Gingerbread Houses

Last week we made gingerbread houses with Casey's family. I love this tradition and look forward to it every year. Casey really wanted to do his own this year, so I did mine with my sister, Mariah. Casey says I'm too slow at deciding what to do. He is right. In fact, Mariah and I never completely finished ours because we were taking so long. But we did do some cute things like a chimney, a wreath, steps up to the door, and pots of flowers beside the door.

The beginning. You need to make sure your foundation is sturdy using lots of frosting. You don't want the roof to cave in.

Sam and Jess (Casey younger siblings) in the process of decorating. They are seriously some of the funnest people I know! Love them!

So, Ryan (Casey's younger brother) doesn't know how to make a normal gingerbread house. Only Mexican gingerbread houses, or a redneck gingerbread trailer last year. I guess I'll give him credit for being creative. Besides this might be his last year without a girl (friend, fiance, or wife??). Kyle, the oldest brother, figured it out for the rest that it doesn't work to try out anything other than a cute gingerbread house when you are working on it with your wife. His Jamaican jail was anything but cute. But this year, Erica was Ryan's partner and she was a good sport. :-)

Casey with his completed house! I love it! I'm kinda jealous that I can't say I helped on this one because it is possibly my favorite so far. He was brilliant and used wheat thins to make the shingles on the roof. (You can see mine and Mariah's house in the background, not even close to looking done but I think we stopped there.)