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This weekend take your family on a trip back in time to the Almelund Threshing Show. What is a threshing show? It is only a massive collection of old tractors and other farm equipment from past decades. Still doesn't sound all that spectacular? Have you ever seen a kid around tractors? Now picture your child around hundreds of tractors and the best part is most of the tractor collectors do not mind if your child climbs behind the wheel of their tractor. You can understand the excitement of a young child and tractors, but now amplify that by 100 for the grown men and their tractor fixations.

The Threshing Show is held just east of Almelund on Highway 95. Parking is simple and on site.

The Theshing Show has so many things for you and your family to do, you might want to schedule more than one trip. You can take in a tractor pull, a garden tractor pull, dancing, a petting zoo, a flea market, a pedal tractor pull, a tractor raffle, my favorite, the tractor parade and much, much more.

The Threshing Show runs August 7, 8 and 9 and doors open early. For more information please go to www.almelundthreshingco.com. Hopefully, we will see you there.

Last week, St. Bridget's again hosted families from New Pathways. Thanks to the staff and volunteers who participated. On Saturday a few families hosted a picnic for those in the program at Lions Park. One of the volunteers asked her three granddaughters (ages 11, 9, and 5) from Woodbury to help at a local church sponsored picnic. Their role was to welcome the kids and make them feel welcome. On the way home the girls spoke about the friends they each connected with, and how much they had in common. It was then that grandma told them of their reality of homelessness. The girls wondered how families lose their house. Could some of their friends at school be going through a similar experience? This is a good lesson for all of us. We may be unaware of some struggles a neighbor or friend down the street is experiencing in these tough economic times. A little help can mean a lot.

On the same note, we are still collecting toiletries for New Pathways. Drop them off at St. Bridget's or here at the Paper.

If tractors are not your cup of tea, and you are still looking for something fun to do this weekend, why not come to the 54th annual Chisago Lakes Sportsmen's picnic. The picnic is on Sunday, and runs from 11 until 5:30. Do not let the Sportsmen's name fool you, the picnic is open to everyone. The cost is free, and the picnic promises fun for everyone. There will be trap shooting, sporting clays with prizes for best shots. There are turtle races, they encourage you to bring your own mud turtle, volleyball, horseshoes, and all kinds of kids games. Along with cash door prizes, there will be great food and beverages. Come on out and meet your neighbors in a friendly, no pressure, great atmosphere event. The Sportsmen's Club is located between Lindstrom and Chisago City on the north side of Highway 8.

The good folks that run the Chisago Lakes Community Ed would like to invite you and your family to their summer play. This year's production is called "Clowns" the play. Unfortunately, Clowns only runs one day, but there are two shows that day. You can catch "Clowns" tomorrow, August 7 at either 2 or 7 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center in the High School. Admission is only $5 and you can pay at the door.

If your family is like mine, your summer has been filled with events virtually every night. If it is not gymnastics, then it's baseball. If it is not baseball it's tennis camp. If it is not tennis camp, it's football. If it is not....you get the picture.

Whenever I reflect upon my childhood (yes, it was a long time ago as you saw in last week's paper), I have very fond memories of long summers filled with playing outside until dark. I remember being so bored sometimes that I would even contemplate doing yard work for my parents. Then there was the summer we discovered baseball. We played baseball in the field behind our house from sun up to sun down every day we could only taking breaks for food and the occasional potty break (darn that Kurt and his small bladder).

What I am trying to get at is this, kids now a days are involved in so many things, I wonder if they really have a chance to be a kid? I know that some believe " Idle hands are the work of the Devil," but I am talking about kids here. We figured out that our kids basically will have about two and a half weeks this summer to "be a kid." Think about that, two and a half weeks. My mom used to say "You better enjoy being bored, because when you grow up, it will never ever happen." It seems I will never get to rerun that speech heard 33 years ago.

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