Update

I have to apologize to all our readers for not posting in awhile. With all the work T and I have been doing to earn extra cash and with all the tasks to accomplish in preparation for our move to Oregon life has been busy. However, I wanted to sympathize with our readers because I know what it's like to check someones blog and never see an update. So here is an update on our happenings since we graduated.

Metcalf Family Reunion
T's family had a family reunion in Malad, Idaho the week after graduation. It was nice to see her family and especially her Grandpa. He came out from Virginia so see the family and it was nice to have him around. We played a lot of games including a lot of volleyball. The best day was when we went to Lava Hot Springs and played in the big pool they have with a three level high dive and water slides. Below are a few pictures of T and I jumping off the high dive.

J jumping off the highest platform

T jumping off the middle platform (she has much better form than I do)

Moving Prep.

In Preparation for our move we sold our couch to make the move easier. It was a bit sad to see it go. After we posted it to be sold on the BYU-Idaho website we debated whether we should actually sell it. The first person we invited over to see it took one look at it and said he'd buy it. T and I said to the fellow, "Are you sure, you haven't even sat on it yet." So, he sat down and said, "Yep, I'll buy it." He then left and came back 10 minutes later with a truck and away went the couch. It's a little sad to see something you bought when you first got married being sold away. Oh well, we can get a new couch and start new memories.

Good-bye couch, we probably won't miss you when we have a nicer one

Table Rock Mountain

Just this last Monday we went on another hike to try to get our Eastern Idaho fix before we move. We hiked Table Rock which is one of the tougher hikes in this area. After the experience I'm wondering if the spelling of the name should be Tab-hell Rock. It was a beast!

The hike started out fairly easy; we walked on pretty flat ground through some meadows and wild flowers (just a teaser compared to the 50% uphill grade we would eventually get to). After awhile I started to form a blister on the back of my heel and had to change my walk a little to relieve the pain. (I knew I should have not put on the socks that have a hole in them...what was I thinking). The changing of my walk was a serious mistake because it caused my hips to really hurt later in the hike when we were about a mile from the top and walking straight up hill. T practically bounded up the mountain with no trouble whatsoever which just added to my fury. I should take a minute, in my defense, to remind all our readers to go back a few post to when T ran her marathon. She is in much better shape because of that training than her pathetic husband. Though, during the whole hike I never had trouble breathing it was my darn legs that were causing the problem. I the last few years I have noticed a growing pain in my knees and have told T that I will probably need to get my knees scoped before I am 30. I blame it on being a catcher in baseball for 10 plus years of my life. Anyway, the knee situation only got worst.

Once we reached the top we rested, ate, took in the amazing view, and shot some photos of the breathtaking picture before us. Then it was time to make the decent and for the real hell to begin. If T thought I complained a lot about my legs and knees going up she got an earful coming down. We found out on the way up from a few people that there is another way up or down (depending on how yo look at it). It was called the face trail and everyone said it cut about two miles off the distance but was straight up or down. I'd like to add that every person we talked to recommended coming up that trail and going down the one T and I came up. T was not interested in taking that recommendation so we went down the trail every encouraged us not to.

Let's just say once we started down the mountain the hike got a whole lot worse for me. It was straight down with a ton of loose rock for the next two hours. If my knees were hurting on the way up I don't even remember...I thought I was going to loose every ligament in my both my knees on the way down. And do you know what T was doing on the way down, singing and whistling to herself as she practically skipped down the face.

After it was over you can imagine how I felt...I wanted to DIE! T on the other hand, when she was finished she said to me, "Ready to go to Jackson Hole and walk around."

Here are some pictures

The little nob on the right of the photo is Table (Tab-hell) Rock. The tall peak in the middle in called The Grand, the tallest peak in the Tetons.

T in front of The Grand and at the top of Table Rock

J thinking, "If I pose like this maybe no one will know how hard this hike actually was for me." This is about as close as you can get to The Grand without actually hiking it.

In my defense, T took this picture to show that the trail she chose to come down was not recommended, not only by the people we talked to on the trail but also by the state of Wyoming. I think I might go back to that site and post my own sign saying, "Dido!"

Graduation

T and I finally did it...well I graduated a semester ago but because T and I were in the same College of Agriculture and Life Science I decided to wait and march with her. It was neat to have all the teachers there applauding us as we walked in to Commencement. It was nice to have so many call us by name and it reminded us what great teachers we had while attending Brigham Young University-Idaho. We are excited (and a little scared) to move on but we feel privileged and blessed to attend BYU-Idaho and to have gained so many close friends while here.

Hiking, Camping, and Updating

T and I have been pretty busy lately and have not had a chance to update everyone on our happenings. So here's what's been going on.

Hiking

A few Sundays ago T and I went out to Driggs, Idaho and went on a sweet hike. It was up in Darby Canyon and the trail headed up to a big cave called Wind Cave. I read a little pamphlet that said the hike was best done in the beginning of the Summer while the snow run-off was still running so that there would be waterfalls along the way. What the pamphlet didn't say was to wait until all the snow was melted or you wouldn't be able to make it up to the cave.

That didn't deter T and I. We hiked up regardless of the snow and made it to about a hundred yards from the cave. At that point we thought it too steep and slippery to go all the way to the cave. Plus, the water run-off was pouring out of the cave so hard and so fast we decided to keep our distance. We plan on going up again later in the summer once the run-off subsides so we can hike into the cave.

Here are a few photos.

Us at the trail head

J at a small waterfall

T on the trail

Wind cave with water pouring out

Camping

This last week I went on a high adventure camp out with the young men in my ward. We went to Salmon River High Adventure Base Camp in Riggins, ID. We had a seven hour drive ahead of us so we left on Sunday after church. We camped for the night just outside of McCall, ID and woke early to be at the base camp by check in.

The whole camp out was a three day white water rafting trip down the Salmon river. The first day was pretty low key; just a few small rapids to prepare us for the next two days. The second day was a little more eventful. On on of the big rapids two of our boys decided it would be fun to jump in before the rapid and take the rapid in their life jackets. With the missing weight on one side of the boat it hit a hole and twisted in such a way that water washed out the rest of the boys and the river guide. I was in the leader boat just ahead of the boys raft and witnessed the whole thing. Let's just say I was a bit worried. Luckily all the boys made it out OK and thought it was the greatest thing to ever happen to them.

The third day was the shortest day on the river but the most exciting. The rapids were coming every couple of hundred yards and they were all big and fun. Too bad for our boys, because of the stunt they pulled they had to go around most of the big holes. Most of the boys still thought it was a great day on the river when we ended with an all out war on the river between the boys from our troop and the boys from another troop. Even the leaders pitched in a few splashes and tackles into the water...how could I resist.

Overall, it was an awesome trip, one I'd like to do again if I had the chance.

Here are some pictures. (My camera is not waterproof so all pictures are taken from dry ground. I'll post other pictures when I get them from the other leader).

Chillin' out at our first campsite

Our second campsite on the beach

A gorgeous view of part of the river and the canyon

Me with the rafts...trying to get my tan on!

Funny Story

I just wanted to add this funny story that happened at church today. We had just got done eating the bread during sacrament and this seven year old boy in front of T and I said to his parents in a really loud voice, "I wish we could eat a whole piece of white bread...that would be awesome."

I don't think his parent realized how loud he said it until they saw that all ten rows behind them were laughing hysterically, T and I included. To tell you the truth I think all of us during the sacrament have had that same thought one time in our lives, it just took a seven year old to announce it. Kids say the darnedest things!

Dam Marathon

I think the title to this post is what T was saying to herself when she was at mile 16 in her recent endeavor. T ran the Teton Dam Marathon this last Saturday and it was an accomplishment to say the least. I asked her if she wanted to report on her experience but she would rather have me write in her behalf. So it is from my perspective that I write about T's marathon.

I dropped T and her friend off at the dam at 5:15 am for the 5:30 start. After the race started, I drove home and watched Sports.center for four hours. Than I drove to the finish line and picked T up. That was my view of the race.

OK, now for T's. She had a few goals before the race started. The first was to finish in under 4 hours and 30 minutes. The second was to not walk the entire 26.3 miles. She was able to accomplish one of the two. At about mile 16 or so T started to feel sick to her stomach. We are still not sure what brought it on but nonetheless it slowed her down a bit. She thought it was the energy goo they were giving out so she stopped eating and drinking anything but water for the rest of the race. I feel that may have added to her problem. After a mile or so she started to feel better and was able to finish the race in 4 hours and 20 minutes. She did have to walk a little when she felt sick but she was able to persevere and still finish in under four-thirty.

After finishing and after she caught her breath she told me that at one point while she was running she saw a cliff out away from the road and tempted to jump off. She said, "I saw the cliff and thought to myself I can jump off that cliff and end this misery now." She also explained to me moments after the race that she was an idiot to have ever wanted to run a marathon.

Now we are a few day since the marathon and T has finally got over an extreme case of leg and body soreness. She has taken her daily workouts lightly (though I wish she would take the whole week off entirely, but it's T I'm talking about). She now feels running another marathon is definitely something to do again in the future but right now she wants to possibly participate in a triathlon.

Since I got to write this post I also want to take a moment to tell T that I am very very impressed and proud of her for her accomplishment. She truly is amazing and inspiring and I hope she knows how much I love her. Shoot, all I did for those four hours is watch Sports.center, not very impressive.

Here are a few pictures for you all to enjoy.

T getting ready for the start

T running the last stretch before the finish line

Finishing her first ever marathon...way to go!

You Know You're a Poor College Student When...

I think I've got a new series of blogs coming with this one.

This last Saturday T and I went on a little bike ride. First to Ta.co Be.ll to purchase 89 cent double beef burritos (best deal around by the way; they are so good), then to Snow.asis (a shack selling delicious shaved ice), and finally to the park to enjoy the goods. There, at the park, is where the inspiration for this post unfolded.

After partaking in the cheap meal we decided to take a stroll around the park. The night air was welcoming and the park was bustling with people. Before we started our walk, we needed a place to lock up our bikes lest another poor college student tried to take them. We found a covered eating area and locked our bikes up to a post. On one of the tables I noticed a bag of chips and made a joke to T to try one a see if they were good. I should inform you this was a bag of already opened chips that was obviously left there after a big party of some sort. T refused and told me to eat one. Normally I would have said no, but these were BBQ--one of my favorites--and I wanted to see what T's reaction would be if I ate one. So, I opened the bag, grabbed a chip, examined it to see if there were any ants on it, then put it in my mouth. It was good; not stale or anything. We determined they were fine and decided to eat the rest of them as we took our walk around the park. It's a bit embarrassing to admit but we figure they had only been sitting there since that day. No harm no foul, right?

Three 89 cent burritos, $2.67. Two snow cones, $4.50. Finding a half eaten bag of chips at the park and finishing them off...priceless.

Going Green!

T and I are going green in preparation for our move to Oregon. In doing so we purchased a set of bikes for the two of us in hopes to do our little part in saving the environment. Most people know that many Oregonians are labeled as tree huggers, as granolas, or as hippies. We would like to publicly announce that we are all of the above.

JUST KIDDING, I hope you could read right thought all that rubbish. We aren't interested in saving the environment...well I am a little bit, but not to the extent of some Oregon dwellers. Anyway, the real reason we purchased the bikes is to save the green...money that is. With the astronomical gas prices, driving is becoming a serious burden. Filling the car with gas is honestly depressing. So, T and I brain stormed one night and determined we could save a ton of money if we rode bikes around Rexburg. So far it's been good, except for T likes to use every excuse in the book to not to ride her bike and to use the car. I, on the other hand, have enjoyed the exercise and the fresh air.



Hopefully we'll keep up the riding and save some green, as well as pick up a new hobby.

Welcome the Newest Member of the Family

We have a new member of the family, at least for the next five months. Anyone that knows me knows I love turtles; I have for a long time now. My mom used to buy me little ceramic turtles when I was younger and I had always hoped to have a real one someday. The turtle we have is actually one of my old roommate's. He and his wife were living in the same apartment complex as T and I, but now they are heading to D.C. for summer work. They asked if we would take care of it, and of course I excitedly agreed. This is my first--and hopefully not the last--pet since I've been married. T has never had a pet and never, ever wants one; but I am slowly breaking down her reservations. I have had plenty of pets growing up and would love to have plenty of more in the future. This turtle will be the first of others to come...if T will allow it. I've decide to name him Murtle. Here's a few pictures so you can see him.

I just fed him in this picture and he is at the surface looking for more food.

In this picture he's looking out one side of his tank, probably trying to watch TV.

I'm not sure what he's doing here...I think he's working on his dance moves.