Happy Thursday to everyone! It is commencement week at Eastern Washington University so I would like to congratulate all of the Eagles who will be graduating this weekend. Soar!!…

No Cavity Club – Sloan and Beau visited the dentist this week…but it wasn’t to get their teeth cleaned! Rather, they walked through the doors of Children’s Choice Dental to pick up their prize for being the No Cavity Club winners for June. They received t-shirts, free ice cream, and Target gift cards. When I was a kid, the only thing our family dentist gifted to the winner of the “No Cavity Club” monthly equivalent was a stuffed animal.

Beau and Sloan were the big winners of The Children’s Dental “No Cavity Club” promotion for June.

Beau is a Preschool Graduate – On Wednesday morning, Beau walked across the front of the sanctuary at St. Mary Catholic Church and officially graduated from preschool. Although I didn’t attend the ceremony, my wife and mom sent several photos/videos and said it was very touching. It has been a tremendous school year for Beau and I hope to elaborate on it in the near future. But until then, we now have a kindergartener in our house!

Beau walks across the sanctuary and shakes Mrs. Jordan Hoard’s hand as he graduates the St. Mary Catholic School preschool program.

Ninth Anniversary Dinner – For our anniversary dinner last night, we wanted to go somewhere the kids would never allow us to eat at if they were with us. We settled upon Vieux Carre and what a choice it was! Marketed as a “Nola kitchen,” Vieux Carre specializes in Cajun food and DANG was it good. Sid ordered shrimp and grits while I opted for jambalaya. We also ordered hush puppies as an appetizer. But for as good as the food was, the atmosphere may have been better. Nestled in a beautiful 1903 building, it is infused with New Orleans-style décor. We sat at the bar and enjoyed watching the employees sling fancy cocktail after fancy cocktail. We highly recommend.

Vieux Carré in downtown Spokane was delicious as well as an overall nice experience. Sid and I recommend!

Chalk Project – As I mentioned above, it is commencement week at EWU. For the first time in several years, the ceremonies have moved back to campus after being held in Spokane. One thing our marketing team has highlighted leading up to this weekend is the special bond that exists between EWU and the Cheney community. My team was able to implement numerous strategies to reflect this, but my favorite might have been the chalk art activity we did yesterday. Multiple downtown Cheney businesses granted my request to allow EWU-themed commencement chalk art to be drawn on the sidewalks in front of their shops. All morning on Thursday, design student and intern Alyssa Almond drew her beautiful chalk art drawings on the streets of Cheney. For me, it was a pleasure to chat with Cheney business owners, spread Eagle pride, and watch Alyssa work. Communication specialist Melodie Little wrote this story that covered some of our efforts.

Our intern, Alyssa Almond, works on her chalk art masterpiece in front of the Mason Jar. My marketing team did a lot to showcase the close bond that exists between EWU and Cheney.

Ananda Lewis – Growing up, my family did have cable but my parents did something very intentional: they blocked MTV from the channel lineup. They felt strongly that it wasn’t appropriate for children so they told the cable company to make it unavailable in our household. However, that didn’t mean I didn’t watch MTV over at my friends’ houses. During those early days, I remember watching Ananda Lewis vividly. She was young, hip, and fun—the perfect combination for an MTV VJ. Sadly, I learned last night that she passed away from cancer. Speaking of “young”, she was only 52. Please pray for the repose of Ananda’s soul.

I was saddened to hear of Ananda Lewis’ death.

——————

That will wrap things up for tonight. As always, thanks for reading, my appreciation for my loyal Don’t Blink readers is deep. Make sure to treat your dads well this weekend!