Easter, Baseball and Moving to Portland

Hello Everyone.

You are probably thinking," What is going on? It has not been a month since the last blog update." And you are right, by some pretty fast moving events I find myself with some free time. You remember free time. That time after lunch when the teacher let the kids do whatever, while she popped an aspirin and wondered when the parents were coming. So how did this free time find its way to me? More about that in a minute....


Easter was a great day, even though was rainy and cold and not the spring renewal you would hope for. After the kids tore through their Easter baskets in record time, we went to church and then headed out in the afternoon to our friends the
Sleeper's house. I can not, in all seriousness, think of a better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, then with wine, craft beers, great food and even better friends. The kids had an egg hunt and carte blanche on candy. I think we made it home around 10pm. A little late for a school night (sorry Ethel).


It is baseball season, I mean softball season. Ethel has to remind me everytime I ask her," how was baseball?"

"It's softball Dad."

Well softball is going well. We had decided that softball was going to be too much of a commitment this year and were planning on not playing. A parent from Ethel class asked if Ethel wanted to play on their team, they needed two more players. We said yes, with the understanding that we would probably miss some practices and some games. With all that said, Ethel is enjoying softball much better than baseball last year. I think the fact that it is a team of all girls and the dugout is a calm, civilized safe area is the differnce. Last Saturday at Ethel's game she had two hits. At a softball game consisting of 7 year old girls if you hit the ball in fair territory you are going to get to first base. She had two dribblers towards thrid. A pull hitter just like her old man. What is better than two hits? How about a 6-5 bang bang play to end the inning and kill a rally. Ethel smothered a shot to short and gunned the runner out a third. Her coach told me that was the best play she had seen all season. It was pretty cool.

Not to be out done by big sis Katherine has turned into quite the hitter. We were playing some wiffleball last week and on the first pitch she smacked the ball and it split in two. I was stunned. It was like in the Natural when Roy Hobbs knocks the cover off the ball. She wasn't sure it be proud of her hit or said because the ball was broken. Luckily we have got plenty of wiffleballs.


Ruthie continues to be a little ham. She has got the cutest little laugh and smile. She is starting to talk more. Actully she is talking the same amount, all the time, but we are starting to understand her more. She loves cats and dogs. She goes crazy when we see a dog and does everything she can to get closer to it.

So in other news, Julie's Dad (Pappy) is making the move to Portland. He found a place to live during his visit last week and should be arriving sometime in May. Julie, Katherine and Ruthie left yesterday to travel back with Jim to help him get started packing his house. I think Julie will be doing more of a junk intervention/ councelling type job. Ethel and I are holding down the fort in PDX. Thus the free time. Ethel is at school for like 6 and 1/2 hours. Having one kid is pretty easy when you are use to three. When you only have one you do not relize that it is easy untill you have another. It is one of life's little jokes.

I hope all of you are well.

Paxton