The 4th of July at Menan ID

You want to experience a cool 4th of July...go small town USA!

This is what America is all about!  PATRIOTISM!

Enjoying the fair

 

Here Comes Most of the KOON Family

Brynlie

Kallie

Hunter

Mandy

Darrin

Brian

Abbi

Macie

Lincoln

Heagan

Jackson

Tate

Kyah

Max

Kirsten

Trevor

Paul

Jonathan

Annika

Karlie

Mason

Brandon

Ethan

Daniel

Maylie

Megan

Dad

Mom

Ysabel and Hannah

Brian and Brock Sumo Wrestling

Brian and Brock boxing

Brock on a pony ride

nothing better than RED WHITE BLUE and cotton candy!

What did I say about the cotton candy?

one of the first sunsets I've seen in years

I love my country!

I love the men and women who have fought and are still fighting for freedom!

God bless their families and friends, and most of all God bless them!

I have had a memeber of my family fight in every war that America was involved in since before we were a Nation!

GOD BLESS THE USA and all those worthy to live here!

Move to Idaho part 3 Colorado on Fire

This is near Parker CO where my sister Rebekah lives.  That is a smoke cloud.  It seemed that the entire state was on fire!

 This is a picture we took off Rebekah's deck the next day.  It is not dusk!  It was about 4 p.m.  The smoke was so darn thick and choked us up pretty bad. It was wonderful to see the Linville's again!  They lived in Randolph NJ while we were in Little Falls NJ for about a year or so.  The kids had a great time with their cousins.  It was great to hang out with Bek again!

 Again, not foggy!  Smokey.  Brian and the boys went out in the pasture and found a bunch of cactus.  They picked them, debarbed them then boiled them for lunch.  They were pretty good but we forgot to put salt in the water so they weren't as good as they could have been.  It was pretty funny though seeing the boys with their gloved hands trying not to get poked. 

More of the smoke clouds.  It was incredible.  While we were here we went to see Brave.  It was an interesting show made my Disney.  Ysabel was invited to go with Elizabeth to do baptisms for the dead at the temple.  She was so excited! It was her second time going and also her second temple to do them in! 

Move back to Idaho part 2 Missouri

Hannibal Missouri, Birth place of Mark Twain

Tom Sawyer and Huck Fin are a big part of the history here.  The old town is reminiscent of the old days when the boys were supposed to have been running around this town. 

 The beautiful lighthouse over looking the Mississippi River.

 A paddle boat on the Mississippi.  It was so fun to hear the fog horn on the boat sounding.

This is a blurry picture of Tom and Huck, the mischievous boys!

 I recommend going to Hannibal to everyone.

This is where a great meeting between Christ and thousands of people from throughout every dispensation will meet.  It is a beautiful valley in Missouri, not to mention quiet and beautiful.

 The interesting thing is that the church has already put in a water system capable of servicing all those who will meet here.

We also went to Liberty Jail this day but for some reason those pictures are missing.  Liberty for me was a potent testimony that the Lord does know who we are, that he does care and is there for us especially through the worst experiences we must endure in our lives.  The living conditions were denigrating and miserable.  God bless those poor men who had to suffer during that winter.
                    

This is Far West Missouri.  Again it is also a very peaceful place to sit and ponder.  We had a very nice afternoon with our favorite Owens family! 

 The kids found a baby robin that had fallen from its nest.  They looked after it while we were here.  It was pretty sad to realize we had to leave the little fella behind!

There is a tree in the parking lot that had some incredible thorns on it.  With much hard work and many stabs we finally wriggled one off the tree.  I still have it.  It has only gotten harder since we pulled it off the tree.  It is very interesting.

Sunset was amazing with the humidity in the air.  I have to admit I did love being in Missouri!

Our Move Back to Idaho part 1...Kirtland OH

One of our first stops on our move to Idaho was in Kirtland OH. Kirtland is quite a big deal when it comes to the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared at least 3 different times here.  I had no idea! 

 This is the Kirtland temple.  The RLDS people are caretakers of the temple and believe Christ will come in the Second coming basically to reclaim it.  They have done a great job keeping it in beautiful condition.  On the 3 floor is Joseph Smith Jr.'s office, one of the places the Godhead appeared.

 This is at the Johnson farm.  The missionaries call it the Sacred Grove of Ohio.  It was so peaceful and you can definitely feel the spirit here.  One of those places you really don't want to leave!

 Newel K Whitney prayed for the prophet Joseph to come to OH.  When Joseph arrived with Emma she was worried they wouldn't have a place to stay.  When Joseph pulled up to the store he received revelation that Newel had prayed them there.  Newel gave them the entire upstairs of the store.

 This is a room upstairs that the Prophet used for the "School of the Prophets"  This is where the Word of Wisdom revelation came.  The bretheren would sit and smoke their pipes and chew tabaco while discussing the gospel, Emma came in one day and mentioned to Joseph that the condition of the room was not consistant with the spirit.  Joseph prayed about it and the WOW was given.  They say that the smoke was so thick you could hardly see the man at the front from the back row of benches.

 This is the fireplace at the front of the room.

We were given a wonderful tour of the "town" by the sister missionaries.  It is a very beautiful and peaceful place.  So many pieces of doctrine were given here.  I never realized how important Oh was in the lives of the LDS people.

We are no longer the Tullis family in Jersey!

NEW JERSEY!!!!!!

In May Brian and I were messing around with jobs in Idaho and we have found that when you least expect it that is when things happen.  Well, within 2 weeks Brian was hired to work for URS in Boise.  We moved a month later.  It was one of the hardest months of my entire life!  There was not one day of that month that I didn't cry about having to leave my family and friends in Jersey.  OK...if you know me at all you know that I am bawling my eyes out right now writing this!  Anyone who ever thinks they have a right to talk bad about Jersey never lived there long enough to know the people who live there.

All we found were devoted friends who made you family.  People who care about you, watch out for you and truly want to help if the occasion ever arises.  My kids coaches were so amazing and did all they could to ensure that they learned and grew and felt a part of the team.  The teachers worked hard to help each one of my kids reach their highest potential.  The families of the kids friends became our family, we vacationed together, prayed together, worked together, cried together, laughed our selves silly, and loved each other.  Our wonderful Caldwell ward...I will never be able to say enough about them.  They made everyday worth being a continent away from blood relatives. 

Yeah, I am broken hearted still. But I have to say those were the best 5 years of my life!  They weren't always easy, but they were wonderful.  I learned so much about myself and about other people.  One of the most incredible experiences was having the privilege to go to Seton Hall for a semester.  The people I met were so intelligent and fun... and I miss our conversations.  I miss being a minority, I miss learning about everything.  I miss campus and Father Ranieri, Doctor Choi, and scary Doctor Esther Geiran.  I loved spending time in the chapel and studying stats with Iris Peppers, who taught me that I am not from America.

I was amazed at how clean New York City was, and how I didn't mind being a part of the millions of people schlepping around the city.  I miss seeing the skyline from 3 near Clifton Commons.  I loved being a part of the frey driving the Parkway.  I was always amazed at how many quiet and beautiful places there were to go to.  My favorite thing to do when I needed peace and quiet, was to gather the kids and go down the shore to Asbury park or Sandy Hook...the waves were so loud they drown out my thoughts.  I miss the drives to Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and up state New York.  I totally miss the green!!!!! 

I would start commenting about the lovely people but can't for fear I would miss anyone, because everyone made it so special.  There are many days I want to go home, and I have to admit Jersey has become my home.  I know I spent many breaths saying I wanted to come back to Idaho, but that was because I missed my family, I have never felt more at home any where else in my life than I did in Jersey. 



Thank Heavens for So-Young Vandergast

I have had a really bad experience with allergies my entire life.  The last couple weeks I was very light headed because of them.  I finally went to Dr. Sohn (a wonderful allergist in Wayne).  She tested me and we found out that the shots in Idaho have worked...but the problem still seems to be dust.  She put me on 7 prescriptions for now just to get me hopefully back to normal.  

The day after I went to the doc I was running down the basement stairs to get Brian's uniform out of the dryer... got dizzy and fell down the rest of the stairs to the concrete below.  I hit my hip, landed on my knees and smashed my right side.  

Normally I don't think this would have been a bad think except that ever since my nearly fatal accident back in 2005 I have had horrific back problems.  I stayed in bed Friday-Sunday and would have still been there today if it weren't for my beautiful friend So-Young.  She is a massage therapist who graciously offered to fit me into her schedule.  She gave me my first ever full body massage and I can't even begin to explain the relief I felt.  She has MAGIC hands!  

She was pretty concerned about the scar tissue that had formed from my 4 c-sections and other surgeries.  She was upset about the pain it caused me so she spent some time trying to relieve it.  

After I was done with the massage the chiropractor that she works with asked if he could help.  I figured "why not" and went in for an adjustment.  While we were talking I was explaining the pain I have had non stop in my right inguinal area for the last 13 years.  He got out the ultra-sound  and worked in the same spot as So-Young and I am telling you!  I sneezed for the first time in 13 years without having to double over from pain!

I have lived with the pain from scar tissue for so long that I figured I would just always have it.  I even got to the point where I could understand (though I would never do it) those people who choose to end their life when living with chronic pain.  Every time I sneeze now I can't help but cry cause I am so relieved that it doesn't hurt.  

If anyone in the area is looking for a massage...go to So-Young.  She is amazing!  And she finds what is really causing the pain and does all she can to fix it for you.  She definitely does not know that I owe her the gratitude of a woman who has been in debilitating pain for 13 years!  That is real friendship!
 

Blackfoot Idaho comes to the BIG CITY!!!!!!

My favorite missionary from Idaho came back to visit us this last week. Elder Clark! He has since been married and he and his wonderful wife, Natalie are expecting their first (a girl) in August.

The Clarks came in on Thursday and on Friday we took a trip to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. It was a beautiful day! Full of sunshine and fun!  Just a side note...did you know the Statue of Liberty smells like cinnamon?  Crazy I know, but there are 8 of us that will testify to that!

Saturday we took them to NYC to visit the MET, take a rowboat ride through Central Park, China town shopping, to Times Square and to the 911 memorial. It was so nice to be with them all.

Monday we took the Clarks down the shore to Sandy Hook so they could experience the Jersey shore. It was horrible! The wind was blasting so strong that we all got sand blasted. We did find some fun shells and the horse shoe crabs were all over the place! Brock and I couldn't stand seeing them beached so we saved about 15 from sure death.

We were on Ellis Island on Tartan Day so the pipers were playing. It was AWESOME!

Sadly they left on Tuesday. But we had a wonderful time with them!

Stepping on Liberty Island made me cry. I am SUCH a boob when it comes to my country.

The kids had so much fun with Venus. Thursday night we laughed so hard at her expense. She kills me!

The man who brought us all together! Love you Skyler!

Brock is 9

Its a little hard to swallow the fact that my baby is 9. But the appearance of eye wrinkles and a few colored over gray hairs are proof enough. Next year the entire family will be in double digits!


We had a great time for his birthday! Brian was given a night off and we had a party Brock style. Brock was a tiny bit upset that his newest cousin Karlee was born the day before, but he said he could deal with it. Especially when I took him to the movies to celebrate.

Brock is the energy of our family. He is also very loving and caring. We all love our little guy and are very blessed to have him as part of our family!

Happy birthday baby! LOVE YOU!