Legal Eagle Lexi

Heer come de judge! Heer come de judge! ;-)

After what must have seemed a lifetime of school, my Numero Uno Daughter (and baby of the family to boot) gradeeated from BYU's lawschool. We are soooo proud of her (but proud in a non-boastful way....).

Last weekend I piled into the Sierra Duromax (at 15.8 miles per $4.40 gallon of diesel) and headed to points south to meet up with Puekee at Provo, Utah (Go Cougs!) to attend the long awaited event. Pooky had got a little jump on the event by flying down a few days earlier to presumably help LegalEagleLexi pack up and get ready to move on up here (hence the choice in MY vehicle). I took off around noon and met up with my Numero Uno Son (and oldest child by 2 1/2 minutes), his wife (my Numero Uno Daughter-in-Law), and my Numero Uno In-Laws, all of whom had taken off three hours before me. We all met up at the Double Tree Inn in Boise, Idaho... kind of a half-way mark. Then next day, the in-laws blitzed for Provo while Matt, Julie, and I took a detour to my home town of Malad where Julie got a quick tour of heaven on earth and we had a SCRUMPTOUS lunch at the Malad Drive-In. Matt had the Special, J-Girl had the Glamour Burger and I stuck with the classic Cheese Burger with everything as well as a Deep Sea Dandy. Matt and Julie went with the Fresh Lime for refreshment and I selected a vintage root beer (again staying with the classics). We all shared fries with fry sauce (yum yum) and had scones with honey butter for desert. Oh glory be.. it was like eating manna from heaven. After tossing the trash we scooted past the ol' Allen Drug (a mere shadow of what it used to be), headed past the homestead (it's painted yellow... YELLOW!.. blasphemous!.. that house was built to be white with green trim..PERIOD) we too headed south to meet up with the fam at the La Quinta Suites in Orem (a dismal mistake... but more on that later).

Gathering up the clan we headed to another conjurer of past memories for dinner, The Brick Oven where we met up with my sister Kirsten and her husband Kelly who just happened to be passing through on the way back from visiting their daughter (new baby boy!!) and were looking for a free meal.


(moving left to right: LegalEagleLexi, Kirsten (the bane of my youth), her husband Kelly, J-Girl, Matt (did I mention that they are "in the family way.. grandson on it's way), your's truly (I look like I really don't need a pizza) George, Verna, and The Pookster).

After dinner we Lexi went home to party hardy with some other graduates, and we all headed back to La Quinta (or as I came to call it, "La Casa De Diablo!" but that's another story... suffice it to say I will NEVER stay at the La Quinta Inn in Orem Utah again...)

The next morning we picked up the graduate to be and headed down to the historic Provo Tabernacle where the festivities were to occur. I dropped everyone off and then went around the block and parked in a two hour spot realizing that I'd have to come back and move the car just before the commencement exercises began (we got there early to get good seats and were planning on a three hour stay).

We did the picture thing and just hung out and enjoyed the moment and about 15 minutes before the main event, I took off to move the car so we didn't get towed or ticketed. As I walked up to the driver's side door, I stepped on a piece of pavement which had cracked and risen a bit and that was all she wrote. My ankle rolled and I went down like a 260 lb sack of potatoes trying to get in shape for a half marathon. Oh the pain.. the agony.. the embarrassment of laying next to a car crying like a baby in the middle of the afternoon in a pinstripe suit.

After getting my wits about me again, I managed to get up and limp back to the Historic Provo Tabernacle and back to my seat (a block away... forget about the car.. it was George's anyway) and sat down just in time for the event to start. It took some doing, but after awhile pain tends to begin to have a numbing affect. I became more interested in the speakers and the choir than I was in my throbbing ankle. I also think that the quality of the program helped take my mind of my injury. The speakers did a great job and when the graduates crossed the stage after getting "hooded" I found myself feeling extremely grateful that my daughter could receive her credentials from such a wonderful institution with such a sense of purpose and mission.

(GO LAWYER-COUGS!)

At the end of the the commencement exercise, everyone was asked to stand and sing America the Beautiful. It was awesome. I have not felt so patriotic since the days right after 9/11. I quickly found that I could not sing because my throat was so tight with emotion. I struggled to simply speak the words. It was amazing. I doubt very much that I could have felt this way in any other place than at BYU. WOW! I'd almost like to go back next year just to experience it again. Anyway... it was an awesome experience and one I won't soon forget.

After Lexi said her goodbyes, we headed back to the van (it was still there... no tickets) and headed back to La Casa De Diablo... nothing had changed... suffice it to say, heads rolled and Matt and Julie got moved to another room (with a bed with sheets) at the La Quinta's expense. I finally was able to get off of my throbbing aching ankle and get some ice on it .

(nice gams!!)

Three days later (last night) while attempting to help Newman (our dog and decent mouser) catch a furry little beast as it scurried through our family room, I would manage to roll the other ankle and end up hobbling around on TWO sprained ankles... luck of the irish (and stupid old men).

Just before we left Provo for good, we stopped by Lexi's favorite restaurant, Cafe Rio, for one last salmon taco and a grilled taco salad. I asked my lovely daughter, "So Legal Eagle Lexi, who we gonna fleece with a lawsuit first?" Her reply???

Look out New York... Heer come da judge (and she's packin' righteous heat!!!)