Minnesota-day three

I think the boys were sleepy after a busy few days :) Colby crawled in bed with us and I never imaged he would fall back asleep since it was so bright outside, but that was a definite sign that he was tired!

Day three began at Flandrau Park, complete with a very wobbly suspension bridge. 

Brooke and her long legs!  She looks like an old school basketball player in those shorts and white socks :)  Cute story to remember: Brooke asked Colby if she could wear his new sweatshirt since her sweater wasn't super warm. He said yes, then a few minutes later told her, "You can keep it until you grow out of it since it fits you so good."  He's a sweet little brother and it looked adorable on Brooke.

I sure love these goofy kids...

We intended to stay at this beach area and play, but the wind was intense and the kids were all getting sand in their eyes. So, we packed up and headed to Hiniker Pond, another of the Griffiths' favorite spots. 

But first, we picked up Jimmy John's sandwiches. We had placed the order online the night before, but we had a good laugh when we saw that Kimberly entered Kevin's name as LEVIN, instead of KEVIN, haha. 

Isn't this the perfect picnic spot? Hardly anybody around, except a random lady sunbathing in her thong bikini. That was an interesting sight!

The whole area was quite charming, and was completely surrounded by trees which gave us the perfect protection from the winds that plagued us at the first spot.  

The kids were SURE they wanted to get in, even though the water was frigid.  Colby was the first to take the plunge and I think he instantly regretted it. But he had a pretty adorable smile on his face the whole time :)

We stayed for hours and the older three had the best time digging and playing in the sand. This is literally my kids' jam, so I loved to see how much Claire enjoyed it as well. 

They splashed in the water a bit more, but didn't really get in past their waists. 

Colby is still in the "please take a picture of this" phase, which applies to ALL treasures he finds. 

It was a relaxing afternoon and I enjoyed the time we had to just sit and chat while the kids played. 

Kevin and Josh had the crazy idea to swim across the pond, which honestly didn't seem that far.  Josh went first, and when it was taking way longer than we thought, we all worried that we had underestimated the distance.  He made it back just fine, and then it was Kevin's turn.  He later told me that he felt obligated since he had first challenged Josh to do it :)  He made it back just fine as well, which was a relief since I didn't want to have to go to the rescue. 

We ended the night with basketball and s'mores with the neighbors.  Nobody has fences around their yards, so this court actually belongs to their next door neighbor who is the Women's Basketball Coach at Minnesota State University in Mankato. They told us we could use the court any time we wanted and Colby took their invitation to heart.  He asked Kimmie many times how much longer until we were leaving whatever we were doing and heading back to her house so he could play ball :)

They also built a fire pit with the neighbors on their shared property line, which meant several nights of s'mores and playing with the neighbors.  We were all smoky and sticky by the time we finished, but it was the perfect ending to another great day in Minnesota.