Outdoor Family

The power of the outdoors is amazing. I recently realized that we rarely just hang out around the house on weeknights or weekends. And not because we don’t love where we live, not bececause we’re overbooked with activities. We choose to leave the house and get outside because everyone’s attitudes are awesome when we’re spending time outside together (and we have a ton of outdoor summer hobbies).

There’s something about being outside that gives the kids a sense of calm and cooperation with each other. 

Last weekend we spent a ton of time outside. By Sunday night, we were perfectly exhausted. We started with a 20 mile bike ride on Friday. Calhoun, Lake Harriet, Minnehaha Creek trail, Minnehaha Falls, Longfellow for dinner, and then the Greenway back to the car. Ryder biked and Logan and Brecken rode in the trailer together.

On Saturday, we were spoiled with some new toys (thank you Nana & Bumpa!!) that gave the boys an opportunity to learn to wakeboard. Logan was the first to volunteer (no surprise) and he got up on his third try! I was shocked and proud of him :) 

Logan’s success gave Ryder the courage to try next. He also got up on his third try and took a couple laps.

Shawn and I got out for the first time in a while, too. I am so used to catering fun for the kids, that it was great to have some fun myself, too :)

We followed this with a handful of flips on the trampoline (again - my and Shawn’s first in a while) and called it a [great] day.

On Sunday, Shawn went out for his 5th longest bike ride ever with Nick (81 miles) and the kids spent a chunk of the afternoon swimming with Autumn at her pool.

Such a fun, active summer weekend!

SUP the Lakes | Lake #5, #6, #7

Continuing on with our goal of ‘collecting’ lakes, yesterday we added three new ones to the list. This journey was most memorable for ending in a splash...more on that in a minute ;)

On Friday afternoon, we loaded the boards for our furtherst drive yet. The boards are so long on our short sedan that the drive itself can be a little unnerving. Especially on the freeway. But since all went well, I think it will boost our confidence in continuing to take them further for future adventures.

We launched on the west side of Lake Calhoun, finding a dirt path for our entrance to the water.

The lake was calm and filled with many others who were enjoying the holiday weekend. At one point I counted 40 within viewing range. Definitely felt like a city lake. 

We paddled across Lake Calhoun (#5) and under the bridge (beneath the jumpers!) to Lake of the Isles (#6). Lake of the Isles was the most populated spot for the rentals. Likely due to its smaller size and character (bridges, islands).

Continuing through Lake of the Isles, we took the canal over to Cedar Lake. Being another smaller lake without motor boat traffic, the kids took the opportunity to swim.

On our way back, we stopped near the rental shop for a drink and bite to eat. Tin Fish closed, but Lola on the Lake opened up and satisfied my never ending craving for tacos and a drink.

Back to the splash...we have logged somewhere around 12 miles of paddling so far and both Shawn and I have a gymnastics background so have pretty good balance. But about a half mile out from the car, Ryder and I heard a huge splash! The wind had picked up and we had been paddling hard to get across the lake. Apparently Shawn paddled too hard! He put his whole body into the stroke and tipped himself off the board. He had such great speed that the board (along with Logan and Brecken) continued onward! He had to swim pretty hard to catch the board and kids. We all had a pretty good laugh about that one :)

By the end, we hit 4 miles on the dot. Our furthest drive to a lake yet, and our furthest paddle yet. Time to look up a 5 mile route ;)

SUP the Lakes #4 | Parker's Lake

After studying a local map and taking the weather forecast into consideration, we landed on Parker’s Lake in Plymouth for Lake #4. 

Unfortunately, the rain arrived a couple hours early and sprinkles hit our windshield on our drive. No one said a word, almost as if we didn’t actually acknowledge the rain, it would go away.

The rain didn’t stop, but the likelihood of immediate storms was low. It was warm out and we were dressed for the water, so we continued on. 

It seems that since Shawn and I didn’t make a big deal out of the rain, the kids didn’t seem to mind either. It also deterred other boat traffic.

One of our strategies for keeping our paddling peaceful is carefully splitting the kids on the boards based on moods (keeping weights in mind). They also know if they don’t behave, they get tossed in the lake ;) 

Switching up who sits where also gives me the chance to have one on one time with Ryder or Logan. We have undistracted time to connect - similar to being out on a hike.


Today I paddled with Logan and we loved keeping our eye out for wildlife together - we saw fish (of course), a loon, and a muskrat (we think).

While we are trying to collect a number of different lakes this summer, this would be a good one to go back to when we’re looking for a short paddle close to home.