Tag Archives: St. Francis of Assisi in Walla Walla

Thursday Rundown Returns

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21 Days. 3 weeks. 30,240 minutes. That’s how long it has been since I last wrote a Thursday Rundown. New job and vacation kind of interfered with my weekly topic dump. I hope you can forgive me…

Standing Out – Way back in 2021, I wrote a couple different blog posts that addressed how a family Mexican restaurant can stand out from competitors (here and here). The posts centered on chips and a complimentary dessert option. Thanks to a recent visit to a Spokane Valley Mexican restaurant, I can offer an additional differentiator: a colorful bathroom sink. The below image is from the men’s restroom at the Rancho Viejo in Spokane Valley. How creative and pretty is that? It made me want to wash my hands for five minutes.

I thought this bathroom sink in the Rancho Viejo men’s rest room was very colorful and inviting.

Annual Silverwood Trip – During the school year, Sloan and Beau participated in the Silverwood Theme Park Read 2 Ride program. Because they each logged 10 reading hours, they each received a free pass to the park. We let the kids enjoy the fruits of their labor during the time I had off between jobs. We enjoyed scoping out the water park’s significant improvements and watching Beau navigate his first Silverwood experience. Thanks to Silverwood for offering an educational program with a worthwhile reward.

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

Shirley Temples – While in Leavenworth, we gave Sloan and Beau each $30 to spend as they saw fit. It was a good exercise in budgeting and planning. When we ate at restaurants, we stuck with water. However, at one particular spot, Sloan wanted something different. On the kid’s menu at Rhein Haus it listed Shirley Temples under the beverage section. Sloan asked for some of her money to purchase one (it was a restaurant where you went up front to put an order in yourself). Even though Beau had no idea what a Shirley Temple was, he wanted to follow the suit of his sister and order one too. They got more than they bargained for when the bartender mixed up a couple of Shirley Temples in the below big beer mugs. It was one of the better purchases they made with their spending money.

Beau and Sloan with their Shirley Temples from Rhein Haus. 

Alphorn Concert – One other Leavenworth tidbit I will share with you was the alphorn concert we were treated to each morning at breakfast. The Enzian Inn offers two alphorn sessions each morning and our kids were all about it. They would go out on the balcony when the musician would play and then visit with them (a couple different musicians rotated throughout our stay) afterwards. This photo shows Sloan and Beau hanging out with one of the alphorn players who also happens to be the owner of the Enzian inn.

Sloan and Beau pose with Enzian Inn alphorn player (and owner).

Happy Anniversary – I want to wish an early anniversary to my parents. Tomorrow my mom and dad will celebrate their 43rd anniversary. They were married at St. Francis Assisi Catholic Church on Aug. 16, 1981. I am so grateful for the incredible example they have set for what a fruitful marriage is all about.

My mom and dad celebrate their 43rd anniversary tomorrow. They were married at St. Francis of Assisi on Aug. 16, 1981.

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It sure feels good to be writing Thursday Rundowns again! Thanks for reading and I wish you an awesome weekend. Don’t Blink.

Final November Thursday Rundown

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The Thursday Rundown took a hiatus last week as I ate turkey and watched football. But have no fear, I am back to squeeze in one final blog post this November. So before the last month of 2018 arrives, let’s get to tonight’s five topics.

Most Liked Instagram Photo – It is usually a good day for me when a photo I post to my own Instagram account receives 50 likes. Well, I smashed my own personal record late last week. This photo taken at my baptism over 30 years ago garnered 284 likes, easily a new record for a single post. Father Adrian van der Heijden baptized me at St. Francis of Assisi in Walla Walla, WA. Besides Father van der Heijden and myself, you have my parents and my godparents in the photo as well.

A look at the Instagram image that registered the most likes for my personal account. I was baptized at St. Francis of Assisi in Walla Walla.

Sloan’s Christmas Tree – Tonight, Sidney’s mom (Sloan’s “Gami”) brought over a personal mini Christmas tree for our little girl. Gami and Sloan decorated the tree together, making it look beautiful. What a nice project for them to complete! Next week I hope to write a blog post about the slightly bigger Christmas tree we have in our house this year. Stay tuned!

A photo of Sloan decorating her mini tree with her Gami tonight.

Advent – This upcoming Sunday will usher in Advent. For those not familiar, this special time on the Christian calendar counts down the four Sundays before Christmas. While Advent definitely helps us prepare for Christmas itself and the birth of baby Jesus, it also helps us reflect and anticipate the second coming of Christ. During mass, Catholics will light an Advent wreath. These wreaths have four candles and one is lit each Sunday. Many Catholic families have their own personal Advent wreaths in their homes as well.

Advent begins on Sunday.

YUCK! – I am embarrassed to admit this, but here it goes…
I ate pumpkin pie with mold on it this past weekend. Not only that, but I obliviously tweeted a photo of the piece I chomped down just seconds before I ate it. I did notice the white specks, but I thought they were just flour or sugar spots. I mean, it was Saturday and the pie was opened just two days earlier on Thanksgiving. Mold can’t grow that fast, right? Sidney informed me otherwise when she looked at the pie a day later and exclaimed “Disgusting! This pie has mold on it.” After I told her that I ate a slice, she made sure I wasn’t gravely sick…and then she made fun of me profusely.

The “proof that I am actually doing it” tweet was in reference to another tweet I sent asking if it was appropriate to eat pumpkin pie in the middle of the day. I didn’t realize those white spots were mold until Sidney told me.

Respect Before Rivalry – Because I am from the great state of Washington, I follow the Apple Cup, an annual rivalry game that features Washington State University and the University of Washington. Just like all the other big time rivalry games, this series is downright bitter. However, a more tender side was on display over the weekend. The Husky marching band was traveling to Pullman (site of the game) when icy conditions led to one of the buses in the contingent overturning. Although no life threatening injuries occurred, plenty of the students on board were injured and taken to the hospital. The band decided not to continue its trip. Instead, the group stayed in the area where the accident happened in a little town called George. While Washington State fans around the area brought food to the University of Washington band, the Washington State band also did something pretty neat. The Cougar musicians stepped up in the absence of the Husky musicians and practiced the UW fight song so they could play it throughout the game. A genuine classy act of sportsmanship and compassion if I do say so myself.

Pure class by Washington State University.

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Enjoy your final couple days of November! Hold your family tight and make good choices. Don’t Blink.

A Wedding Clipping to Save

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It was almost as if I was reading a recap of the Royal Wedding…

This article was written about my grandparents’ wedding in 1942.

These days when you read the newspaper you might see a paragraph or two about a couple becoming engaged. Unless you are reading a tabloid, you very seldom see any article actually reporting on the intricacies of a wedding ceremony.

This wasn’t the case 76 years ago.

Over the weekend, a distant relative sent me the newspaper clippings of an article written about the wedding of my grandparents. In 1942, my mom’s parents got hitched at St. Francis of Assisi church in Walla Walla, WA. According to the town’s local newspaper, it was “one of the most beautiful weddings of the season.”

I read the article in amazement as the journalist went into thorough detail. Everything was recorded from what the wedding party wore to the gifts my grandma gave her bridesmaids to the amount of people who attended the reception. Information on the people who usually get overlooked at weddings, such as the ringbearer and the musicians, all received their due.

Besides the reporting, the writing itself was just a treat. The bride, a striking brunette, was lovely in her white velveray marquisette gown fashioned with shirred bodice with sweetheart neckline and long sleeves, full at the shoulder, and long train.

I mean come on. When Sid and I tied the knot, I think our local newspaper just carried a sentence on its website declaring that we were now legally married. Not even a quick mention that her gown was white.

Of course, I realize it was a different time back then. Without the internet or a 24-hour news cycle, media coverage was very localized. In a small town like Walla Walla, there was space in the newspaper to write a couple columns about the latest wedding.

Besides the exquisite detail and the glimpse at journalism during a different era, the article made my day because it was a record of the beginning of a very special marriage. My grandparents were married for over 60 years and their relationship bore so much fruit. Although I remember them in my heart as “grandparents,” it was neat to read the article and see them as a young adult couple just starting their lives together.

A newspaper clipping from the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin announcing my grandparents’ 60th anniversary.

What a joy it was to read. It was truly a blessed day when my grandparents stood before the “altar lovely with whit chrysanthemums and ferns and palms” and said I do. Don’t Blink.

Joining the Century Club

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Although the news media has made these stories cliché, I still get fascinated by the people who live to be 100 and beyond. To me, reaching triple digits is an incredible achievement. Of course the ones who make it well past the century mark earn even more of my awe. To me, those humans who manage to live to be at least 110 are complete freaks of nature. My thinking is that when someone reaches 100 they must be jubilant but at the same time extremely exhausted. How can these folks realistically say to themselves, “Well, I made it to triple digits…time now to live for another whole decade.”

This is on my mind today because I saw another one of those typical stories about a person reaching an old age. This particular one, a New Jersey woman named Agnes, recently turned 110. The article stated that with over 7 billion people on the planet, you will find only 360-600 who have reached or exceeded 110. Agnes said in the article that her secret to living a long life is drinking three Miller High Life beers a day.

I have thrown my hands up in the air when it comes to what someone must do on a consistent basis in order to live for a century or more. Every article I read has few common denominators. Each person has a different routine, usually with weird quirks, that they followed to reach a very old age. In my opinion, there is no special formula. Rather, I think in order to live past 99 you must have insanely good genes and amazing luck.

But is it really considered “amazing luck” if you reach 100? I hear people all the time quip, “I would never want to live that long!” Personally I am not 100% sure on my exact stance but I think I would actually want to go the distance. The opportunity to live so long and see so much would outweigh the sadness of seeing loved ones pass on and the constant care I would eventually need.

I have had one relative live to 100. He actually passed away at the age of 101. My Great Great Uncle Tony lived an extremely long life that was characterized by a love for boxing and photography. I had the opportunity to attend his 100th birthday bash that was held in the basement of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Walla Walla, Washington. At the party he was healthy and happy. It is an event in my life that I will always remember.

I would turn 100 on October 8, 2086. That means I need to live 25,998 more days to reach the milestone. As with everyone on the planet, the odds are dramatically stacked against me. However, it is always good to have lofty goals and trying to reach this mark will definitely deter me from blinking. Would you want to live to be 100 years old? Don’t Blink.