Delisa's Days: Deer, A Day with Aaron, and Soccer

Yesterday the deer on our deer camera from a few months ago went from this:

To this:

And I wish I could say that a member of my family was responsible for filling up the freezer on this one, but I can't. This deer has had everyone in the area talking for years, but no one has been able to get him. But yesterday he messed up (probably by thinking more about a doe than his own life) and stepped right into the line of fire for my sweet neighbor, Joey. And even though it would've been awesome for Aaron to have been the one to get him, I'm really glad that someone we know got him. I know his family will have MANY good meals out of that one!

Yesterday was a busy day of house errands for me, but it was actually enjoyable because Aaron and I got to spend the day alone together. Austin had school, but Aaron was exempt from having to go to school this week because of how well he did on his Benchmark test last year. Aaron made my usual, mundane day of errands really fun. He loves looking at trucks and if it's a Ford, he guesses if it is a 150, 250, etc. So we played that while we were in the car (which was a large part of the day) and we also had a contest on who could find the most vehicles of the color of our choosing. He chose red and I chose black. He won, but in all fairness, I was having to actually watch the road and pay attention to my driving while he was turned completely around looking for red cars. I also made a deal with him that he could hit me on my arm every time he saw a yellow car. Ok, what is up with all the yellow cars? I had to end that game because bruising was starting to set in.

It rained on and off all day yesterday so by the time we got back home, Aaron was ready to hop on his 4-wheeler and go mudding. He wasn't out there for 10 minutes before he was back in telling me that he was stuck and needed help. And like a good mother, Delisa was there. (Now I have the State Farm jingle stuck in my head.) Anyway, I am happy to say that Aaron and I worked together, in the rain, to use the wench and get his 4-wheeler out and going again. Everyday I am amazed at how grown up and resourceful my Aaron is. He knew exactly what had to be done to get that 4-wheeler out and knew that he would need my help to do it safely. Even though nothing great happened to us yesterday, it was such a good day because Aaron and I had a rare, precious day alone together.

Aaron working on wench hook

We made it out! Time to unhook the wench.

On a completely different note, soccer season ended a few weeks ago, and I am so proud of both of my boys. Aaron's team moved up to U12 this year, which meant they were playing with some new rules and some bigger boys. Our last game determined what place we were in for the year, and since we won it, we ended up getting first place overall in his division. Our coach has taught these boys to play with dignity and respect over the last few years, and they always come out on top because of it.

Aaron with Coach Jeff and his 1st place trophy

Aaron has a 'team' of great coaches: Caleb, Jacob, Jeff, and Josh

The team with their 1st place trophies

Overall, I'm really not sure how Austin's team did because in the 5 and 6 year old division, you're just having a good day if your child is aware of which goal is theirs and that they are kicking it in the right direction. I will say this about Austin, though. He made major improvements over the past few months, and in the last several games he scored lots of goals for their team. Every time he would score he would look over at me and I would give him a thumbs up and he'd give it right back and grin from ear to ear. He knew he had done well and had pride in himself because of it.