The view from the top!


We found these gorgeous flowers a little off the path, and I had to take a picture!


A local vineyard that we passed on our way up.







Yesterday morning, my sister and I decided to go on a hike to what is called "Table Rock". It's basically a giant foothill with a plateau on the top of it which is perfect for looking out at the entire valley after your hike. It's an unbelievable view, and a pretty motivating reward I would say! Knowing what's waiting for us at the end of the workout generally helps us make it the whole way- it's a pretty long hike! The whole hike goes through the brush and wildflowers native to Idaho, and sometimes we even see animals like sparrowhawks or wild rabbits. It's a bit of a drive, and quite a walk, but it's always worth it.

Especially in the summer, we like to go before the sun rises over the hill so that we will be shaded on our way up. This requires getting up at about 5:45 and getting there around 6:30. Although I'm not particularly fond of the 'getting up' part, I love being there at early dawn because everything looks so calm and quiet. When we made it about 1/4 of the way up, we saw a young buck still with velvet on his antlers! He actually climbed up onto a hill right near us, and then went down the other side into some brush. It's SO cool to start off my day by seeing such incredible bits of nature. Luckily all the animals we tend to see are mostly small ones that aren't violent, like bunnies or deer; otherwise I probably wouldn't think it was so cool.

Exercising outside is my favorite way to get active, it makes me feel so much better when I can see whats around me, and appreciate the natural beauty! I love early morning- it's probably my favorite time of day. Being up when the everything is so quiet and I know that there are so many possibilities for the day to come always excites me. Combine those two things, and for me it's the perfect morning excursion :)

What are your guys' favorite ways to get outdoors? Leave your best stories in the comments and remember to follow me here!

Our craft this afternoon was a modified version of a button-based picture that I found on Pinterest a few weeks ago! I got some frames at the dollar store, and some cute dark blue denim on sale at the supermarket as well as some red, white and blue buttons. We backed the frames with the denim and used school glue to arrange adorable little pictures. They took a while, but everyone loved making them and the end result was so worth it.

Any of these ideas are perfect for any holiday- just change the color scheme and you're set!