As I said before, I’ve never been a very physical person, but something about the idea of archery always seemed really cool to me… so in 9th grade, when my gym (ugh) teacher opened the supply closet and I saw ARCHERY EQUIPMENT, I was so excited. I asked if we were going to use it this year, and he said that because someone at another school got shot with an arrow, none of the schools were doing archery anymore… oh, come ON!

The first time I ever touched a bow and/or arrow (a real one) was at my husband’s parents’ house. My younger sister-in-law and I spent hours outside taking turns shooting the same 4ish arrows at a target, then trying to find the ones that slid under the leaves and pine straw. We discussed the fact that we each needed to sew our own Narnian archery dress in green. Best. day. ever.

My guy went inside after a few minutes, saying this was the most boring. day. ever.

So, while we were at his parents’ house at Christmas this year, my father-in-law said something like “We’re cleaning out some stuff, so let me know if there’s anything in here you want.” *points to closet*

Now, I know that’s the closet where the bows are so I get this little jump in my heart… and I say, “Really? Like… that red bow?” And my father-in-law gives it to me!!! Laughing at me a little, I think. But… YAY! He also threw in 2 arrows.

So the guy tells me there’s an ARCHERY RANGE on base! I’m thinking… like in 10 Things I Hate About You… a grassy green area with several targets (colorful concentric circles) lined up, right?

So we drive over there…

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And here is the most exciting sign… What is a Rod and Gun Lodge, you ask? I think it’s a set of buildings where 1) You can sleep if you plan on hunting early the next morning, and 2) You can hang up your newly-dead deer to drain… that’s what it looked like, anyway. Gross.

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And here’s the sign designating the archery range. Hubs cleaned it off with a rag and some WD-40 so we could read it… and, you know, to “help maintain range, so [MWR] can continue to provide these type services.”

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I figure out how to hold the bow…

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… and both of my first arrows go into the target! (BTW… check out that awesome high-class target! Love the “tufts”)

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I was so proud I made T take a picture of me. He asked, “Are you going to want to bring your camera every time we come here?”

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And even though shooting a target is so. boring. he did it anyway…

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I think it’s because I made it look so hot, and he wanted a piece of the action.

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So everything went well, until… instead of hitting the target, I hit the metal thingy holding the target up. Not only did I bend the tip of the arrow, but the back of the arrow where it has little “claws” to hold on to the bowstring also flew off somewhere… so, we’re down to one arrow.

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That was some awesome fun though. It will be way more fun with multiple arrows. And an arm guard. Supposedly if you “do it right” the bowstring will THWACK your forearm as you shoot; evidently, I was doing it right, because I have a bruise there now.

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PS Still no new recipes… the man made brinner tonight. Delicious! Anyone have a suggestion of a dish I should post a recipe for? Not a specific recipe, mind you… but something you might like to see here (that you think I might like the taste of based on the things we eat, of course)?