"My Crazy Kids"

Nikolai was a little flush right after his race; Abigail was a little more rested, having completed her run about 30 minutes prior. By Allan Olson It was another Saturday spent covering Robotics, and it was a fast-paced yet long affair. I tried to capture some special moments for not only the local teams, but other teams as well. That was not an easy task, due to the effects added by colorful lights and a smoke machine, but I did the best I could within the limits of my camera’s capability. After a couple years covering these events, I’m starting to get familiar with other competitors – in particular, which teams have some awesome builds and can nearly win a full round solo. Regardless of any single team’s ability, each team is treated equally by one and all teams in the competition, across the board. Every team has something to offer, and it all works out in the end when the top teams get to pick their final alliances. Part of the fun of covering these events ...

 I finally got to meet my sweet little newest great-nephew last week, and it was the highlight of my week.   By Allan Olson This past weekend was a wonderful weekend to stay at home. Of course, it would be foolish to think that I actually just stayed at home – that’s not likely to happen. However, I didn’t spent any time in the woods geocaching, nor did I make it out hunting for anything else. The plan for Saturday was set about three weeks ago – we were going to the haunted house in Bena that night. Earlier in the week my niece called me to ask if I would make caramel rolls for them on Saturday if they came over to help. Since I had all the necessary ingredients except the ice cream for the caramel, I said I would, as long as they agreed to help. My niece and her friend showed up early and brought a dog that Marcus agreed to watch for the day. I had the bread dough sitting out, rising (although a whole lot slower than it did the last time I made rolls ...

 Marcus at one of the 51 geocaches we managed to log on Saturday in the Pequot Lakes/Breezy Point area. By Allan Olson As it turned out, I didn’t stay home all day Saturday as I expected. Instead, I went into the woods and did some hunting, just for something else to do, and not for wild game. A friend messaged me Thursday and basically said, “I’m free this weekend, are you available?” I wasn’t sure if I was free; I knew there was some stuff we needed to do on the home front, but I checked with my wife and I was given the all clear. I made sure to inform both my friend and my wife that I was only going out for Saturday, and that I would likely be bringing at least one child along. I knew Alivia wanted to go see a cousin, Abigail had homework to do, and Nikolai volunteered to dog-sit for a neighbor, so I checked with Marcus. He said, “Maybe… I’ll think about it.” If he didn’t want to go, then I would just go by myself. On Friday I attended the fun festiviti...

Since I was outside taking care of some yard work on Sunday, I figured I should probably check the level on the propane tank since the furnace is running, and I found this interesting surprise. Thankfully, the bees were gone and the tank wasn’t empty. By Allan Olson For the first time in a couple weeks, we didn’t spend our weekend running all over the state or even just spend it elsewhere. This weekend was all about the home front. Friday night started with cleaning the garage, getting rid of things there was no need to hang on to, loading the trailer with junk to be taken to the dump. The level of assistance varied depending on who was helping me, but all the kids pitched in one way or another.  I eventually managed to accomplish most of what I wanted in the garage, so next it was time to move into the house. My wife had started on it by enlisting whoever wasn’t working outside; the goal was to accomplish some deep cleaning. We started on the kitchen, wash...

My friend and me at the last cache of the MN Star Geo Art, near Hill City. By Allan Olson I had this past weekend all planned – we were going to do some stuff around the house and in general just stay close to home. I messaged a friend on Thursday to let him know that I was all set, if it still worked for him, for our planned geocaching outing next weekend. He called me back immediately and said he was just about to message me – his weekends at work got switched and so he had this weekend off and asked if I was available. I’m not one usually for last-minute change-of-plan trips, but we already knew where we were going a long time ago, so it was just a matter of whether or not I could get free. I discussed it with my wife, and while she wasn’t happy, we didn’t argue about it and she set me “free.” As it turned out, she didn’t stay home either.  I left Saturday at 5:45 a.m. and arrived well ahead of schedule to meet my friend at the pre-arranged time a...