FIESTA!

OOPS!  I found this post in my drafts and just realized I never published it (almost a month ago).  So, here it is....

Every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, usually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we have our family “Fiesta”.  It grew out of a desire to begin a new family tradition when Bruce and I got married almost 8 years ago and began the task of melding our families.  All the kids are grown and married or on their own now, and grandkids figure into the mix.

 In the past we have had between 7 and 12 guests depending on who was in town (or who was even born!)  This year we had 8 (with three who couldn’t make it due to a furnace emergency and waiting for a repair person).  Plus Bruce and I.  Our little house manages to hug them all!

Oh, and the second motivating reason for Fiesta is to eat something other than turkey and leftovers after Thanksgiving.  It gives me a chance to pull out my brightly-colored dishes.  Not the everyday yellow ironstone, the fancy floral china, or the Christmas dishes.  Just my fun pieces gathered from Mexico (via Arizona), Pyrex from thrift and yard sales, bowls from here, mugs from there.... you get the idea.  If they are bright, festive and chunky, they fit in!

This year, the menu included chips and veggies with Bruce’s fabu guacamole that all the kids LOVE.   Then I did enchiladas (cheese with red sauce and beef with green sauce) and tacos.  We also had chicken tamales, mexican rice, and refried beans.  And soda, beer (Corona, of course), wine, and coffee.

In the past, we used to play board games for hours, but now with all the grandkids, that has been replaced by talking, laughing and watching the kids play.  A regular family gathering, you know.  Oh, and of course some of the guys had to watch football on TV.  Whatever.

So, the stars of the show were the kidlets, and I got precious few pictures once the action began.

Above:  Mike and Stacy (Bruce’s our daughter) with son Hunter.
Below:  London learning to climb up and down our stairs (very low rise) by herself.

London probably spent 40 or more minutes just going UP and DOWN.

Proud of herself!

She wore herself out, so Gammy (me) got to hold her while she rested!  

Life is good.