Hot Summer Weekend

Hot Summer Weekend

Nikolai and Marcus watched and helped Diane Pittman of Shifting Gears work on their dad’s bike on Saturday in Bemidji. The bike is now fixed and ready to ride – all dad needs is a comfy seat and some ambition to climb on that contraption!

By Allan Olson
This past weekend was a little warm, but I won’t complain much because the polar opposite (pun intended) will be back before we know it. My family’s schedule was largely uneventful; it involved sticking mostly close to home. We didn’t even go geocache hunting (shocking!).
On Friday evening, my wife and Abigail went to pick up a new rabbit for her, after we got one for specifically for Marcus the night prior. I’m still not sure how I feel about these extra pets, but as long as the kids take care of them and clean up after them, I will try not to complain too much. Nikolai and Alivia will be getting their own rabbits, too, in the coming months. While they were off on that errand, I took care of a couple future stories and enjoyed the comforts of home.
I decided Saturday morning that it was time to take care of the lawn that I had been ignoring. I considered continuing that trend, but my next two weekends are going to be busy, so I decided to get mowing. I fired up the lawn tractor and headed out in the heat – in a long sleeve shirt to protect from bug bites and a sunburn. I wasn’t out long when Marcus appeared, looking to mow with dad, and before I was done Abigail and Alivia also had their turns riding on the tractor. Nikolai also had a ride, but in his case, I saved a section of the yard for him to mow. He completed that and then worked on the ditch out front. I wasn’t really comfortable with him doing that, but he was careful and had me finish the part where it got too steep for him. I was happy to know that he exercised caution with his work.
I also managed to find time to take five bikes to Shifting Gears in Bemidji. As it turns out, I ended up donating two of them for parts, and getting the other three fixed, including mine. Now that I have no more excuses about my bike being broken, I guess I should start riding it – although I do still need to find a comfy seat, so perhaps I can put that off for that a little while longer.
That afternoon, my wife noticed that there were finally two movies running at the same time (actually three to choose from) so the kids could finally see that double feature they have been saving up for, and since I had plans for the evening, she was on her own with that rag-tag crew.
They left for the movie just after 4 p.m., and I still had three hours before my evening’s commitment – a ride-along with a local law enforcement officer. I attempted to take a nap, but that failed except for about 15 minutes when I managed to snooze in between phone calls. Ultimately, I enjoyed my evening and so did the kids. They were home and in bed by 10 p.m. For me, the night was just getting started at 10 p.m. During my ride, I can finally say I got to Moondance Jam, since we made a rolling pass through the grounds while on patrol. I eventually made it home at about 2:30 on Sunday morning.
I slept in until about 7:30 on Sunday morning. Ugh! Less than five hours of sleep. I tried to sleep longer, but it was futile, so I got up. I can’t recall doing anything productive as the day progressed, but I did manage to get in some semblance of a nap in the early evening, after an early supper.
We went to Farris Park to play baseball with a bunch of kids. The boys had fun playing ball while the girls enjoyed the playground. Lo and behold, Alivia didn’t injure herself on the equipment, and I didn’t injure myself playing ball. Of course, my level of play was pretty minor.
In all, this was a pretty uneventful weekend, but the next two figure to be very busy, so this “quiet” pause was much needed.
Please be safe while enjoying your favorite outdoor recreational activity and on the lakes, and remember to take pictures to preserve a lifetime of memories. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.

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