Advanced Scuba Diving Certification

Christian and I got our advanced scuba diving certification this last weekend. We took the class with David and Cindy. I was a little nervous since we would be doing a deep dive and I am not the best scuba diver. It always takes me a little while to get acclimatized to wearing the mask and breathing through my mouth. But the scuba instructor was very good. He taught me a trick to help me descend and ascend better. That helped me feel more in control so I didn't have trouble clearing my ears as much. (That is where you plug your nose and blow so it releases the pressure in your ears.) Since I could clear my ears easier and less frequently, my mask wouldn't fill up as often. So...I didn't have to try to do three things as once and start to panic a little. Thus, I enjoyed scuba diving a lot more than I ever have before.

Here are some pictures of all of us. Of course they are only the ones of us on land. You will have to wait for the underwater ones until I get Christian's film developed.

Our scuba instructor, Andy (he's English). He is giving us our first lesson before the Peak Performance Buoyancy dive.

Christian is putting a tank on his BCD.

David is helping Cindy out of her wetsuit. They can be difficult at times.

Christian is checking his underwater camera before he goes into the lake.

You have to make sure that you drink a lot of water. On our very first scuba dive a year ago we didn't bring any water. We learned really fast to make sure to bring some so you don't become overheated or dehydrated.

One of the chairs was a wobbly one. I almost fell in it a couple of times. Unfortunately, Cindy really did fall. And she got wedged between the fallen chair and another chair someone was sitting in. She could not get up no matter what. Finally Jim got out of his chair and helped Cindy get up. Christian took a picture of it.

After our last scuba dive, Christian and I went to David and Cindy's house for dinner and games. We played several games and during one of the games, David brought out some hats for us to wear.

Christian didn't mind wearing this hat -- that surprised me. He kept bonking the hat back and forth.

It looks like Christian is backing away from Merlin...and he is :)))

Christian retaliated on Merlin - he ended up upside down.

The game night was filled with laughter :)))

New Car

I finally got a new car last Friday night. It is a Honda Fit. It is classifies as a subcompact, but there is a lot of room inside, so I don't think it is a subcompact. Unfortunately you can't see the color really well -- it is a dark purple.

The car looks dirty because I drove it to Lake Pleasant for scuba diving lessons. Its smaller than my CR-V, but it gets great mileage!

Weigh in on the Car I Should Get

I'm down to two cars right now (of course that could change tomorrow). Weigh in on which one you think I should get:

Scion xB

Honda Fit

I see advantages and disadvantages to both. Now I want your opinions. We'll see if this generates as many comments as my last car post. Sorry Sierra and Callie, no black convertable or lime green lambourgini. And Mom, no ice cream truck!

Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's Day to all you mothers, especially mine (and my sisters of course)! My son helped in a surprise for me -- on Saturday. When I came home from test driving cars with my dad, I found the top on my rolltop desk down. Under it were roses in a vase, a corsage, and a bag of candies. When I asked Christian how he pulled it off, he said he only helped. Someone from the ward had delivered them and said that they were donated by someone in the ward. I loved it. It's been a long time since I got flowers from anyone, especially anyone besides my parents. So whoever sent them - thank you, thank you, thank you!






Then on Sunday Christian cooked me biscuits and gravy for breakfast. And he didn't do a bad job either :) He also wouldn't let me make dinner. It was nice to have a break from cooking.

Thanks Christian!!!! I love you!

New Car

I heard from my insurance company and they say my car is a total loss. Translation...it costs too much money to repair versus what they think my car is worth. So, I am now looking for a new car. It will take about a week to get all the paperwork done. I have started looking at cars to see what I might get. (Of course I might just get the exact same thing I have now.) But I thought I'd get your opinions. What kind of car do you see me in?