Tag Archives: St. Mary Catholic School

Meeting A Spokane Icon

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On Saturday night, Sidney and I met a person from my childhood past. Throughout my time growing up in Spokane, the local news was constantly on at our house. My parents made it a priority to tune in because of community connectedness, the ability to follow our local sports teams, and sometimes just for background noise.

We also tuned in for the weather. Whether we needed an update on the latest snowstorm, info on what to wear for Bloomsday, or just a general outlook on what the unpredictable and diverse weekly weather would bring to the Inland Northwest, we turned to the local news.

Growing up in Spokane during the 1990s and early 2000s, there was a power player on the local weather scene: Tom Sherry.

On Saturday night at the St. Mary Gala, Sidney and I met Tom Sherry.

Sherry’s name was synonymous with Spokane weather—and, if I dare say—Spokane celebrity in general. If you know anything about how the local news works, you are aware that a typical newscast consists of multiple throwbacks to the meteorologist for weather updates. Watch an hour of local news and you will most likely see the weather person a handful of different times.

With so much exposure, you better believe a sense of pressure exists: either develop rapport and trust with your audience or find a different job.

Well, given those two options, there was a reason why Tom was comfortably installed at KREM for decades. I believe Sherry’s success and longevity went way beyond his command of the weather. He was charismatic, relatable, and deeply ingrained within the community. The man’s legendary charitable work alone gained him the respect of Spokane local news viewers.

I remember the feeling of peace, comfort, and normalcy I felt upon returning to Spokane in 2020. After leaving the community in 2005 to go to college and eventually start my career, I returned 15 years later to find a familiar presence on the news.

Re-connecting with Sherry via the airwaves gave me the opportunity to introduce him to my wife and children before his retirement in 2022. Then, on Saturday night, I had my first ever chance to connect with him in-person.

Over the weekend, St. Mary Catholic School held its fundraising gala. None other than Tom Sherry graciously agreed to emcee the event. The dad of two children who attended St. Mary, Tom holds the school in very high esteem.

After telling our friends, Ryan and Allyson Andrade, of my family’s history with Sherry, Allyson took it upon herself to flag down Sherry during a gala break. Tom came over to our table and talked with us for several moments and graciously took a photo with Sidney and me.

When I told him I was part of a KREM family growing up, he quipped, “Thanks for keeping me employed.” He then talked to Sidney about living in South Carolina and mentioned his connection to Charleston. We also discussed what makes St. Mary so special and other topics. The conversation was just as warm as Tom came across all those nights on KREM.

Thanks for emceeing the St. Mary Gala, Mr. Sherry, it was a pleasure to meet you. Don’t Blink.

Blue Cotton Candy Thursday Rundown

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How lucky am I? It is Thursday and that means the pleasure is mine to offer five random topics for your reading entertainment. Let’s get started…

Beautiful Anniversary – Tomorrow will mark the 4-year anniversary of when we brought Beau home from the NICU! What a joyous day it was. Thanks to all the doctors, nurses, and staff who gave our little guy the absolute best care while he was a patient at the McLeod Health NICU Unit in Florence, SC. To learn more about Beau’s birth, the challenges he faced, Sid’s emotional ride, and the role our faith played, tap here. Thanks be to God!

This was the incubator that Beau rode in to the NICU.

Daddy/Daughter Dance – This past Friday was the annual St. Mary Catholic School Daddy/Daughter Dance. I shared photos on my social media accounts and made this video of the incredible time I had with Sloan. I will have an official dance photo to share in the near future but I thought for tonight’s post I would include some photos from dinner. Is there any question about where we went? Of course it was Red Robin (for like the 97th time since 2021).

Red Robin for the win! We double-dated with Sloan’s classmate, Colie, and her dad.

Cotton Candy Mess – My wife may have threatened my sister when she saw the mess Beau made with the cotton candy portion of his Valentine’s Day gift. The threat went along the lines of, “Miranda, if you ever give my kids cotton candy again, you will die a slow and painful death.” Verdict is still out on whether she really meant it or not 😂.

Beau made a big ‘ol mess with his cotton candy.

National Wisconsin Day – I am sad (actually, I’m not) to say that I have never been to Wisconsin before. But even though I have never stepped foot inside the state, I still feel like I have a connection. This past fall I wrote about my history with the University of Wisconsin. On two different occasions, I saw the Badgers play in the NCAA Tournament. The first time was when I was working for the University of Montana and we played UW in Albuquerque. The second time was when I was working Coastal Carolina University and we played them in Omaha. Then, this past football season, WSU hosted Wisconsin in Pullman. I had the opportunity to produce a video of Badger fans trying our famous Cougar Gold cheese. So, to the whole state of Wisconsin…I salute you.

This is me at the 2012 NCAA Tournament when Montana played Wisconsin in Albuquerque.

Lenten Anecdote – After my Lenten blog posts this week (here and here), I wanted to offer one final observation. I had the pleasure of attending the school mass at St. Mary yesterday with Sloan. These services are always a treat because Fr. Jeff Lewis always preaches so genuinely to the students. During his homily he noted that sometimes we frame Lent as simply a sprint to Easter Sunday and then afterwards we go back to our old ways. He challenged us to use Lent as a “boot camp” to prepare us for Easter but to also get us in shape for life post-Easter as well. Basically, what we do during Lent should draw us closer to God on a permanent basis—not just during these 40 days.

Fr. Jeff Lewis distributes ashes to a St. Mary student (photo from 2020 and courtesy of St. Mary).

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Thank you for your interest in Don’t Blink. Wishing you a fabulous weekend with plenty of relaxation mixed in. Don’t Blink.

Baja Blast Thursday Rundown

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Greetings to all! Is it Thursday already? Well, I think I am prepared for the latest rundown so let’s just jump in and cross fingers that my topics add up to five…

Baja Blast 20th Anniversary – I was a bit shocked when I saw the below display in Safeway. Not surprised that 20 years of life with Baja Blast had already passed but rather that it had only been that long. For some reason I thought I remembered Baja Blast being on the Taco Bell taps since the Stone Age, which would pre-date high school and thus eclipse more than 20 years of teal soda happiness. But I will take the word of Mt. Dew and celebrate just the two decade-milestone.

I am actually surprised that Baja Blast has only been around for 20 years.

Parenting Decision – Sidney and I put our feet down the other night. No more! Not in this house! We told Sloan and Beau that they could no longer make “ice cream soup” (their term) when we treated them to dessert at night. Our kids had become pretty obsessed with eating just a couple bites of their ice cream before swirling and mashing it into a lumpy, sticky liquid. I reached my boiling point when I watched Beau turn gourmet, beautiful ice cream into a disgusting soup when I took him out to a parlor after he ran a weekend errand with me. Not only does “ice cream soup” ruin a special treat but it also makes a mess and is terrible table manners. If the kids ever want to eat ice cream again I think we made ourselves clear.

After watching Beau reduce this beautiful treat to ice cream soup (they gave us a dish with his cone which you can’t see in the photo) I knew we had to put an end to the practice.

Throwback – Thought this week would be another good one for a Throwback. This comes from the “awkward Christmas card pose” file. I don’t know which one of us thought, “Oh, let’s go across the street and pose on the playground slide” but it is now etched in time. What were we thinking?! 😂

I will take “Random and Awkward Family Photos” for $1000, Alex.

90s Films – This past week I watched a couple of well-known movies from the 1990s. On Friday night, Sid and I watched “The Bone Collector” with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. The ending was completely problematic but it was still a fun mystery to try and solve. Although I usually prefer villain-Denzel, he played a great paraplegic hero in this film. Then, just recently, I watched “Searching For Bobby Fischer.” I thought this movie was great and beautiful at the same time as I thought the performance by the boy who played the chess prodigy was superb. The film made me want to go out, buy a chess board, and teach Sloan how to play.

I enjoyed watching both “The Bone Collector” and “Searching for Bobby Fischer.”

Snowball Growth Chart – With all the snow that dumped on the Inland Northwest yesterday, there was more than enough to roll it up into balls and measure the entire population of Spokane. Beau came in at a solid height of 14 snowballs. I didn’t want to waste Ms. Shaurette’s time so I didn’t measure myself but I am pretty sure I would have measured 27 snow balls.

Beau measured 14 snow balls according to the St. Mary snowball growth chart.

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Alright, everything did add up to “five” tonight. I guess that means my work here is done. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the NFL Playoffs this weekend. Don’t Blink.

Saints Alive!

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A few days after dressing up for Halloween, Sloan and Beau put on different costumes. They ditched the witch and Spider-Man garb for something a little bit holier. Our children had the honor of dressing up as saints for the latest St. Mary Family Faith Night this past Saturday. Titled “Saints Alive,” the theme came on the heels of All Saints Day on November 1.

Sloan and a friend make a craft at the St. Mary Family Faith Night on Nov. 4. The theme was “Saints Alive.”

Sloan dressed up as the greatest saint of them all—St. Mary. Sid put the costume together and Sloan proudly carried her baby Jesus throughout the event.

Sloan poses for a photo before we went to Family Faith Night. Sid put together her St. Mary costume.

While Sloan depicted perhaps the most well-known saint, Beau portrayed one of the soon-to-be newest saints. He dressed up as Blessed Carlo, the patron saint of the internet.

Beau dressed up as Blessed Carlo Acutis. The favorite video game of Carlo was Mario Kart and he liked to play soccer. The paper Beau is holding contains a QR code linking to Carlo’s Eucharistic miracles website.

I was in charge of Beau’s costume and was so humbled to put it together. You see, the case of Carlo Acutis is a little different than what most people might think of when they hear the word “saint.” Carlo didn’t live 1,500 years ago, he wasn’t a clergy member, and he wasn’t a martyr. Rather, he was born in 1991, played video games, and liked to kick around the soccer ball.

Blessed Carlo…I mean Beau…throws a stuffed animal at the baskets that are situated in front of St. Francis of Assisi (patron saint of animals) at the St. Mary Family Faith Night.

In other words, he was relatable.

Blessed Carlo is sometimes referred to as “the first millennial saint.”

But just because he is a modern day individual who shared probably many similarities with us doesn’t mean he wasn’t holy to the bone. Carlo converted non-believers and non-practicing people to the faith (including his parents), he stuck up for the meek/vulnerable, and he had an incredible devotion to the Eucharistic among so many other things.

St. Carlo is the patron saint of the internet.

Carlo’s devotion to the Eucharistic spurned a huge part of his legacy. The computer genius documented the many Eucharistic miracles that exist and categorized them into a website. He then helped create panel presentations of these miracles that now travel around the world. Sidney and I have been blessed to see one of Carlo’s displays before.

Carlo Actuis during his beatification mass in 2020.

Like so many other beatified people and saints, Carlo would die young. The grace and bravery with which he handled his bout with leukemia is nothing short of inspiring and holy. When asked about the pain, he simply said “There are people who suffer much more than me.” Carlo died at 15.

Beau reels in a catch at St. Peter’s Fishing Hole.

To have a slated saint like Carlo is so beneficial to my children. When we watched a story on Carlo the other night, tears filled the eyes of Sloan. He not only resonates with my kids, he inspires them to be saints as well. And you know what? He does the same for me, too.

Sloan holds the doll she convinced to play Baby Jesus at the St. Mary Family Faith Night.

Thank you to Marie Bricher and St. Mary Catholic Church for offering such an awesome evening. May all the saints pray for us. Don’t Blink.

First Day of Kindergarten

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Watch a short video of Sloan’s first day

Today, Sloan had a major milestone in her education career. She attended her first day of kindergarten. From here on out, it is full speed ahead to high school graduation. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves…

Sloan had her first day of Kindergarten today. This is her with her “first day” board.

It was a special day for Sloan and her parents alike. There is a lot of significance tied to the first day of kindergarten and we wanted to make sure she got off to a good start.

Sloan riding to St. Mary on her first day of school.

Not that we were too worried. I think a lot of kindergarteners and their parents face that “fear of the unknown” element but it wasn’t a factor for Sloan. You see, Sloan is a student at St. Mary Catholic School, the same school she has attended the past two years. She went through the Pre K-3 and Pre K-4 programs and learned with the same group of students that she stepped into a classroom with today.

St. Mary had a cool display for students to take their photos in front of on the first day.

But there is still plenty of adjustment. Sloan is now going to school Monday-Friday and her kindergarten program is full day. She has a new teacher and is in a new section of the building. It will take some getting used to but after her orientation event last week and her first day today, she seems to be easing right into it.

Once Sloan sat down at her desk, she was ready for us to go 🙂

Our family is excited for what the year will bring. St. Mary is a tight community and there are so many opportunities for academic, social, and spiritual growth. Please pray for Sloan, her classmates, and their teacher (Ms. Roff) as they embark on the 2022-23 school year. Don’t Blink.

A Nice 2021

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As I sit here and reflect on 2021, I am thankful that it was a year to adjust. After an insane 2020 that included the birth of Beau, a move across the country, and the beginning of a new job all while a global pandemic shook our world, things slowed down a little bit in 2021. It was our first full year in Spokane and with the easing of COVID restrictions, we took the last 12 months to become familiar with our new home.

Fr. Jeff Lewis blessed our home in 2021 as we took the year to take it easy after an insane 2020.

We have no complaints. This year wasn’t about us. Instead, we had the opportunity to celebrate others. Like Sid’s sister who gave birth to a handsome little boy, Jack. Or my brother and sister-in-law who wed on July 4. Or my parents who marked their 40th anniversary in August.

I was the best man at Glen and Carrie’s wedding.

With our loved ones thriving in the spotlight, we stayed backstage and really started making Washington our home. We solidified relationships, found a couple trusty coffee shops, played at a few favorite parks, became regulars at our local library, purchased season passes at Chuck E. Cheese, joined local swimming lessons, exercised hard with our gym community, stumbled upon a couple neighborhood watering holes, and so much more.

We spent a lot of time at Spokane parks in 2021.

Like I said, we spent most of the year on Spokane soil. That’s not to say we were stationary. We spent a May weekend in Walla Walla and had a blast. We visited Sid’s family in Myrtle Beach in June and are lucky to finish 2021 right here in South Carolina as well. We went camping in the middle of nowhere with my sister’s family. We ventured to Missoula. Sid and I took our first real vacation together in five years when we flew to Las Vegas for several days in July. We found our way back to Walla Walla in August where my parents rented a VRBO for a relative’s wedding weekend. I made numerous drives back and forth to Pullman for work but also spent a Saturday there with my dad and brother for a Cougar football game.

In August, we spent a family weekend in Walla Walla as my cousin got married.

As you can tell, a lot of our travels centered around family. But most of our everyday living did as well. We had numerous Sunday dinners with my parents, siblings, and their families. Although the setting changed from my dad’s backyard deck to the dining room of our childhood home depending on the season, the good times never ceased. Nor did they stop when we celebrated holidays, marked birthdays, or attended sporting events/shows. Although we didn’t have the quantity of time with Sidney’s family that we had with mine, we definitely matched it with quality. Just a couple weeks ago, we had a Myrtle Beach “staycation.” Sid’s parents rented a condo on the beach for us and the families of her two sisters. It was a really nice five days that preceded the Christmas holiday we also got to spend with them.

We got to celebrate lots of birthdays this year!

The other “F” value that flourished this year was our family’s faith. Our first full year as parishioners at St. Mary Catholic Church was blessed. We got to know our parish priest better and made friends with other church families. The relationships we started developing with our young adult Catholic group at the end of 2020 flourished in 2021. Beyond our regular meetings, we now all hang out together regularly at our homes. Sloan’s love for Jesus continued to grow as a student at St. Mary Catholic School. I committed to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year Podcast and went through the entire book from Genesis through Revelation.

Photo we took of Sloan prior to her first day of school as a Pre-K 4 student at St. Mary Catholic School in Spokane Valley.

Professionally, 2021 was a solid year. The social media team became its own unit within University Marketing and Communications at Washington State University and I joined the department’s leadership team. My responsibilities increased and I had the privilege of taking on tasks for the first time in my career. I work for a terrific boss and collaborate with a talented and supportive team.

In March 2021, I celebrated my 1-year anniversary at WSU. So thankful to work for the Cougs!

Thanks be to God, it was a fortunate year for us. Despite a couple trips to the emergency room for our accident-prone Beau, everyone stayed healthy. We didn’t experience loss in our extended families. With a pandemic still very much impacting the world, the virus and its variants stayed away from us. Could we ask for much more?

This year was a blessing for our family.

As we close the book on 2021, I am thankful for what this year provided our family and our loved ones. I would be more than happy with another stable year in 2022 but I do know that even-numbered years usually bring our family more change and unpredictability than odd-numbered ones. We shall see. At the very least, let’s hope 2022 finally brings us some light at the end of the tunnel to the coronavirus. Amen to that, right? Don’t Blink.

Halloween Weekend 2021

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We went hard this Halloween. Well, about as hard as you can go with a 4-year-old and 1-year-old. With the holiday falling on a Sunday, we went on a trunk-or-treat weekend bender. By the time we went to bed late Sunday night, you could say we were sugar drunk.

Perhaps the fatigue is showing in the faces of Sloan and Beau after we returned from trick-or-treating on Sunday night.

Our weekend went like this: On Friday night we went to a trunk-or-treat that took place in the parking lot of a trampoline park. The participants were businesses in the area who not only gave out candy but also screaming deals to their shops and eateries. After we were done there, we zipped over to downtown Spokane and went to a trunk-or-treat that was put on by a church. We then returned home and carved pumpkins.

Sloan and Sidney prepare to carve a pumpkin on Friday night.

Once Saturday morning hit, I took the kids to a trunk-or-treat staged by Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services. We finished up there and then drove out to Deer Park for the community Pumpkin Lane event. If you have never experienced this festival before, put it on your bucket list. The whole town shuts down and there isn’t s single business that is not giving out candy. We drove back to the Spokane Valley and went to the St. Mary trunk-or-treat that was fabulous. Later that night, Sid and I drove the kids around the neighborhood to look at Halloween decorations while listening to spooky music.

Sloan plays a game at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services trunk-or-treat on Saturday morning.

The main event occurred on Sunday. We took Sloan and Beau trick-or-treating in my parents’ neighborhood and were impressed by the stamina they showed considering the busy weekend. Once they had enough, we helped my mom and dad pass out candy. Their candy supply ran out after the 245th trick-or-treater knocked on the door.

We would add about 19 more tallies to this sheet before shutting things down at my parents’ house on Sunday night.

Just a few quick trends and memories from Halloween 2021…

Holiday Theme – We saw a lot of different trunk displays over the weekend but the most popular theme? Christmas! Just at the Friday night trunk-or-treat alone, we visited THREE different vehicles decked out in Yuletide spirit. Santa came earlier this year.

A look at the three different holiday trunks we saw at a single event on Friday night.

Best Costume – Throughout October, Sloan really got into “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” She enjoyed the movie a lot, especially Jack Skellington. When we saw a very respectable-looking Jack at the St. Mary trunk-or-treat, Sloan made sure to get a photo with him.

After getting a heavy dose of Jack Skellington this Halloween season, Sloan was thrilled to get a picture with him at the St. Mary Catholic School trunk-or-treat in Spokane Valley.

Candy Sorting – Growing up, it was a tradition that after the three of us Reser kids would arrive home from trick-or-treating we would dash downstairs, sort our candy, and make trades. Although Beau is a little young to wheel and deal, he was still able to keep his daddy’s tradition alive and sort candy with his sister.

Although their sorting might still be a little primitive, Sloan and Beau dumped their candy out on the floor just like I would do once I returned home from trick-or-treating.

Favorite Trunk – I mentioned the most popular trunk-or-treat theme we encountered during Halloween weekend but not our personal favorite. Okay, time to change that. Our vote for best decorated vehicle goes to the McDonald’s drive-thru we encountered. We admired this display for its creativity and its ability to make us crave some golden fries.

This McDonald’s trunk at the True Hope Church event in downtown Spokane Valley was #1 in our hearts.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words – My personal favorite photo from the weekend was this image of Sloan ringing the doorbell at a house on Halloween night. She is quick to lead the charge but, interestingly enough, once the door would swing open she would become a little timid and “forget” to say trick-or-treat. Oh well, I guess all that matters is that you get to that front door.

Sloan had no issue working her way to the front and ringing the doorbell.

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It was a memorable weekend hanging out with Moana and Farmer Beau. Special thanks to Sidney for allowing us to go all out…I am pretty sure we have enough candy to last us until next Halloween. Don’t Blink.

Back to School for Sloan

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It’s back to school in the Reser household! After a successful Pre-K 3 year, Sloan returned to St. Mary Catholic School today for the beginning of her Pre-K 4 year.

Photo we took of Sloan prior to her first day of school as a Pre-K 4 student at St. Mary Catholic School in Spokane Valley.

It is bittersweet now that Sloan’s summer has come to an end. I enjoyed having her around the house five days per week. But this is a situation that is more sweet than bitter because I know Sloan was so excited to return to the classroom. St. Mary had its welcome back orientation last week and Sloan connected with her new teacher and couldn’t contain her enthusiasm seeing all of her classmates’ name tags.

Sloan cruising in the car to her first day of school.

So it goes without saying that Sloan was chomping at the bit this morning. We carefully put on her uniform and loaded her backpack. When it was time to head to school, she didn’t show the least bit of nerves as we helped her into the car.

Sloan confidently held her mommy’s hand as she skipped through the parking lot and into school.

Once at St. Mary, there was no hesitation. We walked her to the classroom and without hesitation she ventured into the big world…ummm…I mean ventured to her desk.

Sloan standing inside St. Mary Catholic School right after arriving. She was ready to go!

When she returned home, Sloan was still ecstatic about school and ready to return tomorrow.

Once Sloan sat down at her desk she was in the zone and ready to learn!

Please pray for a fruitful school year for not just Sloan and her classmates but all students returning to school. May everyone learn lots! Don’t Blink.