Paintball Paradise

 Saturday morning we got together with a big group of our good friends, and we drove to a supreme location for paintballing.  The ladies all made picnic lunches, threw some chairs and blankets into the back of the truck, and we converged on the forest for some paintball mania.

Here are some of the die-hard paintballers all ready to go.

It was a beautiful day to be out in the forest! We were at the bottom of a little canyon with a creek running through it, and the gals spent the day talking, and laughing, and soaking up the sun.

This old campground was a fun spot to play paintballing games. It has lots of hiding spots.

The guys are getting ready to choose teams, and select a game.  There are no fashion statements out here.  All of the guys have on multiple layers of clothing for protection, and the boys have on everything from snow pants to homemade duct tape chest protectors to take the sting out of getting shot. 

The first game is underway and there is a mix of sneakiness and strategy as the battle intensifies.

Here's my hubby and my boy doing some father/son teamwork.  Paintballing brings out the kid in all of the dads.  I think they enjoy it even more than the boys do.

The girls spent the day playing in the creek, and took a break for a picnic lunch.

Getting ready to take a shot at Daddy with big brother's gun.

Here, the men are making a plan and telling battle stories while they wait for the other team to hide.

I love the fact that these young boys, teenagers, and fathers all come together on a regular basis to spend the day playing games, bonding, and having good clean fun.

On Sunday morning, they had their usual post-game re-cap over coffee and donuts at church.  The fleshy battle scars were proudly exposed in true "show-and-tell" fashion, and the men got that far-away look in their eyes as they shared the tales of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Another successful day of paintballing has come to an end, and the boys will dream of the next big battle.

P.S.- Click on the pic above to view the facebook page of the coolest new paintball and fireworks store around.  My husband recently bought a Tippmann "Alpha Black" paintball gun and some accessories there, and we were totally impressed. This is not a paid advertisement, we just really dig their stuff!