"I Foted!"

When Ashley ("Jonesy") was about three years old, she went with her daddy to the polling location and "helped" him fill out his ballot.  She was so excited to get that sticker, and proudly told everyone that she "foted." As a little girl who couldn't pronounce her r's, it sounded like she was unashamedly owning up to passing gas.  We all got a chuckle out of it, and subsequently tucked her word seamlessly into our family's vocabulary.  Today, Steve and I were sitting on the couch watching t.v. when a news blurb came on about the low voter turn out.  We looked at each other,  put on our shoes and raced down to City Hall and literally walked through the doors at 7:59 p.m. to exercise one of our precious rights as citizens of this great country.  WE FOTED!  In the hallowed words of our brother-in-law, Treion...."I LOVE AMERICA!"

Sleep Over

Kelsey called me on Monday, begging me and Mads to come down to Provo for a sleep over.  She is so lonely without Covey.  It's extra lonely after coming home from spending nine days with him in Oregon.  This Summer Sales job is HARD.  But Covey is doing great, and he is providing for his family.  At my daughters plea, I couldn't help but want to go spend the night with her.  After work on Monday, Madi and I packed an overnight bag and headed to Provo, arriving just in time to meet Kelsey for some Indian food at The Bombay House and then going back to her place to change into our hiking clothes. After all of the good food, I was feeling a need for a good work out for my bum and legs.  I was really glad that my girls were willing to indulge me.  I had forgotten how steep the trail can be going up Y mountain.  By turn 5 (out of 11) Madi was feeling a little sick and was worried about the Indian food making an appearance.  We soldiered on, and were rewarded with a spectacular view of the valley bathed in the receding rays of early twilight.  We sat on the white washed rocks of the Y and talked about life and where it had taken us and where it was heading.  We talked about Ashley, who is on her own journey to redemption, healing, happiness and new found self.  We talked about Markelle and the turn her life has taken.  We talked about school and Adam (Madi) and potential babies (Kelsey) and dads and dogs.  The words continued as we worked our way, carefully, down the trail in the dark.  When we reached Kelsey's house, we cleaned up, got into our J's and snuggled altogether in Kelsey's bed to watch some episodes of "Once Upon a Time."  This will definitely have to become a frequent tradition, at least while Covey is away.

Another Perfect Day

Once upon a time, Steve and I were invited to what we thought was a "symbolic betrothal religious ceremony" between our second daughter, Markelle and her boyfriend, Tahir.  He is originally from Sudan and, while not a practicing Muslim himself, his extended family back in Sudan is very much so.  When they saw pictures of him on facebook with a girl, they immediately started calling and asking if he was married and not one bit happy to hear that he wasn't.  In an effort to satisfy the relatives and keep the peace, Tahir and Markelle discussed having this ceremony performed for them by the local Imam.  Tahir met with Steve to explain the ceremony, and Steve took this meeting as an "asking for the hand of your daughter" pre-engagement type of  talk, which meant that it lasted for abount two hours.  Within a week of that talk, we received a phone call from Markelle inviting us to the home of Tahir's mother so that we could meet his family, break bread with them, and be there for what we thought was a simple "formality" to satisfy the Sudanese relatives.  We had a lovely meal and visit with Tahir's family (they are fabulous) and soon the Imam showed up and got down to business of filling out some paperwork.  As we sat with our daughter on one couch, the Imam began to talk to Tahir while sitting with him on the opposite couch.  They were discussing certain points of the "contract" but when the Imam mentioned the dowry, Steve and I looked at each other with a "holy cow, what have we gotten ourselves into" look.  Dowry?  No one mentioned having to come up with a dowry.  I was in the middle of thinking "eight cows, nine?  What's appropriate here?"  when the Imam sensed our confusion and immediately explained that WE don't pay the dowry, TAHIR does--as a bride price.  It's something that he commits to pay Markelle.  AHHHH, okay. I wish we had that little tradition in OUR culture! So far, so good.  Things are going well.  Once the dowry question was settled, the Imam than proceeded to say the words on the piece of paper he was holding, while having Tahir repeat them.  He turned to Markelle and did the same thing with her.  Meanwhile, I was respectfully sitting on the couch next to her thinking, "hmmm, this is not so different from our culture.  This is okay."  Next thing we know, the Imam winds the whole thing up with the words, "I now pronounce you Husband and Wife, " while Tahir's mother ululated from the chair she was sitting in.  Steve and I were a little in shock as we looked each other and realized simultaneously that Markelle and Tahir--at least in the sight of Allah--just got married! I turned to the Imam and asked exactly what had just happened.  He was a little concerned that maybe he had done something that we weren't on board with.  After insisting that we were fine, but just wanted a little clarification on the event, we realized that for all intents and purposes the two kids were indeed married.  All that was left to do was to get a marriage license from the State of Utah, bring it to the Imam to sign and it was legal according to the government of the United States.  Tahir's sister kindly asked if I would like her to paint my hands with henna, which I immediately agreed to. I was actually glad that she asked, because it gave Steve and I a chance to spend the evening with Tahir's family and get to know them better.  We left their home feeling at peace with Markelle's new situation, and with her being a part of Tahir's family.  They were very kind and funny and wholesome and we enjoyed a beautiful evening with them.  The following week, we held a BBQ at our home so that Tahir's family could meet our family.  It also gave our family a chance to share in the excitement of Markelle and Tahir's new life together.  After much talking over the past couple of weeks, we have convinced the two to have a Christian ceremony as well, and a reception so that all of their friends and family can celebrate with them.  A date has been set (August 25, 2012) and the plans are being made.  We went dress shopping last Saturday and Markelle found her dream dress.  We had a wonderful day together, trying on beautiful gowns and talking about marriage and her new life.  She's a  happy girl, and I was a happy mom to be able to share a perfect day with her.

The Big Trip

I've had a secret yearning for some time, and that is to see Mt. Rushmore.  It's weird, I realize, but I thought it would be so much fun to road trip it to the Black Hills and see this impressive sight.  My trusty travelling companion, Madi, was game.  Our big plan was to leave early Saturday morning, drive for about 9 hours to Gillette, go to church the next morning and then head off to see the awesome sights of Devil's Tower and then on to Rapid City, SD.

Saturday morning came, and I got up extra early to fit in a workout at the gym.  When I got home, Steve and I started talking about the trip and for fun I jumped onto a travel site to see what the cost would be to fly.  Next thing I know, Madi and I are headed out to the airport to catch a flight to Gillette, WY.

Our road trip turned into a 2/3 Planes, Trains, Automobile trip!  After picking up the rental car and heading off to see Devil's Tower, I turned to Madi and told her how glad I was not to be driving 9 hours across the Wyoming high plains.  This was definitely a better way to go.  We drove towards the Devil's Tower with much anticipation, as we turned to corner we almost couldn't believe it:

It was very impressive up close and a little other-worldly.  I can understand why it fit so well in the movie "Close Encounters."

After buying some Rocky Road Devil's Tower fudge for the road, we headed off to Rapid City, stopping in the little towns such as Leads, Deadwood, and Sturgis along the way.  We also pulled into a funny little flea market just outside of Rapid City.  They had several tents of "stuff," including one tent full of animal by-products (fur, fangs, turtle heads, rattle snake fangs, etc--kind of creepy).  Once we got settled into our hotel in historic downtown Rapid City, we went out to dinner and then headed up to see Mt. Rushmore, just as the clouds that had been gathering closed in even lower and unleashed a torrential rain storm.  We were hoping to catch the night showing of Mt. Rushmore, but because of the weather, we turned back.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny.  I went for a quick run, and then Madi and I attended a local ward and after we headed off towards Mt. Rushmore.  This time we were able to see it clearly and we loved learning about how it was carved.  It is quite the impressive story of patience and perseverance.

We went on to see the Crazy Horse Monument, which is even larger, but a looooong way from being complete.  We spent the day in the Black Hills, and then came back to Mt. Rushmore for the evening program that they put on.  I was glad we did.  It was very moving and patriotic.

On Monday, we took our time getting ready and then we explored the down town area and the cute shops.  There is an alleyway behind our hotel that is completely covered with colorful graffiti.  I thought it was ingenious for the city to have something such as this where artists and taggers could hone their craft without destroying the property of others.  It was actually very beautiful.

In the late afternoon, Madi and I headed back to Gillette, where we enjoyed a yummy dinner at a Mexican joint, went hot tubbing and watched old timey sitcoms on t.v.  The next morning we caught our little plane back home.  We had a great time talking and exploring this beautiful part of the country.

Congraduations!

June 1 was a very auspicious day....

Our third Woods Cross High School Graduate:

Miss Madeleine Mordue

We had a wonderful dinner with family who could attend:  both sets of grandparents, Adam, Markelle, Tahir and her mommy and Daddy

Woods Cross did things a little differently this year.  Instead of having the girls wear white, the powers that be decided that it would look "classy" to have the girls in red, with the boys in navy.  Unfortunately, Madi looked like she was crashing the Bountiful Graduation.  Adam graduated earlier in the day from his school, so we got them both wearing their robes. 

Woods Cross also made the graduates turn in their robes before they would give them their diplomas.  Because we cut it so close on the time, Steve was busy parking the car while I was trying to round up Markelle and Tahir and meanwhile, Madi had already gone into the building.  Which means:  no pictures with the graduate in her robe...boo!  But, isn't she cute in her dress and lei?

Congraduations (Adam's word), Madi!  We are so dang proud of you!