Snowshoeing!

A week ago on Saturday we were able to go snowshoeing with my brothers. My grandparents generously tended Austin for us while we drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon and meet up with Allan, Katie, and Ben. We tried snowshoeing up the Red Pine Lake Trail, though we definitely didn't have time to make it all the way to the lake. I don't know if we would have made it in any case; the trail became a bit more difficult to follow the further we went. Since we had never been in the area before, I am not entirely sure if we were on the trail or not.

Either way, we were very grateful that there was enough snow there to go. Plus, it was really beautiful! A fog kept coming in and out as we went, creating some particularly dramatic effects. The beauty of this earth fills me with joy, and I feel so fortunate for opportunities to get out in the mountains and into nature like this. (I just wish I had thought to take more pictures of us, and not just the landscape.)

I am also really grateful my brothers enjoy doing things like this with us. It is nice to have people to go with, and it is fun to spend time with my siblings.

I also thought I would share these pictures of a few late Christmas gifts I made my family. These were made by quilling, a method that involves winding thin strips of paper up in rolls and then shaping those rolls. I haven't done a lot of quilling, so I learned a lot as I went with these: