Post-Christmas in Ashton

I'll finish my post on Christmas soon but there are still quite a few photos to edit for that one and I like to blog about the day it actually is as much as possible.

Today we're in Ashton, Idaho at the farm with a bunch of Jared's family. We got up here yesterday and have been talking, playing games (the big hit of the season has been Reverse Charades - the teenagers were begging to play it pretty much all day every day and everyone laughed harder than they have in a long time), playing in the snow, laughing, opening more presents and eating non-stop since we got here. As always, this is a very fun and relaxing place to be - no big plans, lots of unstructured time, Jared's mom making great meals with everyone else pitching in to help, kids laughing and playing, plenty to do but nothing really required.

There's not a lot of snow but enough for kind big cousin Mark to
take kids on countless sleigh rides towed by a 4-wheeler

As the sun just started to dip in the sky, I went for a nice solitary walk. I fell in love with the beauty of this place all over again and felt so full of joy and life as I walked along in that crisp air surrounded by such splendor. I love the subtle and somewhat bleak beauty of winter here at the farm. I love how the weeds along the road become such lovely shades of gold and auburn. I love the angles of the tilted fence posts and how they add dimension and focal points to the scene. I love the clean white of the snow and the changing colors of the vast clear sky.

This is some of the Loosli farm buildings from down the road.

Beauty. I'm so grateful for beauty. And relaxation. And games and laughter. And conversation. And family.