Thomas Foster a Family Man

Wow! Has it really been ten years? Well, here is a brief update on the last ten years. Six weeks after graduation I left to serve a mission in east Texas (Texas Houston East Mission) for two years. I had many great times and learned a bit of red neck language as well as some good Cajun and BBQ recipes. After returning to Idaho in the summer of 1999 I enrolled at BSU for a semester with plans to transfer to ISU. Two months after returning from Texas I met my future wife, Melissa Roundy, while delivering cinnamon rolls to the new neighbors. I learned later it was all a setup of course but hey marrying the girl next door isn’t at all bad (I also learned that Melissa was Valerie Bells cousin, what a coincidence). Needless to say I never made it to ISU and after a few months found myself engaged to my best friend. I married my new sweetheart in March of 2000 in the Boise, Idaho Temple and life has really been nearly perfect since.

I continued attending BSU for another semester while working for Sherwin William’s Paint Company. In 2001 we were expecting our first child and decided to purchase a home in Meridian where we have lived ever since. Rose, our first daughter, was born on June 13, 2001 and by some luck and a little prodding from the doctor now shares a birthday with her dad. What better of a birthday present could a new father ask for! Rose is definitely all girl and often show cases as a mini diva. She loves clothes, dressing up and all that girls are. She is currently taking dances lessons and will be attending an arts and leadership charter school starting this fall. She also likes to spend time teasing dad and will on occasion let on that she is really a daddy’s girl.

Soon after Rose was born I changed jobs and worked for a networking company for a time. In 2003 I started a career in restaurant management and took a position with Apple Grove Restaurants in Boise. Our next child was born during this time and on April 27, 2004, two weeks early; my son Caleb came to us. He is definitely daddy’s mini me and, even though he looks more like his mom, loves to do everything dad does. Caleb loves the outdoors, big trucks, 4 wheelers and shares his dad’s love for fishing. Last May at age three he caught his first three fish all by himself on fishing trip with dad. Now if I can just teach him how to cast his own fishing pole.

I decided to make a change in 2005 and went back to school to finish up a degree. I am currently working on a dual bachelors degree in Business Management and in Marketing and will be finishing up soon. In 2006, tired of managing in hot kitchens, I took a great job opportunity as a Sales Representative with the Kelly Moore Paint Company. I work mostly in the Boise Valley but every month or two get to spend some time in Seattle or San Francisco for meetings. Our second daughter (third child) was born last fall on October 2, 2006. We named her Grace and she has been a joyful addition and a great play mate for her siblings. Grace is showing early signs of talking and walking and I suspect will be much like her older sister.

Melissa spends the days being a great mom in the home and taking care of our family. She often takes the kids on excursions to the park, the library, and of course the grandparents homes. Melissa also enjoys scrap booking and finding creative ways to entertain the kids. Most of my spare time is spent fishing with my brothers or taking Rose or Caleb out to the kid ponds. I also learned how to do taxidermy and have even made a few extra dollars on a few projects I have done for people. Our family likes to take trips to places all over the northwest. We often camp when we know there will be good weather so we can enjoy the outdoors together. The Oregon coast is probably our most favorite place with lots of shopping for Melissa and the girls fishing for me. Our most recent trips have included Yellow Stone, Seattle, Salt Lake, Oregon Coast, and Soda Springs Idaho for some family pioneer heritage education.