Tag Archives: Ron White

My Dad: Time Well-Spent at 68

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Today my dad celebrates his 69th birthday. As I said in my blog post I wrote for his 68th birthday, I value every second I have with him. This appreciation was established after living out-of-state for 15 years. After going several of those years only seeing him a couple times, I told myself I would never take our moments together for granted.

Thankfully, I saw my dad A LOT during his latest trip around the sun. In fact, I saw him so much that I can easily pull together a double-digit list of my favorite times with him over the past 365 days.

In chronological order, here are my 10 best moments with my incredible dad during his time as a 68-year-old.

Concerts Under the Pines – Nothing beats live music in a park on a summer evening. Shortly after my dad turned 68, I took the kids to Audubon Park where we met my parents and my sister’s family. We ate KFC and listened to a band during the latest “Concerts Under the Pines” event. My dad was in his element.

Hanging with my dad at the “Concerts Under the Pines” series at Audubon Park.

Mariners Trip – It was a special trip for the Reser boys as my dad, brother, and I ventured to Seattle for a Mariners game. We arrived in Bellevue on Saturday and attended mass and then went out to dinner. The next day we went to T-Mobile Park where we watched the Mariners defeat the Rangers. The weekend reminded us of the magical trips we took to Seattle decades prior.

A selfie with my dad and brother shortly after we found our seats behind home plate during our Mariners trip to Seattle in August 2025.

Birthday Fun – For my birthday, all I wanted was to hang at home and eat pizza. My dad made my wish come true as he brought over a couple of large pies from my favorite pizzeria after I arrived home from work. Although hanging with my wife, kids, and parents at home was pretty low-key, it was one of the best birthdays I could remember.

Just hanging with my dad and eating pizza during my 39th birthday party.

High School Football – On a cold November evening, I met my dad at University High School to watch the Titans play Walla Walla High School in a playoff game. We sipped hot chocolate and enjoyed watching my dad’s alma mater (Walla Walla) in our own little corner of the bleachers. We walked out of the stadium together talking about how happy we were that we went together.

My dad and I at University High School on a cold November evening to watch playoff high school football.

Turkey Bingo – There is nothing better than turkey bingo and it is even sweeter when you get to play it with those important to you. My dad (and mom) traveled all the way from north Spokane to spend time with us at the 2025 St. Mary turkey bingo event. My dad played a couple cards but of course his sole purpose for doing so was to pass his card off to either Sloan or Beau if he ever won.

My dad eating some popcorn and playing his cards at the 2025 St. Mary (Spokane Valley) turkey bingo event.

EWU vs. WSU Basketball – For the second straight year, my dad and I attended the 509 Classic together. During this latest time, I pulled my dad into the EWU Alumni pre-game rally. As an EWU alumnus himself (and also a WSU alumnus), he felt right at home. I had the opportunity to introduce him to President Shari McMahan and Athletics Director Tim Collins. After the rally we watched the game together as the Cougs beat the Eagles.

My dad and I pose with Swoop at an EWU Alumni rally prior to the 509 Classic basketball game between WSU and EWU.

Christmas Eve – Much in the same way that my 2025 birthday really stood out, our 2025 Christmas Eve did as well. My parents joined us for a beautiful Christmas Eve mass at St. Mary and then afterwards they come over to our house where I cooked a ham dinner. Everything that night was perfect and I felt grateful for the special time we had with my parents.

On Christmas Eve 2025, my parents came over and I cooked a ham dinner.

Pizza Parlor Feast – In January, the adult girls in the Reser family (Sid, mom, sister, niece) went to Las Vegas. That weekend they were gone, my dad invited all the guys and children to Market Street Pizza for dinner. While the kids played the arcade games, my dad held court as we ate pizza and drank beer. Although we missed them dearly, we managed just fine that evening without the ladies.

My dad holding down our table at Market Street Pizza in Jan. 2026.

Super Bowl Victory – My parents hosted a Super Bowl LX party and it was pretty epic as the Seattle Seahawks hoisted the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the night. But what made the evening even more interesting was the Super Bowl square board that everyone in our families (and beyond) participated in. With the fourth quarter winding down, there was a possibility that my dad could win the big bucks. We were all cheering for him as his luck held out and he won $200.

My dad is surrounded by my mom and his grandchildren after the Super Bowl. My dad is holding the poster board that contained our various numbers on the board of squares. My dad won the top prize.

Hoopfest Tip-Off Party – In April, I asked my dad to be “my date” at the Hoopfest tip-off party. He gladly accepted. I met him after work as we had a relaxing time at the event. We had some drinks, ate a really nice dinner, watched the NCAA men’s basketball championship game, and witnessed the reveal of the Hoopfest 2026 poster and game ball.

My dad was my date at the 2026 Hoopfest tip-off party.

Ron White – My dad was so excited to see his favorite comedian with his two sons! Not only did he pay for our Ron White tickets, he also bought us dinner at one of the Northern Quest restaurants before we moved to the resort’s outside venue to watch the show. How great it was to hear my dad laugh again and again. I hope he laughs like that during his time as a 69-year-old as well.

My dad and I inside Northern Quest shortly before hitting up the outdoor venue for the Ron White show.

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Happy birthday, dad! You lived it up as a 68-year-old and my expectation is that you don’t slow down one bit during your final year in your sixties. I couldn’t ask for a better father. Don’t Blink.

Comedians Got Talent

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Watching Ron White perform this past Saturday (as mentioned in my 2026 Memorial weekend blog post) was relaxing and pretty funny. It was also significant in that it had been a long time since I attended a show featuring a superstar of comedy. The last time I watched an a-list comedian in-person was more than 16 years ago when I attended a Gabriel Iglesias show in Missoula.

My dad and I inside Northern Quest shortly before hitting up the outdoor venue for the Ron White show.

Between those two shows I have seen scrappy comedians try to make a name for themselves on cruise ships, amusement parks, and other venues.

But whether I was watching a comedy titan or someone trying to breakthrough, one thought would enter my head: comedians are truly some of the best public speakers around.

When someone doing stand-up takes the stage, there is no lectern or buffer separating them from the audience. Instead, they are given a mic and told to go. From there they must engage and connect with the audience in a way that produces a very specific response—laughter. Talk about pressure!

Comedians talk for an extended period of time while telling countless jokes that are embedded within numerous stories. You see, that’s probably the top talent that any comedian must possess: an absolute gift for storytelling.

As I watched Ron White deliver his approximately hour-long set, I observed with complete respect how he could effortlessly tell one story and transition to the next one, all while having the audience in laughing fits. But perhaps what impressed me most was how he improvised when a car alarm went off in the nearby parking garage. As the sound of the blaring horn dragged on for about a minute (which seemed like an eternity), White was able to crack jokes about the nature of live comedy shows and bad timing.

A look from our seats at the Ron White show. It took place on Saturday, May 23, at Northern Quest.

He removed any doubt that his set was simply an automatic, memorized speech that couldn’t be altered or disturbed. White’s ability to tell a new story when something beyond his control interjected itself into his current story was fascinating. Although his vulgar sense of humor may not have resonated with me most of the night, his talent earned my respect.

Shoutout to all the comedians out there. If you have any secrets about how you do it, I would love to hear them. Don’t Blink.

Memorial Day Weekend 2026

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The 2026 Memorial Day Weekend blessed us with perfect weather and an empty calendar. When those two conditions exist, it usually opens up the opportunity for some spontaneous fun. And that is exactly what transpired for my family over the past few days. If you don’t mind, I would like to share with you how we spent the long weekend…

The Memorial Day weekend packed lots of fun for our family.

Friday – We kicked off the holiday weekend at the ballpark. We went to Avista Stadium for the Spokane Indians vs. Vancouver Canadians baseball game. Although we watched some seriously baaaad baseball (the Indians lost 15-0), we all know that nobody goes to a minor league ballgame for the on-field talent. Instead, we enjoyed ourselves by eating stadium food, taking photos with the Disney princesses, and running the bases after the game. It was our first Indians game of the summer but it definitely won’t be our last.

We had lots of fun attending our first Spokane Indians game of the season.

Saturday – Our marquee event of the day was going to LaserMaxx for a round of laser tag. The competition inside the maze wasn’t as stiff as usual because I actually finished in second place while Sloan finished fifth and Beau posted a 10th place finish (out of 21 players). Afterwards I took them to Dairy Queen for lunch where they are burgers and fries and used their “free cone” coupon they earned at the Indians game the night prior for running the bases.

Sloan and Beau ready to play some laser tag at LaserMaxx.

Later that night I went out to Northern Quest with my dad and brother for the Ron White comedy show. We started the evening at the casino by eating Asian food at East. We then found our seats in the outdoor venue and laughed our @$$es off as Ron White told jokes for about an hour. We then went back inside the casino and I managed to double my money playing Paigow.

My dad and I inside Northern Quest shortly before hitting up the outdoor venue for the Ron White show.

Sunday – We were at St. Mary bright and early for Pentecost Sunday mass. The kids brought the gifts down as we concluded the Easter season. Later that day we went over to my parents’ house for their annual Memorial Weekend cookout. A steak dinner was sandwiched between many outdoor activities as we played hard. Wiffle ball, hacky sack, and soccer were the main activities that allowed us all to exert plenty of energy as the bubble machine worked in overdrive to produce a very summery scene in my parents’ front yard.

Sloan, Beau, and their cousins (Mik and John) play wiffle ball in my parents’ front yard as part of our annual family Memorial Day weekend celebration.

Monday – On actual Memorial Day we had a picnic at Edgecliff Park with my parents, my siblings, and their families. The weather was once again beautiful as we all brought something to share for lunch. The different sports balls were flying through the air and zipping across the grass for the second straight day as we benefited from plenty of exercise. And because we had so much fun at the park together, we couldn’t just let things end there…

Hanging with everyone at Edgecliff Park for our Memorial Day picnic.

The kids and I wanted to have an encore round of laser tag but this time we brought everyone with us. Sidney, my sister, her kids, my brother, and my sister-in-law all joined us at LaserMaxx as the game we played had more competitors with “Reser” blood than not. It was a blast! After that, the four of us ran some errands before coming back to the house. Beau and I hit up the basketball court and played some pickle ball before joining the girls inside the house for the rest of the night.

Our gang at the end of our LaserMaxx round. We had a lot of fun!

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If the so-called “kickoff to summer” was any indication of what the next few months have in store, we better all buckle up. Hope everyone else had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend! Let the countdown to the end of the school year begin so the real fun can start. Don’t Blink.