Celebrating The Season With Joe and Amy, Amy's Folks, And The Grandkids!
This year is was special because Grandma Michele and Grandpa Tony joined the fun! We got to visit with them and the grandparents got to watch the kids enjoy themselves and see Santa!
We Arrived A Few Minutes Early
We needed to gain our composure before the sugar-effect kicked in!
Cathey Liles.... Never heard of her!
It was a magnificent California Winter Day - The temperature hit 81 at 1:00 PM
Spiderman was watching over the event... Looking for Charlie and Alex
The Boys Wanted To See Santa Immediately!
The word bashful is not in their vocabulary
They were pretty excited about seeing Santa
Santa asked if they sent him a letter with their list.....
The soldiers helped Santa in his duties
Grandma Tony and Grandma Michele
Charlie and Alex
Daddy Joe and Mommy Amy
Alex gets the sun out of his eyes... So does daddy Joe
Grandma Michele has the boys get one more chance to talk to Santa
Santa explains about K-Mail or L-Mail or H-Mail....
No No... He remembered it's "E-Mail"
Santa said he had to train all the elves to use email... Well, sort of!
Mom and Dad help out...
We are all feeling the heat.... Thank goodness for the slight breeze
An excellent Santa
The boys get a helping hand
Mustard on pancakes Charlie???
James and Linda were at the next table - Linda shows pictures of the baby
Champagne for breakfast... It's a must!
Hey Alex & Charlie... Better Make Some Cookies
Santa knows his cookies
Santa had a helper (who is getting danger pay today!)
Let's find a table and begin the project...
Did You Know? - Originally, the term gingerbread (from Latin zingiber via Old French gingebras) referred to preserved ginger. It then referred to a confection made with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used to translate the French term pain d'épices (literally "spice bread") or the German term Lebkuchen or Pfefferkuchen (pepperbread, literally: pepper cake).
The term Lebkuchen is unspecified in the German language. It can mean Leben (life) or Laib (loaf), while the last term comes from the wide range of spices used in this product.
Gingerbread was brought to Europe in 992 by the Armenian monk Gregory of Nicopolis (Gregory Makar) (Grégoire de Nicopolis). He left Nicopolis Pompeii, to live in Bondaroy (France), near the town of Pithiviers. He stayed there 7 years, and taught the Gingerbread cooking to French priests and Christians. He died in 999.
During the 13th century, it was brought to Sweden by German immigrants. Early references from the Vadstena Abbey show how the Swedish nuns were baking gingerbread to ease indigestion in 1444.
Mom provides guidance... This is gonna be fun!
"Hey Alex... Mom and you are getting that look again!"
Isn't it nice that Mom's can handle sticky things???
"Dad's a pretty good squeezer also.... Squeezer... NOT geezer!"
It's going to be a work of art
Did You Know? - Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits, which when many modern ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west. By the 16th century Christmas biscuits had become popular across Europe, with lebkuchen being favoured in Germany and papparkakor in Sweden, while in Norway krumkake were popular.
The earliest examples of Christmas cookies in the United States were brought by the Dutch in the early 17th century. Due to a wide range of cheap imported products from Germany between 1871 and 1906 following a change to importation laws, cookie cutters became available in American markets.
These imported cookies cutters often depicted highly stylised images with subjects designed to hang on Christmas trees. Due to the availability of these utensils, recipes began to appear in cookbooks designed to use them. In the early 20th century, U.S, merchants were also importing decorated lebkuchen cookies from Germany to be used as presents.
In Canada and the United States, since the 1930s, children have left cookies and milk on a table for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, though many people simply consume the cookies themselves.
Alex is watching with care.....
"OK Dad... I got it from here?
How to decorate with one simple step!
The boys had something in mind... A gingerbread ninja is a "ginja"
A proud daddy! That cookie makes his eyes water....
It's ready to go... All it needs is the rug-rats!
Hey dad... Will you pay the bail???
I'm inside and I can't get out!
Double trouble
"Watch me... I am going to hit the ceiling!"
"Mom... My nose is stuck!"
"I can bite my way out"
We are bounce-ologists
Oh-oh.... Charlie found out the grass was wet!
"Come on dad... Take your shoes off also!"
Alex gives us the "Special Christmas Smile"
Family.... So very important
Did You Know? - Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown
We visited with James and Linda for a little bit
We said goodbye to Old Ranch
Always a friendly smile at the front desk
..and a little shopping at Old World