Scuba Diving

We came back from the Lybbert family reunion a tad bit early so I could attend Scuba School. Scuba School consists of 4 classroom lectures in the evening, 2 days in the pool, and 2 days in Puget Sound, and completion of chapter review answers from a book and a written test. The whole process takes about 2 weeks.

I think I already wrote about Diver's fair in the post "Officially from Seattle," but Dusty purchased all my gear at the fair, so I was obligated to like Scuba diving. My class was very large, and we had a lot of kids in it. If I would have done it over, I would have made sure I took the course with a different instructor and with a smaller class. The class sessions were kind of boring, and gears totally to tropical divers, but we learned the basics.

I was very nervous for the pool. We were able to practice skills like flooding/clearing masks, breathing on a regulator, learning to float just the right amount, sharing air with a buddy in case of an emergency, descending into the water and clearing ears (I had a hard time with this one at first). We also practiced entries into the water like a giant stride (jumping), seated entry (sliding in). The pool was very fun, and I learned that Scuba tanks are a lot lighter under water :). I was also very thankful to have my own equipment and learn how it all operates. Thanks Honey!

We got home, and Dusty taught me how to clean all my gear. (not quite as fun as actually diving).

The next weekend, we ventured into the Puget Sound. The first day we went to Redondo Beach which is right next to our house. They are digging a sewer line out to Vashon Island not to far from where were diving, and the visibility was VERY bad. For my first dive, I will admit that I was terrified. I had to figure out how to do the skills in 7-14 mm of neoprene and gloves, and we couldn't see more than about two feet in front of us. After that day, I told Dusty that I wasn't sure I liked diving.

The next day, my instructor decided not to go back to Redondo due to the low visibility, and we went to Three Tree Point in Burien. It was a long walk down to the beach in heavy gear, but WOW. The diving there was so cool. We could actually see things. We saw a rat fish, sculpin, anemones, sea stars, a ling cod, and lots of other stuff that I don't know they were. I decided I like diving, and am itching to get back in the water. Below are some photos of my Scuba experience.

Setting up the Scuba system

Getting dressed.  It is much more difficult than it seems.  14mm of neoprene is awfully thick.

All ready to go.  I am dying to get in the water because all this stuff is so heavy.

Putting on my fins for the snorkel dive.  This is one of the hardest skills for me.  It is very difficult to keep your balance in water on one foot in 14mm of neoprene and even harder with a Scuba tank on your back!

Here we are in the water shortly before we went under.

Going Private

Dusty has decided that he wants our blog to be less available to those we do not know. If you read our blog, please send me your email address and I will invite you. We will be going private in the next couple weeks, so please send me those email addresses.

Lybbert Reunion 2008

The Lybbert family reunion is a Bi-Annual event and includes all the posterity from Great Grandpa Lybbert. Great Grandpa Lybbert had 12 children, one of which was Reid Lybbert, Dusty's Grandpa. Reid then had 5 sons, including Terry, and Terry had seven kids (Mandee, Dusty, Marcy, April, Annell, Andrew, and Felicia). Of which many of them now have kids.  Needless to say, it is a LARGE reunion.

Although we have been married for 5 years, jobs have kept us from attending the last two, so this was our first reunion as a married couple. I was a little bit nervous knowing the magnitude of the family. I am pretty good with the Reid Lybbert family, but once you go outside of that, it gets a little tricky for me, and Dusty is no help as he is terrible with names.

This year, it was held at Black Beach resort in Republic, WA. It is a very small town on Lake Curlew. Republic is located east of Omak, and about 2 hours north west of Spokane. It was a very long drive (6 hours) to get there, but once we were there it was a great place. The lake was nice, and we were all able to stay pretty close.

Many families had RV's including Dad Lybbert (Mom was in California waiting for April's baby to be born), and Mandee & Nathan. We camped in a tent near the RV's, and I must say, the RV's have some great conveniences. 

(we were in the green tent above)

It was a great trip with great food, and great visiting.  Some of Dusty's cousins were able to make it including Chad and Joy with their kids, Megan and Dave, and Anna and her little boy Caden (All from Las Vegas, kids of Doug Lybbert, Terry's Brother). Tara and her family were also able to come and a short visit from Tygh (kids of Lyle Lybbert, Terry's brother). Dave and Tami, and Rick and Sandi (more brothers of Terry) also came up from Moses Lake. We also got to see Grandma Lybbert, who just relocated back to Moses lake from Las Vegas.

 

Grandma and Aunt Berna (Grandpa's Sister)

(The Krazy Kids: Jakob, Alyssa, Dilenger, and Caden)

(The Three Mischievous Munchkins)

(The Reid Lybbert Family)

There was a lot of other family there too, but I don't remember their names.

During the days we were there, we fished, 

Painted faces

did crafts

(Even Andrew got in on the craft fun)

We played in the lake, golfed (the guys), played volleyball, sang campfire songs, and one night we had a video of past reunions. We draped a sheet between some posts, and we all watched home videos of Dad when he was a toddler, and past reunions. It got a bit long, and few people got sick with the moving camera, but it was a good experience to see all the fun.

I also caught my first fish ever. The only other time I remember fishing was when I was about 8 or so, and we went camping at Battleground Lake. My Dad gave me a pole, told me how to cast, I tried and the next thing I knew, I was in the water still holding my pole. I had slipped right off the log and cast myself into the water. I did much better this time, and actually casted and caught a fish. Dusty insisted that I clean the fish I caught as it is a life skill that all should know. Below are some pictures. Sorry if you get a little squeamish.

Sant Boys Reunited

Last week, Jeremy Sant returned home from his mission in the Philippines.  These missions are so long, but fly by so quickly.  Consequently, it has been a long time since all three Sant boys have been together.  Christopher, Elizabeth and Sebastion took a little time to visit from Rexburg.  We had a great time visiting with the whole family, and seeing the whole Sant family together again.

Jeremy looks great, but was very cold as he is used to much warmer temperatures.  He is very excited to head back to Rexburg to continue his education at BYU-Idaho. 

Congratulations Jeremy, and good luck with the next stage of your life.

We also got the opportunity to see the remodeling that Mary did prior to Jeremy arriving home.  She tiled the entryway, and installed hardwood in the family room.  Here are a couple pictures to show off my aunt's awesome skills.

Last night we were able to film David dancing the Viennese Waltz. For those friends and family reading this, David is Shirlee's youngest brother. He is 15 going on 16.

This is from the Saturday night performance of the multi-stake dance festival. This video was taken with Jason and Mariah's new Camcorder, a Canon HD video camera. Shirlee and I took pictures that did not come out that good. With the constant light changes for the dances it was hard to get pictures of David. We have more clips of the dance festival that may come later, as for now we have to finish getting ready and head out to Jeremy Sant's Mission homecoming.

It was great to see him last night. I guess Seattle has had some pretty nice weather for this time of year. Around 65-80 the last week or so, and every-time that Jeremy has gone anywhere he has been all bundled up in a sweatshirt. He says it is just so cold for what he is used too. I hope that everyone is having a great Sunday afternoon and that Becky has had a great Birthday this year. We love you all for thinking of us enough to read about our lives.

-Dusty

Willie's Surgery

Unfortunatly, due to a conflict with the Lybbert family reunion, we were unable to attend the Banks Lake camping trip with the Poe parents this year; however, in the past, we have provided some of the camping equipment which Mom and Dad do not have anymore.  They still needed the equipment, so we made that as our excuse to drive the 60 miles and go see them.  

It is always nice to visit with Mom and Dad Poe.  We chat a lot, and most of the time, Mom cooks tasty food, and we also get to remind David that he is not an only child.  We surprised them, and were shocked with a couple things.  The house for one thing just amazed me at how torn apart it was.  We are all very excited for the rebuild.    The other shock was seeing Willie, the adorable family Yorkie.  

A few days earlier, Willie went under the knife and relinquished his manhood.  Yes, the poor pup was neutered.  Evidently, he didn't like the surgery much, and started to lick his incisions. He had to wear a cone and a diaper to keep him from licking his incisions.  He looked pretty funny that day.  Below are couple pictures for your enjoyment. 

Officially from Seattle

Every year, Underwater Sports (a scuba store where Dusty loves to shop) has a sale where scuba equipment is marked down to around half price and they call it Diver's fair.  Last year, Dusty missed due to our Banks Lake camping trip.  He was very disappointed, and to make up for missing last year, he wanted to thoroughly prepare for it this year.  He went WAY overboard and decided that he needed a more consistent dive partner... ME!  

The sale starts on a Friday and as there are limited quantities on much of the equipment, if you don't get there first thing in the morning, you might miss some of the best sales.  As I couldn't be there on Friday due to work, we went up to Seattle this weekend to scope out what he was going to buy for me.  I got sized for a mask, gloves, boots, and fins (all requirement to begin class).

On the way home, as we were in Seattle, we got hungry and needed a place to eat.  We didn't have too much time as we were on our way to see Dark Knight, the new Batman movie.  We decided to stop and eat and Dicks.  Dicks is a hamburger restaurant in Seattle, that has been there forever and has been recognized for exceptional burgers.  I have heard that you cannot claim you are from Seattle until you have eaten at Dicks.  We ate there, and the hamburgers are quite delicious.  So now after living in the area for 5 years, and I can officially say I am from Seattle.