SCUBA 2013

 The whole time Aubree was serving on the stake's youth committee, she and I had to hear about the stake SCUBA trip. She was so tired of it, because it took up most of the meetings during the summer time. We even made a bet once that every time the word SCUBA was mentioned, she'd get an extra cookie from the treats I brought every month for the youth. It got to the point where she had so many cookies, she couldn't eat them all. :) The dive master wouldn't certify anyone under the age of 16, so when she was old enough, we decided we would try it.

 It was fun when there was no pressure to perform and we were just playing around. But when it came time to certify, I had a case of the nerves and would have backed out if Aubree hadn't been going full speed forward. I tried to talk her out of it, because it caused me a lot of anxiety, but we made it through and got certified. ;)

 I didn't end up doing any dives because we didn't realize we would need dramamine for the sea sickness on the boat. That was absolutely horrible. As soon as the boat stopped moving and was rocking with the swells of the water, I was sick. They said if you got in the water, it wasn't as bad. But there were swells in the water too. You had to be 40 feet down in the water to not be affected. I wasn't too thrilled about the kelp forest you had to swim through to get to the interesting stuff either. Aubree was worried about getting tangled in it.
There was another boy who was having a difficult time, so I stayed with him, while Aubree dove with Shay and Bro Bitter. She did a great job! Captain Eric nicknamed her Purple because of her wet suit. She was also the only girl to do all the dives, so I think she earned his respect. Both Shay and I opted not to get back on the boat because the nausea still hadn't worn off. Capt. Eric let her use his hood and gloves on the afternoon dive the next day because the water is so cold. It's like having a permanent brain freeze!

By the time we got to the beach dive, there was no equipment left for me to use. Aubree and Shay had to wait about 45 minutes for Bro. Bitter to fix a piece of Shay's equipment. I stayed topside and snorkeled. I got some great pictures of the sea lions that swam around me. They were very curious...basically dogs that live in the water. It was beyond cool. Come to find out, most of the interesting sea life was where I was anyway. Aubree said there were a lot of lobster and fish 30 ft down, but nothing as interesting as my sea lions. :P

 This is Aubree going down with her dive buddy, Justin Crandall.

SCUBA 2014

 We decided to help with the stake's yearly SCUBA trip after Aubree and I saw how much planning, preparation and work it was. We helped bring equipment and food from the valley, and facilitated the shuttling back and forth of the different SCUBA groups to the marina. We also came up with a printed itinerary and ideas of what to do in San Diego when the groups weren't diving. We stay at a scout camp in Balboa Park. The plan was to help cook, transport, entertain and help keep everything organized, and then stay for a few extra days in San Diego after everyone else went home.

 We enjoy spending time with the Bitter family. They have kids around our kids' same ages. Bro. Bitter is in charge of the SCUBA trip for our stake and his wife did all the cooking the year Aubree and I certified. Here we are unloading gear from the truck.

                         Coordinating permission slips, equipment and schedules at the marina. They dive 2 days off the boat and once from the beach at La Jolla Cove. There are usually 2 dive groups. One dives in the morning, and the other group comes in the afternoon. Then that same group dives the next morning, and the first group does the last afternoon dive. At the cove, they have to share equipment, so if you get the equipment first, you have to hurry and do your dive so the next person has time to dive before we have to go back and break camp.

                                             I got to help design the dive shirt this year. :)

 We paid for Aubree to go on this dive trip as a graduation present. It's something she enjoys and it's a good trip for our family. This trip, she saw star fish, lobster, anemones, a sting ray, and lots of fish.

Receiving instructions on how far to go and what to avoid so you don't get yelled at by the life guards at the cove.

SCUBA 2015

Rylee and Dad decided to certify for SCUBA this year. :)This is their Discover SCUBA at the Central Arizona College pool. This is an opportunity to see if you even like SCUBA diving. They give you all the equipment, show you the basics of how to use it, and then let you play around a little bit.

 If you decide to continue, there is a class you take that shows you what you need to know and certifies you to dive in open water up to 60 ft deep. Then you have to do a closed water dive, in the pool, to show that you know what you're doing. After that is the open water dive at Lake Pleasant so you can demonstrate your knowledge in a real world setting.

 This is the Lake Pleasant dive. Aubree and I also dove at this time to refresh our memory. They ask you to do a refresher if it's been more than 6 months since your last dive.

 Now we head to San Diego where the water is cold! We always charter the same boat every year because we know the captain and he's familiar with what we do and who we'll be bringing. This is Aubree's 3rd year diving. Captain Eric nick named her purple from her first dive because her wet suit was black and purple. I don't think he knows her real name, but when we show up year after year, he remembers her and calls her purple. :)

This is most of our group helping to load gear onto the boat at the marina. We had a record number of girls diving this trip. 3 moms, 4 daughters, and a friend. I think we had 39 people in all, including the Bitter family and ours, because we do all the planning and organizing. It's a blast every year and we'll keep doing it as long as we have time and it's still fun!

                                                            LOVE THE BEACH!!!

Happy Independence Day!!

This is our annual Morris Family 4th of July BBQ/swim/rocket launch get-together. I'm grateful to live in a country that allows me the freedoms to grow and teach my family the way I choose. God (please!) bless America so it can remain the land of the free and the home of the brave.

 Love these smiles!

 I was just teasing Scott about the angle of the launcher because the first rocket nearly landed in the busy street full of traffic.

 Canon honored himself with the title "Rocket King".

 Everyone got in on the rocket recovery fun. This rocket lost it's shock cord, so Raegan recovered the nose while someone else went after the body. Running around in this heat definitely takes it's toll. Raegan wasn't feeling well for a full day afterwards.

Why be Miss America when you can be Mrs. Captain America?? Silly, beautiful girls :)