Papa and Nana's Pre-Christmas Extravaganza, Pt. II

A chill morning with Papa and Nanna

Alright, so here's the second installment for this year's Holiday visit with Papa and Nana.  Gingerbread houses, restaurants, and a butt-load of fake snow.

Check it out:

Coloring, in both digital and analog

Revisiting the old hammock attraction at the Sheraton Vistana Villages 

This visit's required Girls-on-the-Bridge shot

The treacherous Rock Wall

Heading home and singing Christmas Carols (obnoxiously, of course.)

(They had to wait out in our front yard for awhile, as Kris and I were having my oil changed up the road when they showed up. . . so here's a random portrait in front of Monster Bush.)

We decided that it might be fun for the girls to construct their very own Gingerbread House this year. . .

Fortunately they sell Gingerbread House Kits these days so bumpkins like us can throw it together without cooking the shit from scratch ('cause we all know how that would turn out.)

Typical.

After we 'glued' the house panels together with icing, we had to wait 15 minutes. . . and so, out come the devices.

After Intermission, it was decorating time. . .

The shark circles in the water. . .

'One for the house, one for me' was definitely Abby's mantra for this activity.

I was forced to hold this thing together while it dried - if I let go, we'd have a housing collapse on our hands (we all know how those go.)

The finished product. . . which looks EXACTLY like the box.

(I'm trying to hide in the background, but can't let go of the house yet.)

Abby gets her nails did.

Labels are always necessary.

The gingerbread structure completed, Dad and Cindy took us out to Planet Hollywood (they had been given a gift certificate for the establishment from the timeshare people they blew off.)

Last time we were here, I almost dropped Abby down these stairs, as I had forgotten to strap her in to her infant car seat. . . like the awesome father that I am.

Fortunately, the service here was better than our last visit (it couldn't have been worse, honestly.)

The kids behaved themselves, too. . . which is always a rare treat.

Leaving the restaurant and heading out through Downtown Disney's Maze of Bullshit, en route to our next family adventure. . .

. . . Celebration, FL.  I despise this place, but Kris really wanted to come back for the snow, and convinced Dad and Cindy it was worth checking out, so I the votes were against me.

Fake snow, rich people style.

We barely made it for the 8pm 'snowfall' - if we had missed it, we would've had to wait around for the 9pm one, as they only do it every hour on the hour, for about fifteen minutes or so.  That was something I was definitely not cool with.

Ultimately, though, the kids enjoyed themselves, so I guess that's all that matters.

The concept of fake snow must be amusing to winter-hardened Michiganders like my folks. . .

Abby tries to clutch snowflakes (unsuccessfully.)

The Houghs

Setting up the girls' hide-a-bed back at Papa and Nana's suite (yes, once again we gladly pounced on the opportunity to off-load our kids on someone else for the night.)

The End of Part II - stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion.

- Brian