Neighbor Night ...

Living in community is a big deal for Tim and me.  After living next to the Riccios and the Utterbacks for a few fabulous years, good neighbors were high on our priority list for our current house.  We were so blessed to find the home we live in now that had good bones, a LOT of potential, plus the bonus of being right behind our good friends, the Hellers.  After moving in, we realized that we totally got a two-fer because directly across the street was another wonderful God fearing family that we have become great friends with - the Altavillas.

I've mentioned it before, but every Thursday night when the weather is right, we eat a meal and have drinks and the kids play in our yard for Neighbor Night.  Its always a fun and casual time (and all of your are always invited!) with our neighbors and other friends that come over to join us.  There is another precious older couple in our cul de sac that come down for what they call the "Wine Down" every Thursday as well.  Bob and Ellen are very dear to us too.

The Hellers make their living playing music and so they'll have to miss out on the next few months of Thursday neighbor nights fas they have just departed for their spring tour.  Before they left town to travel the country in their rockin' tour bus, they played a few shows in town.  One of which, the Altavillas and us were able to go to.

We arranged a sitter for the boys and had the BEST DATE NIGHT EVER.  Seriously, we had such a good time.  The venue was at a church in Gilbert so we were able to meet up with Robert and Christine for a DELICIOUS dinner at Joe's BBQ  in downtown Gilbert right before hand.  If you're every in Gilbert, this is a must do stop.  Oh my word, delicious!!  Not only did we get to go with Robert and Christine, our good friends - Tai and Sarah - from back in the Tahoe days met us at the show, as well.

The concert itself was AMAZING.  Tim and I have been friends with Dave and JJ for a long time now and have had the privilege of cheering them on as they have gone from singing in coffee shops to getting for reals radio play across the country.  One word to describe these two is ' FAITHFUL'.  They have faithfully played their music, and diligently worked at making this their living for over a decade, faithfully stewarding what the Lord has given them.  It sounds silly to say, but I am really proud of them for what they've accomplished.  We haven't been able to make it to one of their shows since the coffee shop days so hearing them in such a setting with fabulous acoustics in a forum that fit their personalities and styles so well was a real treat. JJ is hilarious and even took neighbor requests and gave a few shout outs to neighbor night from onstage.  

Their spring tour is going to be great.  The other artist they are playing with, Audrey Assad, is so very talented and their styles and harmonies were a great complement to each other.

Backstage after the concert, JJ had the great idea to take a few pictures since we were all (relatively) dressed up.  I'm so glad she thought of it because, often when we're all together we're long on ponytails, light on makeup, and covered in kids...

Christine, JJ, and me.

Altavillas, Hellers, Barretts

And those hilarious husbands...

It had been a LONG time since Tim and I had gone out for a proper date night.  This one was a real treat and it was all the better to have such great friends to share it with!

PS: If you have yet to check out Dave & JJ's music, do yourself a favor: http://www.jjheller.com/