Sunset

I have a thing for sunsets and probably take too many pictures trying to capture their beauty (which really is impossible to do but I can’t help it!).  Last night was another breathing taking sunset so I snuck out of dispatch and tried to capture a couple pictures out by the Idaho Peace Officers Memorial.   I only had my cell phone on me but liked how a couple of them turned out.  The PIO for ISP even used one of them for ISP’s twitter page.  Here are a couple of my favorites.  

 

 

   

Gun Range

Yesterday I meet up with a couple friends for a little target practice.  The weather was perfect and I was excited to go. 

 

 

 We meet up with another couple of friends at the range who are firearms instructors to help us sharpen our skills.  I am always looking for ways to improve so I was really excited to have them helping us out.   We practiced on my 9mm and a couple of 45mm hand guns.  I have to say, while I like the 45, it just is so big in my hands! 

(I hate this picture of me but love how you can see how hands on they were with teaching us)

We also got to shoot their assault rifles which was just fun!  Oddly enough I was the most accurate on the assault rifle over my own hand gun.  Not going to lie, the whole time I was shooting it I couldn’t stop smiling. 

 

 

I love not only learning more about different types of guns but how to handle them as well.  I work around them day in and day out and the more comfortable I am around them the better.  I want to know that if something happens to one of my officers when I am out on the street with them I can try and help protect them. 

 

I also love know that if I had to protect myself or those I love, I can.  I am thankful I was able to go and hope to start going shooting more now that the weather is starting to turn nice.   

       

Bucket List

The other day I was thinking about all the things I want to see and do in my life.  Part of it is because I know how short life is and I want to be remembered for making the most of this life (it may be weird but I always wonder what would be said at my funnel).   Also when I report on the other side I want to be able to say enjoyed life to the fullest and saw the beauty of everything that He created for us.  He wants us to have joy and to be happy, not sit at home and let life pass us by!  One of my favorite songs is I Lived my OneRepublic, with one of my favorite parts of the song being:

 
“I did it all.  I owned every second that this world could give.  I saw so many places, the things that I did.  With every broken bone, I swear I lived. “  
 
Not that I want to break bones but I want to enjoy life and really live it!  The world has so many amazing places to see and some many amazing things to do!   
 
I sat down today and went over my bucket list and updated it.  Here it is….

Shauna’s Bucket List!

1.        Own another horse.

2.        Visit Ireland

3.        Run a 10K

4.        Stay overnight in a real castle.

5.        Visit Ground Zero

6.        Be married for all time and eternity in an LDS temple.

7.        Go whale watching.

8.        Ride in a gondola in Venice.

9.        Get a hot stone massage.

10.     Go to the San Diego Zoo.

11.     Hike in Zion’s National Park.

12.     Visit Gettysburg.

13.     Tour Auschwitz

14.     Do a Manta Ray night dive in Hawaii.

15.     Hike the Tetons.

16.     Fly first class.

17.     Get corrective eye surgery.

18.     Cage dive with sharks.

19.     Visit the Smithsonian.

20.     Donate 5 gallons or more of blood within my lifetime.

21.     Visit every main Hawaiian Islands.

22.     Visit the Australian Zoo.

23.     Get Scuba certified.

24.     Stay in a bungalow on the water in Tahiti or Bora Bora.

25.     Go on a Safari

26.     Watch baby sea turtles hatch.

27.     Go to a play on Broadway.

28.     Swim with dolphins.

29.     Visit Seat World.

30.     Get kissed under a waterfall.

31.     Tube down the canal in Kauai Hawaii

32.     Go to an NHL game.

33.     Visit Scotland.

34.     See Ramona Falls in Oregon.

35.     See the Statue of Liberty.

36.     Visit historical LDS church sites in Kirtland, Ohio. 

37.     Visit New Zealand.

38.     Visit Greece

39.     Visit Canada

40.     Go on an Alaskan cruise.

41.     Visit Hershey Park

42.     Dance in the rain with the man of my dreams.

43.     Go to Disney World.

44.     Meet an elephant.

45.     Go the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.

46.     Zip Line in a rain forest.

47.     Visit the National Memorials in DC.

48.     Visit Yosemite National Park.

49.     See Havasupai Falls at the Grand Canyon.

50.     Eat in an underwater restaurant.

I also started to think about all the things I have checked off my bucket list through the years and I have to say it made me smile.  I have had a really good life so far and have made some amazing memories!  Here are some of my top adventures I have been able to mark off. 

Items Checked off my Bucket List!

1.        Ride a horse on the beach.

2.        Swim with stingrays.

3.        Fly in a helicopter at sunset.

4.        Caribbean Cruise

5.        Visit a shipwreck on the Oregon Coast.

6.        Visit Ghirardelli in San Francisco.

7.        Backpack into a camping place and camp.

8.        Ride in a horse drawn carriage.

9.        Tour Alcatraz

10.     Drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.

11.     Go on ride along with the fire department.

12.     Go on a ride along on an ambulance.

13.     Go on a ride along with the Police.

14.     Go on a ride along with Life Flight.

15.     Be zoo keeper for a day.

16.     Shot a M4.

17.     Ride in a Black Hawk.

18.     Swim next to a Sea Turtle.

19.     Visit Tillamook.

20.     Watch kittens be born.

21.     Get my picture next to a B17, (my Grandpa flew in these in WW2)

22.     Own a horse.

23.     Go to Pikes Place in Seattle

24.     Pick up a new fire rescue from the Pierce Facility in Wisconsin and ride all the way back to Idaho in it. 

25.     Go to the top of the Space Needle.

26.     Go parasailing.

27.     Shot a Black Powder Rifle

28.     Go to Outdoor EFY and complete the ropes courses. (3 years in a row)

29.     Go to a luau in Hawaii.

30.     Raft the Payette River

31.     Take my picture by the Welcome to Idaho sign.

32.     Ride a train.

33.     Hike Diamond Head.

34.     Visit the USS Arizona Memorial

35.     Attend the Idaho Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony.

36.     Walk on a frozen lake.

37.     Visit the McCall Winter Carnival.

38.     Ride a Jet Ski

39.     Donate Blood

40.     Help save a life.

41.     Go to Lagoon and ride all the rollercoaster’s.

42.     Go on a road trip by myself.

43.     Visit Multnomah Falls in Oregon.

44.     See Keiko the Killer Whale in person (the whale from Free Willy)

45.     Complete a 5K.

46.     Repel out of a building. 

47.     Watch fireworks from a catamaran in Hawaii.

48.     Take a boat to snorkel in the middle of the ocean off of the coast of Hawaii.

49.     Have my dad walk me down the aisle.

50.     Have a camp fire on the beach while watching the sunset and eating smores.

 

 
Here is to life’s adventures and living life to the fullest!

Moose

The other day I was telling one of my coworkers about my horse Moose.  Oh how I loved that horse!!  Ever since I can remember I have loved horses and have been ridding since before I could walk.  My Grandparents (my mom's side) had horses when I was little as well as my Aunt Marla but they both lived out of town.  When I was in third grade we moved into a house that had a horse pasture in it.  My dreams of owning a horse only grew from there.  When I was in high school I started to try and figure out a way to get my parents to give their blessing so I could own a horse.  After saving my money I was finally given the ok to buy a horse which is how Moose came to live with me.  He was such an amazing horse and I rode him almost daily.  He was the kind of horse anyone could ride so I often had friends who wanted to come and ride him as well.  Moose was not only my very own but he was also one of my best friends.  I told him everything.  If I was ever having a bad day all I had to do was go outside and ride my horse.  I could get on him without a saddle or bridle and just walk around the pasture.  He also let me stand on the saddle and never once tried to buck me off.   There was one day I was ridding double with my boyfriend and we managed to fall off (my boyfriend was NOT very horse wise); Moose just stopped and looked back at us.  Some of my best memories come with that horse.  Someday I would love to own horses again, but when I do I am not sure if any of them will ever top Moose.