I spent most of Saturday at work, helping to set up and then working the first outdoor summer concert at the BCPA. The new CEFCU Summer Stage looked great and the audience had a great time listening to the music of Lee Greenwood with his special guests Scott DuBose and the 101 Ranch, and, my favorite part of the evening, a performance by the Gaddis Sisters, a pair of siblings from Springfield who wrote and sang a song that is airing as part of a National Guard campaign in movie theaters nationwide. They had way more composure than any 13 and 16 year olds I've ever known. It was a great day, despite the rain that hit the very moment we opened the park to patrons. It killed our walk-up sales, but everyone who was there had fun.
Here are a couple pictures of the stage and the ribbon cutting ceremony:
Amy, Owen, and Maya came down for the stage dedication and for a bit of the concert ... and I ran into them as I was doing some concert promotion work at the Farmer's Market in the morning.
We all got to spend some good time together on Sunday, though. The whole family went out for breakfast, then headed up to the Constitution Trail to clean our little patch.
The real fun started in the afternoon, though, as the ice cream truck made an early season pass down our street. It was the first time we'd ever bought something from them (that he's been playing dirgelike music so far this season hasn't exactly helped business, I mean what's he thinking playing a down-tempo version of "Greensleeves"?) but Sunday felt like a great day to cool down with a frosty treat.
Maya loved her popsicle, saying "MMMMMM!" at every bite. And Owen, once again, did what he could to look like Guy Fawkes.
The real mess came later as the Merrill Kids joined us for a little fun at the sand box. I admited to Amy as she was leaving me to run errands that I was never much into messy play as a child and that things like this don't come easy to me, but took the opportunity nonetheless to expand my horizons and allow things to happen.I probably ended up going to the other extreme, letting more transpire than what I should have in an effort to be Mr. Cool. Wet sand was everywhere, from inside Maya's diaper, to all over several shirts.
... but we all had fun.
Right?
We had family pictures taken on Owen's birthday, May 8. 
