Tag Archives: Balfour Park Spokane Valley

A Happy Thursday Rundown

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Happy Friday Eve, my friends! I hope your June is off to a fabulous start and that life is good. Let’s jump right into my latest Thursday Rundown…

250th Anniversary Kickoff – I love a good patriotic event and I also find incredible significance in America’s upcoming 250th anniversary. So when I learned that the City of Spokane Valley was hosting “Celebrating America’s 250th: Picnic in the Park,” it took no arm twisting to get me there. Even though he had a soccer match right before it, I hauled Beau with me to Balfour Park where a military band played, Revolutionary-era groups convened, and the American flag flew. Make no mistake about it, I plan to celebrate all summer long.

Beau hanging with some colonial men at the “Celebrating America’s 250th: Picnic in the Park” event at Balfour Park in Spokane Valley,

Free Ice Cream – I have gone on record stating that the best perk about working for Eastern Washington University is the free bus pass. Well, I can now identify my second favorite perk. On Tuesday an ice cream truck pulled up near our building and distributed free ice cream to everyone—students and staff alike! It was a tough decision between the ice cream Oreo sandwich or the Reese’s ice cream bar but I went with the latter. Nothing like taking a random break at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday for a free sweet treat.

I pose with my colleagues in EWU University Relations on June 1, 2026. We were surprised when the ice cream truck pulled up near our office and started handing out free treats. Ryan Gaard is on the left and Emily Ausere is on the right. Both are very talented designers.

Happy First Birthday, Neteyam! – Over the weekend, we attended our godson’s 1st birthday party. Sid, the kids, and I were honored to be the only non-family members invited to Neteyam’s bash that took place at the delicious Outlaw BBQ. It is hard to describe how cute and good-natured Neteyam is. We told his mom and our good friend, Fidela, that this was one of our favorite ages for our own kids. Speaking of Fidela, she celebrated her third wedding anniversary with Dylan yesterday…congrats!

Fidela, Beau, Neteyam, and Sidney pose for a photo at our godson’s birthday party held at Outlaw BBQ.

Happy Anniversary, Miranda and Jay! – While we are on the subject of anniversaries, I want to give a very special shout out to my sister and brother-in-law. Today they celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. The ceremony took place in Hillyard on a hot day. It was nice to celebrate with so many of our extended family members and the pasta at the reception venue that day was on-point.

Miranda and Jay are celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary today.

Top Cheeses – Today is National Cheese Day and 1.5 years ago I celebrated its cousin’s national day (National Cheese Lover’s Day) by counting down my top five favorite cheeses. Because I feel nice tonight, I am going to save you a click if you wish and just give you my list. In order from #5 to my all-time favorite cheese, here you go: parmesan cheese, queso, blue cheese, Cougar Gold, pepper jack.

Parmesan cheese is one of my top five favorite cheeses.

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Another Thursday Rundown in the books! Fair warning, there will be no rundown next week but there will be a blog post. Adding to the unusual blogging week is the fact that I hope to post an end-of-school-year entry on that Friday as well—but we shall see. Until then, have a fantastic weekend. Don’t Blink.

Beau’s Long Awaited Spring 2026 Soccer Season

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The spring soccer season came to a close for Beau this past weekend. Although the Blue Sharks dropped their final match (but we aren’t supposed to keep score so who knows, right?), it marked an eight-week period of growth and improvement for our little footballer. 

Beau had a positive spring soccer season.

I was excited for Beau to play this season just because of his own enthusiasm to put back on the soccer cleats. Since the fall season ended, he would ask me at least once per week when he would get to play again. Needless to say, when we gave him the choice of either baseball or soccer this spring, he didn’t hesitate with his decision. Even when we asked him if he wanted to play on a t-ball team with the boys from his class, he didn’t waver.

Beau chases the ball on the soccer court at Balfour Park in Spokane Valley.

I don’t know where his soccer passion comes from. Although I did play soccer through sixth grade, the sport was unfairly looked down upon in my family—and there is no soccer history in Sid’s family. But nonetheless, we don’t call our son Beaunaldo for nothing.

Even though my dad isn’t a soccer fan, he has been nothing but supportive and helpful with Beau.

It has been a joy watching Beau play this year. I am very realistic about the athletic abilities of my kids and the genes they were given, but Beau was actually the standout player on his team this year. He led the Blue Sharks in goals and was designated as the “fastest player on the team” when he beat his teammates in a race at the final practice of the season. He had the game of his life when he scored four goals during the second-to-last game of the year.

Beau chases the ball in pursuit of another goal during the last game of the season.

Even though Beau is finished playing organized soccer until this upcoming fall, his excitement for the sport continues. He can’t get enough of watching Ronaldo highlights and he is beyond stoked for the World Cup this month. He loves soccer influencers and we have to remind him that he isn’t allowed to kick the ball in the house.

Beau huddles with his team for the last time during the Spring 2026 SYSA soccer season.

Although it will be nice to have Saturdays back again, I admired the way Beau gave 100% this soccer season and will miss watching him play over the next few months. Don’t Blink.