So this morning I decided I would throwback to one of the coolest days of my life. The day I shot my first buck! For the record, I realize he is not the biggest but it was perfect to me.

It is tradition that the day before Thanksgiving I stay with my grandparents and go hunting with my Papa and help cook with my Nana. It's one of my all time favorite things to do. I look forward to it every holiday season. There is nothing like getting up early to be in the woods. The smell of the morning and the sounds of the Earth coming to life. An Oklahoma sunrise is gorgeous. It wakes up the wheat fields and cattle with its warmth and light. The dew begins to dry and as the wind blows against your cold cheeks you feel alive and ready to conquer the day ahead. But let's be honest I'm not much of a morning hunter, thankfully I shot my deer in the evening.

Papa, Josh, and I loaded up in the truck at about two in the afternoon. The inside of the truck was warm and had the old truck smell. The nostalgic one that takes you back to your childhood where life was easy and good. I love that old truck smell. So, we get out to the field and immediately see a couple deer. It was a doe and large fawn. I knew that was a good sign. We got out of the truck, put our coveralls and bibs on, and loaded up the essentials: coffee/water, butterfingers, and toilet paper (just in case).

Our trek to the stands began and as the leaves crunched under my boots and the legs of my coveralls swooshed. I pretended I was the greatest woman hunter of all time. Even better than Tiffany Crush. Or maybe I like to pretend I am Tiffany Crush. She is definitely my woman crush! Get it? Ok, sorry that was lame.

Josh and I dropped Papa off at his stand of choice and we continued to ours. When we got there it was the perfect set up. I had a field in front of me and a draw to my left. I only had to set there for about two hours before I saw what could have ruined my whole excursion: a coyote. Next to the coyote was my buck. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours and then the deer kept coming. I guess in animal language he explained to the coyote what was up. However, I was about to show him who was really the boss. Not going to lie, when I first saw he was a buck my stomach dropped. My heart started racing and I got so excited I needed to suddenly pee! I got my husband's attention in the quietest way possible then began to take aim. My gun is a 6mm Remington rifle and has a nice little scope on it. As I looked through the scope I could hear my daddy saying, "Look only at the kill zone, breathe out, and squeeze the trigger." I have a terrible habit of jerking the trigger which has caused me to miss in the past. When I pulled the trigger I heard the bullet slam right into the side of the deer! He fell to his knees and started yelling. In that moment it was the sweetest sound (I apologize if you're an intense animal lover). As I saw my kill lay across the field I gave my best "I am woman here me roar" shout and kissed the good looking man next to me (that's my husband). I was shaking. I had so much adrenaline. I've never gotten out of a tree so fast. I got over to the deer as fast as I possibly could. When I got there it was like my first trip to Disney World; all my dreams came true. He was beautiful and perfect in every way. His fur was clean and gorgeous dark gray. He weighed right around a hundred pounds and was a stellar seven point. I smiled the whole way home and continued smiling for like the next three or four days.

Hunting is one of my favorite activities; maybe even more than shopping. I wish I had the time and resources to do it more often. Thankfully I grew up in a hunting family so I know it's something I will continue throughout my whole life.

Thank you for letting me share my hunting story. Telling it never gets old!