Gingerbread Houses

Every year we have a hard time saying farewell to our gingerbread houses.  This year the houses made it until mid-February before they were tossed.  We are already looking forward to making more houses in December!

Jared ate most of the candy off his house long ago

Daniel house is full of interesting  little details

I think Sara ate more candy than she used to decorate her house.  But she sure had fun with the process!

Gingerbread Houses with the Kemps

What can I say? We love doing gingerbread houses!!!

Jared is hard at work

Wala! It is done! Jared & his masterpiece.

Uncle Kev joins in the fun!

Grandma Kemp's lovely house

Daniel & his masterpiece

I know the picture doesn't do justice to the work of art but hopefully it will give you a sense of all the carefully thought out details. Daniel created a sleigh, a mailbox, a parking lot (complete with a laser security system), a lock on the door, a garden gate, a clock, just to name a few details. This little house has taken him several days and many, many hours. It really is a work of art.

I think Daniel is amazing!!!

The front of Daniel's house.
Uncle Jon helped with the finishing touches.

The back of Daniel's house.

Gingerbread Houses with Daniel's Class

Our boys love it when we share our Christmas traditions with others. So here we are again (for the third year in a row).

Yes, we really are a little crazy but we LOVE it!!!
Don't worry we're not crazy enough to do it all alone we had A LOT of help!!

A very special thank you to everyone!!!
Erin for helping count cups of flour
Suzann for donating the cardboard & cutting and wrapping it too!
Chris & Bryan for helping to assemble the houses
Jenn for helping with the transport & in the classroom
The Bell & Martinez families for donating the candy
CWE for letting us borrow the flatbed dolly
Mrs. K for welcoming us into her classroom

Cookies with Jared's Preschool Class

Because we had so much fun decorating gingerbread cookies with Daniel when he was in preschool we decided to do it again with Jared and his class. Miss Malia is so wonderful and we thank her for welcoming us into her classroom for this activity.

Jared was a big help in mixing, cutting, and baking the cookies. I made the frosting and together with Miss Malia we helped his classmates decorate the cookies. There were some pretty fabulous looking gingerbread people and trees!!!

How I wish I'd remembered to take the camera to class. Oops! Oh well, at least we have these few shots taken at home.


Jared with the cookies ready for school. He is soooo excited!!!



Jared enjoying the product of his labors afterschool. Yum!



Jared and Daniel worked together to make these adorable little reindeer to give to their classmates. Aren't they cute?! We've certainly had a lot of fun getting ready for Christmas this year.

It's Gingerbread Season!!

How can you tell it's Christmas at the Kemp Home?

By the scent of freshly baked gingerbread that fills the air!!


I didn't realize how much our children associated certain smells with different seasons until recently.

Earlier in the month, I was in the process of making a dessert to take to a Relief Society Enrichment Meeting when Daniel came home from school. The first words out of his mouth when he came through the door were, "Where's the gingerbread? How many more days until Christmas?"

I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. It was then that I realized I had been baking gingerbread for my trifle and in Daniel's mind the smell of gingerbread directly correlates with Christmas!!