Birthday Weekend



Birthday Weekend
By Allan Olson
I know I promised to wrap up my family vacation in this week’s column but a milestone occurs this week in our lives and is just too important to not mention so those looking to read the rest of the vacation details hang on and I will finish it up soon.
This weekend was all fun but the proceeding that was work. Monday evening Nikolai kept bugging me about mowing the yard and I finally conceded to let him mow the hayfield that was becoming our yard. I selected an area and a path for him to follow and he worked on that section of the yard. After supper I worked on more of the yard and my finished the yard later in the week. The kids raked the heavy grass into the sled and then hauled into the part of the yard that doesn’t get mowed on Wednesday or one of those days that I wasn’t home – all of this not just because it needed done but because we were having a birthday party on Sunday.
The weekend began Friday evening as we did some more prep work on the yard, I picked up a weed trimmer to use from my brother and for the first time this year began to work on the part of the yard that the mower can’t hit. I trimmed around the house and around the yard for over an hour and was nearing an empty tank physically and literally. I shut off the trimmer and put it back in the garage – I was done. I sat downstairs in my AC and tried to enjoy the evening in a little cooler temperatures. I succeeded to some extent while making the kids work on their mess and having to help out with a few things.
On Saturday morning, we left home about 11 a.m. and headed to the Big Bog State Park for a birthday party. We were celebrating my nieces 13th birthday at the beach and it was going to be a nice day to spend in the water. I know I spent at least three hours in the water enjoying the waves, the cool lake temperatures and was amazed as to the distance a person could walk from shore and still be in shallow water. We returned home about 8 p.m. and since I failed to bring a t-shirt for swimming in I got fried – oh well it was a fun day.
The rest of the crew at the party arrived about an hour later and we were soon bouncing off the walls with people in preparation for Sunday’s birthday party for Abigail and Marcus. We had 11 kids ages 4-13 and five adults; the place was a zoo but surprisingly not out of control.
Sunday morning it was time to get rolling on the final preparations for the day including a trip to town for a few supplies. Once I finally got back home it was almost time to start the meal, hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs, brats and more all cooked on the grill. We were preparing for a small army with 16 kids ages 2-13 and nine adults – crazy. With all of the food cooked there should’ve been a bunch of leftovers – but there isn’t. We also had two cakes, a Barbie cake for Abigail and a Mario Castle for Marcus. There is some cake left but I imagine it will be consumed by the end of the week.  Even before the last two people left, my nephew and mother in-law – I had already taken a time-out in my bed, I was wiped out. It was a fun time, the kids all seemed to get along with very little if any fighting and they played inside and outside and the house doesn’t even look in any worse conditions.
It’s hard to imagine that seven years ago, on Wednesday my twins were born. It was a challenge going places with two infants and a toddler packing all that extra stuff but I wouldn’t trade any of it. All of my kids drive me crazy sometimes but in the end – they’re mine and I love them. It’s going to be exciting to see how the next seven years plays out in our lives raising four kids, by then Nikolai will be starting his senior year of high school that will be crazy.
Thanks for reading, and remember to be safe on the lakes while enjoying what’s left of the summer. Be sure to spend some time with kids! 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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