Packing heat in Pahrump

Bryan and I just spent the weekend with Bryan's brother Steven and his wife Sara at a 2 day defensive hand gun course at Front Sight...a gun training center in Pahrump, Nevada. Yeah...Pahrump. Makes me laugh every time I say the name. I'd never even heard of it before. And in case you haven't either... it's a little town out in the desert about an hour out of Las Vegas.
Our 2 day course consisted of classroom lectures, range instruction and then, of course, plenty of shooting. The class was amazingly well organized. Front Sight itself is hugely impressive. And apparently we were there on a record breaking weekend....800 people there, all taking various classes.

Our weekend started out in Vegas. Other than on "Oceans 11," I'd never seen the fountains at Bellagio. Ummm...WOW!
We ate at the Cheesecake Factory at Caesars Palace. (I'm keeping a list.... I've now visited Cheesecake Factory in SLC, San Francisco, Orlando, Washington D.C., Annaheim and now Las Vegas.)
It was glorious weather...and after shoveling snow earlier this week at home it felt really nice to wander up and down the Strip in flip flops, sightseeing and taking in the sun... even if it meant that my shins were super sore the next day.
Seeing as it was Vegas, smut peddlers abounded, offering Bryan "girly" advertisements even as he walked hand in hand with me. At one point he turned to one and said, "Girls? I've already got one, thanks." It was kind of funny.
We ended up at MGM watching "Ka"...a Cirque du Soleil show. Very, very cool. Though I hate to admit it, I unfortunately fell asleep through part of it. Must have been all that sun, our long walk, and my very full belly. Oh, and maybe the fact that I hadn't gone to bed till 1:15 AM the night before? And we still had that hour drive to Pahrump after the evening ended!

Look at these two hot shot shooters! Looking good and having a fabulous time. Both of them on their second trip to Front Sight and enjoying watching their wives step out of the comfort zones, learn how to handle a handgun properly and become gun toting hotties! :)

Loading up on ammo and receiving instructions for the next drill.

This class was, at times, rather overwhelming for Sara and me. We definitely felt like fish out of water. So much information shoved into two very long twelve hour days. At times I felt like my brain was crammed so tight with info I couldn't hold any more. But we persevered and it was hugely satisfying to see the progress we were making as the class continued. And to see how excited our husbands were that we were there with them, guns strapped to our sides...a sight, maybe, that they thought they'd never see!

Front Sight was in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but cactus and tumbleweeds as far as the eye could see. At first I thought it rather ugly. But the longer we were there the more I realized that even the hot and dusty desert had a certain beauty to it.

Bryan, Sarah, Steven and Sara.

Can I just say, my husband is seriously impressive with a gun. I learned a lot just from watching him. He's dang cute too....

During shooting drills Bryan was line 1 and I was line 2....which meant we were able to "coach" each other. Not that Bryan needed much coaching. I flatter myself that I was able to remind him of a couple things in his form. Mostly, though, he was a great coach to me. And at time when I felt overwhelmed or inadequate, it helped immensely to have him right there behind me...talking me through things, gently reminding me when I made mistakes, and cheering me on.

Amazingly enough, I turned out to be a pretty good shot! Bryan, sweet as he is, even said he'd claim many of my shots as his own, they were so good.

Finishing up our 2 day class with a picture of our Range Master, Monroe.
It was an emotionally and physically tough few days. I was sunburned and filthy. My hands were red and sore from gripping the gun so tightly for so long. I already mentioned how overwhelmed and out of my comfort zone I felt at times. There were even moments that I found myself fighting tears because I was so frustrated. I'm not planning to start carrying a gun on a daily basis like Bryan does but I now feel that, if I had to, I could pull a gun out and defend myself and my children. I know how to load it and use it. I know how to make it safe. Originally I told Bryan that maybe next time he should leave me in Vegas while he went shooting... I could see a bunch of shows and go shopping. :) But maybe, just maybe, I'll find myself at Front Sight again someday. It was a lot of fun sharing in Bryan's hobby. And I'm pretty dang proud of what I've accomplished!