Another Special Holiday Break At Home

Alright, I made it through the first couple days of work for 2024. I think we can agree that returning to the office after the holidays can be tough. But I believe that working those initial days of the new year can give you a better appreciation of what you got to experience while on break. Such is the case for me.

For the second consecutive year, I had the relaxing advantage of staying put in Spokane for the holiday break. My children completed their last school day of the calendar year on Friday, Dec. 15, and I worked my last day of the calendar year on Tuesday, Dec. 19. From the evening of that Tuesday through New Year’s Day, we had a spectacular time together. As I did last year, I want to offer up 10 of the activities we engaged in during our holiday break…

Ornament Craft – As I said in my intro, we literally started doing fun stuff on that Tuesday night. Our kickoff event was at the North Spokane County Library where Sloan and Beau joined their cousins for an ornament craft. The kids made sleigh decorations with Sloan placing a snowman in her sled while cousin Mikayla crafted a Santa to ride in hers.

Sloan and her cousin, Mikayla, making Christmas crafts at the library.

Geocache – At Sloan’s request, we ventured into the world of geocaching during break. We devoted an entire afternoon to finding them. Although we couldn’t seem to find the geocache at the first location as Beau’s bladder forced us to stop sooner than desired, we did find the capsule at the second geocache location we visited.

Sloan holds her first-ever Geocache capsule.

Flying High – After my kids expressed their desire to get strapped into a bungee and jump high, my parents told Sloan and Beau they would take them during winter break. Grandma and Papa lived up to their word when they met us at Fanorama Bungee in the Spokane Valley Mall. With cousins Mikayla and Johnny in tow, the four kids had an excellent time jumping for the stars. Wait a second—scratch that—Beau wanted out the moment he was strapped in 😂. But the other three kids definitely had fun.

Sloan jumping her heart out at Fanorama Bungee

Bowling – I took Sloan and Beau to Lilac Lanes for 60 minutes of bowling mania. We set up the bumpers and Beau had a ball ramp so they could each have the chance to actually knock down pins. Much to my surprise, we only had to call the staff over once to retrieve a ball that stopped in the middle of the lane.

We bowled a few strikes at Lilac Lanes.

The Grinch – Spokane’s old-fashioned Garland Theater welcomed the three of us for a showing of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” starring Jim Carrey. Sloan and Beau had a fun time eating popcorn and “stretching their legs” as they took a couple “breaks” from the movie to walk around our section of the majestic theater. Me? I walked in thinking I didn’t like the Jim Carrey version but actually thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

I actually really enjoyed watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” at the Garland Theater.

We Play – Thanks to the generosity of Numerica, Spokane’s best play center opened its doors for free over winter break. On Dec. 22, admission was complimentary for the entire community. You better believe we took advantage! My sister and her two kids (you are very familiar with them by now…Mikayla and Johnny) met us at the facility for a hardcore play session that left the kids very entertained but surprisingly (and unfortunately) not very tired.

Thanks to Numerica, the kids played free at We Play.

Baptism – On the Saturday before Christmas Eve, the three of us (Sid had to work) went to St. John Vianney Catholic Church for the baptism of Eden Rose, the baby daughter of our friends, Brian and Hailey. Fr. Kevin Oiland performed the baptism as Fr. Jeff Lewis had the blessing of being selected as the godfather! Eden did a great job remaining calm for most of the ceremony, even when the holy water was poured over her head.

Hailey looks over her daughter, Eden, during the baptismal ceremony. Fr. Jeff Lewis, Eden’s godfather, is on the left. Fr. Kevin Oiland, who performed the baptism, is on the right.

Hibachi – As a Christmas gift from me to Sid and the kids, we ate at Fujiyama Japanese Steak House. What a fun and cozy place to eat! Our friends, Dylan and Fidela, joined us for the evening as our cook entertained and amazed us. Although Beau was a little afraid of the flames at first, he warmed up to it all. And oh yes…it was delicious!

Entertainment and delicious food is a great combination. We had a lot of fun at Fujiyama.

Mobius Discovery Center – Who says education can’t be cool? To be honest, visiting this children’s museum may have been the most fun activity that the kids did the entire break. I couldn’t believe how engaged Beau was with everything from the “launch it” stations, excavation pit, bubble area, and costume corner. When it came to Sloan, I literally let her loose and didn’t see her until it was time to go.

The kids may have had the most fun this break at Mobius Discovery Center.

Trampoline Park – It wouldn’t be a winter break without a trampoline park visit, right? On New Year’s Eve weekend I took the kids to Flying Squirrel. The best part? Sloan and Beau actually honored my request that they just jump and NOT hassle me about the arcade games.

Is it even winter break if you don’t go to a trampoline park? This is Beau at Flying Squirrel.

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It was a dad’s dream to have so much quality time with his kids. I am very fortunate to have a job where I am able to take an extended period of time during the holidays to re-charge and be with family. As I predicted in my Dec. 19 blog post, memories were made! Don’t Blink.

The $25,000 Man 7 Years Later

Today is an anniversary that is commemorated by the Reser brothers. Seven years ago on December 11, 2010, my brother, Glen, hit a major jackpot at a seedy bowling alley casino in Spokane, Washington. On a cold and snowy night, his stroke of luck won him $25,000 on the spot. He was 21 years old at the time.

After Glen won the $25,000, we went to Vegas a few days later. This is him at the original O’Sheas playing some Blackjack.

I usually mark this anniversary by sharing on social media the blog post I wrote about the crazy night. Although over six years old and terribly written, this particular piece of content is one of the most viewed blog posts in the history of Don’t Blink. The piece chronicles the pandemonium that took place at Lilac Lanes when Glen hit it big, along with the shenanigans and gross mismanagement of money that immediately ensued.

I also commemorate the anniversary by either calling or texting Glen and asking him how much of that money is left? The question is always expressed with a heavy dose of sarcasm because practically every cent of that jackpot was sucked dry before the first anniversary ever came around.

But perhaps that sobering fact shouldn’t be met with much surprise. I mean honestly, what 21-year-old is going to make sound decisions with a large sum of money?

I am not here tonight though to poke fun at Glen or detail how the money was spent/lost. Rather, I just want to put in perspective the amount of money that was won while also reinforcing a point I have made in an earlier blog post.

Last night, Sidney and I watched “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” The grand prize was $10,000. The family that took home the top honor on that particular episode celebrated as if it was a life changing event (I would have too!!). Now, contrast that with some kid winning 2.5X that amount just for being dealt some cards.

At the time seven years ago, both Glen and I had no idea how much of a gift and blessing that amount of money was. Let me try to explain that better. We knew it was a lot of money but we didn’t appreciate it. We had no idea how it could come in handy in the future when we eventually graduated to the status of responsible adults.

(I say “we” because Glen was generous to me with his winnings and, looking back on it, I encouraged him to make one or two not so good decisions with his loot. I hold myself accountable for contributing to the squandering).

If Glen strolled into Lilac Lanes tonight and defied all the odds and won that fat jackpot again, you can bet things would be a little different. That money would stretch a little longer.

But, it is my hope that Glen doesn’t set foot in a gambling venue. Over the years, I have come to believe that gambling is a destructive activity, especially for the younger population. I feel it cultivates a distorted view of money, one that can potentially have long term consequences. Although a gambler once myself, I now identify more with the anti-casino stance.

Yes, the story from seven years ago is still a great one. Honestly, read my blog post, it will take you for a ride. But winning money is so much different from earning it, especially when you are young. Looking back on the episode from 2010, as hard as some might have trouble believing it, I don’t think it was the best thing that ever happened. Don’t Blink.

Same Date, Ten Different Years

I have said before that if my apartment ever got caught on fire the one thing I would go back in for would be my journals. Since the seventh grade I have kept a daily journal and since that time there is not one day of my life not documented. Thousands of pages and about 12 different journal books chronicle the better half of my life.

A few days ago I started thinking about ideas for blog posts and the concept of sharing a brief summary for a specific date of my life over a five year span popped into my head. I decided to run with it. I designated tonight as the evening that I wanted to write this post and a couple hours ago while I was researching through my journals I realized I have more here in my possession than I thought (I have several in storage at my parents’ house). In fact, I had double the amount of years available to me. So instead of five quick recounts of the various June 26th’s experienced by Brent Reser, you will get ten even quicker recounts of the various June 26th’s experienced by Brent Reser.

I probably should have waited a week or two to put this concept into action because the last weekend in June is Hoopfest weekend, something that I always participate in. If I could contain my excitement for this blog post a little longer I would have waited, but I couldn’t, so please don’t get too bored with the continuous Hoopfest mentions you will see throughout the years. Now if you will, please come on this journey with me as we go from a young teenager Brent at 17 years old in 2004 to the mid-twenties adult Brent in this present year of 2013.

 

I treasure my journals more than anything.

I treasure my journals more than anything.

 

Saturday, June 26, 2004:

I was participating in the Washington State Football team camp in Pullman, Washington, during my senior year at Mead High School. I got up at 7 a.m. and got a bagel for breakfast and then got ready for the last day of football camp. For the final day, all teams played mini games against the other schools present. Because we had performed well the previous days, we played against the other dominant teams. We tied against a team made up of solely all-stars (athletes who were invited by WSU to the camp) and lost on the very last play to a team called Liberty. After camp awards we had a BBQ right outside the field house and then we took the bus back to Spokane. We got back to the school and I took my teammate and friend Erik Lowe back to his place and then I went home and slept.

Sunday, June 26, 2005:

It was the Sunday of Hoopfest and my team had made it to Sunday. I was on a team with my friends Corey Langill, Cole Steinbach, and Cody Lorenzen. Corey picked all of us up and we went downtown for our 8 a.m. elimination game. We played against one of the most bush league teams you will ever encounter and ended up losing in overtime in a defensive (foul fest) match, 12-10. After getting eliminated the four of us watched as a team that only had two players defeat a team that was at full strength. After that great athletic achievement I went home and made it in time for 11 a.m. mass at St. Thomas More. Our pastor at the time, Abbot Adrian Parcher, was saying his last mass at our parish. Later in the day I went to Lilac Lanes with Corey and Jordan Brink.

Monday, June 26, 2006:

I got up at 9 a.m. and went to Gold’s Gym where I got my arms workout in. A couple hours later my brother and I went to Taco John’s for lunch because I had a couple gift certificates there. Glen and I then came back home and played a couple games of “Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball” on Nintendo 64. Glen then got suited up in his real baseball uniform and I went and watched as his team (Mead) played Newport in summer ball. I left a little bit before the game was over and went to Northwood Middle School where I would always run during the summer. After my run I came home, showered, and then I went over to Michael Hoover’s house where I played in a $10 Texas Hold ‘em tournament with Hoov, Zach Nichols, Cody, Mike DeLaMatter, and others. In my entry I wrote that I got “sucked out” so obviously the outcome didn’t go too well for me.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

I got up at 6:55 a.m. and Cody and I went to the lobby of our hotel where we ate breakfast. We were in the Portland, Oregon, area doing road construction work for Cody’s dad’s company, Blackline. We picked up the equipment we needed in the Woodland area and then drove to Hillsboro where we worked the whole day grinding paint off the roads. It was such a hot day that we had more trouble than usual with the debris that we grinded up sticking to our shoes. For lunch we ate at an incredible little place called Aloha Teriyaki. We stayed at a hotel that night in Hillsboro called The Dunes and ate at an Italian restaurant called Amelia’s where I had spaghetti and meat balls. Cody and I then went back to the hotel and watched the Mariners-Red Sox game.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

I woke up at 8 a.m. and went to Gold’s Gym where I did squats and auxiliary lifts. I then went to downtown Spokane where I donated plasma at one of the dirtiest, sketchy centers you will ever come across. On this day it was a complete zoo as the ATM machine broke down and people were going nuts. I checked in, got processed, and by the time I donated the ATM machine was working and I had $40 in my pocket!! From there I picked up my gear for my inaugural year as a court monitor for Hoopfest. I then came home and watched as Derrick Rose was selected as the #1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. I then did my running at Northwood and came home where I did another money-making scheme I utilized that summer…working as an answer guide for the online service ChaCha.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Living fulltime in Missoula, Montana, I woke up at 6:45 a.m. and made it to work at Grizzly Athletics where I was working in an interim position. I left the office at 3:30 p.m., put some gas in my car, and headed off to Spokane for Hoopfest weekend to court monitor for the second straight year. I made it to my parents’ house and we went out to dinner at a fabulous Chinese restaurant called the Cathay Inn. I feasted on almond chicken, fried rice, chow mein, prawns, and chicken noodle soup. We then came home and sat out on the front deck and watched as a neighbor dog named Skittles continually barked at our cat, Nabisco. Shortly thereafter, my cousin Kelly and her three daughters (Taylor, Emily, and Katie) arrived at the house as they would be taking part in the Hoopfest festivities the next day as well.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

I woke up a little before 6 a.m. and my dad, Glen, my cousin Cole, and I all went downtown for the first day of Hoopfest. I was assigned a “50 and under”, 6-3 to 6-4 bracket. I monitored 20 games that day with majority of all the action going very smoothly. The day started out overcast and windy but by the afternoon it was sunny and warm. When the action on my court ended for the day after the 20th game, I still did not have enough basketball in my system so I watched a random game on another court that was still being contested. We then came back to my parents’ house and we had a big backyard BBQ of hamburgers and hot dogs. I then promptly passed out from pure exhaustion.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Wouldn’t you know it that I would be at Hoopfest again!? I woke up at 5:40 a.m., had a chocolate muffin for breakfast, and then went downtown for the Sunday of Hoopfest. As it was the second day of competition, the games got pretty competitive. The previous day I met a new friend, Carissa, who was assigned to my court to monitor as well. On this day it was her birthday and we had a fun time celebrating it with the players in our bracket. A team called Four Locos came out of the loser’s bracket to defeat a team called the MFI All-Stars to take the championship on our Hot 96.9 court. After all the action I came back to my parents’ house and blogged and ate nachos that my dad made. I then went to the Elk in Browne’s Addition where I met Carissa and her friend to further celebrate her birthday.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

I got up at 6:45 a.m. and went to work at Grizzly Athletics. It was a Tuesday so I did a lot of the beginning of the week type things such as updating website features, drafting a web report, turning in travel reports for our mascots, etc. I went to the rec at noon and did arms and ran a mile. I came back to the office and ate my peanut butter sandwich for lunch, attended a meeting at the I.T. Center on campus, and worked until 5 p.m. I then went home, wrote a blog post, and then went to the Tamarack where I met my buddy Eric Fulton so we could do some stuff to my blog. It turned out that we could not access internet at the Tamarack so we moved to the Iron Horse where we ate dinner and created the current version of my blog. We got my site hosted by WordPress and I finally purchased my domain name, www.brentreser.com . Thanks so much to Mr. Fulton.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Finally we are to the present! Throughout the past 10 years of this date, I got up the earliest today. I got out of bed at 5 a.m., got ready, did my morning routine and made it to work by 7 a.m. I took care of some things I needed to take care of and had a productive morning. At noon I went to the rec center and did the exact same workout that I did a year ago…and then came back to the office and had the exact same lunch I had a year ago as well. The afternoon went great and I came straight home after work, cleaned up my apartment, and read Entertainment Weekly. I started this blog post about 90 minutes ago and am almost done. Once I publish this I am going to jump in the shower and wait for Paige to come over so we can hang out and drink a beer.

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Ten years of my life…wow! Depressing thing is that I didn’t do anything spectacular or noteworthy throughout any of those days. The uplifting news is that I have a memory of each of them and I had fun during them all too. I plan to do this again down the road, probably on a date where I had much more diverse activities going on over the ten years. But like June 26, please don’t expect anything spectacular or noteworthy. Don’t Blink.