Under the Sea

Back in February, John and I became certified scuba divers. Yes, February, it was cold even though we live on a tropical island! I won't go into all of the horrific things we had to do in order to get our certification, I believe I have suppressed some of those things from my memory! Basically we spent a few days going through all sorts of scenarios (in the water, no less) of bad things that could happen to us in the water so we would know what to do if any of these situations arose. Scary. Anyway, we made it through and are PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certified Open Water scuba divers! John left for the States a week after we were certified, so we had to wait until he came back to go on our first dive on our own.

This past weekend was an absolutely gorgeous weekend and it was a perfect time to get in the water.

We woke up early and headed to the ocean. Luckily, we don't have to go very far. Five minutes later, we started putting on all of our gear. It takes FOREVER to put everything on! The wetsuit alone takes me around 3 minutes! So after the wetsuit, weight belt, BCD with the tank attached (buoyancy control device--the vest looking thing), regulator, snorkel, mask, and fins were all on we could finally get in the water! Here is a link for further equipment info: http://www.padi.com/scuba/scuba-gear/intro-to-scuba-dive-equipment/default.aspx

Finally we got in the water and I heard a really annoying sound. It was a discomforting sound of leaking air. Oh great. So John tried to check it out, but there is only so much you can do standing in chest-deep water and quite a few pounds strapped to your back. We had to get out, take everything off and drive back to the place where we rented our gear. Sure enough, there was a leak in my BCD. Not exactly something you want when you are out in the middle of the ocean and that is the device that will keep you floating in the water!

So, round two. We geared up again and got into the water to experience our first dive by ourselves.

It is such an amazing experience seeing things that you could never see just snorkeling.

The coral was stunning. I have never seen anything like this. I never knew some of these types existed.

There weren't a whole lot of fish where we were, but we did see a little sea snake. I kept my distance. I do not feel the need to attempt to befriend those guys.

Here we are hanging out at 40 feet underwater.

Afterwards we decided to go to one of our favorite cute little coffee shops right by the beach, relax and check out the pictures we took underwater.

I am really glad my adventurous husband convinced me to get certified with him, it was such an amazing experience.

We hope to take a day trip this summer to a small chain of islands a few miles off the coast of Okinawa, called the Kerama islands for a dive excursion. I hear you can see 200 feet down, that is how amazingly clear and beautiful the water is there. Stay tuned for more adventures of the Franklin's!

God Bless the USA!

We made it home safely after our trip back to the good ol USA! However, jet lag is rearing it's ugly little head! It was so great to see our friends and family eventhough it was such a short amount of time.

Here is a rundown of the trip. I will try to keep this blog as short as possible, but I have alot of pictures to post!
First of all, I had the pleasure of sitting in an airplane in Denver for hours watching a snowstorm blow by and waiting for the plane to be de-iced. I finally made it to Dallas 7 hours after I was supposed to be there, but I was still happy to be in the great state of Texas!

Here are pictures of me and my beautiful mom and my wonderful dad!



Now, I love my family, but I was mostly excited to see my adorable nephew, Cade! Here we are with him in the kung fu suit I brought him from Japan!
I also got to go to lunch with some of my best friends. I have known these girls pretty much my entire life and it had been years since we were all together at once!

We took a short trip up to Oklahoma City to see my grandma and some of my cousins, aunts and uncle. Here is a group shot of grandma with the grand kids and some of their fiances, spouses, and children; and no, this isn't even all of us! We have quite a large Johnstonbaugh clan!

At grandma's house we were playing Wii Fit and Cade decided he wanted to play! I had to post this picture because it is too cute!

My Texas trip went by way too fast, but I will be back in September for my mom's wedding!
It was time to get on yet another airplane to FINALLY see my husband! We had been apart for 2 months and I was so excited to see him! So I flew to the bustling metropolis of Yuma, Arizona. While I was there, I was able to see him graduate from the school that has been occupying his time those 2 months. He is now a Weapons and Tactics Instructor!
After a few days in Yuma, we were off to California to spend some time with his family and friends.
Here is a picture of us with a few of John's friends: Rob, Andrea and Tony.
The last weekend we were in the States, we headed to John's parents' lakehouse for some family time. We had a major karaoke marathon! It was a blast!

John and I sang "Summer Lovin" together!
John and our nephew Aidan

The day before we left, we met our friends Robin and Shawn and their little boy Gavin in San Francisco. They were our best friends back in Fernley and Gavin was actually born 3 days after we moved, so it was great to see them and meet their little guy!So that was our trip in a nutshell. It was so great to get back home and see everyone, as well as a much needed break from this little island! Love you all!