Blogs By Brian

At Hoopfest each team participates in a bracket of 16 teams (give or take a few). Each braket is played on a court somewhere in downtown Spokane.

This year I am playing with Team Mulder, a group of guys from PLU who needed a fourth player and invited me to be part of the team.

The day started off well with a 20-9 win (games are played to 20 by 1's and 2's). Then, in the heat of the day, 99 degrees, Team Mulder set out for game 2. Mulder jumped to an early 7-1 lead, but couldn't hold off a fierce comeback going down to defeat 19-20.

With the team 1-1, it meant a loser out game to be played at 6:30. By that time the heat dropped a bit and our baskets dropped a bit better as well. Team Mulder won 20-11 to advance to Sunday.

With the first game at 8:30am, and the hottest day in Hoopfest history expected, it should be quite a day. Team Mulder is ready to hit the streets and make a run at the title. It will take 6 wins from this point on to win the bracket, a formidable task, but one we are ready to try.

The sun, the crowds, and basketball made for another year of fun in downtown Spokane. Every year the streets are a shut down for this special event. This year over 25,000 people are playing in Hoopfest and over 100,000 are there for support. From volunteers to court monitors, parents and fans the streets are lined with people. There simply is nothin like it on the planet.

Find out more about Spokane's Hoopfest event

It all leads to this - Spokane Hoopfest - the training, the sweat, the early morning runs has all had a purpose, besides getting me in better shape. HOOPFEST weekend is here.

Spokane Hoopfest is the largest 3 on 3 street basketball tournament in the world. For years my family has made the trip to Spokane to participate. Even my honeymoon included Hoopfest as part of our trip.

This year I am playing with Mulder for the first time. Though I only know one guy on the team, I think we'll do okay. Friday night is a bar-be-que/practice time for the team to strategize.

We caught a break, too. Our first game isn't until 11:00am on Saturday morning. If you are in Spokane you can find us on Main and Wall at the Thomas Hammer Coffee #1 court.

Look for updates on the teams progress throughout the weekend.

What a perfect day to celebrate life in Puyallup at the Relay for Life event at Emerald Ridge High School. Hundreds showed up on Friday night to honor survivors, support the families affected by cancer, and walk for a cure. With Mt. Rainier standing in the distance, it was a reminder of the power of healing and the beauty of survival.

Cancer Survivors (dressed in purple) were honored to begin the event before lining up for the survivor lap.

Following the survivor's lap, hundreds lined up to Relay for Life.

Shops, tents, and displays like these were set up across the football field, providing a welcome atmosphere where people could rest, visit, and support the cause.

Overall, Relay for Life raised thousands of dollars at this event to fight the fight against cancer.

If you would like to contribute, visit www.solinskyrfl.com or make a contribution to an upcoming event at www.lissamarathon.com

Thank you to all those who made this event possible and a special blessing to survivors and families of those battling this deadly disease. Keep up the fight for a cure.

While driving home from the office today I saw some young entrepreneurs on the side of the road. The simplicity of life captured my attention and I just had to stop. After passing over the money, I enjoyed my cup of lemonade and a cookie. How a simple thing like a lemonade stand can make time stop for a moment just to enjoy!

This is not the exact stand I saw, but a good representation of the simplicity of life.

Parts of Pierce County - Weekly Update 6/16/08 - 6/23/08

The Solinsky Home Team completes weekly research on the following cities of Pierce County. For more specific market information, contact Brian Solinsky at 253-848-5304.

Comparisons are made on a week by week basis.

Down = fewer pendings/solds compared to the previous week

Up = more pendings/solds compared to the previous week

=  = same pendings/solds compared to the previous week

In the week by week comparison, Puyallup showed an increase in pendings and solds. This was the strongest week for Puyallup residential since April.

Graham/Fredrickson and Lake Tapps/Bonney Lake areas had no closed sales this week.

 Visit the Solinsky Home Team at www.briansolinsky.com and search for homes at www.FindWestWAHomes.com

For those of us continuing our commitment to workout 3x a week for 20 minutes each time, it has been rewarding to see a change in attitude, stamina, and shape.

This begins the third week of the Active Rain Running Challenge and it is not too late to join the group and make a commitment to a healthy life. Whether you are running or walkiing, in aerobics or playing hoops - you are welcome in the AR Running Challenge group.

Share your stories of success or your times of difficulty. Whatever you do, take the opportunity to be healthy and fit so you can enjoy a better life, a better business, and have fun doing it.

Make your commitment today at http://www.activerain.com/groups/runningchallenge 

Park Reviews:

Hey all you park fans in Puyallup. Here is the place to find information about what parks are fun for the kids/family/pets, what to do, and where to go.

The series starts with reviews of the parks in Puyallup, WA. Assisting me on this adventure are my 5-year-old daughter, Taylor, and my nearly 3-year old son, Tanner. They will give me the feedback from a kids perspective and my wife and I will provide feedback as parents.

We invite you to visit the parks as we review them and add your comments, especially if you have older kids or younger kids who can provide a different perspective.

The goal is to provide a place where parents can go find fun locations for the kids to play, then get out and play!

Puyallup Park Review

Rainier Woods Park

Rainier Woods is tucked away in a neighborhood just off 23rd and Shaw Road. My kids love this park, they call it picture park because it is the first park we took great pictures of the kids playing at the park.

What they look forward to most are the see-saw and the swings:

The area is usually pretty quiet in the mornings, but seems to be active in the evenings when little league baseball and softball takes over the fields.

Oftentimes, Taylor and Tanner like to race to the fence, when no one is on the fields like this Saturday morning. Dad usually tries to keep up. Whoever makes it to the fence first encourages the others until everyone is done.

Then, it is a race back to the picnic tables:

The younger kids love to play go down the slides and climb on the bars:

The older kids enjoy playing basketball:

The park is dog-friendly for you dog lovers, just make sure you clean up:

    and follow the rules:

 So, whether you just need an outing or want to have a family get together, Rainier Woods is a great place to go.

Directions: From Shaw Road and 23rd (entrance to Crystal Ridge), head south and take a right on Cherokee Blvd. SE. Rainier Woods is on the left.

From Meridian, take 23rd Ave SE heading east past Wildwood Park, take a right on 26th St SE and it will take you right to the park.

Have fun and let others know your experience (no pictures required, but appreciated)!

Park Reviews:

This is the first in a series of reviews of the parks in Puyallup, WA. Assisting me on this adventure are my 5-year-old daughter, Taylor, and my nearly 3-year old son, Tanner. They will give me the feedback from a kids perspective and my wife and I will provide feedback as parents.

We invite you to visit the parks as we review them and add your comments, especially if you have older kids or younger kids who can provide a different perspective.

The goal is to provide a place where parents can go find fun locations for the kids to play, then get out and play!

Usually the only time I am up before 7:00 am is because my kids wake me up. Today, however, a new desire hit me at 6:00am and I headed off to the YMCA to play some basketball. It amazed me to see the number of guys on the court so early in the morning.

What a great way to continue the AR Running Challenge, running up and down the court playing hoops. It is rather fitting being that Hoopfest (Spokane), the largest 3 on 3 street basketball tournament in the world is just 10 days away. Guess it's time to prepare my skills and be ready for my favorite sporting event of the year.

One thing I noticed about today was my stamina and attitude seemed to be so much better after an early morning workout. I just might have to work it into my routine.

Anyone is welcome to join the AR Running Challenge at any time. Members are completing a 20 minute workout, three times a week and helping to support one another to complete the goal. Our physical health has a direct correlation to our mental health and business health. Make your workout part of your day.

Single Family Residential Resales - Pierce County, WA - May 2008

May 2008 statistics reveal a sluggish real estate market in Pierce County. In single family residential resales there were only 741 closed sales as compared with 1,069 in 2007, a drop of 31% year to year. The median home sale price dropped from $270,000 to $254,000 in 2008 for a drop of 6%.

Orting was the only city with a minimum of 10 closed sales in '07 and '08 to show improvement in May '08 over May '07. Orting sales were up 32%, however the median sales price dropped 15% in May.

Tacoma showed the highest drop in May 2008 with 38% fewer closed sales. The median sales price dropped 9%.

Here are some other Pierce County cities of interest (minimum 10 closed sales in May '07 and May '08);

City                       Closed Sales % Change             Median Sales % Change

Bonney Lake                  -11%                                                  -17%

Dupont                            -5%                                                     -8%

Gig Harbor                     -36%                                                    0%

Graham                           -27%                                                   + 1%

Lakewood                      -31%                                                    0%

Orting                             +32%                                                   -15%

Puyallup                         -21%                                                    -6%

Spanaway                      -21%                                                   -5%

Sumner                          0%                                                        -27%

Tacoma                           -38%                                                   -9%

University Place          -32%                                                    +16%

PIERCE COUNTY           -31%                                                  -6%

While hitting the streets to run on Monday morning, I thought of the amount of perseverance it takes to complete the race. Whether it is finishing a 20 minute run, three times a week or making phone calls for 2 hours a day to lead generate, it takes perseverance to finish the task.

Then, I took the opportunity to watch Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate finish a classic at the US Open. Talk about perseverance! For both men to compete at that level with that much pressure for that length of time was astonding. Both were winners in my mind, but Tiger received the trophy. What a classic example of perseverance, being down on Sunday and coming back to force a playoff, then down again on Monday with one hole remaining and forcing sudden death and continuing on to victory on the first hole of sudden death.

Tiger never gave up, never gave in, and finished with perseverance what I believe was the greatest golf tournament of all-time.

What Tiger does has not come easy. It's the day in-day out grind of focus and practice, education and networking that allows him to be at the top of his profession.

As an REALTOR, I can take a lesson from today, a lesson of perseverance to complete the difficult tasks that make me better, to go the extra little bit, even when it's tough.

The other lesson is from Rocco. His words following defeat were words of victory, knowing he gave his all and persevered to the extent that he was able. Even when I come up short of the top prize, I want to be like Rocco and go away knowing I gave my best.

What a day to remember!

On this Father's Day, I have to say...

The greatest blessing is my kids today.

Through early morns and sleepless nights

Little spills and little fights

I find my kids the ones I love

The greatest gift from above.

When I am down and feeling blue

I need only look at my darling two.

With hearts of gold and songs of praise

I love them both for all my days.

Happy Father's Day! It has been a little rough in the later part of the week to get my run completed. Two down this week with one to go. Why does everything seem to take a priority over a run.

It's so easy to plop in front of the TV and watch Tiger go for another title or mess around in the garage, it's also easy to sit here and blog about how I should get out and run, rather than just doing it.

Well, now I'm ready - time to hit the streets for 20 minutes in the first heat we've had in Puyallup since October.

You can still join the active rain running challenge. The group is growing in numbers as we commit to working out at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes a workout.

Go to http://activerain.com/groups/runningchallenge and join the group!

Can you believe how quickly the county has changed the layout of 94th in Puyallup? While widening the road many homeowners and business owners are seeing their property disappear. Even a church looks to be part of the new road as crews smooth the dirt within inches of the building.

Drivers beware of long backups on 94th as the project continues, then connects with the city's portion of the project at 117th.

We'll see if the project pays off to divert traffic from Meridian and provide an alternate route to the deep South Hill and Graham.

Another cool morning for a run and not much time to complete it. Today I barely made the 20 minute run before heading off to swim lessons with my kids.

Isn't this job amazing? I can get up, go on a run, and join my kids for swim lessons on a Thursday morning. Speaking of swim lessons, today was monumental as my girl advanced to eels and my boy is no longer in the parent/child swim lessons at the YMCA (kinda bitter-sweet).

Anyway, the run again today was completed because of my accountability to my Active Rain Running Challenge partners.

It's never too late to join. www.activerain.com/group/runningchallenge

Workout 20 minutes a day for 3 days a week.

The clouds remain hovering over Puyallup and the JUNuary chill continues to bite. Bundled up in a sweatshirt my morning run started with a new end in mind. A new route never run before made the day different. Coming down the south hill was a welcome change from the flat layout typically on my course.

Then came the return part of the run. When going down the hill one way, means coming up the hill to get back. That was a struggle. After 25 minutes of straight running - the hill slowed things up a bit. I decided to go 2 minutes running and 2 minutes walking until the hill was complete. Good move too, because I am feeling the lactic acid running through my veins.

After 45 minutes, I made it home with another run complete. Much thanks to my Active Rain Running Partners, who once again helped me get out there and run.

Anyone can join the Active Rain Running Challenge at anytime. We are committed to a 20 minute workout, 3x a week.

The first week of June in Puyallup was the coldest on record dating back to 1894. While much of the nation was bathing in the heat, Puyallupites bundled up as if it was January. It seems the real estate market followed the weather pattern, as only six residential properties closed between June 2nd and June 9th.

There is a a silver-lining as 37 residential properties went contingent or pending in the past week, so it looks like June could finish strong. Only time will tell if we are coming out of the slump.

We are five days into the running challenge with four committed individuals ready to make an effort at a healthy lifestyle. Anyone can join at anytime to our commitment of doing a 20 minute workout, 3 days a week.

On Sunday, I loaded up the kids in the carriage that is attached to my mountain bike and made my way around the neighborhood. I cannot believe how much my kids weigh now that they are 5 and almost 3. The hills were the toughest, but I pressed forward knowing my Active Rain teammates were right there with me.

Next time I'll have to get a picture, and then figure out how to upload the darn thing.

I look forward to hearing your Active Rain Running (uh---- workout) Challenge stories.

Be Healthy! Live Long and Prosper!

The day began with a drizzle and gray skies here in Puyallup, WA. A cold chill in air made it just right for the premier day of the Active Rain Running Challenge. Actually, I was exhausted and had no desire to run this morning, but knowing that I just started this group and already had a couple others joining me, got me on the road.

After 20 minutes of running, I just couldn't stop and continued running my route a second time for a 40 minute run. Those last couple minutes were tough and I thought my heart would explode.

While running, my thoughts led me to pressing through tough times and not giving up. 90% of people give up before reaching their potential. Leaving only 10% who press through the pain and get to the top. The top 10% is where I want to be and this running challenge is setting my path in that direction.

There is now a GROUP called Active Rainers Running Challenge. I have no idea how to set up a link on my blog to get you there - sorry.