Sweet Gingerbread Dreams

<span style="color: #444444;">It's almost here!  Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year next to Christmas.  The excitement, the last minute present wrapping, the cooking and the anticipation of the big day.  <b>This year</b> we secretly flew out to the Orlando area to surprise my Mother-In-Law for Christmas.  The plan was hatched at my Niece's wedding in October and the emails and phone calls ensued.  My Hubby's two brothers and their wives flew from California and we flew in from the Midwest on Thursday.  My Sis in law lives close so I imagine it was quite difficult for her to keep it all a secret!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">My MIL was quite surprised and it is still probably sinking in that she now has a houseful of uninvited guests!  It's OK we are an easy going type of family and we are all pitching in to make it a great Christmas.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">While here in Orlando we went to see the HUGE, life sized Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian Resort.  OK, it's Disney, so you know it's going to be 1st Class.  Here are some photos.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0I3VoWdZnXyaHJBsQai3MlwfXrOcOyNUUJ-47E6zfGKrMa9YKdjdzDwX4_kwFFjU_qS4Tl3hMAGuu4GjAa1JCK0Nhh05xp8UK7XMY7KfUZdi_MbBbW5nYlpPwGzVBpW0XzA1LFwKIJpe/s1600/IMG_2140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0I3VoWdZnXyaHJBsQai3MlwfXrOcOyNUUJ-47E6zfGKrMa9YKdjdzDwX4_kwFFjU_qS4Tl3hMAGuu4GjAa1JCK0Nhh05xp8UK7XMY7KfUZdi_MbBbW5nYlpPwGzVBpW0XzA1LFwKIJpe/s640/IMG_2140.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOB3uR1VLu32ezOPfAcBp2DKlSRPbY3BIZ-LUxltweWVH5L-u8MjT0gAYVsE8Y7JxoU1_ByKzPkBB1LjnEivcLRMCDFHe3lEK_B14cNTcqEtOs_T24yERmk3tHSbY2ruEg4UNbn4O_n8Ke/s1600/IMG_2140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Can you just imagine being a small child and seeing this?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxGVhyphenhyphenWSNQsyYrIRHe9HEemmoeR2w6aUcfIGIgD3tM0mm5U_Ug0XRD5O4vMXu60X9JpC_npYNtXD_yYlmlEJZaC599CRBLssr1wVqvXq3Efo-5KHlvGrzJ26LtInGPXhnZPNBYFnIqtCS/s1600/IMG_2112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxGVhyphenhyphenWSNQsyYrIRHe9HEemmoeR2w6aUcfIGIgD3tM0mm5U_Ug0XRD5O4vMXu60X9JpC_npYNtXD_yYlmlEJZaC599CRBLssr1wVqvXq3Efo-5KHlvGrzJ26LtInGPXhnZPNBYFnIqtCS/s640/IMG_2112.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Side View</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTH92nEm3eZKZfzX6w9igWLaCKtkfNAW-BTusxEyjDvlHlX95izwXrBlRXPUJOgakEpMmtHhlpfLBCgHBW5gG_hB-fNyA7agrm1LbKm_OiTMwu-O95UWy1Ooan8gChAUlc8KKwrOz-irlc/s1600/IMG_2114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTH92nEm3eZKZfzX6w9igWLaCKtkfNAW-BTusxEyjDvlHlX95izwXrBlRXPUJOgakEpMmtHhlpfLBCgHBW5gG_hB-fNyA7agrm1LbKm_OiTMwu-O95UWy1Ooan8gChAUlc8KKwrOz-irlc/s640/IMG_2114.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Adorable!</span></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMAyjmsLaQfIdZpZLz2vYQmRr9-fu17hJTJ5CvgTe6sP_nQ6bRPLh0CA9M1-6fkKbyQcI49KzRCklNY4TWaXDZ8haXujaTt6AD2P3HB2o0O7GQ_lGYDVdJ8qO9nL7pgaYjkbkYPoaxvcx/s1600/IMG_2113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMAyjmsLaQfIdZpZLz2vYQmRr9-fu17hJTJ5CvgTe6sP_nQ6bRPLh0CA9M1-6fkKbyQcI49KzRCklNY4TWaXDZ8haXujaTt6AD2P3HB2o0O7GQ_lGYDVdJ8qO9nL7pgaYjkbkYPoaxvcx/s640/IMG_2113.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Here's the Calorie Breakdown...</span></span></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDrUTIxP9uMmRRaQ1jMIEjYL0Qlm91OQC0keC-MWexxfUkIqYzMQBFv_Ers-KPHDef0iHFNYoCepqesCsfyF8bNDDy_M8_Cz6tjLrSW8tVARYaHBjUVgtt4IFwvY20l8_KjnNyKv2pRcF/s1600/IMG_2135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDrUTIxP9uMmRRaQ1jMIEjYL0Qlm91OQC0keC-MWexxfUkIqYzMQBFv_Ers-KPHDef0iHFNYoCepqesCsfyF8bNDDy_M8_Cz6tjLrSW8tVARYaHBjUVgtt4IFwvY20l8_KjnNyKv2pRcF/s640/IMG_2135.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They sell these shingles in the back of the house. <b> Here is a funny story...</b>  A few years back my Sis in Law took her two boys to see the house with my In Laws.  While they were busy taking pictures and looking at the house, Grandpa went and bought a shingle and started eating it in front of the boys.  They were flabbergasted as they thought that he had ripped it right off the house.  He never let them know the truth!  We sure miss him and his practical jokes, sadly he passed earlier this year. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh081gMMXZ6D1LUFCCNYFyT2HdVGm7Odhjk93X1-oPuswGHPMR06-4jvixt_NTVvaWVgHqJW6XcXYdnGf-o8wpehovEKwYGKPQwFigIXFEtzdmYv0utIpPS1mayN-RUCLyiby8K-qgkDONZ/s1600/IMG_2167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh081gMMXZ6D1LUFCCNYFyT2HdVGm7Odhjk93X1-oPuswGHPMR06-4jvixt_NTVvaWVgHqJW6XcXYdnGf-o8wpehovEKwYGKPQwFigIXFEtzdmYv0utIpPS1mayN-RUCLyiby8K-qgkDONZ/s640/IMG_2167.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTH92nEm3eZKZfzX6w9igWLaCKtkfNAW-BTusxEyjDvlHlX95izwXrBlRXPUJOgakEpMmtHhlpfLBCgHBW5gG_hB-fNyA7agrm1LbKm_OiTMwu-O95UWy1Ooan8gChAUlc8KKwrOz-irlc/s1600/IMG_2114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Smile!  The girls were more than happy to pose for the camera.  Cute Aprons!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvy41onD3l66OaoUFCx9uFPtY0aVbiKinCEDCn3A_rk39ApGqEAZtJkVF3EYkamC7KrgvQDYAgrTcB0O8M8UaFuoXpbKBzNoLgjt0r1k-s4zE-uFBdtz_BEzS8BxtOw2EivsdMNYLDloW/s1600/IMG_2129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvy41onD3l66OaoUFCx9uFPtY0aVbiKinCEDCn3A_rk39ApGqEAZtJkVF3EYkamC7KrgvQDYAgrTcB0O8M8UaFuoXpbKBzNoLgjt0r1k-s4zE-uFBdtz_BEzS8BxtOw2EivsdMNYLDloW/s640/IMG_2129.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_OgTTZlhOH3LpNtH_VS3lLHei_TyzU6r4tlRTDYtFPmXZo_MlufpS6akxliUbYpyn6_oUSQakIT4zHfCG7ylsJ0-IYxMmdeokpUhzPfi18htwOaFeTLTwgzBUbHrXME8tjWdGDYMk2Lp/s1600/IMG_2128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_OgTTZlhOH3LpNtH_VS3lLHei_TyzU6r4tlRTDYtFPmXZo_MlufpS6akxliUbYpyn6_oUSQakIT4zHfCG7ylsJ0-IYxMmdeokpUhzPfi18htwOaFeTLTwgzBUbHrXME8tjWdGDYMk2Lp/s640/IMG_2128.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Tin Soldiers standing Guard.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzY2FFQK5W1CVlrJfL4wmwaIlYUncrUvxfl-5cLxF_5GIVjTrwQ8f95jvojToeHn0j5k-PYeZD0FKR4Oue2poXOfhvlanVjSNeC_-XgpnpSI3GyXXEy7XvQ1rKdno526vBlEzg8RDuzvx/s1600/IMG_2130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzY2FFQK5W1CVlrJfL4wmwaIlYUncrUvxfl-5cLxF_5GIVjTrwQ8f95jvojToeHn0j5k-PYeZD0FKR4Oue2poXOfhvlanVjSNeC_-XgpnpSI3GyXXEy7XvQ1rKdno526vBlEzg8RDuzvx/s640/IMG_2130.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3DIwNF2-_rCMtt7E9WCEDs8EaQKyN_Cw94Ogtt2IcoCu8Ro10ly4-jp7NYNhj-FICqfG6yLMHGX1nYIJK9KQ8-0OR04shq1CrvjdQ5yTgJtG9Ylp9Rn827CoUA5sGcZe-4QLNsouSwIeP/s1600/IMG_2133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk10NMvdY6VozMxdq-QtzbtIn7hyphenhyphenu-nPqCGWGE3gPq6w9ERk5FxRprgXoxHDqVmOopTdqEpQa9fF5W8W-rYdzbk99SQj03ocpYFm5huba-UGLHKlR8PoPZb0NtgFHGbK-aJuHDOZEtEu7Y/s1600/IMG_2137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk10NMvdY6VozMxdq-QtzbtIn7hyphenhyphenu-nPqCGWGE3gPq6w9ERk5FxRprgXoxHDqVmOopTdqEpQa9fF5W8W-rYdzbk99SQj03ocpYFm5huba-UGLHKlR8PoPZb0NtgFHGbK-aJuHDOZEtEu7Y/s640/IMG_2137.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1LEdWcEY-7x5kUyqekNggRx3bqYOPfkgj0FvSy_Tz8rSRMbKr3cuUoZF8DEGKGrLE6XbiylCJTdD1l5Tl_Km6oUTczpaHgmYZXes_4p6mu6ZqU749o-1w_S2MbYY1YwInbOufpoBELN7/s1600/IMG_2115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1LEdWcEY-7x5kUyqekNggRx3bqYOPfkgj0FvSy_Tz8rSRMbKr3cuUoZF8DEGKGrLE6XbiylCJTdD1l5Tl_Km6oUTczpaHgmYZXes_4p6mu6ZqU749o-1w_S2MbYY1YwInbOufpoBELN7/s640/IMG_2115.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Hope you enjoyed my tour of the Giant Gingerbread House!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!</span> </div>

Sweet Gingerbread Dreams

It's almost here!  Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year next to Christmas.  The excitement, the last minute present wrapping, th...

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