"My Crazy Kids"

Due to some weather issues, Nikolai was the only one at the school very briefly on Saturday morning, and he nearly had to take the robot out himself. He was a little panicked at that moment, but with some advice of another mentor, he set to work checking things out and thankfully (to his relief), the rest of his team arrived just in time to get out to the field. By Allan Olson In the last month I have put on over 4,000 miles on my poor old jalopy, and thankfully it still keeps going. Of course, so do the repairs, but as such is life. This past week was no exception, as I found myself traveling here, there and everywhere – as Dr. Suess once said. I knew a long time ago that I wasn’t going to be at home this weekend; I was heading to robotics in Duluth again. Only half the family was going to make it this time, however, because we had no dog sitter for our mutt that needs meds twice daily to avoid having seizures. It was a difficult call for us, but in the end ...

—Alivia and my grand niece got to watch a rescue drill with the Air Force crew that is visiting Cass Lake to offer free medical services, and also were able to watch a LifeFlight helicopter come in for a landing and the crew take part in the training drill. By Allan Olson I’m pretty sure my kids have been to the Emergency Room (ER) more times than I or any of my brothers went while growing up – combined. Now, my brothers and I weren’t careful, but we weren’t reckless, either. I don’t feel that my kids are reckless, really, but two of the four made visits to the ER this past week. The first of two visits started on Monday evening when Marcus somehow managed to smash his toe into a desk/dresser. For most people this would probably just result in a sprained toe, but Marcus made it extra special; x-rays confirmed that he did indeed fracture his big toe. Now we didn’t rush him immediately in to the ER like a fragile little boy; we waited until his toe had swelled ...

Cousins having fun playing in our swimming hole. By Allan Olson I have given up hope that this summer will be anything but being on the run. I like being busy, but so busy I can’t even get my boat out? It will take a little less busy-ness to get some fresh fish in the fry pan. Friday evening was laid back, but there were still some things I needed to do, and the weather wasn’t what I like for getting out in the lake on my little boat, and everyone else seemed rather exhausted – so we stayed home. Saturday we debated about whether or not to go visit my cousin at a state park near Big Fork. Both my wife and I were really torn; we wanted to go, but we wanted to stay home, too. About that time, my niece called and asked what we were doing. She was looking for something to do with my wife’s brother’s kids. That made our decision for us; we decided to stay home and entertain them. Shortly after that, another niece called who lives in the area and asked if we wante...

The girls at the CNF Bike Parade. By Allan Olson As most people know by now, I’m not a Mr. Fix-It person. As a matter of fact, when it comes to repairs I often defer to my wife or call in the assistance of another family member.  On Saturday night, my oldest woke me up to tell me there was water on the floor by the furnace room. I checked the situation out and determined that my waste pump wasn’t working. I wasn’t sure what to do. I did some searching online and tried one of the things mentioned. It worked! – and that meant my problem was going to be less expensive to fix than I originally thought. So on Sunday morning, after the Bike Parade at Norway Beach, I headed in to Clem’s for some friendly home town Hardware Hank help. Thankfully, the owner new exactly what I needed, and soon I had all the parts in my basket, along with some instructions. The next step was on my own – the installation. Since I took things apart, I figured I might as well try a...