Under A South Dakota Sunset: NRA Sporting Day

Luke, Annabelle, and JozieBelle

A couple of weeks ago I took the kids to an NRA Sports day where the kids got to participate in all kinds of outdoor sports and learn a thing or 2 along the way. The first thing they did was ride a 4-wheeler. They both enjoyed it but they were really big machines and Luke had a hard time turning it! After that they moved on to archery. Jozie really enjoyed shooting the bow but I think she had a hard time pulling it back because of her recently broken arm - it's still pretty weak. After that they had a little talk from the Boy Scouts about outdoor safety while they are hunting or camping and also a demonstration about compasses. Then they came to the hard part for Jozie - there was a shotgun/skeet shoot. Luke loved it and shot 3 times (he didn't hit any of his pigeons though)! But Jozie was afraid of the gun. She got up there and after the guy showed her what to do she chickened out and walked away. I talked to her a little about it and she finally decided to go back up. She ended up shooting it and even liked it! After lunch they had a trapping demonstration. Luke really liked that - I think it was his favorite part - but was getting a little frustrated because he was one of the youngest and consequently one of the shortest so he was having a hard time seeing around the taller kids who were crowding around the demo. The last thing they did was shooting .22's. They both really enjoyed that and each of them came home with their spent casings. Overall it was a long day - 8am to 3pm - but the kids had a great time! Here are a few other highlights and some pictures:

Jozie was afraid of the 4-wheelers as well. She has never driven one though Grandpa in MI used to give them rides on it whenever we would visit him. So she asked the instructor to ride with her. He got on the back - I think it was like a 450 or 500cc - and once he was on she gave it the juice - fast and quick! She ended up doing a wheelie and the guy nearly fell off the back! LOL There were some farm boys that were in her group that happened to be in line to ride the same 4-wheeler and they were in awe! They were older boys who drive 4-wheelers daily for various chores and entertainment so they though it was great that this girl did a wheelie! For the rest of the day she had 2 admirers! I couldn't believe it! My daughter impressed the boys without even trying! She was a tad embarrassed when she got back to the line but quickly became proud of her accomplishment when all the boys started talking to her and patting her on the back! Just remember your Bowling Ball song and everything will be fine, honey! Daddy said those boys were lucky that HE wasn't there!
Jozie and her admirers (Orange Cap ? and Blue Cap Tyler)

Jozie on the 4-wheeler
She asked me, "Mom, why do those boys keep following me around?" LOL
When the kids were in the archery area they had to partner up. Jozie had no problem finding a partner because one of her HS friends were there. Luke, on the other hand, didn't know anyone and he is left handed. This usually doesn't matter, just find another boy and shoot at the targets, right? Wrong. Because he is left handed he had to have a partner that was left handed because they were using compound bows. By the time they saw the little one raising his hand for being a lefty the only other lefty left was a girl! He wasn't really happy about it but he wasn't going to let it show to the girl...he's a big man, you know! And she had to be at least 10 - if not older! He told Papa John that she was cute! She was a very nice polite girl and she even helped him out with his shooting a time or two. After that, the girl had an admirer that followed her around all day! LOL