Christian Clan Reunited!

Our family is together again.

The kids and I left Adam for a little over a week for a visit to my hometown in California. My parents had come to Utah to visit my siblings and their families who live here a few weeks ago. While they were here I had the idea of hitching a ride with them back to California and surprising my sister, Megan, with a visit. Fortunately, the stars aligned to make it all work out. The car ride from Provo was a little squished - my parents have a Honda Civic and with two big car seats in the back it didn't leave much room for the fifth passenger. But we made it all work. We took turns in the tiny nook in the back seat and drove straight through. It went well. Audrey and Luke were champs! I was pleasantly surprised by how well they did. There were a few little moments when either both or one of the kids got antsy or cranky, but they didn't last long. The whole visit was really, really good. I will fill you in on the visit soon, but first, I wanted to tell you about our first night back home.

Adam picked us up at the airport, then we had a few hours at home to unpack and play and eat dinner. After I put Luke to bed for the night, and armed Grammy with a few weapons to keep Audrey busy and happy, Adam and I went to a concert for an early Valentine date night. It was a Mindy Gledhill concert at Velour in downtown Provo. It was a lot of fun. It was our first concert together, and the first time either of us had been to Velour. It is a very cool venue. It's a really old building with exposed brick walls.

(The nice brick walls actually doubled as seat backs for us... which was nice.)

The room probably holds between 150 and 200 people. And it was filled to capacity. I really loved the vintage/retro vibe of the venue and the way the stage was set fit that same vibe.

I loved the little light strands! And the red gauzy curtains! And the stained glass!

Part of the ticket price included a free cupcake from The Sweet Tooth Fairy, and they were delicious!

(Adam got a chocolate-chocolate and I got a vanilla-vanilla and both were scrumptious!)

The great ambiance and the yummy cupcakes made the wait for the show to begin a nice relaxing time together. We talked. We cuddled. We did this:

And we stole a few kisses.

Very respectful and restrained.


Not at all get-a-room style.

That's not how we roll.


In public.


These were the stamps we got when we arrived and checked in at the door.

(Flowers - if it's difficult to see.)

After about 30 minutes, Mindy came onstage bundled in a thigh-length parka, armed with a readily recognizable, and very large, Jamba Juice cup. She welcomed all of us and then began a series of good news and bad news - that she had lost her voice, that there would be some notes that would simply be inaudible, but that we could turn it in to a sing along.

Then she introduced her opening act: Libbie Linton. Another local singer-songwriter. I'd never heard of her before, but she was really good. I really liked her style and her voice. She was super unique and fun and funny too. Kind of a dry humor - just my style!

She played guitar on some and then broke out the ukulele for one.

I thoroughly enjoyed her set of eight songs. So much so that Adam got up between the acts and bought me her album! Hooray for early Valentine's!


Then, Mindy came out and started her show. It was true - her voice was mostly gone. She managed pretty well in her lower register, but she needed extra help with the higher parts. Everyone in the audience sang every song. It was a really cool night.

This is what Mindy had to say about it.

Overall, it was a fantastic night. If you've never heard her music, I would strongly recommend it. Here are a few of her videos:


Anchor




All About Your Heart




Hourglass





I was looking forward to a great concert... and I got an unforgettable one instead!