Saturday, September 12, 2009

The LAST Weekend of Summer

Labor Day is kind of a sad day because it really is the "unofficial" end to the summer. It's our last big swimming and bbq day when everyone is home from work and just kind of hanging out.
Cayden got a new paintball gun for his birthday a few weeks ago. I'm not sure that I like the idea of putting a gun in the hands of a seven year old, especially when that seven year old is Cayden, but his mom and sister and I watched all summer long as he pulled out his piggy bank many mornings and evenings a week and maticulously counting out his coins in hopes of having $200 (cuz that's probably how much they cost). So now that he has his prize possession, the work is not over because now we need to go find a random place in the middle of nowhere where a child such as Cayden can shoot his new little gun without causing too much chaos to the surrounding environment. So that's what we did Monday morning. We drove off to somewhere somewhat in the middle of nowhere, and hiked our way a bit off the road so that no onlookers could view what we were doing (heck, we didn't know if what we were doing was even legal!) Upon finally arriving at a decent location, we discovered that the gun didn't even work! If you want to see scary however, just watch your sister and seven year old nephew stick their fingers in, and smack against a rock, and do all sorts of things to a gun without any kind of knowledge of how the thing even works. I thought we would be ending up in the emergency room that day! But luckily nothing happened and we could only get some pretend shots of Cayden "shooting."



Then it was off to mom and dad's house for some swimming, some eating, and some softball practice! (Notice Bonnie sitting while practicing? It was just days after the run, and yet still very much sore!)







Near the day's end, leave it to dad to fix the broken gun! (Though I don't know how much dad knows about guns either) Apparently more than Bonnie and Cayden though cuz the paintball gun was fixed! Dad found some old piece of wood to paint a big target on and we all climbed on the fort to have our fair share in the fun!






A few poorly aimed paintballs went all the way through the hedges, onto the patio, and into the pool! That thing has some power!

There were a lot of "point it away from me!" and "put on the safety!" yelling as Cayden practiced his shooting skills. There was a lot of cowering in the corners as well, but we all survived and had a great time!

3 comments:

Terry and Gail said...

I don't know what the big deal is with guys and guns... but most of them seem to love it. When Terry and the other officers at work practice simulated hostage and shoot out situations, they go to this old department store building that has been vacant for about 7 years and they put on protective gear and break out the paint ball guns. Terry always comes home with a few bruises but saying that they had a lot of fun. I agree with you about Labor Day. Only its worse here...because it is going to snow in a couple of months and it will get steadily colder. I always get the fall blahs. You will feel better after you have gotten into the school year and know and love your kids. Take care and be happy. Love, Aunt Gail

Debi said...

Hey I want to try out the paint ball gun! I have never shot one. I have however shot real guns. I think paint balls are a little less scary. Did the paint come off the patio? Have a good school year. I hope you like the year round schedule and have a great group of kids. Love Debi

Tracy said...

Love your blog! So many adventures-so fun! I'm glad you post regularly...unlike me haha.