The Baldwin Brood: June 2008

Wow, what started as a far-off idea actually came to reality yesterday. Brian Vander Ark came to our house as part of his Lawn Chairs and Living Rooms Tour and made tons of new fans. He sang his heart out to our back yard full of neighbors and friends. Scott and I hosted a neighborhood barbeque with the hopes of exposing more people to his wonderful music. And also to fulfill my selfish quest of having him perform at our house!

Highlights include:

When Scott and I met Brian in our driveway, I couldn't help myself and I reached up (waaaaaay up, he's so stinkin' tall) and fixed his collar that was flipped up. Hey, his wife Lux wasn't there to do it for him! During the concert he gave me a little grief about it and got some laughs from the audience.
After raining on and off all morning (and causing me to freak out a little), we had clear weather from 2:00 on. It was overcast during the concert but the sun started to peek through the clouds. At that very moment, Brian sang, "Here Comes the Sun." How perfect is that? I'm getting chills just typing this. And we had beautiful weather for the rest of the day.
Brian mentioned my upcoming birthday followed by a rockin' rendition of "Love So Deep," one of my favorites! Yes I was very flattered, yet knowing full well he was tipped off. And his birthday was last week, Happy Birthday Brian!
A bug flew into Brian's mouth between songs and went down his throat. I ran up to the deck to hand him his Diet Coke to wash it down. YUM!
Brian sat on our neighbor's barstool while he performed and commented on how comfortable it was, in fact his words were something like, "the most comfortable stool he's ever sat on." After the concert, Laurie asked him to autograph it and it says, "Brian Vander Ark sat here." How cool is that?
Brian also autographed our neighbor's son's electric guitar. Good thinking Craig and Anne...or was it Collin's idea in the first place?
My friend Tara helped out Brian by selling his CDs and DVDs in the garage while he autographed them on the deck. And then she was able to chat with him about the days when she used to see him and his band in East Lansing. She and her friends were always in the front row for every concert!
We weren't quite sure what to do with Weston during the concert. Normally he naps at that time. But, he had seen Brian on TV when I put in the Aquinas College concert DVD and he had heard him many times on the Ipod at home and in the car, and also on the computer. OK, so I'll admit that I played Verve Pipe and BVA 24/7 for the past month! Anyway, Weston parked his little body in the front row before the concert and said, "I see Brian." I said, "Weston go night-night." He said, "I see Brian" and wouldn't move. So, we let him have his wish and he did sit through a couple of songs and got to see Brian play. Then, after Brian left, he took a 2 hour nap from 4:00-6:00, perfect!
Two dads, Jon and Todd, helped out with Weston and other kiddos during the concert. That was such a huge help, thank you! Our yard was perfect because the little ones who didn't want to sit down the whole time could play in the sandbox or on the jungle gym (and our neighbor's too) and the dads could still listen to the music while they tried their best to keep them quiet!
Even though I may have appeared calm, my insides were so twisted up it's not even funny. Most of my pictures are blurry because my hands were shaking. Is that a highlight or not? Well, just shows you how excited I was.
Just want to add this...that my husband Scott was certainly a trooper during all of this. Sometimes I get crazy ideas and he just goes along for the ride. I kept telling him our RSVPs were growing and growing and he just said to make sure there was enough food and drink. Love ya, honey, and thank you for everything.
This truly was a group effort. Thanks to friends who pitched in: Todd and Julie, Nancy and Megan, Craig and Anne, Tara and Jon, Dave, Tonni and Mallory, Laurie, Kim, Marla, Jeannine, Tom, Barb and Richard and countless others. Also, Scott's co-worker Chris, from the local band Acoustic Reserve, set us up with the awesome sound system. It really couldn't have happened without everyone's help, generosity, and kindness. Thank you so much!

It was amazing. A day I'll never forget.