Idaho in the Spring

We got to make a family trip to Idaho/Utah this spring.  We actually bought the plane tickets for the purpose of preparing for and attending Meg's wedding, but when those plans changed we decided to still go ahead with our travel plans and spend some time with family in the West.  Emily was also going to be graduating from BYU, so we were excited to be able to be there to see her walk.  

Since I had planned to go out a week early to help Meg, I got a little longer trip out of the deal.  I flew into Salt Lake on April 10th and rented a car to drive up to Idaho.  Since Emily had that week off from school, she and Jimmie drove up to Salt Lake so that we could get some lunch in SLC before I headed north.  It was so fun to see them, especially since we hadn't seen each other since last August in Tennessee.

Jimmie enjoying his Wendy's french fry and trying to decide who this strange woman is

He warmed up after a while!! 

I got to ride next to Jimmie on the way to the park.

We didn't have a blanket with us and he was not too sure about the grass, so we put my jacket down and that seemed to be ok.

He tried crawling out on that stuff but was not a fan.

His little foot had just accidentally touched the grass...you can see he was very concerned.

Let's face it....Life is just better when Mommy holds you.  :)

After our little lunch date, I headed up to Idaho.  I love the drive up because the mountains and scenery in general are so beautiful.  

I even stopped and took a selfie with my favorite mountain just south of Brigham City.

Headed toward the Malad Summit - So Pretty!!

The night I got home, we had some great family time.  Jeri, Brian, and Jan came over to Mom and Dad's house and we stayed up waayyy too late visiting.  Somehow we found out that it was National Siblings Day so we decided to take this photo.  Unfortunately, I had been up for about 22 hours at this point and definitely look like it.  Love these guys!!!

We managed to fit in a trip to The Cocoa Bean with Jeri, Olivia.......

Grandma, and Hannah!!  YUM!!

I went up to Rexburg and got Megan on Saturday.  That night we had a big family get together at Jeri's house for Spencer and Frank's birthdays which are one week apart.  Here are Hannah and Meg at the party.

And the birthday boys.....Spencer and Frank!!

Brian, Samantha, Meg at the party

This was a fun lunch we had at Cafe Rio...

Meg, Grandma, Jan, Annjennette, Abby, Katie, and Jeri

I got to go to the IF temple twice during my visit.  Here is the first time with 

me, Jan, Dad, Mom, Brian, and Jeri.  No nice to be able to go together.  Steve,

Grandma Foulk, Nate and Evan arrived later on the afternoon this photo was taken.

Steph, Mark and Karsten arrived on Friday and 

Grandma Foulk got to see Karsten for the very first time.  

"Hi Grandpa Foulk""

"I know you're talking to me, Grandma, but there's someone taking a picture of me."

Such a cutie!!

Lots of hugs!!

Steph and Karsten - so cute!!!

Look at those eyes!!

So, Meg and Nate might have stayed up a little late the night before....

Karsten getting his bath.....

.....and loving that cool shower ball

After the nap, Aunt Meg was ready for her loves, too.

At Jan's house that night, Karsten was a hit - and Emily and Jimmie arrived, too.

Here's Karsten with his Great Aunt Jeri.

Saturday morning - The Dynamic Duo - Jimmie and Karsten

"Hey Karsten, If you're just watching The Chipmunks, 

could I play with ALL these toys please?"

"Umm, I'll just keep this one close if that's ok."

"Dude, that's ok, but watch out....

.......I can walk with this thing." 

Aunt Emily helping Karsten do some walking, too

Marc making us some delicious scrambled eggs.....Nice apron!!

Karsten with Great-Grandma Tucker

Great Grandma had this really cool little basket with plastic eggs in it that Jimmie LOVED!!

"See my cool egg, Grandma!!"

Karsten and Mommy

A big smile from Karsten

Karsten with his happy Daddy and Mommy

Grandma Foulk doing a cream pie demonstration

These three girls had gotten together at Thanksgiving and tried to make 

Grandma's pie recipe without much success.  They decided to 

videotape her skills for future reference.

Our eggs - ready for the Easter Bunny to come hide them

Jimmie ready for some lunch.....

...and playing a game with Aunt Meg

Some outside blanket time with the two little cousins

A little blurry... but here's a photo of Jimmie with

both of his great-grandmas and his mommy

Playing outside with Mommy and Daddy

And Grandpa, the photographer

Jimmie is still not too sure about that grass

 

Two sisters, two babies....so fun!!!

I think he might be happy here  :)

Karsten with his Great Grandpa Tucker 

Karsten checking out the cows at Reed's Dairy

with Grandpa and Mommy

Emily and Jimmie checking them out, too

Karsten trying out his walking at Reed's

It was fun to be able to share Easter with my family this year.  It was especially fun to have the little guys there for their first Easter.  Here are a few photos from the egg-finding escapade.

Evan looking for eggs

Karsten with his Daddy

Nate checking out Grandma and Grandpa's Russian eggs with Grandpa in the background

"Check out this cool yellow one, Mom!"

"I'll keep an eye on these, guys!"

"I got another one!"

"Wow, this one was really hidden!"

Going for a little walk

"Thanks, Aunt Meg.  This one was really high."

"Got it!"

Good job, Evan!!

Looking pretty thrilled, don't you think?

"An egg on a pineapple, Dad?"

"Do we have them all?"

"I'll just check."

The Easter Bunny even brought baskets for the great-grandparents.  

I think they were surprised.

Daddy showing Karsten how pinwheels work

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Wow, Mommy, that is so fancy!!"

We finished this bad boy while we were there.  

500 pieces-less than two hours.  Pretty impressive!!

Easter Sunday

Karsten and Mommy

Practicing his standing with Daddy - and Aunt Emily watching

"Um, Mom, I'm pretty sure I need you to open these for me."

A four generations shot

Caroline, Steve, Karsten, and Stephanie

Another one - Jill, Steph, Karsten, and Glenda

Steph and Karsten both look a little sad that it's time for him to go

Evan by the famous Idaho Falls

Grandma, Steve, and Evan with the falls and the temple in the background

Thank you so much, Grandma and Grandpa Tucker for putting up with us

and helping to make our trip so special.  Happy Easter, 2014!!

Grandma Foulk turns 80

This was a big year for Grandma Foulk----she turned 80 on April 4th!!  She's not the kind who would like a big party, so we just did some little things for her and made a video from all the kids.   I think she liked it.  The main thing that she wanted was the same thing she wants every year...to have the sticks in her yard picked up.  We got that done between conference sessions.  

We also took her to a hibachi restaurant.  Here are a few photos of our fun dinner.

Evan enjoyed the soup!

Whoa!!! That's a lot of fire!!

It was pretty tasty!!

We also had a family celebration with Tracey, Chuck and the girls on Sunday....

One candle for every ten years.

Happy 80 years, Grandma!!

The Great Debate

A few years ago Nathan and Megan decided to try debate club.  They found out that they were both pretty good at it so Nathan has continued with it throughout high school.  This year he has been a part of the two-man negative team and they went undefeated during the regular season. Their team took first in the Lincoln Division of  South Jersey which allowed them to compete in the championship debate.  Most debates are not open to the public so I had never seen a debate before, but the championship was open to all the debaters from South Jersey and parents.  It was intense!! They did a great job, but unfortunately they did not win the championship.  But considering the school went 1-15 the first year they started debating, we were so proud that they made it to the championship!!  

Here is the winning team from the Lincoln Division

Russ Bauer -Affirmative Team, Shawn Tuman - Negative Team, 

Lizzie Raffo - Affirmative Team, and Nathan Foulk - Negative Team

The boys were also featured in our little local paper.

Congrats, guys!!!

Cherry Hill Women's Expo - 2014

I like to document our women's conference each year because it is fun to look back on and learn from and remember.  This year was a little different because we got our idea from a conference in Janelle's stake to invite the community and make it a missionary tool in that way.  It has been a lot of work and time invested, but it turned out really well.  Pres. Vai Sikahema and his wife, Keala  were our keynote speakers and then we had three sessions of classes that followed with lunch as a choice during the last two sessions.  We had about 300 ladies there and we estimate that at least 25 of them were not of our faith.  I was especially delighted because three of the ladies that I invited came and they had a great time!!!  Yay!! Unfortunately, I did not take any photos that day so the ones I am posting are from our event's Facebook page.  Thankfully some sisters were smart enough to bring cameras.  Here are a few photos from our special day at the Cherry Hill Women's Expo.  Only a few of the 14 classes are featured.

Ahmad Corbitt's Spanish class on Using the Power or Jesus Christ in our lives

Colleen Smith teaching on making your home a sanctuary

My sweet friend and counselor, Robin AhPing, teaching her class called
60 Tips, Techniques, and Tools to Better Cooking
Robin has been my counselor for the past four years and was released just before the conference.  I will miss her wisdom and association so much.

Dinner Wise with Rikki Hein and her friend Michaela

We had very simple, elegant decorations on the tables

A picture grouping on the stage

Our box lunches were wrapped with a little tulle bow and the sisters said they looked like a little gift especially for them.  Robin insisted that everything inside was homemade.  

Some of my Medford Ward ladies having a lovely time

I am so thankful for all the hard work and time that so many people put into this great day.
I know that Heavenly Father was pleased.