Trek 2009 "Be Thou an Example Through Faith in Jesus Christ"

Well, we made it through another trek to Martin's Cove and Rock Creek Hollow this year. I think that this one was better than the one we went to four years ago. As much as I hate camping, (and I mean I really hate it) I still really enjoyed myself. Brooks and I along with another couple from our stake were called as the Grand ma's and pa's for the trek. Our main responsibility was to train all of the ward ma's and pa's. We started this task in January and finished in May. June was reserved for the unknown. Once we arrived at the Cove, we also had a few other responsibilities, mostly minor things, but it was a special opportunity for us to be able to mingle with the other families a little. We were also fortunate to be in the same camp ring as Kara and Phil's family, along with the family that we were a part of. We had tons of fun and the kids in our families were really great kids! We had some really great spiritual experiences and we were fortunate to have a choir and a lot of other pre-recorded music.

Here is Brooks and I when we first arrived at Independence Rock.

You can actually walk right up onto the rock and walk all over it. The group had a great time here.

Kara and Phil in front of Independence Rock.

Kara and Phil getting their handcart ready to go.

I thought that this was an inspiring picture of about one half of our trekkers making their way to Cherry Creek camp ground.

Kara, Phil, and Mark (our Pa) early the next morning getting ready for the days events.

Grandpa Brooks catching some last minute reading (along with a diet coke) in preparation for our testimonies in the Dan Jones Cove.

Kara was loading their cooler into the wagon to get filled with our sandwiches and lunch stuff.

Breakfast time. We were fed well. Once again, I'm pretty sure that I gained weight this time around.

Kara and Phil's family heading into the Cove.

Our family heading into the Cove. We tried to keep each family staggered so we could remain reverent and enjoy the spirit and beauty.

Me inside the Cove. The hair is starting to look bad, just wait until tomorrow!!

After a really fantastic eventing devotional and an okay nights rest we up early again with the buses loaded and ready to travel to Rock Creek.

We had 35 families and these are all of the babies that the families had to give up when they arrived. It was pretty hard on most of them, they weren't prepared for this event. (they did get them back after the devotional)

If you look closely, you can the see our group in the amphitheatre where we had our devotional. This was the end of our trek. After this, we had our lunch, loaded the buses again and headed for home. Today I finally finished up with the was and I'm starting to feel clean again!

Fourth of July

We had another fun Fourth of July celebration again this year in Lewiston. The weather turned out to be really nice, no one was sick, and no one got hurt. I hope everyone else had a great celebration also. Kara and Phil were in charge of the softball tournament. They have volunteered this job for the last four celebrations. They put on a really nice tourney and I think that for the most part, all of the entries really enjoy it. It's really supposed to be family teams but a few teams try to stack their teams. The past few years, the Tarbet/Foster team has only had to add one non family player. They won the tourney last year and lost the championship game this year. Here are a few pics of my kids.

Brady

Phil

Kelsey....She had the winning hit for one of the games.

Kade......A little tired after just finishing with the 3 on 3 basketball tourney.

Molly was soooo good for the entire day. She looks like she's really enjoying the games.

Kade and Eric working hard at the 3 on 3. These two volunteered to do this event this year.

Jaxon was able to make quite a haul from the parade candy. I think he's doing a little victory dance in this picture.

Brynly really wanted to have a chance to hold Molly while watching the parade. Molly doesn't seem to care either way.

My favorite picture of the day. We pulled a flat bed trailer and parked it on the parade route (everyone does this) and put chairs on the trailer and in front and then blankets for all to sit on. We had somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty family members there. It's kind of like one big reunion except better because you don't have to try to make small talk with people you barely know because there is so much going on. Now don't take that last statement the wrong way, I love spending time with siblings, parents, nieces, nephews, children, grand children, in laws and even some extended, this is just a good way of dealing with some of the others.

Lagoon Fun

Fun at Lagoon. This is my idea of a really fun day. The whole day with my kids and grand kids! It can't get any better than this except if Brooks was here also and Molly was old enough to come. Jessica had a really great time on Puff!!!

Rattlesnake Rapids

Notice Jax helping Bryn into the ride. He can be such a cute older brother. Brynly really wasn't too sure about this ride but she was really brave about it. Jaxon loved everything that we went on. He even loved the old roller coaster and the haunted house. We went to lagoon today and had a great time on the rides. Jessica's mom kept Molly for us and Grandpa Brooks stayed home. He said he needed to stay home to work but I think he secretly didn't want to go.

This summer (as with most other summers) we went to the semiannual Tarbet family reunion at the Logan Aquatic Center. I really didn't take pictures of anything but at the pool. We had fun watching the kids go down the slide and just watch Molly for her first swim experience. I think she handled it quite well.

New Calling

I have a new church calling. It is the enrichment counselor. (Tami, I will need your input.) Most of my life I have always served elsewhere. I have only served in RS two times in my married life. This is a huge change for me. I'm really not quite sure how I feel about it. I really look forward to working with the rest of the new presidency but honestly I'm a little concerned about time, ideas, teaching, conducting, just about anything that goes with this. This is definitely not my comfort zone. I haven't even been able to attend RS for several years. And the last time I was able to go, it was for a short time. I'm usually the one who loves change. I still really do but just maybe not this one. I guess time will tell, but I am really feeling the pressure. I'm just extra, extra, extra relieved that I'm not the president!! I'm probably making this a bigger deal than it needs to be so I'll just stop and try to be patient and teachable.

New furniture

I was talking to my mom this morning and was telling her about our new furniture. I told her that I would post a picture since she doesn't get to my house very often. What would we do without Internet? Brooks and I bought this sectional last week after making a visit to RC Wiley. We went to just look around and get some ideas for a new desk that I was going to have Brady make for us. As you can see, we kind of got side tracked and found a new sectional instead. We really needed a new one, the frame from our old one was not holding up so well. Brooks was never very happy with the old one. (I bought it without him) I made sure that Brooks sat in this one and really tested it out. Now that we have it home, he isn't too sure if he likes it or not! I quite like it myself. The blue recliner has to go now. As soon as I get around to finding something else, it will be gone.

Road Trip

This week I was so excited to have two days off in a row from work. I thought I could get so much done. I really wanted to hang some pictures on my walls. Since the remodel, I have been slow to get stuff back up since I'm not exactly sure where and what I want to put up. Anyway, I was sort of piddling around when Brooks called and said that he needed to "run" to Blackfoot to pick up a tractor part. He wanted to know if I was interested in going with him. I really didn't want him going alone since he had been up since around 4:00 AM so I agreed to ride along. The ride to Blackfoot is roughly three hours round trip. It's really not a bad trip because it is mostly freeway with little traffic. I am familiar with Blackfoot because I spent about six weeks of my nursing education there. Three of the weeks were spent in the ER up there and the other three were at the state mental hospital. My memories aren't really fond because it added another half hour to my already long commute each way. Brooks and I spent about 20 minutes in town. Long enough to pick up the part and try to find a place to have lunch. The "city" really hasn't changed in the last 17 years since I've been there. We could only find a Wendy's, McDonald's, or Arby's. (yea Kade, I know you're wishing for Arby's) We decided to drive back to Pocatello and find somewhere there to have lunch. After lunch, we made it back home in good time to make it to another of Jaxon's soccer games. It was good to make the drive again after all of this time, but I'm really okay if it's another 15 or so years until I do it again. (It will probably be sooner since I live with a farmer who needs parts.)

Mother's Day.....Late!

I realize that I'm a week late in posting this but that just seems to be the way it is for me. I have a really good intentions but have a more difficult time following through. Anyway, I hope anyone who reads this had a great Mother's Day.

My day was pretty fun for me this year. I refuse to cook on mother's day and other years I've tried to have everything ready the day before so the men in my life would only have to grill something and then do a little clean up. That way always left me a little disappointed. Usually something got burned and the cleanup was a little scarce. This year, I decided to purchase Kentucky fried chicken the day before and once again have everything else ready and just do the clean up myself (especially considering Brooks had his knee scoped two days before). We had a fun time, all the kids came except Kelsey because she was in Vegas for the weekend. The Grand kids also played really well. Since Brooks was out of commission this year, I also decided to purchase my own gift. This was one of the best things I've done in a long time. I told my kids that all I wanted was toys for my playroom. I knew they wouldn't do this because they think they need to get me something for me. So I decided to get the toys myself and have it be from Brooks. He did a really nice job this year! I went to Kmart (took my mom with me) and bought a play refrigerator, microwave, toy food, some pirates and caves (playschool stuff) and a few baby toys. I found it really hard to stop. I also want to add a stove when I find what I want that won't cost an arm and a leg. My mom and I had a really good time. I put the fridge together the Saturday night before mother's day and it took me three hours! I might have to do the same thing for my birthday and Christmas.

I want to say that I love being a mother and especially a grandmother. This truly is the best calling in life! I am really grateful for my own mother and for everything that she has done for me and taught me. She is one of the most thoughtful people that I know. I can't even come close to doing what she does for others. She would also do anything for me. I think I did inherit that part from her because I would also do anything for my own kids (and children in laws). My mom is a great example to me and she is always good for some serious shopping! Love you mom.