Vader | Don't Blink

It’s time…it’s time…it’s Thursday Rundown time! If you were a fan of professional wrestling in the early 2000s, you would recognize that cadence from a wrestler named Vader. He sadly passed away yesterday. So, in his honor, I dedicate this blog post to him (along with the letter “S”).

Sidney’s Craft – For Mother’s Day, I gave Sidney a gift card to a place called AR Workshop. Earlier this week, she cashed it in! A haven for women who want to create custom home décor from raw materials, AR Workshop offers a wide variety of projects to choose from. Sidney opted to make a lazy Susan. A very handy and creative person, I think my wife’s final product came out great.

Sidney and Sloan holding the lazy Susan that was made at AR Workshop. Sid did a wonderful job!

Snakes on a Sidewalk – Last week, I encountered two snakes slithering around our neighborhood. Well, one was slithering and the other one was dead. Let me start with the unfortunate latter reptile. Sid was doing yard work this past Thursday and came across a tiny snake in one of our barked areas. The little guy met his demise via a weed whacker. Later that night, Sidney had me confirm that it was deceased (yep!). I gave her grief about it resembling a worm more than a snake. A couple days later while walking the neighborhood, I found a very much alive green garter snake on the sidewalk. I pointed my phone at it, snapped a couple photos, took some video, and walked away.

A look at the two snakes I encountered this past week.

Sloan’s Best Photos – This week, courtesy of Timehop, I was served two of my favorite photos ever taken of Sloan. The first one shows her laying on our bed in her swimsuit, moments before we went to the pool. The second one is of her sitting in the bassinet wearing her rosary. Both these photos melt my heart and it was so nice to be reminded of them. When it comes to Sloan in the present, she is walking like a pro! Nothing slows her down and she is starting to say words. At times it is challenging to keep track of her but she brings us so much joy!

I love these two photos of Sloan.

Summer is Here! – In a different life, I might have said that my favorite season is spring or fall. Well, for at least the past 10 years, I have seen the light. In my opinion, nothing compares to summer. Longer days, hot temperatures, wading in the pool, the Fourth of July, cookouts, a laid back feel, baseball, ice cream, and so much more makes this season my undisputed favorite. Summer officially started today and I can’t wait to experience all that it will bring in 2018.

Nothing beats the summer!

Staff Advisory Council – At my job, I embrace opportunities that go beyond my duties within University Communication. When you step outside of your department (something I failed to do while at the University of Montana), you learn so much. For the past year, I had the pleasure of serving on the Staff Advisory Council. Our mission was to facilitate an active and participatory line of communication and engagement among the University community. A large portion of our work centered on fielding questions and concerns from the 733 staff members at Coastal. We would discuss all matters at our meetings to determine how to arrive at the best answer or response. We would then provide follow up to every inquiry that was received. It was a great experience serving on this body and I learned a lot.