The Foster Flock

Graduation!!!

2009-06-25T22:44:00.001-07:00

After four long years Thomas finally received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Phoenix in Business Management and Marketing. We are so happy and proud of him for all the sacrifices he has made to make a better life for himself and our family. It has taken a tremendous amount of self discipline, courage, tenacity, riziliantcy, leadership, consistency, patience, creativity, and love to accomplish this personal goal that he set for himself 12 years ago as a missionary. It has been a long journey which began with a few classes at B.S.U. and a break that lasted for about 4 years. In the spring of 2005
we realized that it was time and that U.O.P. offered a great opportunity for Thomas to accomplish a personal goal. Our family has become so close and strong through all of the years of sacrifice. We are so grateful for the support we have received from our families and the Lord's guidance as we strive to live to our families potential.

Memorial Day

2009-06-02T12:17:00.001-07:00

We spent the memorial weekend down in Utah, traveling down with Perry and Alice. We took the rare opportunity to spend the day at Lagoon! The kids had a fantastic time, Caleb and Grace experiencing their first rides on the kiddie rides. Rose got a bit freaked out on the Lady Bug drop and Thomas had to convince her to ride it. Caleb was a wild man! He loved every ride and it is safe to say that when it comes to thrill rides he is like his dad, NO FEAR!! Grace was tired most of the day and rode very few rides that she did not end up crying by the end. We met up with Davin and Karen as well as Barry and Deb Jenkins. It was very nice to see them and spend the day catching up on recent events. Melissa isn't much into the big thrill rides but did go on a few and enjoyed watching Davin's face on the Screamer as he and Karen went whipping by. She did brave the Wild Mouse and even Rose went but soon after remembered why she did not like the ride the first time she rode it several years ago, IT'S TO JERKY!! Thomas of course rode about every big thrill ride in the park along with Deb, Karen, and Rachel! The highlight being the WICKED rollercoaster that included Perry! Deb, Rachel, Thomas, and Karen. Those who where less brave stood below and watched and everyone agreed they could here Rachel SCREAM!!! loud and clear. Overall the day was extremely fun for everyone and the biggest surprise was seeing Perry ride some of the bigger thrill rides.

Current Events

2009-03-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

Recently in the Foster Family there have been some big and exciting changes. Back in February Thomas decided to leave Kelly-Moore for a better opportunity. We are now earning an income using our own business and have achieved a 10 year dream to be independent and be owners of our own business. We are doing well and are excited to what our future will bring to our family. Thomas also will soon begin his last class for his bachelors degree and has recently been offered a scholarship to continue on with his masters in September. Melissa is enjoying being a mom and helping with the new business, attending meetings, and helping where she can. Melissa is also enjoying her calling as the ward chorister. Rose is having a blast with her schooling as she learns by doing her favorite art activities at Pioneer Elementary. She recently had an audition for a school play and will find out which part she will have after the spring break. Caleb is learning and growing in many ways as well. He and his mom have been working hard on his numbers and letters and all the things to get him ready for kindergarten in the fall. He has also discovered a passion for video games and expressed interest in going fishing with Dad again soon. Grace is growing up fast! She has really improved her vocabulary lately and has tons of fun as she works to try and mimick her older siblings and what they are doing.

Shoot for got to post this a couple weeks ago!

2008-12-04T22:50:00.001-08:00

Well since BYU failed to become the specatular BCS Busters that Some(i wont mention names) deemed practacly heavenly during the pre season I only have one thing to say. HA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA AHAHA! YOU WERE SO WRONG! and just to back me up check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6CROOR2QN8

BYU LOSES TO UTAH!!! HE HE They went down in a flying ball of flames!

Broncos defeat the Oregon and take the spotlight again!

2008-09-28T20:51:00.001-07:00

HA HA! UNCLE WILLIE EAT YOUR SHORTS!!!
He said they wouldn't do it and that BSU would have three losses by the time they hit WAC play! guess you where wrong again Uncle willie!!

To you and all the rest that doubted BSU this year all I have to say is stick it in your ear!!

EUGENE, Ore. -- If Boise State wanted to be mentioned in the same
breath as the program-defining 2006 team, the Broncos took steps in
that direction with Saturday's 37-32 win over No. 17 Oregon.

AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens

Boise State is thinking about 2006 after beating Oregon on the road Saturday.

It was the Broncos' first win over a BCS opponent in a true road
game and the biggest win for the program since capping that 2006 season
with an overtime win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. It's the biggest
regular-season win since the Broncos defeated a ranked and undefeated
Fresno State team in 2001, the first year the Broncos joined the WAC.

"This is big," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. "I know
Oregon had some quarterback issues and stuff that helped us, but even
with that you can see how explosive they are. So it was great for our
guys to be able to hang on and get this done."

In 2006, Boise State went undefeated and had a dramatic
come-from-behind win against Oklahoma. It had some thinking that the
Broncos should have gotten a shot at the national championship.
Although the Broncos are a long way from the end of the season, they
are the only undefeated team remaining in the WAC and one of only six
undefeated teams remaining in the non-BCS.

Summer Time Adventures

2008-09-03T10:26:00.001-07:00

WOW! What a busy summer the Fosters have had this year! Rosie and Thomas both had birthdays and again on the same day this year! Go figure! Rosie had some friends over to a little party while Thomas simply hid out and tried to forget about turning 30! Over all it was a good day. Tony and Thomas along with a few others attended a buffalo wing extravaganza that they where invited to where dozen of BBQ cooks spent time cooking all types of wings, wing sauces, and a few other BBQ favorites. Needless to say there are plans for Thomas and Tony to participate in the event next year.
Fourth of July this year was spent in Melba at the Ole' Time Fourth of July Celebration. Complete with Tractor pulling contest and a chicken round-up for the kids. Rosie participated and did in fact catch a chicken, which she got to keep(it now resides at Neil & Holly Hunters chicken coup). The fireworks were the best we have seen in very long time and overall we had a very fun and long day.
I few weeks later we set out on our next adventure to the Oregon coast. This was the Foster reunion which really desires a blog on its own so I will not indulge to much in this one. We as a family left a few days earlier and spent some time visiting water falls, picking fresh blueberries at a berry farm, and visiting the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) in Portland. We also spent time at the Portland Temple and read scriptures on the Temple grounds as a Family. Before leaving for the coast we also visited the Oregon Zoo and had a great time learning about all kinds of animals. The highlight was without a doubt the Polar Bear as we got to see two of them up close! THEY ARE HUGE!!!
Our next adventure was the Roundy Family reunion which was spent in town this year. Thomas a Melissa got tickets to see Katie Roundy (sister in law) star as Ado Annie in the musical play Oklahoma. She was definitley the star in that production. The kids spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa Roundy and had tons of fun playing games together with their cousins. The next day the whole family spent time playing games and visiting with each other.
The final trip this summer was to Bear Lake for the annual Hunter Reunion or rebellion as some like to call it. Grace is potty training (yes already and we are excited by her progress!) so it took us for ever to get there but we had fun none the less. The Labor day weekend was filled with swimming, playing games, and various other activities. We had tons of fun despite the rainy Sunday evening and wet beds. More in this whole trip in an other blog as well.
So that in a nut shell was our summer adventures aside from a few fishing trips which I am sure Thomas will be posting soon since he and his little man always have fun adventures. We will try to keep up with this more often now since it seems there is more interest from family to know our goings on.

2007-10-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

The next day the morning was cold and rainy and the animals were not moving around much opting instead to stay bedded down. We did a little exploring out on the dessert roads but soon became discouraged. After lunch, we decided to visit a draw that we had taken deer out of on two other occasions in prior years. As we pulled up to the gate and crossed the rickety bridge spanning the canal, we discussed our tactics for hunting the huge hillside that lay before us. The plan was to send Dad around the front of the hill and skirt the opposite side, while Davin and I walked the front. This way is one party scared deer over the other side than the party opposite would have a likely second look at the deer attempting to escape. On the far side of the hill was a saddle pass that we agreed that both parties would climb and meet. Our separate journeys began and Davin and I began searching the hillside for any signs of movement. The draw below the hillside was a flat pocket leading up to the far side of the hill and ending on the slope of the saddle we had designated as the meeting place. About half way up, I jumped two does out of a gully that stretched the base of the hill. The does casually walked up the hill and picked up six or seven other does as they climbed the hill and went over the top and on to Dad’s side of the hill. Davin and I quickly identified each doe as they joined the other deer on the trail over the mountain. We continued up the draw further moving slowly and fervently keeping an eye on the hillside. We spied a few more does moving among the rocky crowns that covered parts of the hilltop but still no bucks appeared among them. These too climbed over the top of the mountain and continued onto Dad’s side of the hill. Davin and I were soon approaching the up hill slope of the saddle we were to meet Dad when suddenly Davin stopped. He had spotted three new deer who had appeared suddenly from the rock outcroppings near the peak of the hill. Upon closer inspection and spying through our gun scopes we positively determined that on was a buck. Not a big one by any means but we were both willing to take a shoot at him. I had sat down and barely found the deer in my scope when Davin took his first shot at the deer. He Missed! But the deer only took a set or two, turned around, and stopped. Davin took a second shot and hit the deer in the shoulder and chest. The deer fell and struggled trying to get back up onto its feet. Davin shot a third time and missed but the deer fell back to the ground and never tried to get up again. In the excitement I forgot all about Dad and his whereabouts. Instead, Davin and I talked about where the deer had fallen and the best route up to the designated spot. We determined that it would be best if I stayed at the bottom and guided Davin up the hill just in case he got off track and so that if the deer got up and ran again that I would have a likely chance to kill the deer if it attempted to escape. I was nervous and excited for Davin as he started his ascent towards the kill spot. Davin found his way up fairly quickly and as he was closely approaching the spot that his deer lay an interesting thing happened. Another buck that had been laying and hiding in a rock crevice close to Davin’s dead deer suddenly jumped up and began running as Davin was only ten feet from its hiding place. I in the mean time had taken a few steps up toward the rocky slope and had stopped to rest when the animal jumped from the rocks and began running for the top. I pulled my gun to my shoulder and took aim as I heard Davin shout,” Shoot it! Shoot it! It is a buck shoot it!.” But before he could finish I pulled the trigger and MISSED! I missed my first shot. I was winded from the short climb I had taken and I rushed the shot thinking I would only have one opportunity for a shot at the buck. I did not give up however. Instead, I pumped another shell into the chamber, made a quick adjustment to my scope settings, returned the gun to my shoulder and took aim again at the deer. By this time the buck was nearing the crest of the hill and had slowed from a run to a slight bounce. I took careful aim at the deer’s upper shoulder, lead it just a bit, and squeezed off the shot making sure to time it at the time the deer would hit the earth on its next bounce. I held my breath for one second, and then two. My head was swimming and I could feel adrenaline and excitement rush over my whole body. Had I really seen what I thought was the head of the deer flop over and fall to the ground? Had the deer instantly vanished into thin air? Or had I seen it drop like a rock to the ground immediately after I pulled the trigger? I was in denial. The deer could not have vanished and yet the deer was not continuing over the top of the hill. The only explanation of the deer’s apparent disappearance was that I had finally completed a goal that had eluded me since the time I was twelve and for the past seventeen years. I had just shot and killed my very first mule deer. The realization flooded over me in a heap of emotions and I clambered huffing and puffing up the steep embankment and up the slope to the spot I was sure my new prize had fallen defeated. The seconds felt like minutes as I stumbled and clawed my way upwards towards the crowning rocks above. I heard another shot ring out and figured it must be Davin finishing off his deer he had just located among the jagged labyrinth of rock formations. Only minutes past by when I was nearing the crest of the slope. Davin had abandoned his deer and was trying to locate the spot were mine deer had fallen. All I could say was,” It’s down. Davin it’s down. It was near the top. It’s down.” Davin continued the search with me pointing the direction that I knew the dead deer lay. My mouth was dry and my breathing heavy as I came ever closer to the spot I last saw the deer land. Davin repeated that he could not find any trace of it as I neared a particular out cropping of rock shaped like the bow of a massive oil ship. I neared the bottom of the rock piled and again as Davin professed to not see any sign of the deer I stopped in my tracks. Just above me about 5 feet away lay my small trophy mule deer buck. I yelled for Davin that I had found it and he came running over. It was a glorious moment as we yelled, screamed, and hugged at the sight and realization that we had just performed the first ever known tandem deer kill in the foster family. This was a rare occasion and we spent the following minutes looking over the magnificent animals we had just killed and wondering where Dad had gotten too. I ran over the top of the hill hoping to locate dad on the opposite side. Little did I know that when the shooting first began Dad had headed to the top of the saddle were we where suppose to meet and upon arrival heard us yell. He quickly located us and headed for the top to join us in our little celebration. Not being able to find Dad down the back side slope I decide it would be best to return and begin the process of dragging the deer off the mountain.

2007-10-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

We just celebrated Grace's first birthday the other day. Of course she was absolutely hilarious with eating her cake and ice cream. It is hard to believe how fast time flies and the nest thing yo know your baby girl is turning a year old. Grace is nothing but a walking fool now! No crawling for her at all. Rose is doing well in school and the teacher has been impressed with her creativity and artistic abilities. We think the arts and leadership school was a great change for her academically. Caleb now spends most of his days with his cousin Dillion whom Melissa watches during the weekdays for Davin and Karen. They really enjoy each others company doing what little men do ( getting into trouble). We recently posted some pictures of the kids and family and will have more coming. You can check them out on one of the new links.

Family Update

2007-09-29T22:53:00.000-07:00

This years Foster Family historic events are as follows:

January- Thomas started his Junior year at the University of Pheonix. He changed his program to include a double Bachelours degree in Business Management & Marketing. The Fosters aslo attended the Winter Carnival in McCall

Febuary- Thomas recieved two awards at the Kelly Moore Company Conference. ONe for achieving over $500,000 in sales and the other for winning a contest to become the Kelly Moore Gemini Sales Rep. of the Years for the Mountain West District. Rose began her second half of a year of dance classes with STARS Dance.

March-Thomas and Melissa celebrated thier 7th wedding anniversary on the 25th.Can you believe it has really been that long! For work Thomas put on a huge product event and spring show for Kelly Moore and was picked to Represent the Mountain District at quarterly product meetings in Seattle. Thomas and Melissa started a family history class during sunday school at church. Caleb and Thomas saw the new TMNT movie while Melisssa and Rose caught the LAST MIMZY. Grace continued to grow and began crawling. She also added her first two teeth to her silly grin. Melissa picked out new leather couches and a LAY Z Boy with our tax money. We also ripped up the old carpet and replaced it with some nice updated plush. WOW, was that ever an exhuasting job but the house looks so much better.

April-Celebrated Easter with the Thomas' family this year. Had dinner and a fun filled afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa Fosters House. Celebrated Caleb's Birthday- He recieved a Spiderman Cake, some Spiderman toys, a Spiderman Costume (bet you can't think of what he is in to!), and of course from his dad his first fishing pole. Rose had her second dance recital where she danced two dances, she was fantastic. Thomas & Nathan Also took Caleb fishing to Tripod Lake and broke the new rod in. Here is a picture with Caleb and his morning catch.

May-Held the first annual little man sleepover at our house. Caleb and his cousins Dillon and Carson spent the night! They are all three years old so you can only imagine what that night was like. We spent Veterans Day in Pocatello obtaining family history information from Grandma Foster. We also visited Grandpa Foster's grave in Soda Springs and had a great day visiting the places that our Family history roots first sarted in Idaho. We made Root Beer from the soda Mineral Water and took pictures of the old homesteads up Eight Mile canyon.

June-Dad and Rose Celebrated thier birthday on the 13th as they do every year. Rose finish up her first year of school and we are proud to say that she graduated from Kindergarden. Grace began pulling herself up on the furniture and we are sure she will be walking soon. We held the Foster Reunion up in Stanley Idaho behind the Scout Camp. We had all the classic events: fishing, Hiking, Chunky Dunking, etc. We even added a few others like Geo Caching and riding the 4 wheeler.

July-The Family attended the Roundy Reunion which was held by Casecade Lake. Thomas and Caleb fished most of the time and was occassionally joined by Rose. There was lots of swimming and we tried some more GoeCaching.

August-Rose was enrolled in the Arts and Leadership School and started attending first grade. We spent the day at the fair riding rides and seeing the various animals. Thomas with his dad and brothers took a weekend trip to Astoria Oregon to try out catching some Salmon. They returned with 4 coho Salmon but their catch also included two other coho and a chinook that they were not able to keep. Grace took her first steps and is on her way to becoming lots of trouble.

September-Gace is walking and gettting into everthing now and has left crawling behind comletely. Melissa attended a Relief Society Retreat and left the kids with Dad over night. They had a fun time and Dad managed the munchkins perfectly. Nathan, Thomas's brother , left on a mission to the Tampa Florida Mission. Dutchess our German shorthair was injured during Thomas' first hunting trip this year. She was snagged by a barbed wire fence and tore a large hole in her chest. Luckily, the cut was not into the muscle and Dutchess is on her way to recovery.

We Finally Posted Something

2007-09-29T22:50:00.001-07:00

Well, I figured that I started this Blog a couple of months ago and that it was high time that I got around to actually putting it together. So hopefully in the next fews days there will be some changes and a few exciting informational facts on our family.

under construction

2007-07-24T15:04:00.001-07:00

Coming Soon!