Spokane St. Patrick's Day parade

How is your bracket doing? If it isn’t busted yet and you are intently watching the NCAA Tournament games tonight, hopefully you can take a few minutes during a timeout to read my latest Thursday Rundown. Because I don’t want you to miss a moment of the action, I will try to breeze through tonight’s topics…

Educational Advertising Awards – I was stoked when I received word this month that my team won multiple national awards for our work. Our recognition stretched across many different categories as Eastern Washington University took home six different honors—including two gold awards. As I said in the story that was written about the accomplishments, this recognition not only affirms the work we have done but it also motivates us to continue to do it. Our University Relations team is killing it!

I have a talented team at Eastern Washington University and it was great to see them receive the recognition they deserve.

Sloan’s Birthday Recap – What a nice birthday celebration it was for Sloan. She chose Five Guys as her birthday dinner and insisted we eat it at home. She then opened gifts as Uncle Glen, Aunt Carrie, and Olivia cheered her on. Sloan then blew out the candles on her purple unicorn-themed birthday cake.

Sloan had a really nice 9th birthday. This is her with her unicorn cake.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2026 – To be honest, I didn’t think we would be attending Spokane’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year. The forecast the night before wasn’t looking favorable and we have just been so busy lately. But when the sun was shining this past Saturday for a parade that didn’t start until noon, I made the choice to take Sloan and Beau downtown. We picked out a front row spot toward the end of the parade route and really enjoyed a couple hours of bagpipes, candy, and community fun.

The weather was great for the 2026 Spokane St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Good Luck, Jeremy Lagoo – My favorite local meteorologist announced this week that he was stepping away from news. Jeremy Lagoo started at KREM about the same time that we arrived in Spokane. I always appreciated his loose and eccentric style but at the same time respected the fantastic job he did at explaining weather concepts and patterns. We met Jeremy a couple times at the annual Bloomsday tradeshow and he was always so fun and engaging with the kids. I wish Mr. Lagoo nothing but the best in his next chapter!

Despite pleas from Sloan and Beau, they couldn’t get KREM 2 meteorologist Jeremy LaGoo to change his rainy forecast for Bloomsday in 2024. I am going to miss Jeremy!

Housemaid – Sidney and I paid the $9.99 rental fee to watch the Sydney Sweeney/Amanda Seyfried psychological thriller. I don’t know if it was worth it and I am certainly glad we didn’t see it in theaters but “Housemaid” wasn’t bad. However, it was graphic in spots that didn’t sit well with my stomach. Not to brag, but I saw most of the plot twists coming. If you want a film with some solid performances and a decent flow, “Housemaid” is a safe pick but I would wait until you don’t have to pay anything to watch it.

It won’t be the end of the world if you don’t see “Housemaid” but it did keep our attention.

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Okay, back to the basketball! Thanks for taking some time to read my blog and I hope you have a nice weekend. Wish us luck, we have a birthday party to execute on Saturday for a certain 9-year-old girl. Don’t Blink.

March is in full swing and we are enjoying the sunshine that has been prevalent this week. If you don’t mind, I think I will start with tonight’s rundown…

Garbage Woman – I think it is important for children to have a fundamental understanding of how our modern day conveniences work and who makes them possible. Garbage pickup is such an important resource we enjoy and it has served as a great topic to explore with Sloan. Not only do we talk about who picks up our trash and where it goes, Sloan has embraced an opportunity to help in the whole process by taking the garbage bin back to the garage every Monday afternoon.

Sloan taking in the trash this past Monday.

This Time in 2020 – I have been following my Timehop closely as I look back two years ago. At this time in 2020, we were packing up our Myrtle Beach house and I was preparing to hop on a plane to head west. Simultaneously, a thing called COVID was starting to cause a minor panic. We were also up all night with a 1-month-old and Sloan was looking forward to her 3rd birthday in just a week. What a crazy, stressful, emotional time!

On March 11, 2020, this moving truck pulled up at our house in Myrtle Beach and packed up all our belongings.

Marry Me – My movie of the week that I am highlighting for this Thursday Rundown is “Marry Me.” The Netflix film stars Jennifer Lopez as a music superstar who has her heartbroken and on a whim points at stranger Owen Wilson in a crowd to be her husband. When we started watching it on Saturday morning I was like Oh brother, here we go. But in all honesty it wasn’t that bad. Super light movie without a lot of intellectual depth but some catchy music. “Marry Me” was perfect for Sid and I to enjoy together while the kids entertained themselves.

For what it was, I didn’t think “Marry Me” was too terrible.

Good Luck, Russell – It was a bombshell this week when news broke that Russell Wilson was dealt to the Denver Broncos. What a loss for the Seahawks. I wish #3 nothing but the best with his new team and I hope the 12th Man fan base can truly appreciate everything that Russell Wilson delivered while a Seahawk, especially the Super Bowl title he brought back to the Pacific Northwest. Also, I imagine that now that Wilson is gone, people won’t mistake me as much for him anymore. But you never know.

I would like to introduce you to my double, Russell Wilson.

International Bagpipes Day – There is simply nothing better than the sound of bagpipes. Oh, the feeling that stirs inside of me when I hear that instrument. A half dozen years ago I even went as far as to say my favorite part of St. Patrick’s Day (this was before Sloan was born on the holiday) is listening to bagpipes. I can’t wait to go to Spokane’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade this Saturday and take it in as that special sound cuts through the air. Happy International Bagpipes Day, everyone.

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Continue to pray for peace in Ukraine and everywhere else that war is rampant. Let us not forget how blessed and lucky we truly are. Don’t Blink.