Birthdays, bunnies, and big changes

Lots has happened over the past three weeks. Early spring is without a doubt the busiest time of year in our house, although I'm sure I'll have an argument to support our hectic pace during the other seasons when they roll around.

As you can see from the pictures above, though, the kids are great. Enjoying each other and full of surprises for their mom and dad.


Picking up kind of where we left off, I had a very happy birthday celebration on April 5. We all drove up to my folks' house outside of Chicago for the weekend. It was a fun visit. Nana and Grandpa took care of Owen and Maya on Saturday morning so that Amy and I could get out for a little time on our own (something that has been in short supply lately), and then we all enjoyed a little birthday celebration later in the day.



Owen agreed the cake was pretty marvelous.

Another highlight of the weekend for Owen was going with Grandpa to visit the construction being done on Grandpa's church.


As if looking cool in Grandpa's cap wasn't enough ...


Owen had a great time sitting in the big machines and really checking everything out.





The following weekend was Easter. We went to a big Easter egg hunt at a nearby church on Saturday. It was an impressive display of humanity, but Owen collected a big bag of eggs, despite some incredible odds.

Here he is gathering.

And here's a representative sample of the kind of obstacles he faced out in the field. Honestly, I was trying to take a picture of Owen here as he was crouched down picking up some more eggs (you can kind of see his shoe between the leg and the hand with the camera) when my aim was blocked. The other parents were pretty aggressive in paving out the way for their kids to find more eggs. Personally, I was less concerned with him filling his bag than I was he was going to get trampled. And I still shudder to think of how all those grown-up derrieres must have looked from his perspective.

And the next day we did more egg hunting in our own back yard. It was a beautiful day and we had fun playing.

One final life change to share. Some restructuring and department consolidation at my office has created a new opportunity for me. The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts and all of our related spaces has been moved into the City's revamped Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department and I have been appointed the manager of the theater and all its operations. I got the news the day we left for Chicago and have been working very hard to keep things organized since, with our 2009-10 season announcement coming tomorrow, our current season of shows still trucking along, and a new summer series getting ready to begin in a month.

I have really enjoyed the new people I'm working with in the Parks Department, and the support I've had from the other people on my staff and the people who support and advise the theater has been wonderful. We'll meet next week to solidify my new job description, but I know I have a great foundation with a devoted staff and great community support of our operation.

It's a big challenge, but I'm eager to do a good job and excited about the opportunity.

Sorry again for being so slow with my posts these past few weeks. I'm sure we'll have more news to share soon.

Happy spring!