It has been exactly a week since the bombshell announcement by USC and UCLA that they are leaving the PAC-12 for the Big 10 in 2024. I have followed intently the coverage, reaction, and speculation over the past seven days, especially in relation to what it means for WSU. I think most of us can come to the conclusion that this wasn’t something we wanted to see happen and are perhaps a little nervous about where the Cougs will land conference-wise. But I don’t think incessant worrying will do much good. This is an extremely fluid situation and there will be many twists and turns. I think we just need to be supportive and hope for the best.

No matter where the Cougs land, this little guy will be cheering for them.

Let Me Reference Something… – As a New Year’s resolution, I started to cook and bake a lot more. This meme that my friend Lindsi posted could have easily featured me in the image. Over the past six months, I have made several trips to the trash can to double check bake time or ingredient quantity. I guess it is a good thing that I do reference the directions instead of just winging it?

I can totally relate to this.

Cap’n Crunch Pancakes – Sticking on the baking theme for tonight’s final topic, I made the kids Cap’n Crunch Berrytastic pancakes last weekend. My hope was that the pancakes would taste as magical as scooping a spoonful of Crunch Berry cereal into your mouth. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The pancakes tasted like regular pancakes. There was absolutely no trace of any fruity flavor which I found rather disappointing.

Cap’n Crunch Berrytastic pancakes were a disappointment.

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As always, thanks for making my blog part of your browsing history. Have a terrific weekend and I will catch up with everyone on Monday. Don’t Blink.

Fried Chicken Honesty

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Over the course of the 11-year history of this blog, I have written a lot about fast food—that is an understatement. But most of my thoughts have surrounded delicacies such as burgers, tacos, burritos, and chicken sandwiches. As I reflect on this, I realize that I have given very little of my blogging attention to another fast food staple.

Fried chicken.

Me eating fried chicken at Bojangles in Myrtle Beach

Searching through past blog posts, I have been relatively silent about the FC in KFC. To be honest, I am not too surprised. Although I like it, I am not an over-the-top fried chicken maniac. What turns me off the most? It is just too messy.

With that said, I still like it enough. My favorite fried chicken memories entail going with my parents and siblings to Spokane public parks on summer evenings for picnics. We would go to a park with a summer concert series, throw out a blanket, and eat a bucket of chicken.

When I lived in Missoula there was a legendary fried chicken restaurant called Double Front Chicken. I remember going into the café’s dark basement to eat chicken and drink beer with my friends. When I resided in the South for six years there was no shortage of fried chicken joints to test out.

But to be honest, my preference for fried chicken isn’t found in a hole-in-the-wall Montana restaurant or a South Carolina eatery that specializes in the fare. Rather, I am a big fan of going to any given grocery store and making a beeline to the deli. In my opinion, the greasy fried chicken behind the glass counter is the best (and usually the most inexpensive).

So on this National Fried Chicken Day, you have my permission to visit your local Safeway or Kroger and load up on some fried chicken. Just remember, don’t forget your sides. Don’t Blink.

Eating Cheap In July

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Summer is in full swing, spirits are high, and perhaps nothing hits the spot better this season than a delicious cheeseburger. I thought I would take tonight’s blog post to highlight a screaming deal that is available to all of my readers living in the United States.

We are a Red Robin family…especially this July. This is Beau and Sloan outside of the Spokane Valley Red Robin on July 4, 2022.

Our family is a Red Robin family. There is just something about bottomless fries, great service (typically), and stellar burgers that we can appreciate. The four of us eat there a lot as it was even the place Sloan chose for her birthday dinner. Believe it or not, our allegiance to this national chain is even more intense this month.

Sloan loves Red Robin and even chose to have her birthday dinner there.

Alright everyone, listen to this: During July, Red Robin is offering at all of its locations a special meal deal. Through July 31, you can get a signature burger, bottomless steak fries, a bottomless soda, AND a pretzel bite appetizer…for $10!

During the month of July at Red Robin you can get a burger, fries, soda, and pretzel bites for $10.

And guess what? There is absolutely no catch. How do I know this? Because we ate there last night and it was 100% as advertised. Sid ordered the whiskey river burger and I ordered the banzai burger. We got pretzel bites, our soda glasses were constantly refilled (even when we didn’t want them to be), and the fries kept coming.

Red Robin offered exactly what was advertised.

Even without this deal we feel the value at Red Robin is superb. But in this crazy world of inflation where food has succumbed to outlandish prices and shrinkflation, the $10 meal deal is a welcome anomaly.

The pretzel bites sweeten the $10 meal deal even more.

For those families with small children who eat lightly, here is a pro tip: don’t order them something off the menu. Instead, pair the pretzel bites with some of the bottomless steak fries for a delicious and filling meal. Beau loved it!

Beau enjoyed his pretzel bites and fries.

In this current age of $12 Subway sandwiches, having the option to sit down at a restaurant and enjoy high quality food at a cheap price is something we should take advantage of. You better believe that the Reser family will be returning to Red Robin this month. Don’t Blink.

Celebrating the Fourth of July

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Today is the Fourth of July. For many of us, celebrating the United States of America was a big deal. I am sure we can rewind to our childhood and remember some very pleasant memories from this holiday. Cookouts, family, fireworks, and more probably come to mind. In fact, many of us might have similar recollections from our adult years as well.

Happy Fourth of July from my family.

There is no denying the vibe is different this year. The anniversary of the founding of the Declaration of Independence doesn’t seem to carry the luster it has in prior years. But we have become used to this, right? Over the past couple years we have marked many other holidays that felt muted. However, the reason for the lack of enthusiasm was mostly precautionary. The pandemic was raging and people were advised to tone down celebrations.

When it comes to the Fourth of July this year, people are angry. An AP-NORC poll suggests that 85% of Americans think our country is headed in the wrong direction. The reasons for discontent are too numerous to count. No matter your political leanings, religious views, or personal philosophies, you are most likely disappointed, heartbroken, or worried about something. No doubt about it, we are at a very critical juncture in our country’s history.

Despite living in an imperfect union (though we still must strive to make it more perfect), I do choose to celebrate the Fourth of July today. I remain invested in the founding principles of this country, the democratic fabric we hold dear, and the never-say-die spirit embraced by Americans. Yes, we have all felt let down, that is for sure. But the promise of our country is too much to give up on.

On this Fourth of July, let us make sure to pray for all our troops who bravely defend us. Don’t Blink.

Spider Thursday Rundown

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What a fun week of summer it has been! I always try to take a daily moment to reflect on how glorious these late June/early July days are in the Pacific Northwest. Speaking of reflecting, it is now time to reflect on the following five topics…

Fitting Days – Today is Social Media Day and I always feel it is important to honor the day of your livelihood. Social media has provided me with a career and many opportunities which I am thankful for. Two years ago I wrote this blog post that I feel perfectly sums up my gratitude. On another note, today is National Handshake Day which reminds me of two things: 1. I was dead wrong about the pandemic making the handshake go extinct. 2. Everyone should have a special handshake with their brother.

I am thankful for social media.

CCU College World Series Reflect – It was six years ago on this date that the Coastal Carolina University baseball team won the College World Series. The Chants defeated the Arizona Wildcats to win the title and the party was on in Conway. I covered the team’s arrival at the airport later that night and then the victory parade/community event the next day. Coastal’s unexpected success in Omaha and the resulting victory celebrations are still some of the most memorable moments of my career. Also, I will never forget how HOT it was in Springs-Brooks Stadium for that victory event!

July 1, 2016, was an extrememly hot and humid day inside Springs Brooks Stadium as we welcomed the Chanticleer baseball team home from a College World Series title.

Adam Sandler Movies – I thought this article counting down every single Adam Sandler movie (45 at the time of press) was an entertaining read. I learned about some obscure Sandler films and was also intrigued to learn what the writer tabbed as Sandler’s best movie…but I won’t spoil it for you. If this article was written after the release of his latest Netflix movie, I am pretty sure “Hustle” would have been in the #1 spot.

It was interesting to go through 45 Adam Sandler movies.

Spiderbox – Speaking of Netflix, my movie recommendation this week is “Spiderhead.” The film stars Miles Teller and Chris Hemsworth, the latter who I think delivers an entertaining and eccentric performance. “Spiderhead” is about a drug trial administered to prisoners on a remote island. Deception and ethical practices are central themes in this rather creative film. Sidney and I watched it together and were captivated the whole time so if you have a free evening this weekend you might want to give it a try.

“Spiderhead” was good for a couple hours of entertainment.

How Did The First Half Go? – Today is June 30 and that means that 2022 is already halfway in the books! Yep, six months down and six months to go. This evening is the perfect time to reflect upon whether this first half went according to plan. If it didn’t, congrats, you’re human. But it is important to be mindful of the things that you can control and then make necessary adjustments as you enter the third and fourth quarters of 2022. Approach this exercise with optimism and get off to a great start tomorrow!

Tomorrow begins July, which is a great month, but it is also the beginning of the second half of 2022.

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So that is going to wrap things up this evening. Thanks for spending some of your precious time with Don’t Blink. I hope you have a fantastic start to your July. Don’t Blink.

Birthday Blast for Sloan and Sidney

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An exciting summer week started for our family on Sunday night, especially for Sloan and Sidney. We attended the kickoff event for Catholic Summer Camp. We ate dinner, learned about the week’s events, and attended mass as a big group. We also became acquainted with this year’s theme, because you can’t have vacation bible school without that perfect theme, right? Well, this year the theme is “Birthday Blast: A Celebration of Life.” But more on that in just a minute.

Beau and Sloan look at the large birthday cake at the kickoff event for St. Mary’s Catholic Summer Camp.

As I said, it is a big week for Sloan. She is a camper and is part of the Kindergarten class. Our daughter could not stop talking about last year’s Catholic Summer Camp so you can imagine she was pretty excited to begin this year’s version. After two days, she is absolutely loving it! To be reunited with a lot of her St. Mary classmates and to meet new children has been fun for her. Also, Sloan never met a craft she didn’t like. Best of all, she is absorbing the material being taught and is sharing it with me in an enthusiastic way when she returns home in the afternoon.

Sidney and Sloan pose for a photo with their camp shirts prior to their first day on Monday.

But if you didn’t doze on that opening paragraph, you probably noticed that I said it was an “especially” big week for Sid as well. That is because she is a camp teacher this year! Sid wanted to volunteer and when she expressed her desire to the camp director, she was asked if she had any experience leading large groups of children. When my wife responded that she was an elementary teacher, the director responded that Sid was “the answer” to her prayers and asked if she would teach the third-grade class. Sid answered in the affirmative.

It has been a joy to watch Sid jump back on that teaching bicycle and handle a group of third graders this week. Prior to Sunday night, Sid worked extremely hard to decorate her classroom, become familiar with the camp curriculum, and plan for activities with her class. It is also inspiring to see my wife so on fire with her Catholic faith that she volunteered to teach it to others.

This is Sid’s third grade classroom for Catholic Summer Camp.

Okay, back to the theme. This year it is “Birthday Blast: A Celebration of Life.” The children are learning how to discover, respect, protect, serve, and celebrate God’s great gift of life. It is all about human dignity! The theme was decided way in advance of current events so the timing is coincidental. But regardless, we are thankful that Sloan is being exposed to such an important message at an early age.

The theme for Catholic Summer Camp this year is “Birthday Blast: A Celebration of Life.”

Please pray for Sloan and Sidney as they continue their Catholic Summer Camp journey. Don’t Blink.

Our Hoopfest 2022 Experience

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The dust has settled and Hoopfest 2022 is over. If you read my blog post on Friday, I mentioned that I didn’t particularly like our chances to make a deep tournament run. Well, I can report that the Reser Puffs ended up finishing in sixth place.

Out of six teams. 😂

Although we failed to win a game we sure had fun.

We failed to make it into the win column this past weekend. That’s not to say the games weren’t close. We actually surprised ourselves by being competitive. We lost our Saturday games by scores of 17-14 and 20-13. Our Sunday morning game was even tighter as we fell in overtime, 17-15. That final contest was especially agonizing to lose as we wanted to make it over the hump and take home those consolation champion t-shirts. But it wasn’t meant to be.

And that’s okay.

It’s okay because it was never our goal to win a championship or even a game in the first place. Rather, we were more focused on making family memories and taking part in an incredible community event. Check and check.

Even doing little things like taking the bus downtown with my family was something that made Hoopfest memorable.

Playing with my brother, sister, and sister-in-law was an awesome experience. It means so much when you are competing with family. Being out in the heat together trying to make baskets and doing our other family members proud was a bonding experience I wouldn’t trade for the world.

To play in front of our children was something we didn’t take for granted.

But it wasn’t just the actual action on the court that was so rewarding. For the past few weeks, the four of us had our own text message group where we would hype ourselves up, share weather reports, and iron out details. The excitement and camaraderie we shared was special. We went together to pick up our Hoopfest packets on Thursday and on Saturday night we had an epic Reser Puffs BBQ at our house. On Sunday morning, after we were eliminated, we ordered a round of beers at a downtown restaurant. The tournament brought us together for an extended period of time and we loved every minute of it.

The Hoopfest experience extended far past the action that took place on the court. Our team BBQ on Saturday night was relaxing and a lot of fun.

Hoopfest is an amazing event and I am honored that I had the opportunity to take part in it. Seven years removed from being part of the event and 15 years from actually playing in it gave me renewed appreciation for how unique this tourney truly is. To be one of the 14,000 people shooting jumpers on the downtown Spokane pavement this past weekend was a true pleasure.

The four of us after our final game on Sunday. I really enjoyed playing with Miranda, Glen, and Carrie.

Thanks to Glen, Carrie, and Miranda for playing with me this weekend. Thanks to my wife, my kids, parents, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew for watching us. Thanks to the teams who played us (all great sports) and our court monitor (Keith Miner) who ran a smooth bracket. The soreness I feel throughout my body and the massive blister on my foot were all totally worth it. I am already excited for Hoopfest 2023. Don’t Blink.

Here Come the Reser Puffs

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This could get brutal. Exactly 15 years since I last played Hoopfest, I am lacing up the sneakers to play in the tournament again. You might be asking, why the hell would you do that to yourself? Well, my brother asked me to…which leads to another level of insanity…

For the first time ever, I am playing in the family bracket. To balance out the testosterone of my brother and I, we will be joined by my sister-in-law (Glen’s wife) and my sister. Oh, boy. The Resers are in no way known for their basketball prowess. In fact, some of us have very little experience just dribbling a basketball. This could get interesting to say the least.

I went with Glen and my sister-in-law, Carrie, to pick up our Hoopfest packet on Thursday night and I snapped this photo of them at team check-in.

But no matter how bad we are, I am still really excited to play for several reasons…

1. I have never been on a team with my siblings in any type of organized competition before so this will be unique and fun.
2. The weather is going to be beautiful.
3. I will complete the Spokane trifecta of Bloomsday, the Lilac Parade, and Hoopfest.
4. My wife and kids will be cheering me on.
5. Nothing beats the atmosphere of downtown Spokane during Hoopfest weekend.

This is what the 2022 Hoopfest player t-shirt looks like.

Now, if you want to watch some comedy, you are more than welcome to watch the Reser Puffs play this weekend (yes, we are called the Reser Puffs). We are playing right in front of P.F. Changs on Main and Post on the F5 Networks #5 court. If you are crazy and want some bad basketball to start your day, you can catch our first game tomorrow at 8 a.m. Feel free to track us on the Hoopfest app, just simply go to the loser’s bracket.

When we went downtown to pick up our packets yesterday, not only did we see the location of our court but we saw the actual backboard as well.

What an opportunity to do something fun with my favorite people! My court monitor tenure was a great experience but I am ready to switch sides again. Watch out Spokane, here come the Reser Puffs. Don’t Blink.

Summer Is Here Thursday Rundown

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Summer is here! With the official first day of the season this past Tuesday, the weather has definitely reflected it. We have avoided the brutal heat wave that has hit a large portion of the country and enjoyed extremely pleasant temperatures. Let’s get started with the Thursday Rundown…

Throwback to 2007 – I decided to squeeze in a #TBT for this blog post for a particular reason. This photo is of me playing in Hoopfest the last time I competed as a player. Although I volunteered for Hoopfest for several years after the 2007 event, I have not hooped it up myself for 15 years. That streak will end on Saturday but more on that tomorrow.

This was me playing in my last Hoopfest in 2007.

Funny Answers – If you have a child, most likely they have filled out a form about you like the one below. It is almost a rite of passage for parenthood and sometimes the answers can get pretty wild. I would say Sloan was rather tame with what “she” (her teacher) wrote below. I will give her a special dessert or something for saying that I am 16 years old.

Sloan filled out this form for me. It was good for a Father’s Day laugh.

It’s Summer – Last night I took the kids to Discovery Park in Spokane Valley. They immediately gravitated toward the splash pad. The parks in both Spokane and Spokane Valley boast these impressive water attractions. Last summer I wrote about the mystique of splash pads and included photos of some of the best ones we have visited in the area. If you live in Spokane and have kids who would like a fun option to cool off during the summer, this blog post is a must-read.

This was Beau last night at the Discovery Park splash pad.

Coffee Shops Unite – The espresso stand that is just a couple minutes from our house suffered a traumatic experience yesterday. Its truck was stolen! Th owners of Swell Coffee woke up on Wednesday morning to find out that their branded truck had vanished. It was about 10 hours of anguish before law enforcement tracked down the vehicle 49 miles away in Smelterville, Idaho. The carjacker fled the truck when pulled over. What I thought was really cool about the whole thing was that the million other coffee shops in the Spokane area expressed their relief on Instagram that their competitor’s vehicle was found…pretty classy!

A photo of the Swell Coffee owner with his truck after it was located in Idaho on Wednesday evening.

The Proposal – It was seven years ago on this date that I proposed to Sid (she said “yes”). I popped the question on the Murrells Inlet MarshWalk, the location of our first date. My wife always tells the story about how I inhaled my dinner at the restaurant we ate at prior to the big moment. She just could not figure out why I was in such a hurry. The truth was that we were losing daylight after our food took way longer to arrive than expected. The photographer taking photos of the event needed me to get Sidney to the proposal location before it got too dark. If you want the long story, tap here.

That magic moment.

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Thanks for stopping by tonight. I will be back tomorrow with a rare Friday blog post. Until then, enjoy summer! Don’t Blink.

Swatting

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Last week, I wrote about an “S” activity that I had recently learned about. It was called salvaging and although it didn’t appeal to me in the slightest, I respected it and admired the people who practiced it as it did benefit the greater society.

However, this week I learned about yet another “S” activity that I am not so keen about. In fact, I am using weak language because “not so keen” doesn’t begin to describe how much I hate it. A few days ago, I learned about the detestable practice of swatting.

Swatting is when someone will call the authorities to report a person for engaging in a crime that necessitates the response of a SWAT team or other highly tactical law enforcement agency. The kicker is that the person being reported, besides perhaps upsetting the fragile ego of the caller, committed no crime. Yes, the caller will spin some outrageous lie usually dealing with a hostage situation and drop the address of whoever they want to “swat.” The trained professionals will dutifully respond with the intent of neutralizing a threat. Confusion abounds.

Swatting is the practice of making a false report that will deploy the SWAT team or other police tactical team to the residence of an unsuspecting person.

This practice of swatting is prevalent in gaming culture. A couple of dudes feuding over the outcome of an online video game will escalate their drama to a point where one feels the need to mess with the time, resources, and lives of others to “make a statement.” It is a pathetic, selfish act.

They say each swatting call costs the responding unit approximately $10,000. But even that blatant waste of money is minuscule compared to the loss of life that has resulted because of the abhorrent stunt. I learned about swatting from a new Netflix series called “Web of Make Believe” in which one episode deals exclusively with swatting. In this particular program, a tragic story is told about one swatting incident in which the caller gave the dispatcher a wrong address. When the SWAT team responded, a confused man walked out of the house and was killed.

Although “Web of Make Believe” details some schemes and practices that will anger you, it is a very interesting series that is streaming on Netflix.

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My dad told me a certain true story more than once growing up. When he was in elementary school, a classmate pulled the fire alarm for the sole reason of causing a disturbance. The responding fire truck got into a collision on the way to the school and one of the fire fighters lost his eye. My dad’s classmate had a tough time living with that guilt.

Now for some reason, I don’t think many of these swatters feel any remorse for their actions. But just like with the fire alarm, high risk stunts have awful ramifications. If these people don’t think twice about putting a whole bunch of others at risk, there must be some type of deterrent or penalty imposed. Sadly, it might just be taking their video games away. Don’t Blink.