Kendi and Taylor Are Married

Our gorgeous Kendi Hansen, middle child of Stacy’s three daughters, married her Prince Charming Taylor Dunkley on Saturday, May 18, 2019. The bride and groom were surrounded by her myriad of friends and family who love her.  In town for this glorious and happy day were Kaytee, along with Adyn, Skylar and Thoryn who drove 11 hours from Anaconda, MT to be with the bride and her family; Kelly, Gary, Whitney and her boyfriend Alex who came from Ogden / Magna, UT; Michael and Boo, who traveled from Spanish Fork, UT; Kris, Tylre, Jaeson, Memo and baby Cruz, who also traveled 11 hours to get here from Sonoma, CA and Uncle Larry, who flew in from Seattle, WA for the fun.  (Of course, we missed family members who were unable to make this delightful event:  David, Jan'L, Kaler, Kole and Kyle; Ann Bright, Kristen, Joshua and Laura; Joshua Postma; and, Aunt Charlene).

The weather was terrible – the day before and the day after – but on her wedding day, Kendi got a gift from Mother Nature in the form of an absolutely PERFECT day with clear blue skies and a comfortable 75 degrees of sunshine.  

She was walked down the aisle on the arms of her Dad(s) … Rick Welch and Cody Hansen … and into the waiting arms of her new husband for the ceremony which took place in the fabulous backyard of family members Bryce and Neica Christensen (Neica's mom and Rick's mom are sisters).  And, see the big wooden backdrop for the ceremony?  Rick made it for her as a special gesture.

The bishop gave the happy couple some advice on keeping their marriage as happy in the future as on their wedding day reminding them to make time every week for a date night, to pray together, kiss each other (passionately) every day when they get home … and maintain a good sense-of-humor because “as much as you love each other today, there will be issues to overcome!”

During the evening, we talked with many friends and former family members, including Neal Maycock, Adam and Ty Christensen, and had a chance to visit briefly with Allysa, Josh and their three boys.  

Kendi’s dad Cody Hansen sought us out during the evening and expressed his appreciation for “all you have done for Kendi in her lifetime.” 

Kendi told some family members she was fearful one of us would tell the story of the time she almost got Grandpa arrested.  We were sorry she even worried about that on her wedding day because we love this girl and wish her and Taylor all the happiness in the world. 

Selwin Receives His Bachelors Degree

Selwin Lovell graduated magna cum laude from Dixie State University on Friday, May 3, a year ahead of schedule, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Studies and a minor in Marketing. The first in his Guyanese family to earn a college degree, Selwin is one of 1828 students - ranging in age from 16 to 67 - in DSU's Class of 2019. The husband of Brianna Teddie Bair Lovell; identical twin brother to Simeon Lovell, and, a favorite son of Linda and Ed Sappington, has been on the Dean’s List almost every semester and was, last semester, named to the President’s List of students with a 4.0 gpa. 

Selwin was pleased to have his grandmother, Minetta Lovell and his uncle Sherlock Lovell travel from Guyana to be present at this momentous event, but the biggest surprise was having his father Anthony Lovell travel from New Jersey to spend time with his twin sons. 

Later, we partied “Utah style” (with burgers and chocolate cake in the back yard) into the night with neighbors and friends and got caught up with former missionaries with whom we served in Guyana, including Meg and Michael Treseder from Queen Creek, AZ. 

Selwin has worked very hard to reach this milestone in his life.  Now on to a full-time job and an MBA!