Tag Archives: leavenworth

Summer 2024

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Today is Labor Day and that means a lot of things to a lot of people. For our family, it always means “Return to School Eve.” Many also consider Labor Day the end of summer. So with my children heading back to St. Mary on Tuesday combined with the prevailing opinion that fall is just around the corner, I thought today marks the best opportunity to recap the summer.

It was a truly memorable summer—and not just for all the activities we crammed in. I will always remember Summer 2024 for significant life events and historical happenings. In the same way that I have recapped summers in the past, today I want to remember Reser Summer 2024 with 10 distinguishing themes/events.

Walla Walla Kickoff – Our summer truly kicked off with a mid-June weekend in Walla Walla. We ventured to “the place so nice they named it twice” for my Aunt Patty’s 60th birthday. The four of us joined my parents, my sister’s family, and my aunts/uncles/cousins for a birthday bash and so much more. The actual party on Saturday night at gorgeous Pioneer Park was the highlight but we also enjoyed a water park outing and a “welcome” pizza dinner on Friday night.

A look at the birthday party for my Aunt Patty at Pioneer Park in Walla Walla.

St. Paschal Educare – This summer, we sent both our kids to St. Paschal Catholic Church for its educare program. Although it was more or less daycare, Sloan and Beau considered it summer camp and had a blast. Sid and I felt thankful to send the kids to a safe, fun, and faith-filled spot while we worked during the summer months.

Sloan had so much fun making new friends and playing hard at St. Paschal Educare in Spokane Valley.

Hoopfest Weekend – What fun this weekend was! I volunteered to be a court monitor at Hoopfest 2024 but I wasn’t the only one from the family who was serving the community. Sidney, Sloan, and Beau volunteered, too, as they kept score during the games and performed all the extra administrative work needed to make sure a bracket runs smoothly. When action wasn’t taking place on our court, we had the opportunity to watch our friends and loved ones play in their own brackets.

Saturday afternoon, we posed for a photo after we finished the games on our court.

Fourth of July – It might have only been a day, but I feel obligated to give Independence Day 2024 its own spot. What an incredible day it was! We started with a Fourth of July parade in Coeur d’Alene, then headed to Riverfront Park to play at a carnival, drove out to my parents’ house for a cookout, and finally headed to Pavillion Park for the fireworks show. You can’t epitomize summer much better than that.

Our Fourth of July was a lot of fun. We  attended a parade, went to a carnival, had a cookout at my parents’ house, and then went to Pavillion Park for fireworks.

New Job – I will always remember this summer for taking the next step in my career. In June I interviewed for the marketing director position at Eastern Washington University and was offered the job the same month. I spent July wrapping up my tenure at WSU and on August 1 I officially started at EWU. True, a lot of this past summer was devoted to a major professional transition but I am grateful it didn’t take away from all the fun stuff I got to do with my family.

Check the ID, I am an official EWU employee.

Visit From Sid’s Parents – In July we enjoyed a special visit from “Gami and Dada.” Sid’s parents came for a week and had their stay extended (yay!) due to the CrowdStrike snafu. It was nice to have my in-laws in town to experience Spokane in its complete summer glory. We had game nights, boated on Lake Coeur d’Alene, visited a Post Falls festival, and much more.

What a blessing it was to host Sid’s parents during summer in Spokane.

The Olympics – I can’t estimate the total hours my family spent watching the Olympics except for the general assessment of A LOT. We had such a joyful time watching the different events, keeping a close eye on the medal count, and rooting for the USA. As I mentioned in my wrap up, the Olympics took place during a very memorable stretch for our family.

Sloan turned into quite the fan of Team USA and the Olympics in general.

Silverwood – During the short break I had between my time at WSU and EWU, the four of us went on our annual summer excursion to Silverwood Theme Park. We hit up the water park first and then transitioned to the rides. A magic show, bottomless soda, and some carnival games were also mixed in. It was Beau’s first trip to Silverwood but it won’t be his last.

We had a great family Silverwood trip at the end of July.

Family Vacation – This summer we traveled to Leavenworth for our family vacation. It was refreshing and relaxing to visit a new/unique place with so much charm. We stuck around our hotel for most of the time as we took advantage of the pools, games, movies, and delicious food. We also made the most of downtown Leavenworth and some lovely family dinners.

We had an amazing time in Leavenworth.

Water – The mercury reached some record-breaking heights this summer so we made sure water wasn’t ever far away. From swimming in the area lakes/rivers to visiting public water parks to splashing in the private pool of a dear family friend, Sloan and Beau improved their comfort with the water and managed to stay coooooool.

We spent a lot of time at pools over the past few months.

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Thanks to my wife and kids for making Reser Summer 2024 truly memorable and FUN. I don’t know if a future summer will ever quite compare to everything that went down over the past 2.5 months but you never know. Bring on the fall. Don’t Blink.

Our Leavenworth Summer Vacation

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Our family recently returned from vacation. I am guessing that your initial thought after that first sentence wasn’t Where did you go? but rather How did you go on vacation just a few days after starting a new job? Fair enough. My employer knew when I received the job offer that my family had a vacation planned for the first full week of August. Thanks to Eastern Washington University’s understanding and the fact that all my leave time from WSU transferred to EWU, I was able to make it work.

Okay, so where did we go? Thanks to recommendations, this summer we visited Leavenworth, Washington.

Sloan and Sidney hanging out in downtown Leavenworth.

Even though I grew up in Washington, I had never visited Leavenworth. The fact that it was only three and a half hours away (we didn’t want to travel far) and a totally new place for all four of us made it our preferred option. For those unfamiliar with Leavenworth, it is a town built to resemble a Bavarian village. Everything from the hotels to the shops to the McDonald’s embrace the German-themed identity.

Leavenworth is a Bavarian-themed town in central Washington.

To put it simply, based on our four-day stay, Leavenworth has a quaintness and charm that is utterly endearing. We had an incredible time and are so glad we chose this town nestled in the Cascades for our vacation. Here are 10 themes from our memorable time in central Washington.

We had an amazing time in Leavenworth. I wanted to share with you 10 themes from our vacation.

Wenatchee – Let me start pre-Leavenworth. On Tuesday, we stopped in Wenatchee to stretch our legs, grab some lunch, and kill some time before our 4 p.m. hotel check-in. We ended up at a cool spot called Walla Walla Point Park. We played on the playground and then looked for a geocache that took us to an island within the park. As you can probably tell from the photos, it was hot.

Before arriving in Leavenworth we stopped at Wenatchee and went to Walla Walla Point Park.

The Enzian Inn – Most of what we did started and ended with our hotel. This particular property had everything a family needed to be busy for four days. The “charm” of Leavenworth that I spoke about is very much embodied by the Enzian Inn. If I could describe this hotel in one word it would be wholesome. This place is simply perfect for families and we would stay there again in a heartbeat.

We had it made at the Enzian Inn. Perfect for families!

Swimming – It isn’t vacation without a pool, right? We got our money’s worth with the outdoor and indoor pools on the Enzian property. Large, long, and comfortable, we spent hours at the pools throughout our stay. We met new friends, read our books, and splashed the time away. The numerous hot tubs on site also added to the enjoyment. Perhaps the most memories were made during our night swims—it just doesn’t get more magical than swimming in a well-lit pool when it is pitch dark on vacation.

We spent a lot of time at the Enzian Inn pools.

Golf – Our hotel offered a miniature golf course that guests could play for free. Well, calling it a “miniature golf course” probably isn’t the right phrase. I think the Enzian calls it a “putting course.” The 18-hole oasis is immaculate with perfect greens, flowing water, and roaming wildlife. We played the course three times with Sloan and me starting the day off on the course bright and early for two of them.

A unique feature at the Enzian Inn is a putting golf course that is gorgeous and fun.

Movie Night – Each night our hotel would offer movies at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the family room. Popcorn was popped from an old school machine and you were welcome to take as much as you pleased. The irresistible popcorn aroma would reach our noses and practically pull us into the family room. Sloan watched “Charlotte’s Web” in its entirety while Beau and I watched “Rudy” together. After long days spent in the sun, it was relaxing to sit in the very well air conditioned room and watch a movie while munching on popcorn.

Each night the Enzian Inn offered movies and popcorn in the family room.

Alpine Coaster – Leavenworth has a roller coaster built into one of its signature mountains that is impossible to miss for anyone visiting the town. On Thursday we visited Leavenwoth Adventure Park that is home to the Tumwater Twisted Alpine Coaster. Because it is an alpine coaster, that means the rider controls how fast (or how slow) their respective car/sled goes. Sidney and Sloan rode together and had an absolute blast although there are discrepancies on who wanted to go faster and who was more prone to pump the break.

Sidney and Sloan had a blast on the Tumwater Twisted Alpine Coaster.

The Shops – Downtown Leavenworth is beautiful and eclectic. The variety of shops appealed to both my kids and Sidney. We had fun strolling through toy stores, souvenir shops, the Christmas/nutcracker boutiques, candy stores, and much more. Sloan and Beau each had a set amount of money they could spend as it was entertaining to watch them budget and make decisions on what they wanted to buy.

Downtown Leavenworth has something for everyone.

Food – We went with the Bavarian vibe and dined at a couple different German restaurants. We ate multiple pretzels, tried some sausages, and sampled German potatoes. To be honest, some of the restaurants were hit and miss but we were never dissatisfied with the copious amounts of ice cream we scarfed down throughout our trip.

We ate our share of pretzels and ice cream while in Leavenworth.

Games – The family room of our hotel offered ping pong, shuffleboard, pool, and skee-ball. We played all four. Sidney and I had some competitive and spirited ping pong matches while Beau impressed me with his serve. We also had fun with the jumbo Jenga set and wide selection of board games.

We took advantage of the many games available in the family room of the Enzian Inn.

Family Time In Room – For all the fun and excitement that the Enzian and Leavenworth offered, my favorite part of vacation was probably just hanging with my family at the end of the day in our hotel room. After dinner, swimming, movies, and games finished up, we would head back to our room and watch the Olympics, eat a dessert, and enjoy endless laughs. It simply didn’t get any better and was the highlight of my trip. As we hung out talking and joking with each other as it grew late, I kept thinking to myself, this is what vacation is all about.

I really treasured the fun nights we spent together in our Enzian Inn hotel room after long, fun days.

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Mark my words, one of these days we will return to Leavenworth. It is a special place with plenty to do for families. Speaking of families, I feel so fortunate that I got several days with just Sidney, Sloan, and Beau. I will latch onto the memories made and look forward to next time. Thanks be to God. Don’t Blink.