A Weekend Away

 A Weekend Away
 Photo: Abigail just had to have some time cuddling with her little cousin while we were visiting the relatives this weekend.

By Allan Olson

The first week of October is already over, and pretty soon... well, I don’t need to spell out what is going be happening soon. The past weekend, like most, just flew by. We had intended to leave home by 7 a.m. on Saturday morning to head north for the weekend, but that plan fell apart when we didn’t even wake up until 6:45 a.m. We intentionally didn’t set the alarm, but figured either the kids would wake us up or one of us would wake up in plenty of time – guess we were wrong.

We finally left shortly after 8 a.m., with weekend plans including a birthday party and a baptism in the two days we would be gone, and sighting in my rifle and hopefully getting a little time to scope out some of the hunting area. I dropped all but Nikolai off at my in-laws, where the birthday party for my nephew was that afternoon, then Nikolai and I headed to my parents.

Once we arrived, we decided that I had best sight in my rifle first to make sure at least that got done before we had to leave for the weekend. My dad, Nikolai, a nephew and I headed out to our gun range; I did the shooting and they did the critiquing. Once all was satisfactory, it was time to check on some stands.

The first stand was supposed to be a simple fix – a loose step and replace a couple of boards. It turned out that someone made a poor craftsmanship decision when they tried to secure a step by screwing a pair of screws into a knot on a tree. I was nailing a couple of boards down for a platform and standing on the good step when it came down, and the next step, too – ouch! I didn’t fall out of the stand, but I had to hand the tools in my hands to my dad and climb down. Better now than during deer season with a rifle, he said. I agreed. We fixed up another stand and driving on one of dad’s logging trails, heading back to the house, ready to call it good, when my older brother arrived, so we figured we should help him some, too.

We went back out and refixed the steps on the stand we had been working on, then headed over to help him repair his stand. Since he is currently the only one with a doe permit, he is planning on not vacating his stand, and wants to have a shelter. He thought he was putting the finishing touches on his stand as the rain turned harder, when a stand support broke. Apparently the stand needed more work than originally thought! Again, it was better that it happened now than during the hunting season. The rain was really coming down now, and it was time for me to get to the birthday party. We all decided to give up on stands for the day and head back to the dry house.

Once we arrived at the party, I promptly stole my youngest niece from my wife and enjoyed some quality time with the little girl. I got my smiles, some crying, and some good snuggles. The party food and cake was eventually devoured, and then it was time to go back to my folks’ place for the evening.

We attended the baptism celebration for my niece and nephew on Sunday, and since we were sponsors, we were required to be there. Afterwards, we enjoyed a nice dinner at my mother-in-laws’ home. We were all done eating and some of the kids had escaped to the outdoors, including a nephew who shouldn’t have snuck out by himself. It was determined that he was probably sneaking after the kitty, and my wife went after him. Nikolai and Mike also went – literally, deep undercover – to get him out of the brush, since he decided to continue being a stinker and run away from his mom and aunt.

  In all that ruckus, there were only three of us left in the kitchen: my mother-in-law, myself and my niece. I was working on convincing my niece that I am clearly the best uncle, when there came a loud crash, with glass exploding everywhere, including right onto the table. I saw the hole in the window and thought, “Oh no, a kid kicked a ball through the window,” but my mother-in-law saw feathers and said, “It was a bird!” She got up and was looking at all the glass when I realized she was standing next to the bird – it was a partridge, and it was still alive! I tried convincing her to step on it, but she wrapped it in a bag and handed it to someone, who took it outside. My nephew came in to finish it off with his BB gun, but had to walk through the glass to get to it. “Use the new axe you got for your birthday,” I said. “Okay,” he said, excited at the prospect of using his new axe to chop a bird’s head off. I volunteered to come out and clean it, but ultimately no assistance was needed – he did it himself.

We helped clean up the glass on the floor, and soon after left for home. It had been another busy weekend, and we were tired. It was early to bed for everyone, including me. All the kids were sleeping by 8:30 p.m., and dad was asleep long before 10.

It’s gonna be dad and the kids this coming weekend; my wife is leaving me for her annual trip to the big cities. Our plans are all weather dependent, but it’s safe to say that geocaching will definitely be on the list.

Please be safe on the lakes – wear your life jacket, keep the kids safe, and remember to take a picture to preserve a lifetime of memories. Also please watch out for the buses that are transporting our children. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.