the doctor is in

last night, randy and i went to jazz at the sheraton and saw javon jackson perform with dr. lonnie smith at the organ. i didn't have that high of expectations going into it, but came out with a new hero. dr. lonnie smith was awesome. it's hard to describe unless you've heard and seen him perform, so i'm not going to try to describe it really, but i included a bunch of pictures so that you get the idea.

i have never heard anyone handle the b-3 so effortlessly, and i have definitely never seen someone so animated when performing. he was so fun to watch. at one point, he actually got down off the bench and started walking the bass on the pedals with his hands. this was true entertainment.

when asked why he calls himself doctor, he replied that it is for the same reason that he wears a turban to all of his gigs: "no particular reason." it doesn't get much cooler than that.

performance hall envy

i don't think that i have ever been jealous of anything at the u of u. until now.

last night, randy and i went to see murray perahia perform a concert at the university of utah. the concert was held in the libby gardner hall, which i had never been in before, but randy has. after returning from the concert that he went to previously, he went on and on about how far superior the u's concert facilities were. i believed him, but didn't realize the extent of it until i had been in the libby gardner hall myself.

completely aside from any comparison with byu's facilities, the libby gardner hall is beautiful. it is bright, with gorgeous woodwork, and a great organ adorning the front of the hall. in addition to being visually pleasing, the accoustics are also fantastic. this is the best picture of the hall that i could find online:

it's small, but at least shows that the hall, on its own, is quite stunning. now, compare it to byu's de jong concert hall or the madsen recital hall and we're talking about the difference between a motel 6 and the ritz. this is the best picture i could find of the madsen:

no comment.

byu's web page describes the de jong as "a handsome, functional facility." i have to agree that the de jong, as well as the madsen, are quite functional. these facilities are constantly in use, and let's face it, byu is very practical in making sure that its facilities are well used. but perhaps we should leave out the handsome part.

byu needs some wealthy benefactor to come in and fund a complete overhaul of its concert and recital halls. in fact, while they're at it, completely razing the hfac and building a new fine arts building wouldn't be a bad idea. this is a call for anyone who loves byu, is one of those slightly crazies who can't handle that the u is better than byu at something, or someone who just loves the arts, with lots of extra money lying around to step forward. anyone?

as a side note to this rant, the concert was fantastic. we were late in buying tickets, so we were up in the choir seats, but besides it being slightly uncomfortable for me to sit on the benches without any seat back, it was fun to be so close. the music selection was great and randy and i both enjoyed his bach selection best, but madeleine really got going and was kicking throughout the chopin. so far, from concerts we've attended, we've determined that she really likes beethoven concertos, gets rather bored with holst, and has an affinity for chopin.

a fun-filled weekend

we had a great weekend this past weekend with lots of family time. randy's parents and his brother's family were in town for randy's uncle's wedding, as well as other extended family that also travelled here for the wedding.

we kicked off the wedding festivities with a wedding dinner for the family on thursday night, followed by ice skating at the olympic oval. i decided against ice skating, seeing as my balance isn't great even when i'm not pregnant, and the consequences of falling are a little more severe right now. randy looked great on the ice though, with his in-line skating skills from his elementary school and junior high years coming back to him quickly.

friday continued on with more wedding festivities and more time with family. we went to the sealing, which was wonderful, followed by pictures outside the temple, and then we headed up to the reception. unfortunately, about half way through the pictures, it started raining, which continued on throughout the night. fortunately, the reception venue was prepared for the rain and everything was still beautiful.

on saturday, randy and i were able to go to the saturday afternoon session of general conference with randy's parents. for some reason the rain seems to slow everything down, but we finally got in and in our seats and enjoyed actually being in the conference center to see the session.

randy and his dad stayed up in salt lake for the priesthood session and mom and i headed down to orem for a bridal shower that "i" was throwing for beth. i pretty much didn't do anything for it. my mom and audrey sent out the invitations and got the food ready, and my aunt was kind enough to host it at her house (since ours was a little small for the guest list) and also provide delicious food. i didn't even plan any games or activities. being the low-key host that i am, the shower pretty much just consisted of sitting around, eating really good food, and talking, which is all anyone really wants to do anyway, right?

we spent sunday at my parent's house watching conference and relaxing. randy's parents also came over and we had a big birthday dinner for randy. i must have gained 10 pounds this weekend with all of the food that we ate, but it was well worth it. fortunately, it all blends in with the baby (for now).

i was sad to see the weekend end. i love conference weekend and the opportunity to hear from the church leaders and be inspired to improve and strengthen my testimony of the savior. conference weekend never seems long enough. i was also sad to see family leave and to head back to our quiet little house in provo, where i have to do the cooking.

here are some pictures from the weekend:

randy getting ready to try some speed skating

calli and carston waiting outside the temple (with some mystery nymph child from the bride's side of the family)

okay, these next people actually had nothing to do with our wedding party, and i have no idea who they are, but i was fascinated with how large this groom's boutonniere was. i couldn't help but take a picture of it to preserve the memory. and trust me, the picture doesn't even do it justice. i couldn't seem to get the right angle, and i think that his bride was starting to get suspicious that some random woman was following her new husband around, taking pictures of him. this truly was the largest boutonniere i have ever seen.




kyle, dad, and randy

randy and me