“Go shoot some tens”

Those are the words with which coach John usually sends his shooters to the line.

A few years ago, Seri had the chance to stay with some friends of ours for a month in Oklahoma.  Yep, you read that right, Oklahoma… where there are not a plethora of things with which to entertain oneself.   The husband showed her how to shoot off the back porch and she really enjoyed it.  Upon coming home she asked if she could continue shooting and me being so great with all my connections and all started asking around and found a team with an amazing coach.

CCJRC- Capitol city Junior rifle club. 

Having been around the world of extracurricular activities and the fees that go along with them for  a few years now I was astounded when coach said dues were $35.00 a year and then we  pay for ammo. Now, that my friends is a deal!

Although, I started to find the attached strings when we were told that indoor shooting would occur for five months of the year at a range down past Olympia, a little more than an hour away.  Still, not that bad of a deal when you figure that the club provides all her equipment, gun and everything.

I agree with the term “It takes a village to raise a child”. I just maintain that I am extremely grateful that I get to choose which village assists me in raising my children, cause I have seen some of those villages, and they scare me to death!  Coach John is someone I am truly glad to allow into our village.  An old fashioned military man, he is not one to skate around the edges. At all times you know exactly what the man is thinking cause he tells ya.  Prone to calling the kids “snodgrass”, he is the kind of guy that the kids will come back to visit when they are home from college and he remembers every single one of them.  Now, when you think that the dues are so low, you realize that this man coaches twice a week for five hours with no pay. In fact, I would hate to hear how much money comes from his pocket out of sheer unselfishness because he loves the sport and he loves those kids.

With this activity things are different though.  My determined and competitive child isn’t so much so when it comes to her shooting.  She doesn’t shoot to be the best, in fact she is pretty much ok with just having done a decent job.  For her, she just truly loves to shoot.

And this is so comforting to me.  She succeeds at so many things she does that one friend has taken to saying that she has the “Midas touch”, everything she does, she does superbly.  There is a certain pressure that is put on children like this and in her being totally comfortable with not being perfect at shooting I see  that she is also comfortable with the idea that she doesn’t have to live up to the pressure.  She succeeds when she is driven to, but also realizes that there is more to life than trying to be the best at everything.  It just seems so “healthy” to me. 

When other mothers are discussing how to improve their child’s score, which shooting camps their child should attend, should they buy another (better) rifle and so on, I can just sit back and listen. I don’t have to jump on the bandwagon and try to do everything possible to ensure that she will succeed.  If she wanted to, I would of course, but there is peace in just letting her enjoy the sport.

Howlin fun

The post in which I admit that we, the Olson’s, are truly creatures of habit.

We know what we like and aren’t in a hurry to reinvent the wheel, so we keep finding ourselves at Great Wolf Lodge. Truly, a perfect vacation!

We always go for three days and two nights (cause with my super duper connections it ends up costing us about $160 a night. a far cry from the $375 a night they want for our room) so we never feel pressured and stressed and know that there is plenty of time to do everything we want, including hanging out in the room and sneaking in a nap

Sariah was finally tall enough to ride some of the slides and she loved every minute of it. Couldn’t get enough.  She was also old enough to hang out with the big kids in the bigger areas and has thus been promoted from kiddie pool status.

This year was especially fun because it was the first year we haven’t had a baby to small to enjoy the festivities. It may have taken him half a day to get used to the idea, but after that, this boy was all about the water.

T.J. on the other hand, loves his kiddie pool status and is really excited to share it with his baby brother.

Even the big kids have a blast!

This was Kaden’s third trip but the first in which he could do anything. Yes, I am counting being pregnant with him as his first.  For his second he mostly got carried around in this nifty carrier/sling thing I made that could go in the water and nursed.

The real secret to having the best vacation ever is to keep your cost low, don’t buy souvenirs or any of the food there.  No, really, the best secret weapon is to bring a ton of friends!!!!!!  We have never done Great Wolf by ourselves and I hear from others that it can be mighty boring.  Add friends to the mix and it is a non stop party!!!!!  

Hanging out in the teen’s room (or Miss Julie’s room as the case may be).

It is a great experience to have lots of other adults on which to pawn of your kids so you can sneak in a ride with the hubby, or to gather in one persons room for a crock pot meal and just sit around chatting as all the children race from one room to another following eachother like they are in a herd or something.  Yep, the real secret is to bring as many friends as possible with you.  If that is not an option for you let us know and we will be more than happy to have you tag along with us next time.

The classic “And why would I want to talk to or hug this huge strange furry thing that doesn’t talk back?”.

Magi quest, great for any age.

Until next time Great Wolf, thanks for the memories!!!!!

Searching and Rescuing

As if she isn’t participating in enough activities, last year Seri set her heart on becoming part of the ESAR crew. Unfortunately, she had already missed the first training course and so she patiently waited till this fall.

Her first training was cancelled due to a horrible ice storm that we experienced. Typically ESAR trains in the dead of winter because they want to train the team members in the worst possible conditions so they are prepared to deal with any weather but the ice storm was a little too much.

She did great on her first training even though I was a tad concerned about her welfare.

Seems to me that it is never a good idea for your pack to weigh half as much as you do.

Course 2 was a little rougher and she caught hypothermia twice, came close to being evaced out but there was no way that girl was going to give up.

For all the training courses the children take everything they will need to survive in the wilderness for 48 hrs and then are expected to use it. Build their own shelter, start their own fires, carry and cook all their own food, all while learning how to search for and rescue others.

Course four was interesting as it was warm out but she didn’t think about changing from her winter pack to lighter clothing and having experienced hypothermia, she now got to experience heat stroke.

All in all she is now fully certified to participate in any rescue mission within the state of Washington and we are extremely proud of her!!!!!

Her first mission call had a meet up in Puyallup and when I wondered about what she would be doing, Matt gave me the “really, dear?” look.  Powell had blown up his house with him and two children in it four days before.  Sure enough that is where she was called.  They went to a recycling plant and dug through three tons of paper looking for any evidence.

It was especially neat for Seri because one of the items they were told to look for was any paperwork dealing with the LDS church.  Many of the crew had no idea what they would be looking for and so she served as kind of the “go to guy” for all religious documents to weed out the evidence they were looking for.

Here’s a clip which shows Seri and the crew (look for the blue ski hat).

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Volunteers-pore-over-10-tons-of-recycled-paper-for-Powell-clues-139186629.html?tab=video&c=y

At her certification ceremony with her good friend. 

It was really neat because not only did she get her certification but she also received a police coin from the police unit in Utah that is working the Powel case to thank her for her efforts.  The search did result in two key pieces of information.

Support your local Search and Rescue, go get lost.