Goldbug Camping Trip!

I figured since I'm here and my husband is knocking on doors somewhere in town, I'd blog about our camping trip to Goldbug, Idaho.
I'm not much of a camper, but I enjoyed this camping experience with a HUGE exception of the hike to get there. More on that later.
Rory and I went with his two best friends from high school and their wives.
Rory and Kelly
Kenneth and Ronna
Sam and Katie

His friends married awesome girls, they're a lot of fun. We love being the wives us these best buddies. 

We drove from Rexburg in Sam's dad's old pick-up truck. Rory and Kenneth had a lot of fun laying out in the truck bed on the way. The drive was about three hours, and we didn't get to our destination until it was dark outside.

So we set out to hike --ready for this?-- in the darkness, with a few small flashlights, uphill. All uphill. It was seriously like climbing stairs for an hour straight. Even though it was dark, it was fairly hot and we were dying. There were times where I would stop and think, "I can't keep going, this is ridiculous." It didn't take me long to remember that stopping would be the death of me. The whole time I couldn't help feeling like something was following me, either a  mountain lion or a deranged murderer. That kept me going.

Finally, we heard the rushing water. We were there. Goldbug is so cool because there are hot springs everywhere. They were the most natural spas I've ever seen. 

Rory threw some cans of Chef Boyardees into a hot spring that was too hot for anyone to enjoy. He said they'd be hot for lunch tomorrow.

We changed into our bathing suits in the darkness and got camp set up. I was trying to ignore the rattlesnake Sam and Katie saw, the rat Ronna saw, and the mouse I saw.

We all got into a soothing hot spring, drank grape juice, ate fruit and watched the moon until we were pruney and completely drained. 

Rory and I got to sleep in a tent with Ronna and Kenneth (Sam and Katie had their own two-man tent). I must say, that was a great sleep. We had sleeping pads and sleeping bags, and the weather was perfect.

We woke up at about 8:30 am, had some breakfast and enjoyed the hot springs some more. Then we had a little lunch (those almost-hot Chef Boyardees and we were on our way.

I kicked myself for not bringing any water. I thought I'd be fine with all of the juice we brought, but it turns out, by the end of the day, the juice was worsening my thirst. After the hike down, I couldn't take it anymore -- I drank from the stream running down from the hot springs. And I didn't get sick :)

Here are some pictures:

Kenneth and his wife Ronna. They were married last December.

The wives!

This is how dark it was.

And there were lots of steep drop-offs. Sadly these are the only pictures I got from that night.

Breakfast!

Kenneth forgot to pack the tent poles, so he made a giant make-shift one. It worked out!

My tanlines. I know, I know.

Sam and Katie.

Our men!

Awh! Rory got a scrape!

The wives!

Sam's lunch.

As soon as we got home from the camping trip, we caught the last half of Rexburg's annual Demolition Derby! We went to this on our second date, but missed it last year. We had to go this year. They are so much fun! So redneck!

They're muddy too! This picture doesn't really show it, but a mudwave came right at us. Guess it was a bad idea to wear white.

Overall, a very fun weekend!

The tap water isn't as good in California. I forgot about that.

Took the second digital test. Negative.

Moving on -- we've moved!
Yesterday we drove from Rexburg to Santa Clarita, CA, where neither of us have ever been to. We're staying in a furnished apartment for the three months. At first glance after a fifteen hour drive, the place was absolutely wonderful. The couches are a lovely sandy faux-suede, the table is dark wood, we have a dishwasher (yay!) and a laundry room (super YAY!!). Then on closer inspection, we discovered that whoever had this place last was a slob. There are crumbs everywhere (on the lovely faux-suede couch, the chairs, the floor), little dark hairs are stuck to the shower walls, and the carpet is just. . .ugh. I did some power cleaning today, but without a vacuum, there's not much I could do.
This bugs me because Rory and I took so much time to make our apartment spotless and sparkling clean for our renter, but whoever had this apartment apparently couldn't have cared less.
This morning I found out there is no Internet (what?), no TV (what?), and I'm not guaranteed a car every day (Oh, no.) It's okay! I'm used to not having a TV, the only reason this was a let-down is because there's. . .nothing else. I slithered my way into someone else's Internet. Thank goodness one of our neighbors decided to make a password unnecessary to log into their Internet, because I got hooked right up. I must say, it's pretty fast, too. Thanks, neighbor!
I had the car today so I was able to do some much-needed grocery shopping. I have to share this moment:
Rory and I went to the CVS last night for some TP and air-freshener (the apartment smelled like cat pee. Now it smells like peaches!). We asked a girl in line where the nearest Wal-Mart is. She gave us directions, but I didn't pay much attention because I would let my iPhone guide the way when the time came. Well, the time came today and I remembered her directions and found the SUPER Wal-mart, no problem. I love me a Super Wal-Mart. I'm pretty proud of my memory and navigation.
I'm thinking to keep myself entertained, I'm going to try to get a job at Panera Bread, part-time. I worked there two summers ago, hopefully that helps seal the deal. If not Panera, then I'll try to be a seating hostess. There's no way I can just sit around for three months. Of course, I am pretty excited about the pool here.

Okay, pictures anyone?!

 I love all of the counter space! The only problem is, there isn't a drawer big enough to hold the silverware tray. What the heck?

 Oh yeah, the walk-in closet. Very nice!

 Lots of towels, sorry.

 Who knows?

Rory is down here selling pest control. And what do I see outside of the living room window? That. Oh, the irony.











And there you have it. I really like Santa Clarita so far. Everyone I've met is really friendly and nice, the the town has everything we need and everything is really close together. And of course, it's a three hour drive to San Diego rather than a day trip. Love that!

To be or not to be?

Today was my last day of college as junior.
Here's the other exciting news:

I bought a pregnancy test on Monday. I don't feel pregnant or even really suspect it, except for skipping a period last month but for me, that's normal. I've also had a "butterfly" feeling in my stomach off and on for the past month. Not that that's a sign, but it is interesting. I just bought the test because Rory and I are moving next Monday to California and his family lives here in Idaho. I would feel bad being pregnant this whole time, finding out in California and having to call them up on the phone to tell them.
Tuesday morning before class, I took the test. This is the kind of test that only has one line show up if you're pregnant. And show up it did!
Barely....
I didn't know what to think because the line was so faint, so I snapped a picture of it with my iPhone and went to school. I showed the picture to a couple of people in my class to get their opinion, and they agreed that a faint blue line was present. I mean, if they can see that on a low-quality phone picture. . .
I didn't want to tell my husband or family before I knew for sure (that is SO hard for me!).
Today I bought a more expensive test, the fancy digital kind that says "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant". This one felt much for intense because the answer is not up to as much interpretation. Or is it?
Rory was home when I was taking this test so I was trying to be as quiet and nonchalant about it as possible. In our little apartment, it's not that easy.
I did the test and waited, waited, waited, waited. . .
"Not Pregnant"
Well, sheesh, what am I supposed to think now? My explanation for this is that I took the digital test in the afternoon and my pee was pretty clear from all of the water I drank. I heard that dilutes the hCg and can alter pregnancy test results. I took the first test in the morning, and it was positive (I think?). I have another digital test, but I'm too scared to take it tomorrow morning, and that's $10 down the drain if I use it too soon.
If I am pregnant, I'm only three-four weeks. I think we got pregnant around Father's Day. Perfect timing.
Needless to say, I was pretty down after taking the digital test this afternoon. Rory noticed this (sidenote: when I came out of the bathroom, he started kissing my belly. Father's intuition?). I had to tell him what I've been doing. I was hoping to surprise him, but since I'm back to being "unsure" I figured I should tell him. I showed Rory the first test and he agreed with me that there was a faint blue line there, but of course we couldn't argue with the "Not Pregnant" result of the second test. . .okay, I can.
Since I'm on the subject of babies, here are some names I have figured out:

Girl: Melissa Marie, Allie Christine, Olivia Lynn
Boy:  Jordan Thomas, Dallas Ricky, Alex Charlie

I love Melissa because of the song "Sweet Melissa" by the Allman Brothers. Allie is just so cute and so is Olivia. . .I feel like everyone is naming their girls Olivia these days though.
I picked Jordan, not only because it's my maiden name, but I just think it's a great boy name. Dallas is a name that grew on me. It kind of fits with my in-laws theme for their boys' names: cowboy. Dallas is such a cowboy name, and with Rory as his dad, how could he not be? I've always liked Alex. Allie and Alex? I know, I'm that girl. All of the middle names are family names.
Look at me getting ahead of myself! Guess we'll know for sure on Friday, maybe?