Summer 2024

Posted on September 2, 2024 by brent

Today is Labor Day and that means a lot of things to a lot of people. For our family, it always means “Return to School Eve.” Many also consider Labor Day the end of summer. So with my children heading back to St. Mary on Tuesday combined with the prevailing opinion that fall is just around the corner, I thought today marks the best opportunity to recap the summer.

It was a truly memorable summer—and not just for all the activities we crammed in. I will always remember Summer 2024 for significant life events and historical happenings. In the same way that I have recapped summers in the past, today I want to remember Reser Summer 2024 with 10 distinguishing themes/events.

Walla Walla Kickoff – Our summer truly kicked off with a mid-June weekend in Walla Walla. We ventured to “the place so nice they named it twice” for my Aunt Patty’s 60th birthday. The four of us joined my parents, my sister’s family, and my aunts/uncles/cousins for a birthday bash and so much more. The actual party on Saturday night at gorgeous Pioneer Park was the highlight but we also enjoyed a water park outing and a “welcome” pizza dinner on Friday night.

A look at the birthday party for my Aunt Patty at Pioneer Park in Walla Walla.

St. Paschal Educare – This summer, we sent both our kids to St. Paschal Catholic Church for its educare program. Although it was more or less daycare, Sloan and Beau considered it summer camp and had a blast. Sid and I felt thankful to send the kids to a safe, fun, and faith-filled spot while we worked during the summer months.

Sloan had so much fun making new friends and playing hard at St. Paschal Educare in Spokane Valley.

Hoopfest Weekend – What fun this weekend was! I volunteered to be a court monitor at Hoopfest 2024 but I wasn’t the only one from the family who was serving the community. Sidney, Sloan, and Beau volunteered, too, as they kept score during the games and performed all the extra administrative work needed to make sure a bracket runs smoothly. When action wasn’t taking place on our court, we had the opportunity to watch our friends and loved ones play in their own brackets.

Saturday afternoon, we posed for a photo after we finished the games on our court.

Fourth of July – It might have only been a day, but I feel obligated to give Independence Day 2024 its own spot. What an incredible day it was! We started with a Fourth of July parade in Coeur d’Alene, then headed to Riverfront Park to play at a carnival, drove out to my parents’ house for a cookout, and finally headed to Pavillion Park for the fireworks show. You can’t epitomize summer much better than that.

Our Fourth of July was a lot of fun. We attended a parade, went to a carnival, had a cookout at my parents’ house, and then went to Pavillion Park for fireworks.

New Job – I will always remember this summer for taking the next step in my career. In June I interviewed for the marketing director position at Eastern Washington University and was offered the job the same month. I spent July wrapping up my tenure at WSU and on August 1 I officially started at EWU. True, a lot of this past summer was devoted to a major professional transition but I am grateful it didn’t take away from all the fun stuff I got to do with my family.

Check the ID, I am an official EWU employee.

Visit From Sid’s Parents – In July we enjoyed a special visit from “Gami and Dada.” Sid’s parents came for a week and had their stay extended (yay!) due to the CrowdStrike snafu. It was nice to have my in-laws in town to experience Spokane in its complete summer glory. We had game nights, boated on Lake Coeur d’Alene, visited a Post Falls festival, and much more.

What a blessing it was to host Sid’s parents during summer in Spokane.

The Olympics – I can’t estimate the total hours my family spent watching the Olympics except for the general assessment of A LOT. We had such a joyful time watching the different events, keeping a close eye on the medal count, and rooting for the USA. As I mentioned in my wrap up, the Olympics took place during a very memorable stretch for our family.

Sloan turned into quite the fan of Team USA and the Olympics in general.

Silverwood – During the short break I had between my time at WSU and EWU, the four of us went on our annual summer excursion to Silverwood Theme Park. We hit up the water park first and then transitioned to the rides. A magic show, bottomless soda, and some carnival games were also mixed in. It was Beau’s first trip to Silverwood but it won’t be his last.

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

Family Vacation – This summer we traveled to Leavenworth for our family vacation. It was refreshing and relaxing to visit a new/unique place with so much charm. We stuck around our hotel for most of the time as we took advantage of the pools, games, movies, and delicious food. We also made the most of downtown Leavenworth and some lovely family dinners.

We had an amazing time in Leavenworth.

Water – The mercury reached some record-breaking heights this summer so we made sure water wasn’t ever far away. From swimming in the area lakes/rivers to visiting public water parks to splashing in the private pool of a dear family friend, Sloan and Beau improved their comfort with the water and managed to stay coooooool.

We spent a lot of time at pools over the past few months.

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Thanks to my wife and kids for making Reser Summer 2024 truly memorable and FUN. I don’t know if a future summer will ever quite compare to everything that went down over the past 2.5 months but you never know. Bring on the fall. Don’t Blink.

An “Every Four Years” Year…2024

Posted on January 1, 2024 by brent

Welcome to 2024, friends. How does it feel?

Happy New Year from my children! We are looking forward to a good year.

For me, it has felt a bit rough. The day started great with a workout and then the beginning of mass. However, during the latter, I started to feel a little queasy. By the time the Eucharistic prayer came along, I had to excuse myself as I felt I might make a mess. Thankfully, no vomit touched the ground inside St. Paschal Catholic Church.

As I write this, I am still battling the effects of this holiday bug. However, I am not allowing it to place an omen on what 2024 might have in store. I am way too positive for that. Instead, I am framing today as the perfect opportunity for a body cleanse before the year starts in earnest 😂.

I have made a better effort at New Year’s resolutions the past several years and I have a few for this year, too. However, I have decided to make my resolutions focus on specific acts as opposed to sustained habits. Wish me luck!

It goes without saying that this year will be big for many of us because of national/global events. It is a Presidential election year, the Summer Olympics will convene in Paris (can’t wait!), and it is a leap year! Yes, 2024 is an “every four years” year that packs plenty of excitement, competitiveness, and animosity. Tread wisely.

I always say that even-numbered years bring my family more unpredictability and change than odd-numbered years. However, if this is true, 2023 was an outlier. I am looking forward to 2024 and hope your year is fabulous as well. Love your family, trust God, and work hard—if you do those three things, you can a least get your year off to a good start…even if you spent most of Jan. 1 sick in bed. Don’t Blink.

Titanic Thursday Rundown

Posted on October 26, 2023 by brent

It is the final Thursday Rundown of October which means Halloween is right around the corner. Hope the costume is picked out, the pumpkins are carved, and the trick-or-treat candy is purchased! Let’s get to tonight’s five topics…

Jack-O-Lantern Pizza – I am always in the mood for a good holiday-themed pizza which is why I am a sucker for the Papa Murphy’s pumpkin and heart-shaped pies that come out during October and February, respectively. We picked up our jack-o-lantern pizza this past Sunday and instead of opting for the $10 large-sized pizza we went with the $13 family-sized pizza. As per usual it was delicious but I wish they would use something besides olives for the eyes…perhaps sausage or pineapple?

This was the Papa Murphy’s family-sized pizza we got on Sunday night.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe – Back in my Coastal Carolina University days, I worked with a guy who was so revered for his food management and food preparation skills that he was called The Foodman. Jeff Stone, CCU’s Director of Food Services at the time, knew (and still does) everything about food. From time to time I will ask him for tips when it comes to preparing dishes. The other day I asked him for his best chocolate chip cookie recipe. You know what he told me? He said to pick up a bag of Nestle chocolate chips and follow the directions on the back of the package. I was expecting something elaborate but I thought it was a credit to Jeff that sometimes the most simple and tried-and-true recipe can be the best.

That’s me (in the Santa costume) hanging out with Jeff Stone (aka THE FOODMAN) in Dec. 2014.

The Evolution of Arthur – On Tuesday night, we read “Arthur’s Halloween.” After we finished the book, Sidney and I started talking about the changes in Arthur’s appearance over the years. We both remembered reading those “early” books where he just didn’t look very modern or kid friendly. I looked up the transformation of Arthur on Google and I found that his evolution was even more complex than originally thought.

Arthur sure has changed a lot over the years.

Titanic Book – I am trying to introduce more non-fiction books into our nightly reading as Sloan seems to take a great interest in it. Last week we read a book on the Titanic. I did question whether it was appropriate for her but I remembered how much the story of the Titanic intrigued me as a kid so I moved forward with reading it to Sloan. She also found it very interesting and talked a lot about it the next day. The book broke down a time period of four days that included initial boarding, life on the ship, its sinking, and the arrival of survivors in New York. “Four Days on the Titanic” is a good option for introducing this historical event to children.

This book on the Titanic was very interesting.

Time With The Blessed Mother – This past Sunday, we had another one of our Spokane Valley Young Adult Catholic meetings. While the adults met, I kept an eye on the kids. We were roaming around the St. Paschal campus when Sloan spotted this small statue of our Blessed Mother. Without skipping a beat she sat down on the bench and started to pray. Aria, the adorable daughter of our friends Ryan and Allyson, joined her. Sloan’s/Aria’s acts of reverence, the beautiful statue, and the gorgeous fall colors made this photo a special one. Let us all pray for peace to our Blessed Mother during these very contentious times we are living in.