Dreaming of Robin Hood

It was a beautiful day under a big, blue sky.

We headed to El Dorado Park for archery class.

They are completely smitten with archery.

It took 1 class.

And now they are dreaming of the days of the knights and of Robin Hood.

They put on their quivers, arm guards and finger tabs.

They found their bows and waited for the whistle.

Then they straddled the line,

placed their arrows in the nock,

drew their bows,

and let their arrows fly.

Archery is a quiet sport.

It's meditative.

It requires a lot of hand-eye coordination--a lot of things are happening at once.

There was a lot to learn at their first class, and it was a bit of a slow start.

But they were anxious to come back.

And this time they knew just what to do.

William is the youngest in the class.

Usually the instructor requires kids to be 8, but she let William try it out.

It definitely takes him longer to get his arrows on his bow, to get the right hold with his fingers, and even to pull back on his bow, than anyone else in the class.

But he just stays right up there, alone on the line, and takes his time.

Because he takes his time, he's actually got much better form than James.

But don't tell James I said so.

James just wants to let his arrows fly.
After all, what little boy doesn't want to shoot real arrows, with a real bow, at a real target?
As far as they're concerned, it's amazing!

And what's even more fun than shooting targets?
Shooting balloons!

At the end of class they blew up balloons, pinned them to the targets, and cheered each other on as each one was popped.
It was a lot of fun.

So what do the littles do while the big brothers are busy with their bows and arrows?

Ideally they stay on the blanket and play with toys.
Lilly does a great job.
4 is a pretty awesome age.

Davy, however, is another story all together.
Yes, this picture looks like I'm enjoying a nice cuddle with my sweet boy.
But in reality I am just trying to keep my very busy, very adventurous, very determined little 1 year old from getting hit by an arrow.
1 is not my favorite age.

It's a long class.
Even Lilly gets a little restless.
She went exploring with my camera.

The boys tried for the last balloons.

After class, they put away their gear, helped take down the targets, and roll the line.
As soon as we got in the car, William asked how many days it was until our next archery class.
It's so much fun to try new things.
I love making their world a little bit bigger.
It's also going to make reading Robin Hood for school this year that much more fun!
Love from,
Greta