gorgeous Jackson Hole

chris and i took this picture the day after our wedding on our honeymoon.

here we are, 12 years later.

life is good.

it was fun visiting one of our favorite places with the kids, grandma, grandpa, marc, and cory.

we took the aerial tram in Teton Village. it has an elevation rise of over 4000 ft!

these smiles kill me.

on top of the world! 

the skies were crystal clear all day except for the 30 minutes we were up the mountain. it was so, so, SO cold and windy at the top. seriously cold.

good thing they have a little waffle restaurant! we grabbed three waffles and 5 hot cocoas to share.

charlie.

king of faces.

here is a view of Corbet's Couloir.

chris went skiing here in high school. he stood on the edge of Corbet's with his buddies and tried to work up the courage to ski the infamous chute. he didn't do it.

after our tram ride we went into town for some lunch and a few pictures.

chris really wanted to take one of those old western photos as a family. i did not. he convinced me to do one on our honeymoon and it was so uncomfortable and so overpriced. the picture is hanging in our closet so no one can see it! well, chris wanted the tradition to continue and the kids were really excited about it. but when we went to get it taken, we found out it was going to be over $100 for our family of 6 to get one picture. i lucked out :)

we stopped to watch some white water kayakers and surfers on our way home

and grandpa treated us all to a scoop of square ice cream. yes, square! it pretty much blew our minds.

some day chris and i hope to go back to jackson hole for our anniversary and stay at the teton mountain lodge again. its a magical place.

Yellowstone National Park

for several months leading up to our trip out west, our family researched yellowstone national park. we watched several documentaries on the geysers, waterfalls, and of course, the wildlife. these kiddos were so thrilled to be going and exploring it all first hand! so on july 1st, after spending the night at the cabin in island park, we went on our yellowstone adventure! we entered through the west entrance of the park and followed the bottom loop. our pictures can not do the beauty of the park justice.

the kids really loved hearing the bubbling sounds coming from the paint pots... the sulfur smells coming from them though... whew!

we sat in the perfect spot to watch old faithful. and by perfect i mean we could hardly see it because the wind blew the mist perfectly in our faces haha! but the kids loved feeling old faithful :)

i remembered old faithful drawing a big crowd, but man! it was busy! and I'm pretty sure every single tourist there was asian.

charlie was probably the most excited to see buffalo. the buffalo pictured above came right up by our sequoia and then walked behind us and across the street. it was pretty spectacular! this was charlie's "i saw a buffalo herd!" victory cheer.

we ended up seeing so many buffalo, individuals and herds, that by the end of the day charlie said "i'm tired of buffalo". yellowstone sure delivered!

we saw quite a few elk. several cows right up close to the car, but only a few bulls. we even saw a bear, although it was quite far away.

owen was so happy when he wasn't strapped in. poor kid spent most of the day strapped in either a carseat, stroller, or backpack.

when we got home that evening, the family had set up an outdoor movie night. it was a perfect day!

Island Park & the Lewis and Clark Caves

while we were in idaho we took a quick overnight trip up to grandpa and grandma's cabin in Island Park. of course we made a quick stop at Big Springs to stretch our legs and look for trout. 

that afternoon, grandpa and grandma watched owen and cousin mason so that the rest of us could drive up to the Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana. they were absolutely incredible! i remember visiting carlsbad caverns on a family trip when i was a teenager. we had such a memorable time! i think back on those trips so much now as an adult and I'm so thankful my parents took us on such amazing adventures. I'm so glad i was able to experience something so fun and remarkable with my own kids. and the fact that they got to do it with their cousins and aunts and uncles made it so much cooler!

5 out of the 8 brower siblings went to the caves. Jenny, Marc, Cathy, Chris, and Amy.

it was a pretty good climb up to the cave entrance, but the view was totally worth it!

our guide told us before going in that their bat colony just had babies so we weren't allowed to talk at the mouth of the cave. charlie really felt the importance of that and made sure to tell us repeatedly to be quiet.

the caverns were pretty tight in some places. we even had to slide down the rock at one point. it had been slid on so many times that it is now very smooth and even has a slight ridge from people's bum cracks.... kinda cool, kinda gross :)

while in the caves jack had a minor panic attack. turns out he is a little claustrophobic, even though he denies it now.

here's the whole gang once we made it out of the caves.

and here's marc, just hanging out with a bear.

when we got back to the cabin we roasted hot dogs and smores and of course played a whole bunch with the cousins!

the next morning we woke up early and went to yellowstone while the rest of the group stayed behind and went kayaking. on the way home, we had to make a stop in Ashton, ID to get some tater tots at the Frostop Mug, per larissa's wisdom and expertise. they were so yummy, but the huckleberry milkshake definitely won my vote as the tastiest treat for the trip.

we saw this gorgeous field in ashton and thought it's no wonder bo and larissa love this place!