"My Crazy Kids"

Goodbye, 2014 Marcus, Alivia and I at the location of one of the two geocaches we found on Christmas Eve. By Allan Olson It’s been another interesting year in our life, raising four kids on the frozen tundra of Minnesota. That’s what it was for most of 2014 – frozen! If I made any New Year’s resolutions last year, I quickly forgot them and just forged ahead into 2014. For our family of six, the past holiday week was spent largely close to home. Our plans for a family Christmas with my relatives was moved to this weekend, for several reasons. We weren’t planning on doing anything special on Christmas Eve, but I ended up making a trip into town for some supplies. I took Marcus and Alivia with me, and we hit the dreaded stores full of last-minute shoppers. Even though I was only in them for a short amount of time, the experience was still enough for me to not enjoy shopping all the more. On the way back home, however, we found time to stop for a couple geocac...

It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas By Allan Olson Well, it finally is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and if the weather forecasts hold true (up to six more inches of snow prior to publication of this paper) any thoughts of us not having a White Christmas will be eradicated. It was a truly chaotic weekend for us, with our Christmas celebrating starting on Saturday with a trip to International Falls. In most years we are, if not the first guests to arrive at my wife’s brother’s house for Christmas, at least really close. This year we ended up being the last, through no fault of our own. My niece had a basketball game out of town and, of course, it was a late starting game, so in order for her to attend Christmas with the family, she would need transport, and since her game was in our area, we were the logical choice. We attended her game all ready to cheer her on, but alas, since she wasn’t one of the starting five and the game was close the entire way, ...

A Trip to Remember By Allan Olson In terms of crazy weeks – this last week takes the cake, hands down. Over the course of the last few months, my two third graders and their classmates have been selling raffle tickets to raise money to go on a field trip to the Minnesota State Capitol, Governor’s Mansion, Minnesota History Center, Sea Life – Mall of America, and the Science Museum of MN. The kids reached their fundraising goal, and my wife and I were asked to go along on the trip as chaperones. I was hesitant at first; I could stay back at home with our other two kids and not have to spend two days on the road with a busload of kids and sleep on the floor, but in the end I chose the adventure. We arranged for my wife’s mom to come stay with Nikolai and Alivia, making sure they got to and from school, and ate something other than Ramen noodles or burritos. We headed to school on Tuesday morning with bags packed, sleeping bags, and two cameras charged and ready to go...

A Busy Week Fun times shopping at Bemidji Woolen Mills! After making our purchases, we all tried on some crazy hats before heading off for more shopping elsewhere. By Allan Olson Well, 2014 is drawing to a close, and as busy as this last week was, this current one will be even busier, and the coming weeks and remaining days of the year are just going to fly by! This last week started off with the Middle School Band/Choir Concert and Art Show. My parents attended to watch their grandson in his first band performance, and with school and work the next morning for the kids, wife and I, everyone got up bright and early, and they departed for home when we took off. This last week, the roles were reversed in the house a little. Normally, I’m the one with late night games, meetings, etc., and leave my wife home alone to deal with the hooligans we call our children. Nearly every night except the first two last week, my wife had a date with several “fancy dresses,” a...

A Thankful Weekend While many of us, including myself forget to give thanks on a regular basis, this weekend was yet another one to be thankful for in 2014. The fun began Thursday, with the aroma of food filling the air. I was ready for a nap before the Thanksgiving meal even began. As the appetizers were getting placed, I was filling my plate and enjoying just a few fine samplings before the meal. This year’s meal consisted of turkey, ham, scalloped potatoes and mashed potatoes, along with accompaniments like olives, pickles, cranberry dish, a salad dish and more. Our party of five kids and six adults enjoyed digging in, and when the main course was completed, it was time for the mid-course – a nap. At least a few of us adults enjoyed a brief quiet time or even snooze for at least an hour or so. I claimed a spot downstairs in my chair, and although the girls both sat with me for a while watching the television, only Abigail stayed rooted next to me the entire time. I’m not sure ...