Ginger Bread Houses - 2009

Sunday after church, Ryan and I drove up to Farmington to celebrate his birthday and an early traditional Christmas dinner. It was tons of fun to see everyone, especially our nephew!

Ryan was a spoiled boy and received sweaters, money, and a bread maker (post to come) for his special day. He is loved by many, and I'm so grateful to have him in my life!

After his celebration and some delicious lava cake, we ate dinner. It was incredible--as always at my in-laws--and I ate king crab legs for the first time. We toasted to the things for which we are grateful, and from what it sounds like, 2010 is going to be an amazing year in the life of our family! :)

To cap off the night, we made our traditional ginger bread houses, that turned out no-so-traditional...

Ryan and Adam (the two houses in the back) used the cardboard boxes that the gram crackers came in to be the foundation of their houses--cheaters. But, I do have to admit they turned out pretty cool. Ryan's is a high-rise and Adam's has columns and a garage-type place underneath (you can see it where the cinnamon bears are by the M&Ms)....

By the time I started making my house, most of the gram crackers were gone. I started with a square, and then covered it... I wanted to switch it up so I started putting one gram cracker then half a gram cracker side by side to make the upper-level. It worked out better than I thought, until I realized there weren't any gram crackers left. Sad, huh?

Well, Erin and I came up with a brilliant plan to lattice a roof out of twizzlers! I didn't really know how, so she helped, and ta da, a roof!

We put some cardboard down to add some support and then voi la! A Spanish hacienda! I wanted to make some cacti--specifically saguaro for my parents--but didn't have the patience.

All-in-all, a fun time was had by all! Yay for the holidays, family, and Christmas memories!