A fun and productive weekend
Alivia made the find of this geocache on the north
shore of Cass Lake. Big sister Abigail was clearly enjoying the fresh air and
cold water on her bare feet on Saturday. She had her boots with, but chose to
get them wet, and decided that being barefoot was more fun.
By Allan Olson
It was a very busy, fun and productive weekend.
I actually got to sleep in on Saturday – I think I stayed in bed until almost 8
a.m. – amazing! The productivity started when my brother started working on my
old water heater – as I’ve stated before, a handyman I am not. We have had
smelly hot water for the last couple of months, and while some suggested just
pulling the anode rod, we decided that this water heater is at least 16 years
old, and it needed to go down the road before it quit altogether.
Once my brother got started on that project, I
just went and found all the tools that I had (of course, he was smart and
brought several with him, since he knew I had a limited selection). I dragged
the garden hose down and out into the back yard to drain the old water heater.
Once that was done, we removed the old heater and he went to town to pick up the
new one. I stayed home with my kids and his two boys, since our wives were
attending a baby shower in the metro area. Since he brought his lawn sweeper for
my use, Alivia and I tackled the lawn. She was my helper on this project last
year, too, and remembered quickly what her job was – to help empty it. The rest
of the time, she just sat back and enjoyed the ride, except when there were
things that needed to be picked up from the yard.
When my brother returned from town, we unpacked
the new water heater and the girls quickly claimed the large empty box. At first
I wasn’t going to let them have it, but I quickly realized there was no harm and
I might as well let them play with it until they have destroyed it, and then I
can burn it. It didn’t take long before the new water heater was in place and
operational. My brother made the job seem simple; I’m quite sure I would have
botched it up if I had attempted it solo.
After that task was completed, we fired several
rounds through the .22s. Then he was kind enough to change the oil in my mower
while I looked up coordinates for a nearby geocache that I had yet to attempt. I
had avoided it because it required a mile hike, along with the possibility of
being swarmed by bugs and ticks as noted by previous finders of the cache, so I
decided to wait for the right time of year. I studied the previous log entries
and searched maps of the area to find the road to take to it. I finally figured
out where it should be, and off we went. I got us to the right forest road, and
we turned down the trail and traveled by vehicle as far as we dared, then set
off on foot. Some of us – namely, Abigail – chose to go barefoot most of the
way.
We arrived in the area and came to a swamp
laying directly between us and our goal, so we took a path more traveled and
found it led us out to the beach on the north shore of Cass Lake. We headed west
down the beach until I figured we were in the right area, and Alivia found the
hiding spot of the cache.
Barefoot Abigail decided that she wanted to test
the just-recently ice free waters of Cass Lake, and danced around in the water
with her pants hiked up above her knees. The rest of us opted not to join her.
On the way back, her boots were wet inside and hurt her feet to walk in, so she
took them off and walked barefoot nearly a mile on the trail in the woods. We
didn’t stay at the cache location for long, as we could see in the sky to the
south that if we didn’t get moving we were going to get wet. Thankfully, we made
it home just as the rain starting falling. Unfortunately, that dampened things
to the point that we were unable to start a fire that evening.
On Sunday out guests headed into town while I
stayed home with my kids. That afternoon they blasted a few rounds through the
.22 again, and we also managed to sneak in about a mile walk again. While they
were gone, I watched the kids play in the big cardboard box and decided I had to
give it a try. I kicked them out and they were confused at first, but as soon as
I climbed in the box, the girls were quick to push me down the hill before I
even got settled. I laughed so hard, tears were flowing down my cheeks. It
reminded me of a the movie “IQ” when Albert Einstein says, “When was the last
time you went WAHOO?” Well, for me it was on Sunday afternoon. After my brother
returned from town, I had to show him. This time, the girls let me get settled
before they rolled me down again. He thought I was crazy – perhaps – but it was
fun!
I had to head to work for a while, and he had to
put up with my kids for about 40 minutes before the wives returned from their
adventure. In all, it was a great weekend and the kids were all helpful with
weekend chores. More importantly, they had very limited screen time and plenty
of outdoor time.
This coming weekend is Memorial Day Weekend – be
sure to take time to remember those who have served our country, and also
remember your loved ones who have passed on.
Please be safe while enjoying some outdoor
recreation and on the lakes, and remember to take pictures to preserve a
lifetime of memories. Also, please watch out for the buses that are transporting
our children, and remember to drive safely. Thanks for reading, and have a great
week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.
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