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On Saturday, I took my family to the Threshing Show in Almelund. I was blown away at the number of people attending. Maybe it was the weather, or maybe everyone has already taken their vacations, either way there was a ton of people.

The good folks that make up the Threshing Show Company deserve a big pat on the back. They have really put some time into making this year's show one of the best. The weather was perfect, the food was fantastic, and everyone was in a great mood.

If you have never been to the Threshing Show, if you have children, or you are just a fan of beautiful old tractors, this show is for you. Make sure that you pencil the Threshing Show in for next year on your calendars, you will be glad you did.

I was discussing the upcoming Ki Chi Saga Days with Bonita Carlson the other day. Bonita is in charge of the Ki Chi Saga Race that up until this year has been a 5K race. As you may have read in the sports page the last few weeks, there is now a 15K race to go along with the usual 5K race. The race will take place August 25 at 8 a.m. with registration opening at 7 a.m. There is a registration form in this week's edition of the Chisago County Press in the sports section.

I had the opportunity to take pictures of the fist ever "Shop with a Cop" last Saturday. Held at Forest Lake Wal-Mart, it featured police officers and emergency officers from Chisago Lakes, Forest Lake, Wyoming and North Branch.

The premise of "Shop with a Cop" is that an underprivileged child gets a $100 gift card (donated by the Salvation Army) and is paired with an officer. They first have breakfast and get to know each other a little. They then set out to purchase an outfit or two for the upcoming school year. Parents are not allowed to follow or influence what their child purchases. While the shopping is taking place, it allows for some quality time between the officer and child, thus bridging the sometimes uneasy gap created by society. The kids absolutely loved it and were so excited to be hanging around with their new cop friends. Thanks to all who participated in this year's Shop with a Cop, you really made these kids feel special.

Is there anything more satisfying to a parent than the beginning of school? When summer break begins, our eyes are big with anticipation of the many, many different things we are going to do with our kids this summer. About the beginning of August, our eyes look like we have taken the red-eye from BeiJing, China to Minneapolis non-stop.

Yes, having children home is wonderful. Yes, being able to spend every waking moment with them from sun-up to sunset can be special for all parties involved. But, how about the fighting that goes on between siblings because they have been forced to play with their "little sister" or their "big brother" for lack of entertainment around the house. We keep telling them that vacuuming is fun. We keep telling them that dusting is fun. All we get in return is a "yeah right" comment under their breath.

When you take that dreaded trip to the mall or outlet center to do some "major" school shopping do me a favor. Take a moment when you are in a clothes store that carries clothing that we would never get caught dead in and the music is so loud that you can't even feel your phone that is set on vibrate. Take a look into the other parent's eyes. Look beyond their forehead veins that could possibly rupture at any given moment, and you will see joy. Yes joy. Careful as to not let on to the children, you will get the slow, silent head nod signifying just hold on, we are almost there, just a few more weeks.

These kids think they are the secretive ones with their text-messaging that "you just don't get it dad." We get it.

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