Weekend of peace

Weekend of peace

---It looks like Santa told a couple of these kids that they were getting a lump of coal for Christmas! They probably didn’t believe him anyway.

By Allan Olson
It was mostly a peaceful weekend, which means the kids weren’t fighting (much) – they like to save that for in the vehicle – and since they were “good,” it made for a more peaceful weekend. On Friday night, however, instead of the normal late night because of the weekend, it was normal bedtime for our children as their attitudes earlier in the week dictated that it be so. 
That meant it was a normal bed time for me, too – YEAH! The best part of sending the kids to bed early is that I can do the same. On Saturday I slept in – I think I made it until about 7 a.m., a full 90 minutes later than my usual rollout. Our plans were set for the day – my wife was heading to shop for a few Christmas gifts and household items with her mother, while I and the youngest three were heading to the Santa event in Cass Lake.
We are firm believers of not getting into the hype of “You had better behave ‘cuz Santa knows . . .” We are more straightforward: “You just better behave . . .” is our belief. Of course, kids being kids, that doesn’t always work (like it did with me). However, this was a chance for them to win some prizes and do some fun activities at school in a Christmas setting, and I had to be there to take some photos anyway. 

The kids behaved, even though it was a struggle to find three spots at each table to get all the kids doing the same activities at the same time. Eventually we visited all the activities and picked up a bag of candy – I was really hoping maybe we could skip the whole “visit with Santa” business, but since they wanted to, we stood in line and waited. I don’t like lines, and lines with kids (mine) even less, but we survived, and eventually it was their turn to visit with Santa. Mr. and Mrs. Claus were spectacular hosts to all the children, just like they are every year, and really chatted them up. Marcus (aka the professor, as he is called by his teacher this year) took his time sitting with Santa, and the two visited like they were long lost buddies! I eventually had to encourage them all along so we could get home in time for our company Christmas party. We discovered that Alivia ended up winning a bike and Abigail won another prize which she liked very much.
A friend and their godmother agreed to watch the children so my wife and I could attend the company Christmas party, and as soon as she got home from shopping we turned around and headed out the door for the journey south. The party was fun and the food was great, but the ride home was long, primarily because it was late (at least by my standards) since we didn’t get home until nearly 11. The kids survived – or should I say the babysitter survived – she made them supper, which we learned they were allowed to eat downstairs in the living room, a rare treat in our house, and the boys got to have a blizzard treat that evening (he girls were left out because they dozed off).
Sunday morning came and I managed to keep my eyes shut until 8 a.m. and then I managed a little reading until 9 a.m., when the kids came barging in, demanding food. Since I promised them hot cereal, I had to get moving. After they were fed and the mess was cleaned up, it was time to relax again – I headed back to my book. The day slipped by, which I spent mostly relaxing, along with a little work and more reading. That evening we tried making caramel rolls from scratch again. It was a success, but my caramel didn’t bake onto the rolls like I wanted it to, and I declared them only fit for home consumption – not to be given away. The kids like that better, anyway, since I don’t hoard them then. My wife also made some bread, which turned out really good. I crashed early for the evening, knowing that Monday was going to be a long day.
This weekend we are planning a road trip to International Falls for the first of two family Christmases; we will have the other one here (with just us) sometime next week. Other plans include spending some time at the Big Bear Wrestling Tournament in Cass Lake – GO, BEARS!
Please be safe while ice fishing this season, and remember to take a picture to preserve a lifetime of memories. Also please watch out for the buses that are transporting our children. And please remember to drive safely and slowly this winter season. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.

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