Weekend Recap: My First Time Shooting Trap

Andi, the kids and I enjoyed a surprisingly fun, relaxing weekend at the lake cabin. I say surprising because it was one of those perfect weekends when we had nothing out of the ordinary planned. The weather was warm and sunny (albeit windy) and vitamin D always feeds the soul, especially in the springtime.

Also? This view:

This scene welcomed us to the lake Friday evening. The ice is officially off the lake! I never, ever grow tired of standing on our dock and seeing the beautiful blues of the sky and the lake, the water gently moving about and those islands looking back at me. My paradise. Ahhh... 

We hopped in the Ranger ATV and went for a short ride before having dinner at The County Line Tavern on Friday night. Our cruise through the countryside was relaxing; dining out with our kids was ... not, mostly thanks to Aden. I ordered the broasted chicken for my meal instead of sticking to my usual cup of soup and baked potato, and it took far too long for our food to arrive at the table. Nothing against the restaurant; it's just Aden only lasts 20-30 minutes tops and then we've got to roll out. Though, Tory's good behavior fills me with hope for a day we'll all enjoy eating dinner in a restaurant again.

Andi wanted to visit a local game farm on Saturday morning to scout for an upcoming photo shoot, so the kids and I tagged along. I stayed back at the lodge with Tory and Aden while Andi hopped in the owner's truck to scout. When Andi returned, we decided to hike around the grounds a bit to enjoy the beautiful spring morning.

Later that afternoon, our cabin neighbors Joe and Lisa invited us over to their hunting land to shoot clay pigeons and have an outdoor BBQ. With no other plans on the docket, we decided to head over. It felt amazing to be outside in the warm sunshine, and to be doing something so different and fun. Everyone took turns target shooting with the trap machine and Joe asked if I wanted a turn. I'd never shot a gun before, but figured now was as good of a time as any to give it a try. Andi instructed me how to hold his 20 gauge, to load a bullet, to lock/unlock the safety, and to aim for the target. "Pull!" I yelled and a disk flew out. I shot and missed the target, but I wasn't too worried about hitting anything anyway. I tried a few more times to no avail. It was fun, and I definitely impressed my husband with my willingness to try something new!

Tory was our pull girl. Each time a shooter was ready for a clay pigeon to fly, he/she would yell "pull" and Tory would pushed a button to release the disk. She took her job very seriously and nonchalantly said "hit" or "miss" after each fire like a little pro.

Later, Aden crawled up on a box and yelled something in baby gibberish. We all could've sworn he said, "Pull!" like he was trying to get in on the action.

Speaking of Aden, he had a blast playing outside. Andi laid a picnic blanket down for him, but hahahahaha - nope - Aden knee-walked all over the place covering himself in dirt and grass stains. (Future self, please note to never dress your son in white when headed to play at the hunting land. He was head-to-toe filthy by the end of the day). It wouldn't have been so bad if Aden hadn't literally been crawling on the ground.
 

 

After shooting, we grilled brats with chips, cookies and beers. It was the perfect spring day at the cabin.

Sunday, we headed back to the Twin Cities early so Tory could attend Rock The Cradle with Andi's sister and her husband. Lindsay asked a while back if she could take Tory for an afternoon outing. While Tory was away, Andi and I took Aden on a long walk through our neighborhood. It's amazing to think we have lots more warm weather weekends ahead of us as spring turns into summer. Hooray for warm weather!