Hanging Out



Hanging Out
By Allan Olson
Hanging at home is what we did last weekend. We were given some more fresh white stuff, so the kids and I enjoyed some time playing in the snow.
Saturday morning was the only time I left the house – for a garbage run a few miles away. It also ended up being a photo op; Nikolai and I took a few moments to click the shutters of our cameras, capturing the beauty of the winter-scape.
With the snow falling and the roads once again turning treacherous, we figured it would be a good weekend to just hang close to home. We talked about venturing out a few times, but thought better of it.
The kids played outside in the fresh snow on Saturday afternoon and worked on building a snowman. After watching them from the comfort of the warm house for a while, I decided that they looked like they were having too much fun – without me, so I joined them. I bundled up and headed out, and grabbed my camera on the way out the door, deciding that some pictures of their activities were in order. I also took the opportunity to try the video function on my new camera; amazing! – is how it turned out. All the while I was using the camera, I was being threatened by snowball attacks, but I used it as a shield, claiming (without speaking) that they might hurt the camera if they got it wet.
 That only worked for so long, until the temptation became too great. Of course, I actually I started it. I grabbed a handful of snow and lobbed it at Nikolai and nailed him on the side of the head, then tried to pass the blame onto one of his siblings. It was to no avail – soon enough he nailed me, and it went inside my snowsuit. Aaagh!!! He was in trouble now, and he knew it. I handed the camera to Marcus to hang onto, and Nikolai dove in the snow, burying his face in his hat and gloves so he wouldn’t get a whitewash. It didn’t matter; I kept throwing snow at him. Everyone was laughing. I soon tired of that, reclaimed my camera and went inside to put it away. I headed back out for more, and we threw some more snowballs at each other. Even Bob joined in, trying to catch snowballs in his mouth and rubbing his face in the snow.
I tried to help the kids build a snowman, but there were too many of us on the job and it ended up being a flop. After some sledding (I even took a trip or two down the hill) the kids were starting to get wet and cold, so we all headed inside. The remainder of the day was largely uneventful.
On Sunday we talked about going to town again, but again decided not to. The kids played outside some, but I didn’t join them this time. The snow wasn’t as sticky this time around, and they weren’t out for long.
That afternoon, all six of us sat down for a game of Sequence – those were two very long and distracted games. The kids all wanted to play, but none of them really wanted to focus on the game, and ultimately it was both fun and frustrating. The most humorous part was when I played the final chip for a sequence but my space cadet partner Abigail didn’t realize the game was over and that we had won until we started clearing the board for the next game. Once she realized we won, then she was excited. “I knew we would win,” she exclaimed.
The remainder of Sunday was uneventful. The kids spent some time playing and did a little reading. I started a book; my wife worked on her sewing project. In all, it was a relaxing weekend at home.
We just might have another quiet one at home this weekend. Soon enough, the snow will melt (hopefully), and we will be busy with spring cleaning – lawn mowing, cheering on the local sports teams, and of course, finding some time for geocaching.
Thanks for reading, and remember to watch out for school buses on the roads; they are carrying a precious cargo – our children. Also please exercise caution when venturing out on the lakes. Thanks for reading, and have a great and safe weekend. For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com



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