Spelunking

Tom and I visited Pocatello a few weeks ago. While there, we had quite an adventure. Who knew you can go spelunking in good ol' Poky? I sure didn't. I was a little hesitant to go. Caves are like a love-hate kind of a deal for me. I really like them and I really don't. They are so interesting and so terrifying, all at the same time! But we all had fun anyway.

The trek up to the entrances of the caves was slightly treacherous. In fact, we scaled the side of the mountain. Literally.

There was recently a fire up in the hills where we were, so the scenery was contrasting and beautiful. It was so dry, so green, so black... It was neat.

There were kind of a lot of animal bones just around. Gross. And cool too.

The entrances were deceiving. We had to crawl through tiny openings, but inside there was enough room to walk upright - most of the time.

Hooray for spelunking! Next on our cave list, Minnetonka.

I'm A Big Girl Now

Look what Tom found in our mailbox...

Of course he delivered it to me giggling all the way. I got so excited! "What could be in the mail that would make my husband so giddy??"

Oh joy.

Rexburgians

I can't believe how fast time flies. It has been a month since we moved to Rexburg.

Rexburg is treating us well, and we are enjoying ourselves.

Our apartment is humble, but just great for a newly married couple. We were really spoiled in Pocatello, and our home now is much more like what you would expect newly weds to live in as they start off. We live in the basement of an old house and "manage" the girls who live upstairs. There are 4 of them this semester, but usually there are 6. They are all very friendly and fun gals. We have to do clean checks once a week and enjoy what little time we have  to get to know them. We also enjoy watching movies with them as the dialogue comes directly through the vents and into our bedroom.

I was hired as a "Guest Service Representative" (aka Front Desk) for the Springhill Suites Marriott in town. It is a great place to work and everyone there is so friendly. Marriott is a good company and does well to treat their employees well. I've had a hard time adjusting to the 3p-11p shift that I often am scheduled to work because my usual bedtime is an hour or so before I get off. Slowly, but surely, I will get used to it. My only complaint is that the Front Desk is a 24 hr, 7 days a week kind of job, so I end up working quite a few Sundays. Not what I like. But, I am the new kid on the block, so I pretty much expected it. With time, I'm hoping I can get out of working them. The hotel is much smaller than the Clarion in Pocatello, so even on "busy" nights, I find myself without things to do and really bored... I end up cleaning a lot: the lobby, the front desk, the closet, and the back office, just to name a few. But I'm not complaining. I would rather be bored than stressed out of my mind because everything is going wrong! The best part about this job is I can receive an Associate Rate at ANY Marriott worldwide, so long as it is available. I also have access to a Friends and Family Rate. *wink wink*

Tom is working for the Salt Lake Express. They mostly use him for charters, so he actually has a lot of downtime. With charters, he is paid by the day, so in a weekend, he can make what he would working on regular routes. He really enjoys the charters and prefers them over the scheduled routes. Charters are fun for me too because if the group gives the okay, I can come along! Sometimes they are more busy than others, but they always feel like a mini vacation. It's a pretty good gig. So far he has been to Boise a few times, Yellowstone, Salt Lake, Idaho Falls, Grace, and Downey, to name a few.

Tom is officially a BYU-I Student. The proof is in the cards.

Our I-cards. This is how we can get into the I-center and the gym, among other things. Tom was very eager to get his I-card, so he obtained special permission to take an online class this semester, although he technically isn't supposed to start school until the Fall. For now he only has the one online class, Science Foundations, but he will start up full time in September.

Between our jobs and traveling on weekends -baby blessings, farewells- we haven't had a chance to experience our new ward yet. It is very sad, but we both have this coming Sunday off and will finally be able to attend. We just hope the ward doesn't think we're inactive!

Probably our most exciting news is our new purchase....

Hooray for a new car! We have been looking for a while with not much luck, until we stumbled upon this beauty parked in front of the Broulim's grocery store here in town. We called and though the guy had had a lot of interest, we were the first to say, "We'll take it!" As soon as we offered, he said he had calls flooding in of people offering to buy the car. We were lucky that we were dealing with a honorable man and he stuck to his word to sell it to us. We sure do love it!

We miss Pocatello often, but we really are enjoying ourselves here. We really like the atmosphere of Rexburg. It is a lot of fun to walk to a park and see so many people there enjoying the weather, a game of Ultimate Frisbee, or spending time with one another. We often walk to Porter Park and meet Mom, Dad, Sam, and Kanolli. We sure enjoy living close to them and getting to see them as often as we do! It's also really neat to be so close to a temple. We are just down the hill and could easily walk to it. We're very excited to make that a regular part of our routine!

3 cheers for 3 years in Rexburg! (give or take.)