Fun with Guns

Before I get into the happenings at the Koons Zoo, on a serious note, I would like to ask you all to say a prayer or prayers for my niece, Kaydence. If you're not a pray-er (if that's a word) this might be a good time to become one. Kaydence was born yesterday at 37 weeks after my sister had a perfectly normal pregnancy. The delivery was uneventful (my sister is tough like me) except that after she was born Kaydence was having trouble breathing on her own. She was put on a ventilator and has remained on that as her breathing really hasn't improved. She's also showing some signs of some other issues. We don't know a whole lot right now but all we know is that this is a scary time for our family as there are so many unknowns. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

So as I've said before I deal with adversity, drama, heartache, etc thru laughter so that's what I'm going to do. And what better way to do that than to tell you about the Family Fun with Guns session we had the other day. Sounds fascinating right? And a little dangerous, or maybe a lot dangerous. Let me explain.

Before GI Joe was, well GI Joe, he was/is a country boy, a redneck, a backwoods boy, etc. Which means he grew up shooting stuff. He got his first gun at about the age of 7 and has been terrorizing possums, rabbits, squirrels, pheasant, and deer ever since. Now before you go all anti-gun on me let me assure you that we do not take gun safety lightly in our house and all of our children are taught gun safety and respect by GI Joe, who given his line of work knows a little something about it. And they are locked up at all times with the only key being hidden in an undisclosed location that only GI Joe knows. I realize that not everyone will agree with us on this point and frankly I'm okay with that, thank goodness we live in America where we have that right. I would also like to point out that he doesn't shoot just to shoot, he only shoots things that either are causing harm or for food. I'm very adamant on that. Just ask Dakota about the time she shot a bird and I cried and threw a hysterical fit and then grounded her for a week.

I have to admit when we first got married I was a little nervous about guns in the house and the fact that he was so proficient with them. But a couple times of firing one myself and I was hooked. Now that's not to say you'll find me out deer hunting with GI Joe. That will NEVER EVER happen. I'd be more apt to yell at the deer to run away or to pet and comfort them in their final moments than to shoot them. I think that's why I've never been invited. That and I haven't been able to find the safety vest in blaze pink, only blaze orange. But I do love to fire guns. Not big guns, they hurt my shoulder and make me scream like a girl. But I like the powerful feeling I get when I'm holding or firing a gun. Because GI Joe knows this about me and also knows that I'm a big wimp he bought me an air pistol for my 30th birthday. I heart my air pistol. It gives me that tough girl feeling without the sore shoulder. I really wanted it for protection against possum that might wander on to our deck at night and scare the daylights out of me. (Editor's sidenote: I deeply love animals with the exception of the following: possum, bats, snakes, lizards, rats, mice. None of those will ever make the Koons Zoo roster.) However, I think it would merely scare the possum and stun it enough so that GI Joe or one of my sharpshooter children could actually seal the deal. Sorry PETA, that's just the way it goes. Possum are nasty, nasty creatures, and the beady eyes, oh yuck, the eyes...

As for the country bumpkin kids, all 3 of them have taken after their father, and love to shoot and hunt and all that boyish stuff. Even Dakota your daughter, you ask? Yes,actually, ESPECIALLY Dakota. She's been a gun totin' Annie Oakley since the age of 8 and loves to hunt with her Daddy. Yes, she is mine, the maternity tests came back positive.

Anyway, the other evening it was a balmy 50 degrees out and we were itching to be out and enjoy it and thought we would do some target practice. I with my wicked air pistol, and the kids with the Daisy BB gun. GI Joe was the safety warden. We set pop cans on the fence posts in our front yard and were about 50 feet from the road. I just love the crazy looks we get from the neighbors when they drive by and I'm in the front yard shooting at a pop can with what looks like a small handgun. It makes me giggle.

Now as much as I love shooting, I might not have the best aim in the world. I blame the wind, my height, my hair that kept getting in my eyes, etc, etc. Let's just say I only hit my pop can twice and that was because I got within a foot of it. Meanwhile, my kids Buckshot and Sharpshooter (Blade and Ryder) were hitting their target repeatedly using their BB gun. They then proceeded to torment me about my shooting skills and saying such things as "you shoot like a girl." Ouch. Then Dakota piped in with "But I'm a girl and I'm a really good shot, so it's just you." Double ouch.

Here's a picture of Buckshot and Sharpshooter. Gotta love the stances.

I'm happy to report that no kids, animals, or cars were injured in our Fun With Guns session although if that would've happened I probably would've been the culprit as I am the worst gun safety student ever. Once I may have been reprimanded by GI Joe for waving my air pistol around in the air, I had a reason, I don't remember what, but I did. Possum beware.

And there you have it, just another day in the life of the Prairie Princess......