29 Big Ones

I need to update everyone on my Super Birthday Birthday, casue I know you are all dying to know how the festivities went, but I have just been so darn lazy lately and really don't feel like posting much. So here is the short and sweet version.




• Three days of celebration! That's right the Birthday Celebrations started on Friday and didn't end until Sunday.
• Birthday pedicures and dinner with the Beesley cousins on Friday Night.
• A Birthday pool party with old neighborhood friends on Saturday.
• A Birthday BBQ with the family.
• My Favorite gift was from my hubby, thanks Mike. It was the game Settlers of Catan. I love playing it.

4th of July Weekend

For the 4th of July we went up to my dad's cabin in Pinedale, WY. It has been over 3 years since I have been up there; the reason being is that my dad has been remodeling the place and I haven't wanted to go up while it is under construction. It is still under construction, (hopefully by the end of this summer it will be done) but we had so much fun that I am wondering why I didn't go up sooner. We went up Wednesday night and stayed until Sunday morning. Our days were spent enjoying the outdoors and we basically did whatever we wanted.


We spent at least part of everyday on the lake. We went skiing, wakeboarding and tubing. I like to wakeboard and it has also been a few years since I've done it, but I was able to get up like a champ. I got used the feel of the board and thought I would try out a few jumps, the first one went well, so I decided to be a little braver and I cut a little harder into the wake and got some wicked air and came down and would ya know it, I caught the front of my board and smacked right into the water. Anyone who has ever done that can empathize with me. I had an instant headache and decided to get back in the boat for a breather, but got out a little later to go at it again. I also went tubing and that was fun being bounced around all over the water.

For my birthday, Mike gave me the game Settlers of Catan. I have heard people say how fun it is but I'd never played it until recently and I love it, so I took it up with us and we played every night. We even played twice one day. We may have gotten a little rowdy when someone would block our settlements or wouldn't trade resources with us when we were making an awesome deal (you know who you are) but it was all in good fun and we had a great time playing it. I even won one of the games.For the 4th of July we crashed the Pinedale City barbecue, and then we caught the fireworks show. It is one of the best fireworks shows I have ever seen.

On Saturday we went on a hike to Miller Lake. It was eight miles. (Impressive I know.) We originally thought it was only 4 miles, but it was 4 miles one way. While we were walking we kept saying this can't be only two miles and we almost gave up about a half mile before our destination. We made Nick run ahead and it is a good thing because he found a sign that pointed us in the right direction. The craziest thing of all is that I meet someone from our ward at Millers Lake. I mean Pinedale has a population of 1,400 people, so it is a small town and would be quite amazing to see someone there I know. Miller Lake is one of maybe 30 hikes you can do in Elkhart Park and to think that I meet someone from my ward there is just crazy. Just goes to show you that it is a small world after all. Another cool thing we did was take a night boat ride to see the stars. It was pitch black while we were driving out on the lake so our beautiful night of looking at the stars could have turn into a real, scary horror movie, I kept picturing something like the Loch Ness monster coming out to get us, but luckily it didn't. We stopped in the middle of the lake and were able to just star gaze for a while. It was beautiful. You could see the milky way and we saw some shooting stars. We had a great time and hopefully can do it again real soon.

Economic Stimulus Check

I've got one hyphenated word for ya. Boo-Yah!

Finished Room

I love the heat and Mike loves a low electric bill, so in the summer until the outside temperatures start reaching 100 degrees we don’t turn on our air conditioner. However, trying to sleep when it is above 80 degrees is really uncomfortable. Since we finished the room downstairs we set up a bed and have been sleeping in it. The basement is so much cooler and comfortable, plus it stays dark down there so I can sleep in on the weekend. So while I haven’t completed any crafts in my new room, the sleeping arrangements have worked out quite nice.

Turning into our Parents

Remember all those things our parents did when you were younger that we thought were so weird. Well, the things my dad does are still weird, :-) but I am seeing the wisdom and logic in some of the stuff my mom did, that I am now starting to do. For the 4th of July we are headed up to our cabin in Pinedale, WY. Back when I was a youngin’ all I had to worry about was myself and making sure I had packed my swimsuit. Now as an adult I’ve got to make sure we have food, some entertainment and other items to get us through the weekend. When we would go on vacation with my mom she always used to bring sooo much stuff and she used to pack it all in laundry baskets. I always thought it was so weird. Her stuff would always take up way too much room in the car and we were usually packing these laundry baskets well past the time we should have left. However, last night I found that I had some misc items I had to take up to the cabin and no where to put them. You know what, the items all fit perfectly into my small laundry basket. I wonder what other strange things I will start to do…

Grandpa Beesley

On June 5, my Grandpa Beesley passed away. He was 81 years old and a GREAT Grandpa! I would like to share a couple of my favorite memories of him.
- When I was younger my Grandpa and Grandma would invite the couins to sleepovers at their house and take us on trips. On one of these trip we went to Jackson Hole and got to go river rafting. However, my favorite trip was when I was in middle school and my grandpa took me and four of my couins on a trip to Lake Powell. He took us hiking/exploring, water skiing, swimming, etc... and acted just like one of the girls. It was a great experience to be able to bond with him and my cousins.
- My Grandpa loved to play April Fools jokes on people and he always thought of really good ones that were belivable. He would have you going all day or at least until he said, "April Fools."
I will miss him a lot but hope that he is having tons of fun with my mom and gave her a big kiss from me.

William Noall Beesley, Jr.
1927 ~ 2008
Bill Beesley died on June 5, 2008 at his home in Draper as a result of a long life and cancer.
He was born on April 7, 1927 the third of seven children to Barbara and William N. Beesley. Bill attended and played football and basketball at Granite High School. In 1943 he asked Hanna Marie Killpack to the Sophomore Ball – the best decision of his life, he said. They graduated in 1945 and married that summer in the Salt Lake Temple. Immediately after marrying, Bill served his country in WW II as a Merchant Marine in the Pacific.
Bill was a true entrepreneur and loved new ideas and business adventures. He was awarded numerous US and international patents and launched several companies, including Back to Basics Products, which his older boys grew into one of the most successful housewares manufacturers in the US.
A gifted athlete, Bill relished well into his late 70s thumping his sons, sons-in-law, grandkids and most other takers at sports, but especially racquetball. He held several state and US seniors’ racquetball titles.
Bill served his church as a bishop in Illinois and as a missionary with Hanna in Scotland and Kentucky. He travelled extensively and visited nearly every continent. He loved most, however, exploring Lake Powell with his grandkids or the Lake Pals and playing with family and friends at the cabin.
Bill is survived by Hanna, his wife of 62 years; five children, Bill, Brad (Patty), Linda Allen (Brent), Lex Ann Alvey (Mike) and Mark (RueAnn Ormand); 26 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by two brothers and two sisters.