Tag Archives: Bishop Thomas Daly

Ring Thursday Rundown

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We are smack-dab in the middle of September and I hope everyone is easing into their back-to-school routines and whatnot. If I am not mistaken today is Thursday and that mean’s I have five topics coming your way…

Soccer Girl – Sloan is playing soccer this fall! She is “playing up” because team spots for girls born in 2017 were full. It’s okay, after two practices with her 2016 team it looks like she will be just fine. The Icky Squids (team name chosen by the athletes 😂) will play their first game on Saturday. As a parent, I am encouraged to see Sloan try new things and I hope this turns out to be an overall excellent experience for her.

Sloan at her soccer practice last week,

Ring – What do you do when the doorbell rings and the camera shows these two hooligans at the door? Call the police, right?! Our new house came equipped with Ring technology, the first time I have had such capabilities. So far in the five weeks since we moved in, I think our doorbell has been pressed around 50 times. Of course, 49 of those times came via our two children while the remaining ring came courtesy of a maintenance person. Yep, it is being put to great use.

What are you gonna do when these two come to your door?

Peanuts – On a back page of yesterday’s paper was the below information. I love peanuts so I took interest in the facts. I appreciated that boiled peanuts were called out (so good!) and I didn’t know about all the towns/cities in our country named “Peanut.” But the fact that I found fascinating was the quantity of peanuts in peanut butter. Supposedly 500 peanuts are ground up into a jar of peanut butter. Although the size of the jar isn’t specified, I will assume it is an average-sized jar and when I have that image in my mind, I can’t help but mentally stack 500 peanuts into an empty jar for a true visual.

This peanut back page was published in the Spokesman-Review on September 13, 2023.

Eucharistic Revival – Last Sunday, Sloan and I had the blessing of attending the Spokane Diocese’s Eucharistic Revival at the Podium in downtown Spokane. The event, which was put on by my home diocese, was part of an overall National Eucharistic Revival spearheaded by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The point of the revival is to inspire people to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist. Sloan and I watched the beautiful and holy procession enter the Podium and then we followed inside to grab our seats. Dr. Mary Healy and Bishop Thomas Daly both spoke and then we spent time in holy adoration. After the event everyone converged outside in the park for a picnic dinner. It was powerful to see thousands of Catholics from our diocese and BEYOND gather for such a sacred event. Thanks be to God.

Photo I took of Catholic faithful walking into the Podium for the Eucharistic Revival sponsored by the Diocese of Spokane on Sept. 10, 2023.

Disney World! – On this date five years ago, we took Sloan to Disney World (sorry Beau, a little before your time). The reason the opportunity presented itself was because of Hurricane Florence. We had evacuated Myrtle Beach and went to stay in Jacksonville at Sidney’s aunt’s house. The three of us stayed there for a few days and decided to drive to Orlando for one of them to see Mickey. It was a lot of fun but also very HOT.

Five years ago on this date, we made a trip to Disney World. The impromptu visit resulted from our Hurricane Florence evacuation.

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Time to wrap things up. It is supposed to be a gorgeous weekend and we will be busy. Wishing you the best and will catch up next week. Don’t Blink.

Daly Thursday Rundown

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Wow, I can’t believe it is already Thursday evening. I hope everyone is doing awesome tonight, thank you for giving me another chance to throw five random topics at you. Let’s get started…

Evening With the Bishop – On multiple occasions in this blog, I have mentioned the Young Adult Catholic group Sid and I are part of. Well, this past weekend something pretty special happened. Our group had the opportunity to host the bishop of the Diocese of Spokane, the Most Reverend Thomas Daly. Our friends, Brian and Hailey, opened the doors of their home for the gathering and Bishop Daly brought the energy right when he walked in. It was so neat to be in such an intimate audience with him and to hear his thoughts and guidance. I even had the chance to speak with him one-on-one not long after he arrived. We were so honored that Bishop Daly made time for us and I can confidently say that our diocese is in great hands!

Our Young Adult Catholic group surrounds Bishop Thomas Daly (center, with hands in pockets). Also pictured is Fr. Jeff Lewis (back row, tallest person in photo), the leader of our Young Adult group and the man responsible for making our visit with the Bishop happen.

Luau Across the Miles – Yesterday was the fifth birthday of my nephew, Henry. He was having a Hawaiian-themed party at his house in Myrtle Beach and we wanted to join too. So Sid went out and purchased leis, a Hawaii backdrop, and a cake. We decked ourselves out in the leis, hung up the backdrop, and then FaceTimed Henry. After singing to him, Henry “blew out” the five candles on the cake from thousands of miles away. Sidney went out of her way to make Henry’s birthday special and she definitely succeeded.

Beau, Sloan, and Sid finish up their call with Henry on Wednesday.

Lake Mead Discoveries – Because of massive drought in the southwest, water levels in lakes and rivers are depleting. An example of this is at Lake Mead where the water level is lowering so much that “discoveries” are being made. Last month a barrel was revealed that happened to have a body stuffed inside. Law enforcement was able to estimate the date of the man’s death to the late 1970s or early 1980s because of the shoe style he was wearing. The violence was most likely inflicted by the Mob. As the surface continues to drop, it is expected that more and more remains will be found.

This is a barrel (not the one that the dead man was stuffed in) that is no longer underwater at Lake Mead.

Kind of True – When I saw this meme that my friend Lindsi posted today I knew I had to include it in my Thursday Rundown. Does anyone have doubts about it? The retro Chuck E. Cheese does look downright creepy, in fact it reminds me of the animatronic creatures from Dimes N’ Critters, a wild place I blogged about a few months ago. If Chuck E. Cheese still looked the same way he did on the left panel of this photo, I don’t think I would take Sloan as much as I do. Actually, that’s a lie…I still would.

Chuck E. Cheese has undergone quite the transformation over the years.

Educational Books – We have been introducing these “start to finish” books into Sloan’s nightly reading. They provide an educational break from the narrative stories we typically read to her. They are a little old school but it is fun to trace the many steps it takes to produce a product such as peanut butter or chocolate. Other books in the series include “From Wax to Crayon,” “From Clay to Bricks,” and “From Tree to House.”

These “Start to Finish” books are perfect for curious kids. We just finished reading the ones about chocolate and peanut butter.

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I am calling it a night, folks. Thanks for listening and I hope you have a great weekend. Don’t Blink.

The Octagon Thursday Rundown

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Happy last Thursday of May to everyone! Hope you have had a nice week and still have enough in the tank to make it through Friday before cruising into the Memorial Day weekend. Here are my five topics for tonight…

Thankful – The current days are some of the longest of the year and I find nothing more uplifting than my 5:15 a.m. drive home from the gym during that first full hour of daylight. As I gaze out at the mountains and trees during the commute, I can’t help but feel thankful for God’s creation and for my personal good fortune to live in this beautiful corner of the country.

A look from my driver window earlier this week as I drove home from the gym.

School’s Out for the Summer – Sloan attended her last day of Pre-K 3 yesterday. Her school year ended a little sooner than her classmates because of vacation so Sloan’s class rolled out the red carpet and celebrated her on Wednesday. We feel so fortunate to have Sloan enrolled at St. Mary. She loved going each day, met friends, and brought home impressive work. Sloan’s last day in her uniform was actually on Monday because yesterday was College Spirit Day and she made her daddy proud by sporting a WSU shirt. Next stop: Pre-K 4.

Sloan at St. Mary in Spokane Valley on her last day of Pre-K 3. It was College Spirit Day so she ditched her uniform for a WSU t-shirt.

We Need This – Last night we attended my niece’s t-ball game at Midway Elementary and the playground had something that Sid and I really want! This octagon “pen” is for a dodgeball-esque game called Gaga Ball but it might as well be a holding cell for overactive 1-year-olds. Not going to lie, it was nice placing Beau in the enclosed area and watching him play without having to chase after him. What a genius idea.

This octagon at Midway Elementary in Spokane was wonderful for Beau to play in.

Happy 10 Years – Here I am bragging about my 10th anniversary of blogging when other people are marking much more important decade anniversaries. Fr. Jeff Lewis, our pastor at St. Mary and great mentor/friend to Sidney and I, celebrated the 10th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood this week. Also, Bishop Thomas Daly, the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Spokane, marked his 10th anniversary of being a bishop on Tuesday. May we pray for both of these men as they continue their dedicated and fruitful ministries.

Bishop Daly (left) and Fr. Jeff Lewis (right) in 2017. Thanks and congrats to both on their respective 10 year anniversaries (photo courtesy of Bishop Daly’s Twitter account)

Dating Myself – Thanks to my friend Lindsi’s Thursday collection of memes, I found something that resonated with me in terms of my age. The best hack to get a malfunctioning Nintendo or Gameboy cartridge to play was obviously by blowing air into it. I have taken this trick with me throughout adulthood, whether it be blowing air into my smartphone charging port to get it to charge properly or blowing air into Sloan’s face as a last resort to get her to behave. Although this tactic may have originated in the late 1980s, it is truly timeless.

This tactic would usually work.

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I hope you have a great start to your Memorial Day weekend. It will be a BIG one for us! Before this holiday weekend is over you will hear from me again. As always, thanks for your readership. Don’t Blink.