Does anyone else find it nuts that we are less than a week away from the Fourth of July? As much as I would like to give you some fireworks with this Thursday Rundown, I think it is going to be pretty lame. Here we go…

Brick of Fries – Last weekend at Hoopfest, we indulged in a very unhealthy snack. After I was done playing for the day, our family plus Fr. Jeff Lewis and my teammate/friend Amy would head to the park for lunch and shade. Both days, Sidney ordered a block of fries for us. Because Beau had fallen asleep, it was just Sid, Sloan, and I to tackle the brick. Thankfully Amy provided a little bit of help as it was an enormous, greasy task to eat that whole thing …but it was also really delicious!

Sloan begins to dig into the block of fries we bought at Hoopfest on Saturday.

Powerade Deal – Yoke’s is a prominent Spokane-based chain grocery store that doesn’t always have the best prices. However, this month it has offered an absolute steal. At the beginning of June, it sold the big Powerade bottles for just $.68. That price was available for a couple weeks as I would go in and purchase 10 bottles at a time. Last week it was increased to $.79 per bottle but I still bought large quantities to get us through the Hoopfest weekend. When I walked inside Yoke’s yesterday, the price per bottle took a hike to $.99. Although still a decent price, they are no longer worthy of buying them in large quantities.

A look at the Powerade shelf at the Yoke’s located in Argonne Village after prices increased to $.79 per bottle.

Wienermobile – On this date in 2018, we had a close encounter with the Wienermobile. The “big hot dog on wheels” visited Myrtle Beach and parked in front of a Publix grocery store. It was fun to scope it out, touch it, and pose for photos in front of it. But the best part was definitely the free hot dogs from the Oscar Mayer trailer that was a short distance away from the Wienermobile.

In 2018, our family visited the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

Winnie – We read a lot with the kids but I seldom give book suggestions. However, I want to recognize a children’s book that tells the origin of Winnie-the-Pooh. When Sloan, Beau, and I read “Winnie” last night on our back porch, we learned that our modern day Winnie was a black bear named Winnipeg. His owner, Harry, bought him for $20 and trained him to help train horses as part of the Canadian war effort. There is much more to the story but eventually Winnie would meet the real life Christopher Robin. The story captivated the attention of my children while also teaching them about historic events. Not too boring but also not too fluffy, we thought this book deserves two thumbs up.

Beau, Sloan, and I had a nice time reading “Winnie.”

Prices Going Up – I once wrote an entire blog post about the best soda machines you will ever find and even made a TikTok out of these secret beverage dispensers. A big part of what made these soda machines stand out is that a 12 oz. can of soda cost just $.25. Unfortunately, that is all coming to an end. When I visited the machines this morning, the below sign communicated the lousy news that a price hike is coming. In a future rundown I will update you on the new cost of a can because I know you all must be extremely distraught.

I am not looking forward to the price increases at the soda machines at the Coke plant on Montgomery St. in Spokane.

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Fries, hot dogs, Powerade, soda? Once again I focused more on food and drink than originally planned. Oh well, the hot dog talk makes sense as we approach Independence Day. Have a great night. Don’t Blink.