Summer got her deer

Hola Elder Nielsen,

This was a fast week. I had my class on Monday and got home around 10 pm.  I did not play bball again this week as I was letting my calf heal.  It is still painful if I do certain things but I thought I better get it 1 more week to rest.  I can walk without limping so that is good.  Carly had a PAL game on Tuesday night.  They actually play the Marin's team and got beat.  So I was happy about that, they needed to be humbled a bit.  The other players on Carly's team. She needs to be more aggressive, she likes to pass a lot and does not look for her shot.  I think she was more aggressive a few years ago.  But she will get the hang of it.

The World Series has started and it is the NY Mets vs the Kansas city Royals.  We all want the Royals and they are up 3-1.  The 1st game went 14 innings. On Thursday, Elko played Spring Creek.  In girls soccer, both teams had the same record so who ever won would go to the post season.  They were playing in Elko and S.C. had never won in Elko, but they beat Elko 4-2. So Elko girls soccer are done.  In football, if Elko lost they would take 4th and travel to Fallon who is undefeated this season for the 1st game of the playoff.  Elko had to win by 9 points to take the 2nd position and host SC in the 1st round of the playoffs.  And Elko won by 9 points exactly, so we will play SC again this week in the 1st round of the playoffs.  Dustin Baum is playing well.  He had a pic 6 right before half time.  That is his 8 interception of the year and 3rd pic 6.  Jon Jund SC's starting QB was hurt for that game but he will be back this week, so it should be a good game.  We did not go to the game as we would have had to pay to get in, we just listened to it on the radio. Summer had bball practice until 7 any way.  Elko's volleyball team is done as well and the Elko's boy soccer are in 1st or 2nd place.

Friday was Nevada day, so I did not have to work and Summer and I went deer hunting around black mountain again. We saw 3 herds of antelope, 1 of 24, 1 of 11 and another 2. So 27 total.  We spotted some deer about 1.5 miles away and I tried to put the spotting scope on them.  But the wind was blowing like 50 mph.  I could see they were deer, but the wind was blowing the scope so badly I could not see if any were bucks.  So we went on a hike to see if we could come over the top and get closer.  Some of the deer were a grayer color and I think they could be bucks.  But we got up there and wind the 60 mph wind it was freezing and we could not stand still to glass.  And when we go up there we would have to go down this big mountain and all the way back up.  If they were does, I did not want to pack one out of there, we would have been there all day.  So we decided to leave them alone and walked around the area where she got her doe last year.  I found a 3-point elk shed on our walk.  But we did not see any deer.  So old elk tracks but nothing new.  We drove around and saw 3 other does, but no bucks.  So we came back home and went out on Sat. morning.  On our way out to our spot there was a 2 point buck getting a drink in the puddles in the middle of the road.  But I stopped and before Summer could get out of the truck, he went and jumped the fence with the no hunting or trespassing sign where we saw all the elk. 

We walked up the bottom of the canyon where we saw the deer yesterday.  On our way in, I spotted some deer above us, so we snuck up there out of sight.  We got up there a ways and I peeked over the top and could see 2 does.  So I told summer, her hunt ends Monday, we better just try and shot one of these does.  It took her about 10 minutes to get the deer in her scope with the shooting stick and she said she could not keep the cross hairs on her.  But finally she did. She was using the 7 mm as I thought it would be a long shot.  She shot and dropped the doe in her tracks. She did have a fawn, but it was an older fawn.  But sure enough, as soon as she drops the doe, a 2 point buck steps out and we could have shot him 10 times.  He did not run at all.  But I told her, we will let him grow up bigger for next year.  But there was a road down the middle of that canyon, so I only had to drag the doe down hill about 250 yards.  And I hiked back and got the truck and left Summer with the deer.  I found the road that goes in there and we cleaned it and I skinned it in the back of the truck.  She shot it about 8 am and we were home by noon.  So we have more jerky meat.  I was happy.  Summer did not want to shot a doe, but she did not want to miss school on Monday to get one.  I also saw a bobcat on Sat. I thought it was a coyote, but when I glassed him, he only had a bob tail.  I have never seen one of those before while hunting.  But we still have not seen a elk.  I am getting a little discouraged for mom's bull elk hunt. 

I washed the truck off that afternoon.  It is suppose to rain and snow tomorrow.  And the high this week will be in the 40's.  I took the kids (all 3) trick or treating.  It was really warm about 60's, so the weather was good.  We hit all of Dotta Drive and I took them around the loop where I do the paper route.  A lot of people were not home, but the kids filled up their pumpkin buckets.  

Today was fast Sunday and both Mom and I shared our testimonies.  There were not many people there.  The Johnsons down the street in the McIntire's house are moving and 3 or 4 other families have moved or are moving.  Our poor ward is dying on the vine.

We had a great Sabbath day.  We did not have any one over for dinner, but it was day light savings this weekend, so that is always and adjustment.  We talked to sharon and Brian on the phone, they just got back from a 2 week trip to Peru.

We love you, we hope you have a great week.  Keep working as hard as you can and be exactly obedient in every thing and you will be blessed by the Lord.  Make sure you are an example to all you meet.  We would like to know more about that 4 minute discussion on the restoration.  Is there any way we could watch that?

Have faith and Depend on the Lord for everything and he will bless you. I can promise you that.  When you feel inadequate or lacking, put your faith and trust in him and he will make you up to the task.

Love

DAD

Dearest Elder Nielsen,

The days are getting colder and we just changed the clocks back for DLS and so now its darker in the evenings too.  Halloween night was the calm before the storm.  It was really mild and nice, and Dad took the girls out trick or treating on our street and around the Simons neighborhood loop.  They requested that he take them out again this year because he is all about getting as much candy as possible.  Their pumpkin buckets were full to the top.  Adelaide was Cinderella and wore the costume that we have had for awhile. Carly was a nerd, and Summer went dressed as a 50's girl, wearing the same outfit she wore for her school spirit week.  Dad was Dad.  I stayed home and manned the candy bucket:  "one for you, two for me..."  ha

The day before, that was friday, Summer and Dad went hunting and I took the girls to the Nevada Day Parade, they had that day off from school.  Then that night we went to Trunk or Treat at the church, and had a chili and cornbread dinner.

Elko played Spring Creek on thurs. night at SC and we stayed home and listened to it on the radio.  Its funny, I didn't feel like going out there, sitting in the stands--being cold and dealing with all that dust that always goes airborne around that field.  When I don't have a kid involved my "Inner Indian warrior" kind of wimps out.  It was a good competitive game, Elko needed to win by 9 points to seal their post season fate, with the #2 seed and hosting at home next week.  And that is exactly what they did, they won 31-22.  Dustin Baum had a good game he had a pic -6, I think that was his 8th one of the season.  I guess he finally figured out how to "break on the ball" like Dad is always saying.  We play next week against none other than SC!   It should be another dog fight, but this next time SC will have their starting quarterback returning,( he was hurt).  Maybe I'll go ;)  Wednesday, we watched Survivor on TV--its become a family tradition.  As we sit and watch, we all roll the newspaper Finders, I have 249 of them now!  On the show they were doing gross eating challenges and one of the food items was baloot.  (SP ?) There were two ladies that had to eat it and one gagged and couldn't do it and the other just threw it in her mouth shell and all and crunched it down.

I didn't mean for this to be the week in reverse (isn't that like a Seinfeld episode?)  Tuesday, Carly had her PAL game, they got beat by a pretty skilled team.  But only by 4pts--Dad's pretty sure they could have won--less a few coaching errors.  We have to teach Carly to not be so concerned with just running to her spot, esp., when the girl with the ball is dribbling down right on her heels.  Speaking of BBall, I was talking to Laura Cooper and I asked her if Creighton was going to go out for the team and she said that he hadn't done any summer ball or anything and then when Benton got hurt Klekas came around trying to woo him in to trying out.  He told his mom he liked the last group of guys on the team, but he doesn't really care for the guys in there now. So we will see.

We watched a little video on the Mormon Channel last night for FHE and it was about a family that owned a grove of 300 coconut trees that was totally wiped out by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 and that after the storm, he donated all the downed trunks of the trees and they were sawed into planks to build new homes for the people who had lost theirs.  He was speaking in his native tongue, I assume it was Tagalog, and I was thinking,'Cody could understand all this'.  Do you feel like you have it "mastered" yet?  We talk about you everyday and know you are doing such great things.  We love so much and hope you continue to improve and meet your goals.  Love, Mom

PS We Skyped with Chelsea, Brian and Baby David yesterday and he looks like a very healthy little boy,  he was kind of groggy looking, but sssooooooo cute!