We visited a few of the many beautiful lakes here in Idaho this summer. First was Brundage Reservoir in July. This is one of our favorites now. So beautiful and serene.

Rock took each of the boys on a backpacking trip up to the Sawtooths this summer. First was Reagan up to Goat Lake.

Next was Cade up to Alpine lake. Cade took most of these amazing pictures.

Next was Levi, also at Alpine Lake.

When Rock summarized the differences between each boy’s trip this is what he said, keep in mind this is a very general summary ;-): Reagan slept the whole time, Cade took pictures the whole time and Levi looked for animals the whole time. 🙂 I love that Rock made the time to take each boy separately this summer and I hope they remember their special hike forever.

Before our little Aspen getaway, we visited with Rock’s parents in Grand Junction. On our way to CO we stopped for lunch at one of my very favorite places to eat-Shake Shack! We fell in love with this restaurant in NYC and they are finally coming out west. Yippee!

After lunch we headed up Spanish Fork Canyon only to find that the road was closed due to an accident, so we had to take an unexpected detour through Manti and some pretty amazing scenery along I-70.

Before heading to Aspen we spent a couple days in GJ. As always, we visited the two most important monuments in Grand Junction; Great Grandma Roper and the Colorado National Monument. We blew bubbles with Grandma and the kids while we visited and she was so cute, giggling like a school girl as the bubbles flew through the air. I wish I’d thought to get a picture of the kids with her. But here she is blowing bubbles.

That night we watched the sunset at the top of the ‘other’ monument. Never fails to impress!

The next day we drove up to Grand Mesa. We drove all the way out to “Lands End” to feed the chipmunks that come right up to eat out of your hand. The kids had a blast!

The Mesa was unforgettable. The view was amazing as well! So glad we got to go! When we got home that night we played a game of Apples to Apples. It was my turn and the word was Complicated. Guess which one of these cards I chose as the best definition? I know my family will get a good laugh out of this one-especially this year.

The following picture will help if you’re stuck.

On the way home to Idaho, we met up with Monica and Mason and Jess at the State Capital. It was boiling hot and we are grateful they made time to see us!