Goodbye, 2014

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 geocaches that we had been intending to get at for a long time.
We were bundled up and ready for the cold – well, Marcus and Alivia were. I did wear winter boots and a warm jacket, and had hat and gloves, but felt that the burden of a snowsuit would be too much. The three of us set off on the hike toward our first cache, which was about 1,500 feet out from the vehicle. Our adventure almost ended at about 300 feet after I managed to stumble over some slippery sticks and just about hit the frozen ground. As it was, I still managed to bruise my leg some and came away with some sore muscles. We kept going, and I spotted the cache first. I tried hard to let the other two make the find without me saying anything, but after a couple of minutes of them wandering in the wrong direction, I gave up and showed them the location.
Then we set off in search of the second cache – about another 1,500 feet; I was sure getting my workout today. We approached the area where the cache was hidden and it soon became apparent that this one was even more cleverly hidden than the first. I thought I saw where it was, but quickly discarded the idea and kept on searching. This time it was Marcus who came up with the find – right where I had thought it was, but never bothered to check.
After that it was another 1,500 foot walk back to the van, and then we set our course for home.
Back at home, I dropped off the items I was asked to get at the store, and then we hit the road again. This time, our mission was to hide a cache. That walk netted us about another 3,500 feet on our feet. I had a general location picked out, but it turned out that the location I really wanted probably would’ve taken another 30 minutes of hiking, and the trip back would’ve been all in the dark. Instead, we found another spot we liked a bit closer to civilization, took note of the coordinates, and set a course for home once again.
The evening was spent watching movies with the kids. On the morning of Christmas Day – the kids finally asked when they could open presents at about 9 a.m. – even we were starting to get a little anxious. This year’s gifts were a little different, as my wife had the idea of getting their room a little more set up. So she made them pillowcases and wall hangings and we purchased material or items to go with them. Thankfully, all the work she put into them was a big hit, and the kids loved their gifts.
That afternoon we attended a movie that was showing on the big screen, Penguins of Madagascar. It was pretty entertaining for the whole family. That evening, we watched another movie at home with the kids, and called it a night.
This week’s plans remain to be seen, aside from our family Christmas Party up north on Saturday.
Here’s a Happy New Year wish to everyone, from my family to yours. Thanks for reading!
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. Remember to drive safely, and watch out for those buses carrying our children. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.

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