Beau’s first season of organized sports is in the books. His t-ball season came to an end last night in a rain-shortened half inning game.

Beau played his first season of organized sports this spring as he suited up for the “Team Navy” t-ball team.

What can I say about the season? Well, I know Beau had fun. However, the entertainment didn’t come directly from hitting the ball and playing catch. Rather, it was derived from horse playing with the other boys on the team. Beau loved to run, wrestle, and goof off with his teammates. He looked forward to going to the games but the t-ball aspect definitely wasn’t the main draw.

Beau mastered running around the bases.

As Sidney and I look back on Beau’s first season, we both agree that we might have started him a year too early. I really wanted to get him involved but his attention span didn’t seem quite up to the task. If you watch this highlight video of him, you will see he liked playing with dirt and pulling grass just as much (actually, probably more) than actual t-ball tasks.

One thing is for sure, Beau brought constant smiles to the faces of the coaching staff.

His coordination still needs some work, too. He could hit the ball really well but his lack of hand-eye coordination prevented him from consistently catching the ball with his glove. Throwing was hit and miss—mostly miss 😂.

Beau had the chance to play catcher a couple different times.

Beau needs the next 52 weeks to grow into his uniform. On a team with kids as old as 6, my 4-year-old son was the youngest on the team. He still connected really well with his teammates but he lacked some of the experience and skill that others possessed while we did everything we could to keep his pants from falling down.

Thanks to grandma and papa for coming to so many of Beau’s games!

It was a 10-game season for Beau. He made every game and honored his commitment. We didn’t have the best weather for most of the contests but we always had the best snacks. I think Beau will return to t-ball next year a much more focused and skilled player. Until then, we are going to enjoy the off-season. Don’t Blink.

I am an uncle again!

Me holding my new niece, Olivia, on May 16, 2024.

My niece, Olivia Jean Reser, was born on May 15. She is the first child of my brother and sister-in-law. All three are doing very well.

Carrie and Glen admire Olivia shortly after her birth.

Of course I am not the only one earning another notch in my familial relationship belt. Sidney is an aunt again while Sloan and Beau have a new cousin.

Olivia was born on May 15, 2024.

I had the thrill of picking up the kids from school on Thursday and surprising them with the news that we were going to the hospital to visit Baby Olivia. Sloan had the chance to hold her and Beau glowingly described his cousin as “dorable.”

Sloan and Beau meet Olivia for the first time.

Sidney met Olivia for the first time on Sunday after we returned from a weekend retreat. It was a special moment for my wife who had been so excited throughout Carrie’s pregnancy and had enthusiastically helped prepare for Olivia’s arrival.

Sidney was so excited to hold Olivia for the first time.

We are now in the midst of those first several days of Olivia’s life. For new parents like Glen and Carrie, there is nothing more exciting than spending this time with your baby. So much learning, growing, and loving. I may be living vicariously through them 😉.

Sloan is one proud cousin.

Please pray for Olivia during this initial stage of her life. May it be characterized by good health and joy. I am a proud uncle and couldn’t be happier for my brother and sister-in-law. Don’t Blink.

In the past, I have written a couple times about the single-most important aspect of youth sports: the snacks.

I have highlighted how this post-game ritual is no longer about just some Goldfish crackers and a Capri Sun. These days, “snacks” almost qualify as multi-course meals as parents pack several treats and a sports drink into themed boxes. In my three years as a youth sports dad, I have even witnessed non-edible add-ins such as toys crammed into these packs. What’s next? A $20 bill taped to the Gatorade bottle?

Sloan received this box full of goodies after a t-ball game a couple years ago.

But as the snacks themselves change, an age-old phenomenon associated with them has not: the mad rush by siblings of the players to obtain one.

I knew the racket quite well as a kid myself. Hover around the spot that the snack is distributed, allow all team members to grab one, and then ask nicely if there are any extras. The jockeying can get quite competitive, especially if there are a lot of other siblings that have the same idea as you. Well, fast forward 25-30 years later and I am not the one scheming for an extra snack anymore. Rather, I am the adult trying to navigate who gets what.

While on snack duty, it is a good rule of thumb to purchase a few extra treats beyond the roster size. This will allow you to provide snacks to the coach and hopefully cover stray siblings. But what do you do when there is a major influx of brothers and sisters? It is reasonable to provide for a handful of siblings but the burden shouldn’t fall on parents to buy treats to cover double the initial roster size, right?

This past weekend we were on snack duty for Sloan’s soccer team. We had prepared 12 snack bags for Sloan’s team of nine girls. The whole team showed up so that left me with three extras (the coach didn’t take one). But it was a major conundrum on who to give the three remaining bags to. You see, before the team was even finished with its post-game huddle, I already had a handful of kids crowded around me. I had to fend them off so I could make sure each member of Sloan’s team actually received their coveted snack.

Sloan put a label on each snack bag with the name of her team (the Inky Squids).

After that, I had to make some major decisions. Did I give the extra bags to the three kids who crowded me first? Or the last three who respected my space? The youngest? The one who gave me the desperate face?

Well, besides the one who disqualified himself by trying to swipe a bag, I didn’t really know what protocol called for. Do you?

For those who have been in a similar situation as I was on Saturday, what is your best advice? Who should the extra snacks go to when there simply aren’t enough for every family member at the match? Or should I simply bring even more extras? But again, I must ask, at what point does it stop? Oh yeah, my son is probably the worst of them all when it comes to scoring extra snacks from the parents of his sister’s team. Don’t Blink.

It took until this past weekend for my wife to realize the significance of the Bloomsday finisher t-shirt. The color prediction contest in my family’s text thread, the media coverage, and the tradition of secrecy seemed to rub off on her this year. Last night she told me, “I didn’t know until this Bloomsday what a big deal the t-shirt is.”

You are becoming a true Spokanite, Sid!

With all that said, while I do get excited for that first glimpse of the t-shirt once I cross the finish line, I don’t get too enthusiastic about actually wearing it—at least in the long term. But right after the race? You bet! I throw that thing on and blend in with the thousands of other people who slip it on after receiving theirs from the army of Bloomsday volunteers. I truly enjoy admiring the throngs of Bloomies sporting their shirts by late morning in downtown Spokane. In my opinion, there isn’t a better sense of community.

A candid shot my brother took of me wearing my 2024 Bloomsday finisher t-shirt that I proudly wore as we drank a post-race beer.

After wearing my Bloomsday shirt post-race on Sunday, I might wear it the next day as well. Growing up in Spokane, it was a badge of honor to wear your Bloomsday shirt to school on Monday. In fact, I had to mess around and wear this year’s shirt to my son’s t-ball game tonight.

And that might be the last time I wear it.

I don’t have a very sustainable record with participation shirts I have received. Whether for a race, camp, or event I don’t usually wear them for “everyday living” beyond maybe once. But I have my reasons…

– For whatever reason the shirts don’t fit me well

– After one washing they shrink and their appearance deteriorates

– Usually they are 100% cotton and the material isn’t the best…and it shows

Even for shirts earned for accomplishing something–like the finalist t-shirt our team received for Hoopfest last year–it is usually one-and-done when it comes to how much I wear it.

I admire the crafty people who gather the t-shirts their kids accumulate throughout a childhood of many activities and stitch them into a quilt. I could never dream of doing something like that. However, although I don’t wear them as part of my daily attire, I do try to re-purpose my participation shirts in different ways such as…

– Night shirt

– Layering up an outfit

– Ripping into smaller pieces to create rags

What do you do with your participation shirts? Do you proudly wear them as part of your normal wardrobe? Do you only wear the ones of particular significance? Do you donate them? Let me know. Don’t Blink.