Dad's 60th Birthday Bash!

We headed to Utah last week to celebrate Dad's 60th birthday. Mom kept it a secret that any of us were coming. We planned to leave on Thursday night and stay in a hotel along the way , but as we drove through Reno at 12:30 a.m. I looked at Joe who had just guzzled more caffeine than he had in all of his years combined and I knew he had no intention of stopping. That's the kind of tenacity he has. The only problem, I have a really hard time sleeping while someone else is driving...I also have a hard time staying awake and I didn't want to drink any caffeine because I knew I would be wired and off my sleep schedule for days to come. So I drifted in and out of sleep, waking up with the occasional..."Joe! Are you awake!" Accompanied by a jolt grab of Joe's arm which nearly resulted in us flying off I-80. At about 5 AM we stopped at some remote rest stop (all of the rest stops are remote across Northern Nevada) and slept for about 45 minutes until Brynn woke up saying, "Time to wake up, it's morning, the sun is coming up, let's get going dad!" We made it to Spanish Fork at about 11:00 am MDT.

Mom called us around 8 a.m. and I told her we were just leaving the hotel (wink, wink) I told her we should get there around 5:00 p.m. We were able to surprise Mom by arriving earlier than expected, but we were excited to surprise Dad because he had no clue we were coming. I was slightly nervous that he may have a heart attack when we walked into his office, but it all worked out. We sent the kids into say, "Happy Birthday!" while we waited outside the door. Luckily his secretary had already left, so they came without any warning. Later Dad told me that at first he thought it was just someone from the office who sent their kids to with birthday wishes. He was shocked when he saw they were his CaLEEfornian grandkids. They all ran to him and he swooped them all in for a big hug. Aaron took his usual spot on dad's shoulder and wouldn't come off. He had practiced saying "papa" the whole way down, but it took him a few minutes to get it out. He wouldn't let Dad go. I ended up driving dad's Pilot home while he drove with the kids in the van, where Aaron shouted, "papa" the whole way home.

Abby sneaking something under the table, I can't remember what?
Grandpa and Aaron doing a little wrestling after family prayer.
We spent the whole day partying on Saturday. Mom and Dad have speakers in their backyard and wired through the house, so we listened to conference (or atleast tried to) while all of the kids played. Mom rented a giant bouncy castle for the kids to play in all day. They LOVED it!

All the guys got ready and headed to priesthood while the girls got all the yummy snacks prepared for the birthday party. Joseph went to priesthood with his dad and brothers and enjoyed ice cream and singing with them after, so we missed him at our post priesthood session party!
Mom had lots of yummy desserts prepared, and we also had a spread of shrimp, sushi, veggies, fruit and lots of other finger foods. She didn't think anyone would care for the sushi, but we have lots of sushi eaters, so it went fast! Delaney throwing the confetti all over Grandpa.

After we enjoyed all of our treats, we watched the DVD about Dad that Mom made. It was so much fun. It was filled with lots of pictures from his entire life and music that has been meaningful to him or fit the occasion well.
We all enjoyed watching it and had many good laughs.


I love getting together with my family. They are such fun people to hang around. It's a full house when we're all there, but it's always sad when Monday rolls around everyone has gone there way and the house is left empty. We enjoy our together times!

Chad asked each of us to email him stories about dad that he could remember. He then read the tribute to Dad and it was fun to reminisce about all of the memories we have made with dad growing up. Dad always made each of us feel like an individual in the family, while many of our experiences were similar, we each had one on one experiences that were unique to us and made us feel special. As Chad read that night, it was interesting to note that many of our best memories came from the time that was hardest for us as a family, when we thought we would be moving to Rexburg (not that Rexburg is a bad place). Hindsight is always 20/20.
It's always fun to see the three boys who are within months of each other. The next few years will be fun to see them grow together. Here are Aaron and Boston, and I'm sure Kaden was close by.
Dad is a avid golfer. Wade and Sara gave him a cute new golf hat and equipment. They bought a had for each of the boys to have their pictures taken together at the golf course. Sara, Dad, Wade

Happy 60th Dad! (Submitted by everyone, compiled by Chad)

Dad, we decided to do a fun article on you for your 60th birthday to recount many fun memories we all have shared with you. The list could go on and on but in this story, we will sum up some of the greatest moments which have entertained us and blessed each of our lives. There are many reasons we love you and hopefully by sharing these experiences, we can all grow closer to Grandpa Billy. Comments from the Vest children will go in order of age.

Scott commented on some great experiences. “Some of my favorite memories of spending time with dad while I was a youth were having him coach us in baseball and him telling Erlin Morrell to “go to hell” for accusing dad of making an illegal substitution. Not too long after dad cooled off enough to show up on her front porch to apologize for losing his cool. However, the good news is that dad has a great track record against Erlin and the Morrell boys having never lost to the White Sox or Elks. Those were fun times. Some other memories that are very fond are dad teaching his family life sports such as tennis and golf. It was such a great time to go with dad to the sports mall to see Dad and Uncle Larry try to beat Mack and the JB’s president. Learning about his love for the game of golf and how to become a good short game player was also awesome. My relationship with dad really grew when we went on the long trips to Vernal, Roosevelt, Price and Rexburg to do work with the machines or restaurant. Even though dad wasn’t a big fan of Robbie Nevil he acted like he was as we listened to the CD all the way from SF to Vernal. Dad has always been a great example of a righteous priesthood holder who values his family and loves the Lord. He has taught us and helped us gain a stronger testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To this day I still sing ‘Hey everybody it’s family night, you better take the phone off the hook.’ When we sing this, Boston comes running to get the stool to set up a pulpit to lead the music and to pray. All of the other kids know what that means too. I appreciate such a great example in dad.

Chad also recalled similar experiences. “Dad taught us to love and enjoy many different sports growing up. The only age group that dad didn’t coach us in was Pony League because he was too busy as JB’s director of product. When we played the Mustang League White Sox (Erlin Morrells team), she claimed that the sun had set during extra innings when our team was about to take last at bats on the JC field. Dad argued that the sun was behind the clouds but Morrell’s feistiness prevailed. She enticed the umpire to postpone the game for a couple of days. As we walked out of the ballpark, the sun came out from under the clouds just as dad had said. But it didn’t matter because we beat the Sox twice at the North Park South field in extra innings followed by another seven inning game. I love it how Dad has used his native tongue to say family prayers when we ask that of him. Our family was without dad for awhile during my senior year of high school while he was working in a different state. I so appreciated when dad would drive 600 plus miles just to see me play SF Dons baseball. In the summer of ’93 dad and I lived together in Rexburg for a couple of months before my mission. We had a bachelors’ blast hanging at the movie house, fishing at Henry’s Lake, taking in Idaho Falls Braves games and enjoying a fun trip to Jackson Hole as dad explained the temple course handbooks that I read. A few years back, I went through a hard time with my shoulder and work. Dad took me to a SL Stingers game and being at ball games with Dad is the greatest. After the game, we went for some food at a place called Catfish Mama’s. Well, Mama ran out of Catfish that night so dad and I ordered some BBQ beef ribs to go. We sat on some grass in front of 7-Eleven to enjoy our dinner when an older man from out of the blue approached us with his guitar. He was a vagabond and played for anyone that would lend an ear. He came to SLC one day with a backpack and the shirt on his back but he lucked out by snagging some special shoes he said. After explaining his story, he began to serenade us both with these words. ‘I got the Salt Lake City Blues in my Salt Lake City shoes’ as the chorus over and over again. I think I busted my own rib from laughing so hard while trying to hold it in as he sang. Dad and I sat down for a quick bite but little did we know that we would have dinner and a show. We laughed at that for an hour straight during our ride home. What a hoot! Sometimes belly laughs are the best medicine around. What I respect most about dad is his work ethic, gentle kindness, testimony of the restored gospel and his love for our family.”

Amy shared some of her experiences. “I always loved changing machines with dad. I loved that I could always count on him to buy me a pink sugar cookie at Don Andrews diner up in Spanish Fork Canyon. Some of my most treasured times with dad were when we lived with them the year before law school and the year after. Both times were really hard for me because they were full of huge transitions. I loved each day when dad would come home from work and we could talk. He is a great listener and a great empathizer. I could tell him exactly what I was feeling and all the frustrations I was having about EVERYTHING and he would listen and only give advice when he could tell I was asking for it. He would also let me rattle off everything I read in my latest book and listen to all my grand plans for our future. I loved finishing off each lunch with a bowl of ice cream and not feeling a single bit guilty because I was sharing a moment with dad.” Dad is the among the kindest human beings I have ever met. He has a quiet steadiness that makes you want to always live your best.

Joe has had some fun experiences with Dad too. “I’ll never forget an early memory of Dad. When Amy and I were 17 years old and dating in high school, I was completely smitten with her! Twitterpateded to the maximum! So much that I never wanted to leave her side… which meant I was at the Vest home nearly every day popping in and out of windows and bushes with a cheery ‘Hi Billy!’ Dad was remarkably patient with me and always extended a hand of fellowship and friendship (even though I’m sure he wanted to ring my neck!) Well, one evening when I showed up unannounced (and invaded Dad’s attempt at a quiet family evening,) dad pulled out two Nerf brand dart guns and challenged me to a dual which turned into a 30 minute chase around the house game of blasting each other with foam darts. I will never forget the sweat dripping off of our faces as we scurried, scampered, dived, crawled and leapt over couches and chairs only to turn again and fire our spring propelled foam bullet blasters at each other. There’s no doubt that it was a little symbolic “ringing of the neck” from Dad. He would never really shoot me, ring my neck or beat me up, but surely there were moments when he would have liked more quiet moments without “Hi Billy” from Mr. Happy face. I will always love Dad for his friendship, support and love. He has been a great example to me of family leadership and priesthood service. He showed Amy the kind of man a true husband should be… and I hope to become like him. Thanks Dad for being a living hero.”

Wade had a story or two as well. “First off, the fishing trips were something I always looked forward to. It was so fun being with my brothers, my Dad and Grandpa. I wouldn’t have cared if we had caught anything or not, it was just so awesome being with all the boys and we almost always brought fish home to fry. I remember the good old times of driving with Dad to Rexburg. The summer before my eighth grade year, we moved up there for a couple of months. I remember painting the restaurant and how Dad got me on an all-star team to play tournaments in Montana and Twin Falls. Our family lived in a little apartment and it was one of the best summers. But the best times with Dad were having him as my coach each year in little league. I’ll tell you one thing. There is no coach in the city that could outsmart Dad. He always came up with the best lineups and strategies to help us win, but more than anything he made it fun for his sons and others to play the game. I’ll never forget when he made the biggest coaching move of his life and called to the bullpen to bring Ryan Jenkins into the game to close it out. We were undefeated at the time and going for the perfect season, but it was Ryan’s dream to pitch in a real live game. He came in and shut out the other team. The best part was when after we won, Ryan’s mom approached Dad and told him that Ryan should start the next game which was game one of the state tournament. With Dad, I never felt too much or too little pressure. I always think that when my boys are old enough to play, I’m going to be just like my Dad was with me. Looking back, I realized something I hadn’t before and that is that Dad always put his family first before anything else. He is the most unselfish person I have ever met. We love you Dad!”

Emily, being the baby of the family has been around Dad as much as anyone in the past ten years. “Dad called Rexburg ‘Rexsceeburg’ of the trips we would take going to and from school and changing machines. He taught me the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the five step hard style every time and I have been able to use them and share those lessons with others. When our house flooded a couple of years ago, Dad would always tell Mom and me to not forget to close the door when we used the bathroom. (There was no door at the time.) When Mom, Dad and I went to Washington DC together, we became really hungry one night after walking the streets all day. We entered a McDonalds at a late hour and they said they’d give us some free fries if we sang to them. Dad began singing ‘Bah Bah Black Sheep, have you any fries?’ Mom and I about died because all of workers were African Americans. Dad quickly grabbed the fries after realizing what he sung and they darted out of Ronald’s house. This past while Dad has given me many father’s blessings that have been much needed. I am so grateful for how Dad honors his priesthood and uses it to bless our family. He is so fun to be around and is loved by everybody. We pretty much have the most awesome Dad ever!”

A few of the Grandchildren even left their thoughts about Grandpa Billy. “I liked it when Grandpa would lay on the trampoline and we got to jump all over him,” said Brynn. Abby shared one of her favorites. “My favorite time with Grandpa was when I was playing hide and go seek with him and he was the counter and me and Brynn bonked heads.” Aaron likes that Grandpa nicknamed him “Bubbies.” Other Grandchildren love Grandpa for coming to their ball games, dance recitals, piano recitals and all other fun events. Sunday dinners are great when the boys get to wrestle with Grandpa after a big feast. The best qualities about Grandpa are his goodness and his kindness. Vacations are the most fun with Grandpa but just being around him anywhere lights up their life. We all love you Grandpa Billy! You are 60 years young to us! Love, “The Vest Family.”