The Holidays have arrived!

Hi all and Happy (late) Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful weekend with family and a great meal cooked by Kevin. Yes, ever since that disasterous Thanksgiving meal of 96, Kevin has gladly taken over as chef, and each year is tastier. Cathy, Cassie and Lou drove all night to arrive Thanksgiving morning. So we had family, a "chef", the only thing we were missing for our Welsh Thanksgiving was a couple trips to Walmart, of which I obediently fulfilled. Kevin, after pouring over numerous recipes on Food Network, provided a spectacular meal with different touches of our favorite TV chefs. We all ate a little too much.
Pocatello wastes no time in getting into the holiday spirit as many of our neighbors already had lights up and many more went up this weekend. And to get things started, a Holiday Parade is sent through downtown, and on this cold Friday evening many local businesses showed support by dishing out warm chili and homemade bread....Mmmmmm. I have to say that yet again I was under-dressed for the cold weather we endured at the parade. My thin Christmas socks, though festive, don't do much to cut the cold, and I wondered if my toes might break off before we got back to the car. We all enjoyed the parade, and Leo loved the lights, animals and all the action. He was very excited by the horses, doing his best impression of a spitting horse, and my favorite was the three wise men on Harleys. But needless to say we were all glad for the warmth of the car on our way home. The next day we headed out to a model train show they have every year, and Kevin salivated, longing to set up a Welsh Station in our home......but where would our kids sleep? Maybe someday we can have a room or structure just for building one. The set up was pretty amazing, a whole village beckoned us to take a stroll down the miniature streets and ride the train through the beautifully crafted countryside. On Sunday we invited our priest Father Ben to come for lunch and he blessed our home. Now it's our job to keep it holy!
We really enjoyed having Mom, Cassie and Lou visit. Leo, already being in love with Grammy and Bubba, quickly fell in love with Lou, too, and we can't wait to see you guys again at your wedding! Thank you for making the drive out and for blessing our Thanksgiving with your love and presence.