Gunnin' With the Guys!

Jess has wanted me to post more regularly on the blog, since it's ours. I hope you don't mind a "guy" topic for a change :)

A few weeks ago, some buddies and I went shooting up the canyon, and we had a blast (literally). I wanted to tell somebody about it, so I decided I'd blog it, but because of school, I'm just getting around to it.

So if guns aren't your thing, I'd skip this blog post (or call your husband or boyfriend over and have them take a look).

This is a Mosin-Nagant. Russian mag-fed bolt-action rifle, shoots a 7.62 mm round. They're great guns for a good price - the old Soviet bloc has a huge surplus of them, so they're very cheap. Most never have seen action,  My friends purchased a few for about $130 each, and the rounds for about 19 cents each. They had a lot of ammo, so we decided to take the 6 of them out and break them in.

We brought along plenty of targets; everything from stuffed animals and videotapes to golf balls and tangerines.

Yeah, we're so bad!

Oh yeah. And a bowling ball.

Can you tell we mean business? (Check out Jonathon's shirt above)

We started out by setting up our range with targets strewn out across the 40-yard ravine. We then loaded up the guns and set up across the lip of the ravine in a line facing the far wall.   My friend David, who was acting as pseudo-rangemaster, said we'd start out taking turns down the line shooting at the same target til it was hit, after which the proceeding person could choose a new target. Since I was closest to him, I chose first, and after scanning the range decided on a small tangerine on a stake not 25 yards away.

Sorta like this. Can you see the tangerine?

Well, I missed. And the next guy missed. And the next, and the next, and the next.

 After going through the line of guns (a few non-MN's added up to about 7-8) a few times David finally succeeded in knocking the little tangerine off the stake, though he didn't hit it. We decided to halt and check it out.

This is the stake the tangerine was on.

This was the stretch of ground 20 feet behind the stake.

 Yeah, pretty nuts. After that, we decided to open it up and just shoot whatever we wanted.

Reloading

Jonathon, setting up drilled-out golf balls to hit with some handguns.

Handgun rounds, from closer up.

David got out his muzzle-loading black powder rifle.

Whoa!

The muzzle loader has two triggers: one to set the hairline trigger, and the other to actually fire. We had a funny moment as Nathan (David's younger brother) went to pull the trigger on the muzzle loader. Watch:

We all do that at some point (:


Finally, we brought out the grand finale: a fiberglass/ceramic bathroom sink and countertop. Shows off the MN's firepower nicely, although there are a few random shots in there... Just for fun!

Lots of fun, we'll probably do it again this summer!

quotes for the week...

Hey, I'm going to give a swimsuit at Liz's - Jess
Why are you giving Liz some soup? - Kyle

Oh love, I just honey you! wait... - Kyle

That's right duck, you just go and... waddle!!- Kyle

You know, the weirdest part about being married is that, for the first time in my life, I actually know just how much hair I shed. I'm so sorry. - Jess

Sometimes I go on these monologues, just to entertain myself. Don't you worry. - Kyle

(Teaching our Primary kids) ... and you know what he did next? - Jess
ugh. I bet he prayed. - Christian

"I hate my group, I hate my group, I hate my group- Kyle (said in a singsong voice, complete with booty shake)

She's engaged?! whoa... they took their pictures already? AND THEY took their pictures already?! He looks like he's trying to seduce the camera... - Jess

Well yup, that was about 2 weeks worth of quotes. Honestly we didn't really have time together this week to be funny. We were separated by textbooks, finals and sleep. Thank you finals. We did manage though to start/finish the entire first season of Lie to Me. ps: If you haven't watched it/ heard about it, I'd suggest jumping on this bandwagon. We're obsessed I tell you!!
BUT I did so much better on my tests than I thought I was going too! A's on 4/6 of them? I'll take it! (no need mentioning the score on the other two... haha) I'm so glad it's summer. I'm celebrating today by getting my hair cut and colored! YAY!
I think this weekend we're headed up to the tulip fields by Thanksgiving Point. My family back home did this almost every year for mother's day, but we just tried to go up whenever they were blooming. I was so excited to see the big billboard on I-15 advertising Tulip Fields! They're my favorite
Also. I'm turning 20 on Tuesday. I doubt I could be more excited. FINALLY and even numbered age. And we all know how obsessed I am with those. 19 has been grating on my nerves for.. well a year haha. The very best part...? MY MOM IS COMING DOWN TO VISIT!! I'm so excited to spend some time with her!

She's the best :)

Have a great weekend!

finals week. it just doesn't get old....

FALSE. I'm so done with school.

This week I've:

• eaten an entire bag of m&m's. no shame, no shame.
• written 7 essays.
• finished a 6 hour computer programming final.
• presented a statistical group project.
• had a meltdown, followed by 20 minutes of insane energy, followed by a meltdown, followed by 20 minutes of insane energy, followed by... you get the idea.
• dreamed about friends and classmates getting pregnant and giving birth to un-babylike.... things.
• dreamed about forgetting to take a test and rushing to the testing center, only to find Willy Wonka giving out golden tickets. I decided it was much more important to drink in a river of chocolate than to take a final.
• dreamed about being in the hunger games with my favorite bloggers (here and here). It's just impossible to kill someone who has such a cute kid!
• been too tired to have any desire of watching a late night movie with the hubs (sorry hun...)
• definitely survived off of only cafe rio and diet coke all day yesterday.
• ranged from "screw it, I'm failing this class" to "dude, I can TOTALLY ace this final!"
• haven't cooked a single thing. besides top ramen. (the chicken flavored one rocks this world btw)
• re-experienced my love of sweats and sweatshirts.
• gained a greater appreciation for summer break and all it's lazy awesomeness.

Finals week winter 2012: bring it on.

I wish I could say I could blame this all on finals week... but we all know I'd be lying if I did. I really am this nuts.

Good luck on finals!

Dear 16-year-old self,

Congrats on your 16th birthday! I know we've been waiting a LONG time to turn 16... mostly because we're finally an even numbered age again right? ;) Nah, it's all about driving and dating isn't it? haha.

I was just thinking about all the things I wish I could've been able to tell you. You're probably more concerned with things that might've been, how you look in the mirror and whether or not you'll be asked to homecoming (all logical fears mind you!) than what I have to say now. But take a second to consider the words of someone who knows you better than you currently know yourself.

Chill out dude. There will come a time in the not so distant future where you will be forced to consider much larger fears and choices that have greater consequences, so why are you trying to grow up so fast? Trust me when I say that you will greatly appreciate the time you took to SLOW DOWN and notice the simple things in life.

6 months from this very moment the trivial things you concern yourself with will be so far removed from your mind you'll wonder why they even occupied it. The boys you think are obsessed with you aren't; they're probably more interested in what you can do for them. That's a sad truth. Realize this soon and don't let them influence you.

Learn to be true to yourself. You're not a chameleon; you don't have to adapt to the group you're in. And don't be sad you don't have "groupies". Soon you'll make the choice to jump out of your comfort zone and that choice will help you establish life-long friendships. At the same time though, don't be afraid to say what you're thinking. You'll probably regret not taking the time to get involved with activities going on. Shoot, run for class president. I know you're toying with the idea! Just because you do have those type A tendencies doesn't mean you have to be ashamed of it. So what if you people consider you a goody-two shoes? Isn't the alternative reputation worse? No one has ever, or will ever, ask you to be perfect so you really shouldn't expect that from yourself either, although that isn't license for you to not try your best.

Oh by the way, our parents do actually care about us. Crazy right? But seriously, every time they've asked you about your day, how your date went, what projects you have coming, all those question we thought were annoying? They're actually taking interest in your life because they love us! Don't take too long to figure that one out... it'll save you a lot of arguments.... and possibly a grounding or two. Treat them better. You'll look back at some point and realize how instrumental they were in your development and you'll wish you had thanked them better than slamming the door in their face. And yes, your worst fear is now being confirmed: they really are right most of the time. Swallow that pill and take advantage of their experience!

Last point I want to stress: boys are dumb. Well, not all of them. But high school is the time to find the bridesmaids, not the groom. No matter how smart you think you are, you really don't have your head screwed on tight enough to realize what you really want in a husband. So just don't think about it. At the same time though, don't close yourself off to experiences. Go on dates, get to know guys; some of them will become your greatest friends! When your heart does break, when those annoying thoughts of "what did I do wrong" come in, just remember that everything will one day work for your benefit. When you find HIM, all those questions of "why didn't we work out?!" will be answered and then you'll realize how glad you are that it didn't. Learn to enjoy the hard times because that's how you'll recognize the truly sweet moments in life.

My last piece of advice would be simply this: remember what matters most in life. Are you going to remember winning a volleyball match? Acing a test? That shirt you got on sale? Or will you remember that hilarious night spent camping with the family? The 2 hour conversation you had with a friend who needed you? The service you rendered to someone? Remember who you are and don't get discouraged that you're not perfect. You simply are far from where you were, but not quite yet where you want to be.