Check out the sign in our front yard...

That's right! We sold our house!

Summertime...and the living's easy!

The livin's easy, that is, if you're not studying for the bar exam. If you do have the misfortune of doing that, well, I feel your pain. But summer is off to a roaring start here in Eugene. Drew's baseball season has completed, the Olympic Trials are in full swing, and we're looking ahead to our impending move to Seattle (more on that in another blog post). I know we haven't posted anything new for awhile, but here are a few recent pics from the early days of summer.


Nothing says "summer" like s'mores


My 'lil sis and Missi


I love this picture because the perfect caption would read "Anyone care for a friendly game of badminton." (read in an English accent to get the full effect)


I think Sam has marshmallow permanently affixed to her cheeks.


My dad at his backyard birthday party. Note the camp director in him has all of the s'more fixins in his hands.


Drew is getting his hula on! The judges gave him high marks for the perfect placement of his hands.


Our friend Reese and Sam at Reese's birthday party


Mmm...doesn't get much better than minor league baseball on a summer night with a bag of Cracker Jacks.


Sam at the Emeralds game. I love the way her hair is falling around her face in this picture, but notice the Cracker Jacks on her cheeks and chin. I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here.


Me and Missi at the baseball game. Photo credit to Sam.

Ohh To Be Young Again...

So this summer I'm watching my friend's two boys, which so far has been smooth and easy. They get along with Drew and Sam very well, and they are about the best mannered kids I've met. So the first day they were over, Cruise Director Drew decided to make up a Star Wars battle routine to one of his favorite songs. Here it is for your viewing pleasure. My favorite part is the very end when Sam goes down. Enjoy!

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I want to see this movie

This is a new movie from Portland filmmaker Dan Merchant. I heard an interview with him this morning on OPB radio. If you've seen it, let me know what you think.

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers: Why is the Gospel of Love Dividing America?

A Cherished MOMent...

As I'm writing this, my sweet kids are outside (in the windy, yucky weather) playing... TOGETHER! Drew got home from school, and asked his sister to play outside with him. For some of you lucky folks, that's not a big deal. But in our household, that's huge! I can't think of very many times that he chooses to play with Sam without being prompted by mom or dad. I might actually get a shower today. What a blessing!! As John has had to plunge full force into Bar prep, I am so thankful the kids are getting along. One of the many reasons I know there is a Mighty God that loves us!

Catching up on odds and ends...

The subtitle for this blog entry could be “A Big Week for Drew”

Drew did a great job at the spelling bee. He ended up finishing in second place behind “Beverly,” a girl with savant-like spelling knowledge. Drew ended up being eliminated on the word “which,” which he spelled “wich.” He was a bit bummed out by this because he totally knows how to spell this word, but we are totally proud of him and he did a great job.

It was a big week for Drew. Not only did he have the Spelling Bee on Friday, but he had his first piano recital on Sunday. He played three songs and did really well. Pics and perhaps even some video to follow.

On Tuesday night, Drew’s baseball team had their first game with “kid pitch.” Basically that means that all of the games until this point have been played with a JUGS pitching machine delivering the pitches to the hitters. The last four games of the season have kids pitching. Drew and I have been working a bit on pitching and he has really wanted to pitch, but I honestly wasn’t sure if he had the control he needed. Well, after he pitched pretty well in practice, he got to pitch in the game on Tuesday. He only pitched for one inning, but he got two strikeouts and one groundout. He also had a few walks and one hit batsman, but on the whole he did a great job and he was totally pumped. I have photos and video of his pitching performance that I took on my phone, but I can't seem to synch them over to my computer, so you'll just have take my word for it!

My summer of discontent

One would think, perhaps even presume, that the summer following graduation from law school would be a carefree time filled with picnics at the park and afternoons on the golf course. Au contraire my friends…I just started my Barbri bar exam class on Monday and it is terrible! It’s like the drudgery and monotony of my first year of law school all over again – but even worse! If I ignore your phonecalls, emails, voicemails, and text messages for the next 8 weeks or so, please don’t take it personally – I’m just immersed in studying for the bar exam.