Target Practice.....

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved to play with guns. I felt like it was a "boy thing" to like to do, so I thought I was weird different for liking that. As I grew up, I figured I'd lose interest in this but it hasn't been the case. Even though it seemed silly and useless I wanted one. As much as I loved them, I never actually shot a gun until this summer when Kristen & I went shooting. 

My dad got a pellet gun a while ago and I had a lot of fun shooting it. So I decided since a real gun was too expensive to buy on a whim (but makes a great Christmas present), I wanted to get a pellet gun of my own. It came about 2 days ago and I love it. I got a Beretta PX4 Storm and even though it's only a pellet gun, it looks like the real thing (which is why I wanted this one)! 

I got some targets so I would have something to shoot at. I'm not too good, but I'm actually impressed that I hit the target so many times. Hopefully as I break the gun in, I'll get to be a little more accurate! 

I'm super excited to finally have my gun. It's just as fun as I hoped it would be! 

Fishing Adventure.....

Thursday night Kristen asked me if I wanted to go fishing since I had the day off on Friday. Kris likes to fly fish, which I've never done but I knew that so it was no big deal. Normally, I'm a sit on the bank and throw in my worm baited hook kind of girl, but Kristen is not that kind of fisherman. My family thought I was crazy to go fishing in capris and a tank top (to be honest I didn't know why I was dressing like this either, but Kristen said that's how she was going so I followed suit). Little did I know I had a surprise in store.

We headed up to Newton Lake (which is outside of Cody) and got all geared up. I didn't know how much fishing we were going to be able to do because it was pretty windy and started to rain. Luckily it let up and we spent a little over an hour on the lake.

Needless to say it wasn't a very successful trip. Neither of us caught a fish, and honestly we didn't even get a nibble! We aren't the most patient of fishermen, so we decided to head back into town and hit up Walmart. We ended our day with eating at Dairy Queen (Lovell or and Laramie should definitely invest in getting one in town). Now that I'm not quite as amateur at this fly fishing business, I'm sure there'll be plenty more fishing trips to come.

File Folder Games.....

When I was little I remember playing with File Folder games when we went to church. They had the cutest pictures, were really simple, but they kept us entertained (and quiet) during Sacrament Meeting. 

I was on Pinterest awhile ago and saw a "pin" about those exact same games. I knew I loved to play them, and figured Kara's kids would too (maybe even Kara- if they kept them entertained [possibly quiet] during sacrament)! So I got some my own copies from this website: http://www.finchfamilygames.com/

Needless to say, they were a hit. They took quite a "few" hours to finish all of them with the printing, cutting out, laminating, gluing (or using Zots), and magnetizing them. The large amount of time probably had a little to do with my OCD and the fact that I tried to make 10 separate games at once, but that's just a minor detail. I loved doing them though, they gave me something to, and with how much the kiddos loved them it made it totally worth it!

I not only wanted to make them for the kids, but also wanted to have them for when if I get married and have kids of my own. 

Adventure with Aunt Bethy.....

Last Friday I took Katelyn, Jacob, and Dallin to the library because Jake had gotten his own Library Card for Wyoming Readers at school and was a little anxious to use it. After school was out, we were on our way to the Library, where we all got some books. After we were all "checked out," we headed to Minchow's for some ice cream (Jake had a certificate for a free kids scoop and he needed wanted to use this perfect opportunity to cash in)! Each of them got some fabulous prizes from the Crane Machines while we were there. We ended the afternoon adventure by getting a pop and some gum from Maverick [I think they know how to work Aunt Bethy over - just tell me what they want and they get it :)]!

It was a fun little trip, and they had a blast (which was the whole point)! I'm excited for the summer and many more mini adventures to come.

Off to a Good Start.....

My summer has been great filled with lots of good times already. I've spent lots of time working, hanging out with the family, and not worrying about schoolwork! After my last final (Friday at 8 in the morning) I was out of Laramie on my way home for my break.

For Mother's Day on we had a pretty laid back day. Kara and her family came up after church to eat some dinner and then we spent the night outside playing in the yard.

My break so far has consisted of working, helping around the house/yard, a basketball tournament, going to Katelyn's piano recital and play, and enjoying the beautiful weather! Not too shabby for the first two weeks of summer.

A-Z.....

Kara is full of good ideas! I don't know how she thinks of such things. After seeing a picture she posted on Instagram of Katelyn and Jason studying the scripture and keeping a journal, she informed me how she keeps a journal. Instead of writing after each chapter, she journals according to topic. This way, whenever she needs to give a lesson or talk, she has scriptures and quotes already compiled. I loved the idea so much, I adopted this strategy into my own study.

Since I'm OCD and am a little obsessed with office supplies, I decided to make a craft project out of it. Instead of keeping a journal, I decided I wanted to use index cards. I couldn't just have a simple container, that's just too boring. I couldn't find alphabetical dividers that I liked, so I decided to make my own. I bought plain cards, colored them with permanent markers, used sticker letters, and then laminated them to keep them saved. To keep the various cards on the same topic together I'm using paper clips to keep them together (of course these couldn't be any paperclips, they had to match the color scheme).

I haven't been doing it long, so I don't have too much in mine yet. I'm trying to do better with my scripture study because I've been a little lax with it. I've decided to not only study the scriptures but also the conference talks (I don't look at them nearly enough). I've noticed such a difference in my days since I've been studying the words of the prophets more consistently. I'm so thankful to have the guidance of these inspired men and women to help me in life's journey. Thanks Kara for another great idea!!

Just Couldn't Stay Away.....

Well I guess I couldn't stay away from playing the piano in my church ward for too long. I was released from being the ward pianist earlier this semester and was without a calling for a few months. It's been the first time since I've been in Laramie that I haven't had a calling in the ward. I found out why on about a week ago. I was asked to be the Relief Society pianist. They told me they were suppose to call me about 3 months ago, but didn't want to give me too much to do since I already had a calling (which I didn't because they released me from everything).

When I told them I didn't currently have a calling, they weren't too happy about that because they said they would have used me in other areas if they knew I was available. :) I love playing the piano, so these last two callings I had are perfect for me, even though I get super nervous to play in front of other people. Oh well, it was nice to have a little break, but I'm glad to have something to do in the ward again!