"My Crazy Kids"

Bob the dog and the missing tooth By Allan Olson Poor Bob. We got Bob, our family dog, back in March, and since then he has consistently proven that he is a big baby. Sometimes it seems that he is afraid of everything – especially the dark. When nighttime comes, he can usually be found waiting at the back door, anxious to be let into his little room. If he’s not let in, he expresses his displeasure by giving a little bark. We laugh at him and then someone lets him. When we went camping earlier this summer, he joined us on both occasions. The first was at my brother’s house for a family reunion. He enjoyed having the room to roam and other dogs to play with. At bedtime, it was the same routine. He wanted to be with us – in the tent. We were a little concerned that maybe his paws might rip up the tent a little, but after the first night we had nothing to worry about. He slept like a rock – just like the kids. He also cruised the tent in his sleep, again – just like the kids. ...

A laid back weekend By Allan Olson This weekend was largely a laid back weekend – one that was sorely needed. The girls and I started out Saturday at a baseball game. After an unfavorable outcome for the home team, we made our way back home. After a quick lunch and a few minutes to rest, the whole family headed out for an afternoon of our new favorite activity – geocaching. Since we’ve found nearly all of the caches within a ten-mile radius of our home, we have had to broaden our horizons. We headed to Bemidji in search of new geocaches. Our first cache took us a little east and north of Bemidji. It was located in the woods off of a yet-to-be-developed park. Alivia still showed some apprehension about heading into the woods after her last adventure ended with multiple bee stings, but she forged ahead like a little trooper and, as luck would have it, got the first find of the day. The goal was to make sure everyone got to find at least one this time, inst...

A Parade Experience By Allan Olson About a month ago I got the bright idea to take part in the Rib Fest parade this year. My original plan was to have the kids to throw candy and newspapers from their bikes. However, I wasn’t sure if the kids were coordinated enough to do that without crashing into each other or the spectators. Then family plans were changed – the girls were going to be gone. It would be just the boys and I at the parade. After some discussion, an idea was formed about how I would “dress” up the boys for the parade. I wanted to have some newspaper carrying bags for the boys to use for throwing newspapers. After some searching online, I found what I wanted, but most came with the names of other papers. Not good. I enlisted the help of my wife, and after a trip to the fabric store, proper material was found. About a week later, with just a picture to look at, using a scissors, a sewing machine and some talent, the bags took shape in just a few hours. The end pr...