I am pretty sure that no sooner had

“We’re baking gingerbread men today!”

left my lips that Philip demanded to know when we were going to make our gingerbread houses.

You know that one song?  That Rolling Stones classic about satisfaction? You know the one. . . Yeah, that’s Phil’s theme song. That kid . . .

Anyway, the houses needed some research.  Jac and I both took to the World Wide Web (does anyone call it that?  Anyone beside Al Gore and his mom?  Just wondering . . .) to check things out on our own.  See, our last house was nice and all, but we had some difficulties.  We were looking for ways to circumvent those hiccups.

God bless the internet, for reals.

We found all sorts of hints and tricks and recipes and inspiration.  As a result our houses went together slick as snot.  (I don’t know . . . my mom says it. . . ) Turns out it helps if you 1. Don’t move the pieces once you cut them out and 2. Trim around your templates as soon as the pieces come out of the oven.

Brilliant!

This time, each kid got their own house.  Even Ellie, but hers has not been started.  Again, she was chief quality inspector and LOOOOOOOVES gingerbread.

We erected our houses and decorated them all on Sunday.  A call was sounded to enlist the aide of the Hofer’s and they graciously agreed.  Elisabeth helped Philip and kept Ellie busy while Marianne teamed up with Tess.  Even Johnny stopped by with candy canes and to pipe icicles on Phil’s facade.

They are most impressive – both the houses and the Hofers.

Please note Tess’s “Rainbow-y Roof” (and pronounce it “Wainbow-y Woof” please).  She did it ALL BY HERSELF. And Philip.  He’s an awesome foreman and was the brains behind the slide on his house.  But check out his mailbox and letters, sled and light post.  Suh-weet! Meanwhile, Max flew mostly solo on this mission and designed the campfire complete with coals all by himself.  Pretty cool.

The houses are residing on top of the piano to stay out of Monday’s reach, but I don’t know how long they will withstand curious fingers.  It’s just so tempting!

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