Barn Raisin': Shooting Sports

S participated in his first 4-H shooting sports competition today. He completed his hunter's safety course just this past Thursday, which he needed for eligibility purposes. He shot better today than he has shot all year. This earned him first place in all of his positions: sitting, standing, kneeling and prone. He also won champion of his division, which is Junior Air Rifle. I will not mention that part of this is due to him being the only child in his division. I will only mention that he worked very hard to do what was required of him. I will also mention that Hubby and I are very proud of him for working so hard. Our day, however, was very long and a bit trying. The competition started at eight a.m. in Eckert which meant we had to leave our house at seven to get there in time. We are not morning people. Not by any stretch of the imagination. S's part of the shoot was over by ten. This left us four hours until awards. We decided to skip out and get a bite to eat. S went home with Nana and Papa C., who had come out to show their support. Meme also made it out, although, unfortunately, Papa S. had to work. Hubby, M, T and I grabbed a bite at the Loading Dock, a tasty cafe within an artists' gallery called the Apple Shed. On our way to Delta to hang out with Nana and Papa, we received a phone call to head back to the range since the judges needed S's record book again. We quickly picked up our boy and headed back. Since we were there, we thought we should just stay since awards should only be an hour away. So we thought. Instead of being done at two, the shoot ended after four thirty. This pushed awards to five. Let's just say that sitting in ninety plus degree heat with three children for four hours is not anyone's idea of fun. Thankfully, our 4-H leader had some Hotwheels in her truck and these somehow managed to keep not just our children occupied, but the entire table of eight children occupied. T took his into the dirt, where we all thought he would fall asleep. He somehow never did. Finally it was time for awards and as soon as S received his, we were ready to go. Unfortunately for us, T got stung by a wasp with three minutes left before quitting time. Poor little guy. We got home, showered all the caked dirt off of our exhausted bodies and fell into bed. I don't think our whole family has ever gone to sleep at the same time, let alone that it was nine p.m.