2009 Vest Family Reunion - July 23rd through July 28, 2009

Fiesta Days is such a perfect time to hold our annual Vest Family Reunion.

We watched the parade from our usual sight on Main and 4th North and then in the afternoon went to the pavillion above the reservoir for the annual Binks Family Picnic. It was a yummy pot luck dinner with everyone bringing KFC and a potluck item. It was fun riding in the canoe and playing in the sand for the kids and of course just visiting.

It was so fun to have Tammy, Richard and Katie here from Ohio to help us celebrate.

"Singin in the Rain" was the city production this summer.

Michael Carrasco was the lead and it was so fun. The kids (even Cooper) had a great time. The funnest part was when they kicked real water on the first couple of rows. Cooper, Brynn, Abby and Delaney were covered with bright yellow raincoats to protect them from getting wet. They were trying harder to get wet.
The next morning we all headed down to our spot for the Fiesta Days parade and then after had a picnic at the pavillion and canoe rides for the kids.

Wade was the guide . Look at that strength!!!
The canoe was really fun for the kids to ride in at the reservoir.

The 24th of July would not be the same without the "Fiesta Days Rodeo"
Friday evening we went to the Fiesta Days Rodeo with the whole family. It was so funny to see how the kids reacted to the excitement especially Kaden, Aaron and Boston. Boston is so animated it still makes me laugh to think of it and when they are together it is so funny. They all love animals and it was hilarious to see their reactions as the events took place. After the rodeo we went home to watch the fireworks and light up our sparklers. It was a full day.

Stephen and Kaden
Boston kept Aaron totally occupied
There were a few scary moments.
They animated every move the animals made.
It was a little chilly for the girls. Cute still.

Saturday morning we all woke up early and left for Grandpa Vest's Service Project. We had decided to clean up the backyard which included taking down the grape vines and digging up the lake rocks that were buried with deep grass roots all around them. The kids were amazing. I've never seen anyone work as hard as McKenzie to complete a task. She went full steam ahead until we were finished 5 hours later. Everyone had an important job to do from hauling literally tons of rocks away to mowing the lawn, to hauling loads to the dump, to trimming down shrubs. It was such a fun project to complete together. The pictures tell the rest of the story.

Beginning to clean up Grandpa's yard

Everyone worked so hard from start to finish!

We were dressed for the occasion.
The kids did a great job of pulling all of the weeds in Grandma and Grandpa's flowerbed.

At this years reunion we decided to organize in a little different way that Billy and I felt was a huge success. We wanted to incorporate into our little reunion the ideas of fun, family, love and service. So... after much deliberating we decided that cleaning up Grandpa Vest's yard would be a great service project to work on together. Over the past 5 or 6 years Grandpa and Fred built a gazebo in the back yard. It worked for Grandpa to keep him busy when he was alive but soon became a risk and a hazard for the children in the neighborhood. So with gloves and shovels in hand we began our service project at Grandpa Vest's. The pictures tell the story. What great kids and grandkids we have. They ALL worked so hard all morning long to clear away all of the tons of rocks imbedded in the grass and within hours a miraculous project was coming to an end. We are the Vest's with the BEST kids and grandkids in the world.

This is the after picture, but it just doesn't do it justice. However, you can tell how much walking and carrying we did as you look how smooshed down the grass is.

After finish the project we quickly went back home and loaded up our van and headed to Park City to jump in the pool and for the guys to golf together at the Park City course. Every spare moment was filled with FAMILY FUN!!!

Refreshing dunk in the pool!
Annette brough all of the equipment for making bracelets and necklaces. Creativity!!!
Brynn, Delaney, McKenzie, Jenn (our creator) and Arden making placemats.
Chad and Billy giving Sunday lesson to the adults

One interesting note,
Jenn gave a beautiful primary lesson about putting on the armor of God
Brynn and Abby looking at a friendly critter (squirrel) nibbling nearby.
Emily helped the little girls make their placemats.
Manicures and pedicures. Girl fun!

Even a friendly little tennis match!
Kickball game!
Riding the gondola, over and over again!
FUN taking in the beauties of the outdoors!
Searching for our prophets!


After leaving Park City we traveled to SLC for some lunch and to have a fun little

"PROPHET SEARCH"


We had a map of the cemetary that included the addresses for all of the prophets including Gordon B. Hinckley, David O. McKay, Spencer W. Kimball and many more. It also included many of the apostles who have served in the church. It was so fun when we would say '"Okay, over on that block in the left corner look for the name "Lee"' (Harold B.)
The kids would run as fast as they could and the first one to find the marker would be the winner. Then the adults would share stories they remembered about their personal lives to bring them back to life for the kids. It was really interesting even for the adults. When Wade went back to work in St. George he was telling his boss what we did and his boss replied "You did what? Most grandparents take their grandchildren to Lagoon or Disneyland and you went to the Salt Lake Cemetary?" Believe it or not it was a highlight of our trip.


The grandkids at Howard W. Hunters grave. Annette told us a great personal story about how President Hunter took care of his ailing wife and when she passed away he remarried "Inez" and she took care of him until he passed away. She was known to be a cute little lade that wore cute little hats to match her clothing. One was buried on one side and one on the other.

Joe and Amy with Abby, Isaac and Aaron at the top of Ensign Peak. Beautiful little hike.

It was a hot, hot afternoon. Abby walked most of the way then Amy gave her a ride the rest. What a trooper Amy!

THE END

Where will our reunion be for next year? Any suggestions? Love to hear them!!!

Sand Hollow Mini-Triathlon, Dance Review and Piano Recital

This last March we spent a fun weekend in St. George to watch Scott in his first mini Tri-Athlon called SPRINT located in Sand Hollow. There were thousands of participants and the weather was beautiful until we reached the Sand Hollow Resort and it was warm but a little windy. We wondered why there were several cars with kayaks on top driving away from the event. Because of the wind and the threat that the kayaks could not keep up with the swimmers the swimming portion of the race was cancelled and instead of swimming they would run a second 3.2 miles. It was such beautiful scenery. Normally they would first swim 1 mile in the Sand Hollow Reservoir then bike 12 miles and finally run a 5 K (3.2 miles). For Scott it was a bit tougher because swimming is a sport he does well in.
Numbers are written on back of legs

Scott on the first leg of the race

Scott on the second leg of the mini-triathlon

Finishing up!

The last and final leg of the race, running again because the swimming portion was cancelled due to rough windy conditions at Sand Hollow Reservoir.

Scott has a great fan club.

This next entrance is of the girls getting ready for their Dixie Review. The Vest's really know how to pack in the events over the weekend.

Delaney getting her hair done for pictures.


Mckenzie after getting her hair in a beautiful updo for dance pictures.

After the dance review we went to Jimmy Johns for ice cream. Such cute kids.

The same trip was the piano review for McKenzie and Delaney. They played beautifully. We were so proud of them that they had their piece memorized perfectly. It was awesome. They are such sweet girls. We are so proud of them.

Delaney and McKenzie at their piano recital.

McKenzie and Delaney with their dancing teacher.

Spring Break in Monterey, California 2009

Last month for Spring Break Billy and I decided to vacation in Californiato visit the grandkids and take a little side trip to Monterey, CA. Wearrived in Oakland where Amy and the kids picked us up and we went to a hotel and the kids performed for us on the ledge of the window. The curtains were a covering in front of a deep window ledge that was their stage and it was quite fun. We also had someballoons for them to shoot off in the air and they got quite a kick out of them. We also had Easter eggs for them to find the next day at home in Woodland. We woke up early the next morning and had a wonderful breakfast down in the lobby and then went to the Oakland temple to do initiatories.Amy and the kids walked around outside and visited the visitors centerwhile we were inside. It is such a beautiful temple and is such a greatreminder for us of Annette and Scott's engagement there about 13 or 14years ago. Inside the visitors center is a big huge gigantic window thatoverlooks the bay area. It is such a beautiful sight. Afterwards we droveover to San Francisco with the help of "Virginia" our GPS sweetheart and ate at Boudin's. It was heavenly. Fresh sourdough bread bowls filled withfresh clam chowder. We also bought some bread to take home for Joe to try. We then went into a little town called Sasalito and then back to Woodlandto be with Joe.

Brynn and Abby with new fingernails and making creative sticky styrofoam balls with grandpa.

Isaac was a trooper on the trip. He loves to go and is such a big part of the family. Don't you love those rolls.

The next day was our Easter Egg Hunt. The kids had a great time searching for their eggs and finding the one special egg with money in it that had their name written on it.
Aaron looked at his dollar and wondered what in the world is this piece of green and white paper?

Abby had to show us her Care Bear costume )that was 3 sizes too small) Cute as a button anyway!

After straightening up the house we then hopped in the car and headed for the Jelly Bean Factory. Surprisingly enough it was a busy day at the factory. It was quite interesting as we sampled many different flavors of jelly beans and then took the tour to see first hand how they were processed and packaged. Of course we couldn't leave until we purchased several packages of flip flops. These were damaged or imperfect jelly beans that were sold at a discounted price. It was really fun!

Friday we picked up around the house, then took the girls to dancing and off we went for Monterey. It took us quite some time to get there, but when we arrived at the Holiday Inn express we quickly put on our swimming suits and headed for the jacuzzi. It was so nice. It was an indoor/outdoor room that had pigeons sitting high up on the ledge. We went to bed early so that the next morning we could get up early on Saturday and go to the aquarium and visit the shops on Cannery Row and Pebble Beach. Billy wanted to hit a bucket of balls if possible. It was so beautiful and very breathtaking. The weather was really nice and Brynn and Abby had a ball putting on the green. We then took a beautiful 17 mile drive around the golf courses of Pebble Beach. It was incredible. Next we did tide pooling at the beach. Brynn and Abby were with us and Aaron and Isaac were with Amy and Joe. We found crabs and little fish and all kinds of seaweed and sea animals. Amy and Joe soon hooked up with us and they brought a yummy lunch for us to share. There happened to be several squirrels close by our table and soon we began sharing our lunch with them. They were not afraid of people at all. They were really brave, much braver than Abby as she took off for the van and stayed in it alone for the rest of our lunch break. We then took off for another drive to a beach in Monterey near Carmel called Point Lobos. Billy and I hiked to it while the kids were playing on the beach and knew it would be a great hiking experience for the kids. We then went back to the beach and watched the sun set and watched the seals in the water. The sound of the wavescoming in was such a relaxing experience. After it got dark we drove to Carmel to the "Hogs Breath Inn" in a little quaint town called "Carmel bythe Sea." It was a little pricy so we decided to go to a Mexican restaurant called El Torito that was on the bay by the aquarium. It was a really full day and we didn't sit down to eat until about 10:00 pm in the evening. After eating we quickly hopped in the car and headed for our motel. Sunday morning we woke up early and went downstairs for a wonderful breakfast and dressed in our Sunday clothes and good old "Virginia" took us to church right near Pebble Beach. It was a big ward and was packed with people. It seemed that there were several visitors and the mission president and his wife spoke about missionary work. It was great and very motivational. After church we changed our clothes in the car and drove to Point Lobos for our hiking experience. It was wonderful. We hiked for about 1/2 mile to the beach as it overlooked the bay and then we hiked down into a little cove where a mother seal and her baby were basking on a rock in the sun. We then hiked back up the hill and on further down the path and saw about 20 mother seals and their babies laying out in the sun and watched as the mothers taught their little ones how to swim. It was so fun. We continued to hike until we reached the point and watched as the waves crashed into the big rocks. It was a perfectly beautiful clear day, one I have never before experienced in Northern California. We could see out for miles as the sun burned off the mists on the water. We had fun yelling at the seals to see if they would respond to us and sure enough they did. It was quite comical. Amy was the best horn honker of all and we laughed as the seals would turn around and look up at her as she did her seal call. We decided we had better go and get some lunch and head for the airport as our plane left that evening for home. We stopped in Carmel and couldn't find anywhere to eat with the whole family so we asked "Virginia" to help us find a goodplace to eat. She is a sweetheart! We ended up eating at an Italian restaurant called Allegro Pizzeria that was East of Carmel in a little shopping area. We had a tasty pizza and salad. We then quickly hopped in the car and headed on highway 1 to Oakland. It was a good thing that we did as the traffic was bumper to bumper going 10 miles per hour for about 2 hours. We finally made it to the airport with 1/2 hour to spare. What a whirlwind fun trip we had, but it is always hard to say goodbye.

Billy hit some great shots on one of the Pebble Beach courses.

Bill was in heaven as he hit a bucket of balls on Pebble Beach. Someday he will have togo nine holes with the boys. Brynn and Abby had a great time putting around the greens with the other golfers.

Tide pooling after the tide had come in was so fun. Lots of crabs and sea creatures.

Watching the sun set was so beautiful.

Point Lobos was one of our favorite spots. We were on the furthest points on the seashore and it was very windy and quite chilly! Aaron loved hiking out there and loved the exploration.

Aaron was too busy exploring to be in the family picture.

Yummy food and great company!

This was a great Spring Break and look forward to vacationing with family again soon.

Last year Wade and Annette prepared and trained to run the St. George marathon in October. It was a cloudy rainy day as they made the trip up into Pine Valley to begin the race. This was Wade's first marathon and Annette's 5th. Annette came in before Wader with a time of 3:59 and Wade with a time of around 3:39. Wade was making great time even good enough time to run the Boston when on the 20th mile he began to cramp up. It was cold and raining and didn't seem to help his situation. With all of that in mind he did really well in the race. Much better than expected. It was so fun to see Sara waiting for him with the Wade fan club waiting for Wade to appear. Wade is the YM President in his ward and the Young Men did a ward breakfast serving a full pancake breakfast. They cooked Wade a set of pancakes and gave them to him at the end of the race. It was such a thoughtfull thing for them to do. Sara ran with him for as long as they would allow and then she met up with him after the race. It was great to have all of the support from Sara's family there to cheer Wade on. The funniest part was when Boston saw Wader and was so excited to see him and then when Wade kept running Bosty couldn't understand and began to cry. I couldn't help but take a picture of this cute little sad boy. He loves his Uncle Wader.














Sara spotted Wade and ran to meet him.














Sara joined Wade for a little bit at the end of the race.














This is the picture of Wade's Young Men giving him a pancake to give him energy to finish the race. It was so awesome to see how much the boys love him. He is a great leader!














Wader and Sara after the finish line. Sara was a trooper to weather the storm to share in this accomplishment with Wade.


















Wade and Annette after the finish line.

Boston was so sad that Wade didn't pick him up and take him along in the race.

In January we traveled to St. George to watch McKenzie and Delaney in the Jetette Review. This was Dixie High Schools drill squad. It was a fun program. The best part of all was seeing the big smiles on McKenzie and Delaney's face as they performed. They are very natural at performing and it made our day to see them so happy.

McKenzie performing.

Delaney performing.

Delaney having a great time dancing.

McKenzie performing.

Sisters, sisters, there were never such fun sisters.

Treats after the performance. Coop is such a great support!

Delaney getting her hair done for dance pictures the next day.

McKenzie and Delaney after their half updos.

Cuties!!!














What a beautiful side profile. Grandma made her do this. That is probably why she is smiling.

What a ham!














Bosty wasn't feeling well as he had swollen glands in his neck. But he was still very pleasant.

A fun treat to go to the Pizza factory to celebrate the events of the day.

O My, How Time Flies

Oh how time flys when you are having so much fun!!! We have so much to share since our last blog it is overwhelming.

On July 27th 2008 we concluded our annual Vest Family Reunion 2008 in Park City, UT. That evening Emily went to the home of Stephen R. Covey to assess the circumstances of her new job of taking care of his wife Sandra who had undergone a serious back surgery accompanied by some serious complications. As she was assessing the situation a grandson Shephen H. Covey happened to be visiting and saw her in the kitchen area and upon introducing himself to Emily mentioned that his Grandma would like him to ask Emily out. After some small talk Stephen got Emily's phone number and that was the end of that. She didn't think much of this because she knew that he was a recently returned missionary and she was older than he. Nevertheless, a few days later Stephen asked Emily out and they went on their first date to Sundance, on the ski lift and to dinner. They walked around Sun Dance and saw where Stephen's grandpa's cabin was and if was a fun date. But, Emily still didn't think much of this and blew it off because of the age difference. After a few dates Stephen mentioned to Emily "so, your birthday is on December 7th." Emily acknowledged that it was but responded to Stephen "but you don't know how old I am." He confidently replied "Yes I do, you're 24." Shocked Emily responded "And you still like me?" That was all that was needed to break the ice and from then on Emily and Stephen have not been apart.

On September 5th Stephen made an appointment with Billy and confidently asked if he could take Emily's hand in marriage. He asked quite simply and directly and assured Billy that he would take care of her physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually. Billy replied by going through the 7 basic habits quickly and informed Stephen that he had been teaching the 7 basic habits to our family for the last several years. They had a somewhat speedy visit and Stephen informed him that he was off to propose even then. We asked him as he was leaving if we could know what his plans were and he gave Billy and I the very well thought out details of the evening. We were so excited for he and Emily as we have felt the love and commitment from the both of them towards one another in their relationship. After visiting the temple and spending some time on the temple grounds they hopped in the car and headed south to Provo. On the way home Emily watched an unbelieveable clip of some of Stephen's favorite romantic chick flicks on his laptop and then he instructed Emily to put on a blindfold. He had yet another surprise for her. Upon arriving at an undisclosed destination (Pa Pa amd Mere Mere Covey's home) Stephen guided her to the beautiful and romantic (I might add) Gazebo in the backyard. It was beautifully decorated with hundreds and hundreds of beautiful red rose petals on the floor and a gorgeous bouquet of roses among hundreds of brightly lit candles. Stephen then got down on his knee and asked her if "Emily, do you love me?" to which she replied "Yes" and then still on bended knee he popped the question and said "Will you marry me?" with which she quickly responded "Yes." They hugged for a while and then she called us on the phone to share the news with us. Later that evening after showing Stephen's parents and PaPa and Mere Mere they drove back to Spanish Fork and showed the ring to us.

During Emily and Stephen's fun filled courtship there were several showers and parties to celebrate their engagement and marriage. In September an engagement tea was hosted by Jeri (Stephen's mom) for Emily. It was so nice and fun to meet several of Stephen's family members and family friends. It was also nice to have the support of our family and Emily's friends. My only regret was that my mother couldn't share in this fun party with us as she would have loved every minute. In November there was a shower given by the Covey girls at PaPa and Mere Mere's home. It was great for us to meet many of the family members and celebrate the engagement of Emily and Stephen. They received many practical gifts and appreciated so much everything everyone had given them. A few weeks later a shower was given by Stephen's aunts on the Hutchings side at his Grandma and Grandpa Hutchings home. It was really fun and again they were so appreciative of the many gifts given in their behalf. Also in November Emily was given a shower by our ward members hosted by Barbara Forsey and Cathy Larsen with the help of other ward members. It was so fun to feel the love and support of our ward sisters for Emily, Stephen and our family. Then in December my sisters held another shower for our Emily and Stephen at Mary's home in Orem. It was so fun and after opening presents all of the girls went downstairs and watched Emily and Stephen's engagement clip on the tv. It was really fun to hear the ooohs and awhhhs as they watched. It was also fun to meet Stephen's sister McKinley as she had been in Vienna studying abroad until a couple of weeks before the wedding. She is such a fun girl with a good head on her shoulders. Earlier that morning Emily's friends held a shower for her and it was great to celebrate the occasion with all of her friends.

Emily and Stephen were really blessed to have the opportunity to purchase a home to live in as newlyweds. It is a really cute little condo in northwest Provo that Stephen's a realtor helped them out with. It has 3 bedrooms and has tons of room for them to grow.

This Christmas was the funnest and most exciting holiday for Billy and I and our family. It was so fun to have Amy and the kids home for a few days before the wedding and then Scott and Annette brought their whole family up Christmas afternoon to celebrate with us as well as Wade and Sara. A wedding dinner was held Christmas night at Stephen's church in Provo and it was so beautiful. All of the chairs were covered with beautiful brocaded chaircovers and the tables were covered in cream colored linens with cream sashes and beautiful gold and cream ornaments filling the large glass wine glasses as the centerpieces. There were also gold wreaths around the bottom of the wine glasses. It was beautiful!!! Stephen M.R. and Jeri were the perfect hosts for the evening. They had arranged a wonderful program which included a nativity and singing presented by all of the children. Emily and the neices and nephews sang a song to Stephen entitled"Hey Stephen." The Covey boys carried on a tradition by doing a Russian dance to entertain the group and then McKinley had arranged a clip that was a spoof on the song "My Love Will Go On." The actors and actresses in the clip were all of Stephen's cousins and brothers and sisters. They were awesome. It was hilarious and so cute. Even PaPa Covey was in on the movie. Most of the clip was done at Papa and Mere Mere's home and even Grandma and Grandpa Hutchings were featured in the movie. Emily's brothers Scott, Chad, Joseph and Wade produced and sang a song to Emily to the tune of "Joy to World." It went like this, Joy to the World, our sis is getting hitched, we thought she never would. A delicious Christmas dinner was served with turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, dressings, salads, stuffing, Magelby'schocolate cake. It was delicious. After the party we helped clean up and then loaded our Honda Pilot with decorations for the reception the following evening. What a great event for two very deserving children. I must mention that this was a family event. Every one of the children helped us out. Annette was a big help in getting all of the table coverings and linens from a friend in St. George. They were so beautiful. Wade and Sara helped us load and unload and load up again everything to go to the library the next morning.


That night we retired as soon as we got home and the morning seemed to come very quickly. We picked up the poinsettias from the Flinders green room and the desserts from their freezer and headed to the Provo Library by 9:00 am. Thank goodness for great kids that stepped in and helped us cover tables, chairs and what would we ever do with out Uncle Mark and Aunt DeeAnn and the boys, Aaron and Nate. They literally saved our lives. A few days previously Mark and Aaron brought their trailer and truck to help us load 6 prelit Christmas trees from BYU. They were such a great help. Then on the morning of the wedding they put them all up one by one. After decorating the tables as best we could we went home and got ready to leave for the Salt Lake Temple to witness and celebrate the marriage and sealing of Emily and Stephen. It was so beautiful and they are so happy. Emily was absolutely radiant in her temple robes and Stephen was so handsome to match her. They had wonderful support from family members and friends and the best part of all is that Stephen's grandpa and Emily's boss Stephen R. Covey was privileged to perform the sealing as he is a sealer in the Provo temple. What a blessing! It was such a joy for us to have Sandra (Stephen's grandmother) well enough to join in the celebration and even though Emily's grandparents were not present physically we know they attended in spirit as their support was felt by many.

After pictures with the family outside the temple we quickly hopped in the car and headed to Provo to tie up loose ends, get dressed and cleaned up before the reception. On the way to the library we received a call from Nancy Swenson telling us that only half of the chair sashes were there. Quickly we got in touch with Barbara Hughes and ran to Spencer's house to pick up the rest. Whew! The Provo Library Ballroom was set up beautifully by Nancy Swenson. The band The flower girls Emily had chosen were Delaney, Brynn and Abby and Stephen's little sister Arden. Her bridesmaids were Amy, Annette, Jen, Sara, McKenzie and Stephen's younger sister McKinley. The best men were Christian, Britain, Brandon Howard, Scott, Chad, Wade and Joseph. The miniature best men were Cooper, Spencer, Boston, Aaron, Kayden and Isaac all dressed in tux's. They were honestly the best looking bridesmaids, flower girls, and best men that ever stood in a wedding line.

The band Rachel's Remedy had been there for quite some time during the day setting up and it was so fun to hear the music as we got things in order. The music was great and the kids loved dancing throughout the evening. We also had Rob Roberts on the piano. It was so beautiful. There was a wonderful crowd especially since it snowed that evening and was really cold on the day after Christmas. At the end of the evening Emily and Stephen danced with one another and then Emily danced with her father and Stephen danced with his mother. It was so fun to see. There were a few dances for the young people and everyone was having a wonderful time. The reception was coming to a close when Emily and Stephen appeared in a change of clothing to begin their honeymoon. Everyone went outside and lit their big long sparklers to wish them well. They were so excited to catch a plane in the morning to Hawaii.

CONGRATULATIONS SARA STOREY VEST

In the meantime in the month of October Sara graduated from the Radiology program at Dixie University and was the mistress of ceremonies and the speaker at her graduation exercises. Sara has done an exceptionally well job in studying this past few years and is so well qualified she already has landed a agreat job at the new Dixie Regional Hospital in St. George. We are so proud of her and her accomplishments. It was so fun to share in the excitement and joy with Craig and Miriam and Spencer. She gave a great talk and you could tell that everyone loved her so much. Wade was working at the time for Edwards Jones and doing okay despite the poor economy. After much deliberation and many prayers he and Sara decided that it would be a good time for him to go back to school and get his masters. At the present time he is working at Weber State in Ogden living with Sara's parents and Sara is holding down the fort in St. George along with her brother and sister in law Paige and Jake. We're so grateful that they are there as company to Sara. Even though she spends a lot of fun time with Scott and Annette it is good to have someone else in the home when you go to bed at night. They are happy with the news that Wade has been accepted in the Health Administration master's program at the U.

Chad and Jen have been plugging along taking great care of our two wonderful grandsons, Spencer and Kayden. Chad had been writing for the Spanish Fork News and it was taking up so much of his time as he is also going back to school. He and Jen finally decided that it was a good time to take a break and devote his time and energy to the family and to his schooling. He misses the writing but not as much as we miss reading his great articles. He will receive his associate degree after he completes the class he is currently taking. It was hard for us to have him let it go even though we knew it was for the best because Chad is a very talented writer. Actually he is amazing. We love his stories and pray that he will continue to write as there are many things in this world to write about. Hopefully he can use his talents in writing as a freelance writer. It is so fun to have them close by so that we get the chance to tend them when Chad and Jen go out. They are the kindest little boys!

Amy and Joe and the family traveled to Utah by air this trip. It was so much faster for them. Joe could only come for a few days so Amy and the kids came out alone and then he came a few days later. It was great to have Amy and kids here to tie up a few loose ends before Christmas and before the wedding.

On October 31st we receievd the great anticipated news that Amy was in labor with our darling Isaac. He weighed 8 lbs and 3 oz and was 20 1/4" in length. He was born at 11:33 am. He was due on the 31st so he came at a perfect time. We were a little worried because I was flying out there on the 31st to stay for a week and the doctor would not start Amy for two more weeks. We wondered if I would be coming back home with no baby, but it all worked out, (as it always does). He was such a good baby I couldn't believe it. He was held constantly from the time I got there until I came home from a loving family of Brynn, Abby, Aaron, Amy and Joe. A few days after Amy got home from the hospital I received a terrible phone call from Billy that Grandpa Vest had passed away. What a shock! He had been feeling a little bit weak and weary during the previous couple of weeks and we just thought he was doing too much. He was always busy doing some kind of project around the yard. He had been working in the window wells so that he could see the birds come and eat out of a birdhouse he had. He later went in and took a hot bath and had a heartattack and passed away. What a loss! The good thing is that he is with Grandma now. What a happy reunion. Billy found him in the bathtub which was very unfortunate, but it was good to hear from the Dr. that he went suddenly. The services that were conducted for him were wonderful. Billy spoke along with Larry and all of the grandchildren individually related their favorite memories of Grandpa. Scott Scott talked about the great times Grandma and Grandpa spent down in St. George with he and Annette and their family. Chad remembered the fishing experiences and the story about Grandpa driving in the car with them and when they saw a man fishing Grandpa hollered out the window "Jerk, jerk," to catch a fish. (Chad thought that he was calling the man a jerk.) Amy talked about Grandpa coming swimming down at the Spanish Fork City pool and Grandpa walking in with his speedo on. All of the lifeguards asked her"Who is that guy in the speedo?" She proudly replied, "That's my grandpa." She also told how Grandpa would sunbathe. Five minutes on each of his four sides. Oh how we miss that guy! Wade remembered Grandpa yelling out when he was at bat, "Just a little home run." Emily shared the stories when Grandpa came to dinner every Sunday and would always complementing the cook by saying "Good Groceries." He would always say donkashein whenever anything was passed to him and his greeting to Emily was always "Hello beautiful." As Grandpa would leave he would always say "See ya around the campfire." Yes Grandpa we look forward to seeing you and Grandma around the campfire.














It was a wonderful service as everyone celebrated Grandpa's love of life.

In the middle of December I flew back to California to take care of the 3 older children while Amy and Joe attended a retreat in Southern California. Little Isaac had grown so much I couldn't believe it. It was so fun for us to be together and the weather was gorgeous for

December. (I even saw sunshine.)

A few months later we received the unexpected sad news that Joe's father Blaine had passed away at his home of complications relating to diabetes. Blaine was such an intelligent talented man. It was so hard to see Joe heartbroken at the passing of his father. Joe gave a wonderful euology and tribute to his good father at the funeral. It was beautiful and very touching. Grandpa Blaine will sorely be missed. Isaac as a newborn. Isaac at 6 weeks with Aaron at 2 1/2

Nothing like a big brother.

Vest Family Reunion 2008 Park City

A few days before our Vest Family Reunion McKenzie and Delaney were able to come up and spend a few days vacation with us. It was so fun to have them come. They helped out a lot and had fun spending time with Emily. They swam, went to movies, had a sleep over at her apartment and shopped. Delaney watered for Grandpa Billy and McKenzie refinished a doll cupboard and did a great job!

My own personal secretary, Miss McKenzie.

McKenzie is helping get ready for our reunion.
McKenzie refinishing the toy cupboard. Nice project Kenzie.
This is a candid shot of Kenzie and Delaney after helping us clean the garage. Exhaustion! This was not staged at all. They were really tired!

On July 24th we started our Vest Family Reunion beginning with Wade and Emily running the Speedy Spaniard race. Scott and Annette also did their running aside from the race. We then all got ready and went down to the Fiesta Days parade down in front of the Glass Hospital on main street and 4th north. It was a great parade to watch and wasn't too hot to sit in for a couple of hours. To their delight, the kids were treated to drinks, snaps that explode when thrown on the ground, frozen otter pops, and they were showered with tons of penny candy and cousins to play with galore.

After the parade we all met at the Spanish Fork Reservoir Pavillion for our annual Binks 24th of July luncheon. We reserved the brand new pavillion above the reservoir and everyone brought pot luck and their own drinks and KFC to eat. The pavillion was very nice and it was so fun to have the children's playground nearby. Everyone that wanted brought water toys to play in the reservoir and Billy and the boys picked up Grandpa Vest's canoe from his home to use in the water.

Wade being a dork and Sara, still thinks he's funny!

Wade feeding Boston bite by bite a chicken leg.WOW! What a handsome blue eyed boy!
Lots of yummy food for the Binks crew.
Help me Chad, help help me Chad!

There is moss on the bottom edge of the concrete that is so slick it is impossible to walk out. Scott was literally crawling on his belly to get out as the moss was super slick. I tried to help put Joseph in the canoe and slipped on my ####. It was hilarious!

Scott was trying to help T and Kayson get out of the water.

It was a group effort.This was the funniest shot because Scott could only crawl out because of the slick moss that was stuck on the edge of the reservoir. Chad went over to help but Scott had to crawl out on his belly. Everytime I look at this picture I laugh. Sorry Scott!Boston and Emily relaxing in the water.

The water was nice and warm.Again, this was truly a group effort.

The water was nice and warm. The reservoir was really low this year.

There's Grandpa's white canoe. Fun to be together!

Kade and Spencer were dressed for the big rodeo. Ride em cowboys!

Before the rodeo here are the cowboys and cowgirls.

Nice little pose.

Two hotties!

Fun candid shot of a cute couple!

Fun to be together and enjoy a night at the rodeo.

Fireworks after the rodeo!

Sara, the biggest kid of all!

On Friday morning all of the adults went to the temple for a session while Emily and Katelynn tended the children. It was a wonderful session and a perfect way to start out a family reunion. After a session at the Provo temple.

McKenzie and Delaney went to Meg's to have a pedicure. They looked soooo cute. We then came home and loaded up and headed to Park City. The condos were great! Scott, Chad, and Amy and their families were all together in one and Emily, Wade, Sara, Dad and I were in the other. We had Kenzie and Delaney and Cooper stay with us for a couple of nights. Our condo had an x-box and big screen dvd player. It was really nice. It was in L-4. The other one was T-30 and was a little older but bigger. It had a tv and dvd in every room. We kept all of our food there and ate together. It also had a big grassy area where the kids went out and played ball and frisby and ran through the sprinklers. Right above us was the gondola. We just about got to ride it free but the weather turned bad and they closed it down.

Catching bubbles and playing frisby were the greatest for these two little guys.

Our birthday boy! New shirt from Grandma Rowene and Yankees hat for Kaden's 2nd birthday.

Do the limbo rock!
Emily and the kids, how low can you go?

Delaney trying to figure out just how low she could go.

All of the kids waiting patiently in line for their turn.

Kaden (our birthday boy) hugging his bear.

Aaron is showing performing his talent at our talent show.

Cousins are the best. McKenzie and Delaney brought 3D glasses for all of the cousins to watch the replay of the Hannah Montana concert. This was so fun and soooo cute to see.

Are they not the cutest grandkids in the world? Yes!!!

Wade and Sara on their way to Wade's 10 year reunion. Awesome couple!

Grandma, Abby and Delaney having fun in the pool. Spencer with the water shooter. He is becoming a good little swimmer.

Pete and repeat!

Aaron has a great example to mimic.
McKenzie with that million $ smile.

Emily chatting with the girls.

Our little pink beauty.

Baby boy Lee will be with us around Halloween!. You look great Amy!

Super Duper swimmer Cooper.

Joe and Cooper doing tricks in the pool.Grandpa and Delaney doing playing ball in the water.

Kaden has a new girlfriend. Look at those smiles!

Annette and Jen taking in some sun. It was so beautiful.

Aaron with his great big smile.

Emily with her nice neices at the top of Deer Valley where Joseph rode his bike all the way to the top. This was absolutely amazing!

A few of the clan.

Here is a bunch of our family.

Wade and Emily teasing as usual.

After breakfast on Sunday morning we took off for home. Joe and Amy to Woodland, CA, Wade and Sara to St. George and Scott and Annette to our house for a couple of days as Annette's brother Rob and Katie gave birth to a new baby boy.

It was another fun packed family reunion and after a little discussion decided to begin planning for next year with the family. Thanks everybody for making it such a successful and fun reunion! We love all of you sooooooooo much.

School Nutrition Association Annual Convention in Philadelphia, July 19-23, 2008

On July 19th we left SLC for the Philly airport to attend the annual SNA food conference. When we arrived at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on 19th and Market with 4 other ladies from Nebo School District we were famished and quickly went downtown to a little shop to try out their Philly steak sandwiches. The sandwich was nourishing so we took off by foot up the street to become familiar with downtown Philly. We had a great walk and planned out our next day as Billy had meetings to attend. As we walked around we came upon a little cafe that had yummy desserts and more. We ordered a Brown Betty dessert with coconut ice cream on the side. It was yummy. We then walked back to the motel where we rested our feet and went to bed. Church in the Philadelphia branch

On Sunday while Billy was at meetings I went to church with a few of the other ladies and one man to the downtown Philadelphia Ward. It was a very humbling thought provoking experience. There were several black people that were very friendly and many without any teeth. The missionary in the picture is a young man from Payson, UT. Lori called his family that day and told them we had seen their missionary and that he was doing great.

Turkey dinner at the Reading Terminal

After Billy was through with meetings I met him at the convention center and we went to the Reading Terminal to get some lunch. This was a really fun place to eat as it had all kinds of homemade food and everything you would want to have including Billy's favorite, turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing. It was really good! In the middle of the eating area was a band that played loud 50's music. It was a little too much for us old fogies. There were several Amish families that sold wonderful food. Another of our favorite's were the fruit and cream crepes'. They were out of this world. We also bought a couple of homemade raisin oatmeal cookies to share. Our favorite! Sunday evening we walked and walked and walked to Geno's and Pat's Philly Steak Sandwich shop that was in a scary part of town. We bought a sandwich and fries to share and then proceeded to walk back to the motel. On the way back we found out where the Jewelry Row was so that we could visit the next day. We were a little bit disappointed with the Philly Steak Sandwiches because the Italian Place in Utah has much better sandwiches by far. They have cream cheese.

Billy and I testing the Geno's Philly steak and fries.

Billy looking at live crabs in Chinatown. (Smelly)

Monday morning Billy had meetings again so I slept in and watched my favorite TV show, "The Today Show". Then I watched Regis and Kelly as I got ready for the day. I then hopped on a bus and met Billy at the convention center and we walked to the little mall to buy gifts for the kids and do a little touring. We walked to Chinatown and then Billy had meetings to get back to so I took off and walked to the Liberty Bell. Just as I went to get in line I noticed a family from Spanish Fork that were in the 6th ward when we lived there. They were the Tolmans. Judy and Marv and their family. They were serving a mission in New Jersey and their family had come to visit them and so they were able to take a little side trip to Philadelphia to see some of the historical sites. They invited me to come and join them in the line and that was great because it is always nice to be with friends and they saved me having to wait in line alone. They went through the museum quite quickly but I stayed and soaked in all of the historical information I could.

At the Liberty Bell. There is quite a story behind the bell.

The room where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

The supreme court building.

Museum of Declaration Signers

(Me and George)

Constitution Hall upstairs dining room where the signers ate during their breaks, or if they were thirsty they would sometimes go down to the nearby pub for a drink or two. In the corner there was a room full of antique guns and ammunition.

I then went to the museum of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. It was really interesting. I had my picture taken next to the statue of George Washington. This was a really neat display and very well done. Lots of historical information about their personal lives and their many accomplishments. There was also a picture of Betsy Ross and Martha Washington. Very interesting women in the history of our country. It was very humid out in Philly and I had forgotten to take a bottle of water. I began getting thirsty as the temperature was high and the humidity also. I then went to Constitution Hall to see where the signing of the Declaration of Independence took place. It was very interesting and also to the courthouse that was in an adjoining room. I then received a phone call from Billy and he was done with his meetings and I met him back at the lobby of the hotel. We then went early to the Super Bakery Bash at the Hilton Hotel where we were invited to a smogasbord of all kinds of pastas, breads, salads, desserts, roast beef, turkey and were they ever tasty. There was a nice ice cream bar filled with all kinds of toppings that were really yummy. We were so full and really tired from the days adventures so we headed back to the hotel room to rest.
On Tuesday morning Billy left early for meetings and then we met up and bought a ticket for "Phlash". This was the neatest way to travel in Philly. It cost us $5 per person for all day to the major tourist attractions and we could get on and off as many times as we wanted. We went to the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, Betsy Ross's house, the Philadelphia Art Museum (Rocky's steps and statue) and down to the shore of the Delaware River called Penn's Landing (I'm sure where William Penn landed and discovered Pennsylvania) where we hopped on a ferry and rode it over to the Aquarium in New Jersey. It was really fun. The aquarium was amazing. All kinds of sea life and the fun thing was that they let us touch sharks, starfish, and many other species of fish with our bare hands. Billy did this freely, but something about the feel of the sea creatures caused me to hold back and not be able to touch them. When we were ready to leave I finally got up the courage to touch a starfish. It felt much like rough sandpaper. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the sea animals because I wouldn't like everybody touching me and petting me all day long. There was a really big aquarium where you could sit down like in an auditorium and watch the sea life for hours. There were hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, sting rays, cow rays, sand sharks, lephard sharks, electric eels and spotted eels, and many more. It was incredible. We stayed there longer than we anticipated because it was so interesting. We hopped back on the ferry and went back to Penn's landing where we waited for the trolley to pick us up to head back to the hotel to get ready to attend a dinner at a restaurant called "The Fork." The trolley was there on the street waiting for us, but with no driver. Finally the driver showed up and said that there was a fire in the city and that the trolleys were jammed and we would have to find another way home. We quickly walked to the subway station and bought a couple of tokens to get us back to the hotel. In about 20 minutes we were showered and freshened and ready to hop back on the subway and surprisingly made our dinner appointment in plenty of time. It was a very nice restaurant with a menu of salmon baked in grape leaves, steak and other menu items that looked really good. They had a multi-grain roll that was to die for. There were several different varieties of breads that were very tasty. For dessert we had a chocolate mousse cake that was too chocolatey for me to enjoy. Needless to say we were stuffed to the max. We then hopped back on the subway and went back to our hotel to crash.
Rocky Vest da da dadada da da da da

Yo Adrian and Rocky!!!From the Philadelphia Museum of Art (bottom of Rocky steps) looking down Market Street at downtown Philadelphia

The ferry to the New Jersey Aquarium with Philly in the background.
On the ferry from Penn's landing to the aquarium in New Jersey.
USS warship
These are sea creatures not plants. They are very much alive.
This shark was right above us in a glass dome.
This is a striped zebra shark.

Wednesday morning Billy again had meetings in the morning so we went to the Reading Terminal and to the mall that was nearby to finish getting Kaden a birthday present and to finish buying gifts for our reunion the next day. The fresh vegetables at the Reading Terminal were unbelieveable. They had every kind of vegetable you could imagine. I would like to have taken some of them home. We left our bags with the concierge and went back to the convention center and discovered that we could walk all around the mall and Reading Terminal without going outside. The buildings were connected up on top and it was so much nicer to be in an air conditioned building rather than walking outside in the humid air. After leaving the Reading Terminal for the last time and buying our trinkets to take home (jam for the office from Intercourse, Pennsylvania) we got back to the hotel to hop on a shuttle to take us to the airport.

We had a big scare after our plane started on the tarmak at the airport . At 3:30 pm on the afternoon of July 23rd we were at the airport to head for home. The plane was a little late, and we began to board at about 5:40 pm. We started to move out onto the tarmak when we realized and commented about how many airplanes were lined up. Needless to say we sat in the airplane on the runway for 5 hours watching black clouds come over us and threatening to causing our plane to be grounded. We later learned that this could have lasted several days. We were a little bit panicked because of our family arriving at home. It could have been a disastrous nightmare. The airplane was running this whole time and eating up gas but at about 10:00 pm the pilot informed us that the tornado weather was lightening up and we had enough fuel to make our trip. I screamed right out loud. Yippee!!!

We arrived home at about 3:00 am and went quickly to bed by 3:30 am. The next morning was the big 24th celebration and we had planned a big reunion with the Binks's up at a new pavillion at the Spanish Fork reservoir. The pavillion has a new playground right by the side and the kids brought all kinds of water toys to play in the water at the reservoir. It was really nice. After the parade everyone quickly arrived at the pavillion for an afternoon of great food and fun. Billy and the boys picked up Grandpa Vest's canoe from his home and took it for the kids to use in the water. It was really fun! It was also really nice to watch from the pavillion on top to see the beautiful view of the valley and watch everyone have fun. Many thanks were expressed as to the perfect setup for our 24th get together. We were never so happy to be home as we had plans of celebrating our Vest Family Reunion in Park City the next day. This was a fabulous adventure to Philadelphia and made us appreciate our founding fathers of this great nation of the United States of America. We owe a lot to these wise and learned men.