Front Sight and St. George

This past week was a little hectic for our little family.  Casey had the opportunity to go to a pistol gun training course in Pahrump, Nevada with my dad and brother-in-laws Jared and Justin.  The training course is called Front Sight.  Originally the course is about $1,500, plus you had to buy all your gear which included 600 rounds of bullets, ear and eye protection, 3 magazines, a holster, etc.  Needless to say, we never thought Casey would ever have the opportunity to go, so when Jared was able to get a deal on the course for only $100, there were no questions asked...Casey was going. 

Sunday, November 3rd
The guys decided to take our van so they would have enough room for all their gear.  Casey left our house around 2:30pm to go pick everyone up.  Saying good-bye to Casey was a little emotional for both me and Mason.  Casey went to pick everyone up and they were on the road around 3:00pm.  They drove straight through to Pahrump, Nevada only stopping to fill up with gas and to get something to eat.  They arrived around 10:00pm.  They quickly unloaded the car, checked into their hotel and then went to bed.  They had to wake up around 5:00 the next morning so they could make it to their class that started at 7:00.

For us girls that stayed home, we were invited over to Myrn and Garrett's for dinner.  We had fun spending time together and working on putting together some gifts for my Relief Society.  When it was time to go home, mom followed me home and came inside with me to make sure everything was ok.  I had never spent the night home alone, so I was a little nervous.

Monday, November 4th
The boys had to wake up around 5:00 so they could be to their class which started at 7:00.  They packed up the things they needed, packed their lunches for the day, went to McDonald's for breakfast, then started their 30 minute drive to the Front Sight location.
Day one on the range, the boys learned how to hold their guns properly, how to load their guns properly, how to load a bullet into their gun properly, etc. 

Monday morning I went with Amy to Bud's sports class at the Rec Center.  Then Amy and I took lunch down to my mom at the shop.  The rest of the day Mase and I spent doing laundry.  That night for FHE, us girls and kids, took blankets down to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.  They use the blankets and give them to children who are sick at the hospital.  After taking the blankets down we went to Taco for dinner.  That night, my mom again followed me home and came inside to make sure everything was ok so I wouldn't be nervous through the night. 

Tuesday, November 5th
The boys didn't have to wake up until 6 today.  After waking up, they packed up their gear, packed their lunches for the day, then went and ate breakfast at the hotel's continental breakfast.  They then started their 30 min. drive to the Front Sight location so they could be there by 8.
Day two on the range the boys practiced the skills they learned from day one.  They also learned where to properly hit a target. 

 

Casey is the one in the red shirt standing at the shooting line. 

Tuesday morning Mase and I woke up and went to baby sit the kids.  The rest of the day was spent working on my Relief Society Holiday Dinner which took place Tuesday night.  Mom and Myrn babysat Mason for me while I went to my Relief Society Holiday Dinner.  Mason had so much fun spending the night with them.  Mom again followed me home and helped me make sure everything was ok at home.       

Wednesday, November 6th
The boys again didn't wake up until 6.  They did the same morning routine as yesterday. 
Day three on the range was spent learning tactical movements through a home, they also did a course where they walked through a "home" and had to shoot the bad guys.  The boys also learned how to clear a malfunction in their guns and they again practiced skills they learned on day one and two. 

 

Wednesday morning Mase and I went and worked at Amy's.  Then we came home and got everything packed and ready to go to St. George tomorrow.  Wednesday night we went over to Amy's for dinner.  Myrn and Garrett went and picked up Zupas and we ate it all together.  Mom again followed me over to our house and walked inside to check on things with me so I wouldn't be nervous. 

Thursday, November 7th
Today was the boy's last day.  They again ate breakfast at the hotel, packed their lunches and their gear then headed out.  Today was their test day.  Casey was so nervous.  The morning started out with a shoot-off.  Each group member was paired off and then they would both shoot at a target.  The person who had the best shot, won the round and moved on.  Casey and Jared ended up shooting the hostages (the person they were trying to protect) right in the face so they were eliminated the first round.  Justin and my dad ended up competing against each other :(.  My dad ended up winning between the two and ended up coming in 2nd in the whole competition!  Justin came in 3rd!  Case said this is quite the accomplishment because there was about 40 people in the competition.

 

After the competition the boys ate lunch and then it was time for their test.  Casey ended up passing the test and graduating!  If he ever goes back to Front Sight again he'll still have to take the same class again because he didn't graduate DISTINGUISHED, but we're still pretty proud that he graduated!  After the test the boys got to do one last fun shoot.  A target was up with 2 bad guys surrounding a hostage.  The person shooting had to put a loved ones name on the hostage.  Casey put my name.  Case had to shoot the bad guys without shooting me on the target.  Case did a great job and I survived!  In fact, my dad put my mom's name, Justin put Lin's name, and Jared put Amy's name and we all survived!  Way to go boys...it's nice to know you'll be able to protect us if we're ever in a hostage situation:)

Us girls started our trip to St. George around 12:30.  We stopped at Subway for lunch then hit the road.  Mason fussed all the way to Fillmore so we stopped and took a little break.  Lin and mom decided to try to take him in their car along with Lydia.  Within 2 minutes Mason was asleep and he didn't fuss the rest of the way!
When we got to St. George we unloaded our cars and Lin, Lydia, and I went to Wal-Mart for groceries.  After Wal-Mart we went to Poncho and Lefty's for dinner.  After dinner, mom and I took Mason back to grandma and grandpa's condo so we could get him ready for bed.  As I was putting Mase down for bed, Casey came home.  Mason was so excited to see him, it took me another 30 minutes to get him to go to sleep because he was so excited. 

Friday, November 8th
We let the boys sleep in because they were so exhausted from their trip.  We woke up and ate breakfast, got ready for the day, then headed over to Pioneer Park.  Pioneer Park was so much fun.  They have tons of rocks that you can climb on. 

 

I learned something new about Casey, I had no idea he was a little nervous of confined spaces.  This "crack" was so tight and it made Casey nervous to hike through it, so he didn't.  He hiked up half way to help the kiddies through, but then turned around. 

 

 

Case was making me so nervous with little Mason.  He was running everywhere and taking Mason with him as he ran.  Case would run up these high hills and jump onto these steep rocks.  Case might be nervous around tight spaces, but he's definitely not scared around heights. 

We called this the "hot tub"

This picture was taken just after Casey leaped across a 5ft. crevasse.  All I hear was mom and Amy say, "oh no, did he make it?"  It scared me to death! 

Mason and Ashley were having fun playing in the dirt. 

That afternoon we went over to Amy and Jared's condo and went over to the clubhouse for lunch.  We BBQed hot dogs.

 After lunch the boys watched the kids while the girls went shopping.  After shopping, we went to Little Ceaser's and picked up a few pizzas for dinner and we went to Nielsen's Frozen Custard and got some ice cream for dessert.  We had such a fun day today. 

Saturday, November 9th
Mom, dad, Case, and I woke up early and got the condo cleaned.  Then we headed over to Amy and Jared's condo then headed over to a dinosaur museum.  The dinosaur museum was so cool.  I had never been to a dinosaur museum and this one turned out to be pretty informative and interesting.  The museum had different fossils of dinosaur prints, tail marks, teeth marks, etc.  It was fun looking at these fossils that were said to have formed over 3 billion years ago. 

 

   

Mason was cutting 3 teeth on this trip.  He had a small temperature, but was miserable most of the time.  Most of his time at the dinosaur museum was spent sleeping. 

 

This giant rock is the largest fossil of dinosaur footprints ever found. 

 

After the dinosaur museum we went back to Amy and Jared's condo for lunch.  We had a delicious lunch of spaghetti, french bread, and a green salad.  After lunch it was time for mom, dad, Case, Mase, and I to head home.  We headed home a day earlier then the others so mom and dad could go see Canyon and Oakley's primary program on Sunday. 

We had such a fun trip to St. George, we are so glad Casey had the opportunity to go to Front Sight and have such a fun time.  We're also glad we got to spend the rest of the weekend in St. George with family. 

Memories
*Lydia picking out every kind of cereal...one for her dad, one for her mom, one for Bud, one for Parks, and one for her.  She is always so thoughtful!
*Mason cutting 3 teeth and being a little grumpy throughout the whole trip.
*Casey leaping across a 5-6ft. crevasse.  I wasn't watching, but mom and Amy were like did he make it? 
*Mom, dad, and Casey thinking the Texaco sign was the Angel Moroni on the new Payson temple. 
*Bud calling the "crack" the "bum crack."
*Mason falling asleep countless times in my arms because he didn't feel very good. 
*Mason learning how to climb the steps at the condo.