Some Fun Family Travels

It was such a blessing to have my parents come and visit us at the end of September. It has been almost two years since they were here for Janelle and Scott's wedding. On Saturday, Grandpa Tucker helped us cut down a tree in our yard that had a big dead area in the top of it.


That evening, Mom got to come with me to the General RS Broadcast which was a wonderful thing. Living so far from family means that you don't get to do things together like that very often.

After church on Sunday, the whole family, including Grandma Foulk, left for Gettysburg.


It has been many years since we have visited there.

Our kids still at home had never been there and mom and dad said it had been about 40 years since they were there last.

We got caught in a little rain, but for the most part had a wonderful trip and really gained a greater appreciation for those who served during the Civil War.

We were able to stay until Monday night because the kids had a day off from school.

We celebrated Grandpa Tucker's 72nd birthday on Tuesday (a day late because of our trip).....another thing we don't get to do very often.
Thanks so much for letting us be involved in that special event with you, Grandpa.

On Wednesday, we traveled to NYC to attend a temple session at the Manhattan Temple and maybe see a matinee Broadway show. Well, things don't always turn out like you expect. We got caught in a terrible traffic jam on the NJ turnpike and ended getting into New York in time to go to the temple, but not in time for any show. But never fear.....other tender mercies were in the works. We stopped by the office of Pres. Corbitt (he works in the temple building as the public affairs director for the church in this area....he is also our Stake President)so that my parents could say hello and an amazing thing happened. As he was coming out of his office to meet us, two interns came out with him and the young man got this amazed look on his face and just ran over and hugged my mom and dad. Well, myself, Steve, Pres. Corbitt, and the other intern just kind of stood there like....."OK? What's going on here?" Turns out that this young man had served with my parents on their mission to Novosibirsk Russia. It was a wonderful reunion and we all agreed...much better than any matinee.

We then headed out to see some sights via subway (Ground Zero, Times Square, Grand Central Station, Lincoln Center) and as we came back to pick up the car and head home, a TV crew from ABC News stopped us and asked if Grandpa Tucker would help them with a shoot they were doing. They needed someone who looked like Warren Buffet from the back, to represent him in a piece they were doing for NIGHTLINE. We figured..."Why not" and went with them and did the shoot. Very fun!!! It was also fun to be able to call everyone on the way home and tell them to watch NIGHTLINE that night so they could see Tom Tucker the STAR!!!! Steve also made it into the filming. The day turned out nothing like we planned, but boy, was it ever fun.

We also made a trip to Columbus Market (kind of a tradition) and then to a Phillies game on Thursday night.

The Phils lost, but we had a fun time anyway. All in all, a really fun time with Grandma and Grandpa Tucker. Thanks so much for coming, Mom and Dad!!

A Whole New World

On the way to a Phillies game....GO PHILS!!!

Well, it's officially that time of year where things start to cool down and the schedule starts again. The schedule is always hard to get back into, but everything else about fall...I LOVE!! It is definitely my favorite time of year. This year has a lot of changes to get used to. I am now setting the table for five (maybe six when we can occasionally talk Meredith into eating breakfast with us after seminary.) It's pretty weird. But since we have downsized our table, we are at least not dealing with empty spots. Even though it was hard to see Emily and Stephanie go to Utah, I am so glad that they are out there with Janelle and her family and are able to spend time together there.


Around here we are trying to get used to school and seminary. It is a whole new world for Evan. He started kindergarten this year and is really loving it. Our school has an extended day schedule where the morning and afternoon sessions overlap. He is in the afternoon session so he catches his bus at about 10:40 and gets home a little after 3:00. I think it is the perfect length of time for him. He loves taking or buying his lunch.
His bus driver is the same woman who has driven each of our kids to kindergarten. She said, "I saw that last name on the bus lists and said...' I have to have that route...I have driven all of their other kids!'" Good old Mrs. Esch. If you ask Evan what he did that day when he first comes home, he usually tells me one thing like, "we went to gym" or "we had art". But as I watch and listen to him during the rest of the day, I hear him singing new songs or telling Nate or Meg about someone in his class. He was so ready to go to school...it is so fun to see him enjoying it so much. Here are the traditional "first day of school" photos.

A Family Reunion of Sorts

As is quite often the case, times of transition and change bring about family gatherings and celebrations. Our trip to Utah was one of those times. Although we were missing a big part of our immediate family, there were a lot of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents there.
Emily, Stephanie, Steve, and I made the trip to Utah on August 26th to take Emily and Stephanie to BYU. Megan and Nate were troopers and stayed home with Evan and Ginny for the six days we were gone. With the help of some good neighbors and friends, they got to where they needed to go and did just fine. Thanks guys. We got Emily moved into her dorm on the first day (well, kind of) and ended the day with an eventful trip to the Springville Wal-mart that will not soon be forgotten. Gotta love road construction.


The next day, as Emily got started with her new student orientation, we got to work looking for an apartment for Stephanie. We checked out a number of different places and she decided on The Enclave. She is renting from and individual condo owner and the apartment has four girls in it. Each girl has her own room and the bedrooms and bathrooms are on the floor above the main living area.


We also got to spend some time with Janelle, Scott, and Alan each of these days. What a sweet little guy his is. He is now smiling, talking, and just plain a lot of fun to be around.


Friday morning, Janelle, Stephanie, Steve, and I went to the Provo temple to do an endowment session. What a treat!! It had been years since Steve and I had been to that temple and it was so nice to go there with our two daughters. Emily stepped up to the plate and watched baby Alan so that we would be able to go. Thanks, Em.


That night, Janelle and Scott went to a concert for Scott's birthday. We also had been invited to a picnic at the Allen home in Orem. Brother Allen had served as our stake president years ago in New Jersey, and invited all the NJ folks past and present to come over and have a bar-b-que. Since there were so many people taking kids to school, etc., it was quite a good amount of people. We got to have Alan there with us for a while and it was fun for everyone to see him. This was also the first time many of the people had seen Stephanie since she had returned from her mission.....Lots of hugs.
































































Saturday was spent moving Stephanie's stuff in. She had stored some things at Janelle's, but the majority of stuff was at my sister Jeri's home in Idaho. She and her family drove down and brought it all for us so they got that stuff moved in too. In fact, the whole Idaho crew came down for a little family reunion in Utah. Grandma and Grandpa Tucker, Jan and John and their whole family, Brian and Annjennette and their kids, and Jeri and Frank and their kids. Also, Bruce and Jenny and family and Jake Himes came from Highland and Provo too. We spent some time together Saturday night where the kids swam in the pool at our hotel, and the adults/older kids visited.
On Sunday, we gathered at Janelle's church for Alan's blessing. Lets just say we filled up about 5 center rows in the chapel with all of our crew and also quite a number of people from Scott's family. Pretty impressive for one little guy. He was a very good boy during his blessing and he looked so nice. Good job, Alan.



Afterwards, we had a picnic style lunch in the yard area in front of Janelle's apartment. Everyone just visited and had a nice time. Even though it was a short get together, it was so fun.

Bruce, Brian, Dad, Mom, Jill, Jan, Jeri

Jake Himes, Bruce, Jenny, and kids

Jeri, Frank, and kids

Jan, John, and family

Brian, Annjennette, and kids

Austin Strobel, Jan's oldest son that just returned from his mission to Brazil, also drove down that morning. Very fun to have our two recently returned missionaries at the party.


We missed having the younger kids and Geoffrey with us, but it was a very special time to see lots of family and get our girls settled in. Now it's time to get the new school year started. Whew!!!

Have you seen "The RM" ?

The good news is that we got our Hermana Foulk home from Las Vegas on Saturday night. She is healthy, trying hard to get used to the non-mission life, and our same old Steph.....only way focused and even more wonderful than before she left. We are so happy to have the next few days to spend with her before she starts BYU.

The bad news is that even though the kids made some fabulous signs, we got balloons and flowers, and got to the airport a full hour before her flight landed.....

.....We were in terminal A.....

......and she came into terminal E. :(

What a great, supportive family..right? She was very understanding and we did manage to get a picture of our family at the church building where we went on the way home so that she could be released by a member of our stake presidency. (Thanks Pres. VanDerwerken)

We stopped after that and had dinner with Grandma Foulk, Aunt Tracey, and Uncle Chuck...and then came on home and spent some time together that evening.

The next day, Stephanie spoke in our sacrament meeting and gave such a wonderful talk. There were a number of Stephanie's friends who came to hear her and it was great to have them there to help welcome her home.
The rest of that day we just spent time together talking and playing games with the family. What a great day.

We will leave on Wednesday for Utah....Steve, Jill, Stephanie, and Emily. It will be a fast five days there filled with finding an apartment for Steph, getting both girls moved in and spending some fun time with Janelle, Scott, and baby Alan. Can't wait to smooch those chubby cheeks. Life is very good.

Missionary Update - Elder Foulk

Geoffrey has been serving in the Albania Tirana mission since October of last year. He spent almost three months in the Provo MTC...

and then traveled to Albania the first part of January.

He has loved the people there and has learned a lot...not the least of which is the Albanian language!!! He has served in Vlore,

then he served in Durres,

and he is currently serving as the mission secretary in the office in Tirana.

Each assignment has been a new adventure. He has had some great teaching experiences and has been able to be a part of a number of baptisms. Right now he is learning a lot about the way a mission office runs and is working very closely with the president. We love getting his letters and the great photos he sends. Go Elder Foulk!!!

Missionary Update - Hermana Foulk

It is such a great thing to have two missionaries serving in the field. Stephanie has been serving in the Nevada Las Vegas Mission since Feb. 2008. She has served in Kingman, AZ and in various areas of Las Vegas. In December she even got to witness an actual snowstorm in Las Vegas. She has grown to love the people so much and has been blessed to see some of her families go through the temple. How cool is that!! Her time is quickly coming to an end and although she is not anxious to leave her mission, we are so looking forward to her coming home on the 22 of this month. She will be here for just three days and then we are off to Utah...Steve, Jill, Stephanie, and Emily...where she and Emily will start at BYU. She will also get to see her new nephew, Alan, for the very first time.

Fun in the Poconos

We had a really fun family get away in late July. We were invited to go to the Poconos by our good friends, the Sikahemas, along with several other great families. It was so fun. The kids were able to go swimming, go to a water park, try golfing, and go horseback riding, too. We ate all our meals together and had some great multi-family time.





Highlights included that really yummy salad, the cloudburst at the water park that sent us running for shelter, the testimony meeting (where Evan fell asleep on Nelson's lap), the prize ceremony, and, of course, Evan leading "Do As I'm Doing" with a glow stick in the dark. It was a great family vacation that will be remembered for a long time.