Christmas 2016 And Robin's Birthday - Disneyland

"I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month."

It's Tradition!  Robin's Birthday Means Disneyland And Catal! 12/5/2016

Indeed tradition is essential and December 5th is Robin's birthday! Robin, Bob, and Nick hold a special place in our hearts and we love spending time with them! Disneyland is always a great place to share.

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016

We stopped at Catal first and had a drink awaiting the arrival of the Duda's.  When they arrived we decided we wanted to see the Great Gingerbread House in the Grand Californian Hotel so off we went!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
The Grand Californian Hotel lobby held a magnificent tree

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
The gingerbread house was six feet tall!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
That is a lot of dough!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
I don't think we can do that at home!

 

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
"No Nick... You can't bite into it!"

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Yummy and it smells good too

Did You Know? - A gingerbread house is a model house made of gingerbread. The usual material is crisp ginger biscuit made of gingerbread – the ginger nut. Another type of model-making with gingerbread uses a boiled dough that can be moulded like clay to form edible statuettes or other decorations. These houses, covered with a variety of candies and icing, are popular Christmas decorations, often built by children with the help of their parents.

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Huge... Wonder how many people it would feed?

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
The details!

Did You Know? - Records of honey cakes can be traced to ancient Rome. Food historians ratify that ginger has been seasoning foodstuffs and drinks since antiquity. It is believed gingerbread was first baked in Europe at the end of the 11th century, when returning crusaders brought back the custom of spicy bread from the Middle East.

Ginger was not only tasty, it had properties that helped preserve the bread. According to the French legend, gingerbread was brought to Europe in 992 by the Armenian monk, later saint, Gregory of Nicopolis (Gregory Makar). He lived for seven years in Bondaroy, France, near the town of Pithiviers, where he taught gingerbread cooking to priests and other Christians. He died in 999.

Gingerbread, as we know it today, descends from Medieval European culinary traditions. Gingerbread was also shaped into different forms by monks in Franconia, Germany in the 13th century. Lebkuchen bakers are recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm and 1395 in Nuremberg, Germany. Nuremberg was recognized as the "Gingerbread Capital of the World" when in the 1600s the guild started to employ master bakers and skilled workers to create complicated works of art from gingerbread.

Medieval bakers used carved boards to create elaborate designs. During the 13th century, the custom spread across Europe. It was taken to Sweden in the 13th century by German immigrants; there are references from Vadstena Abbey of Swedish nuns baking gingerbread to ease indigestion in 1444.

The traditional sweetener is honey, used by the guild in Nuremberg. Spices used are ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom.

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Bob and Sue were getting "Gee-Whizzed"

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Awe.... Love at Christmas time!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Paul hugs the little Elf

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
The tree was 30+ feet tall and had 1000's of lights in it!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
We had beautiful music in the great hall

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
We love our family!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
"Hey Nick... Wanna climb the tree?"

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
We checked out the back side of the house!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
To the Ferris Wheel

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Up Up we go!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Paul is NOT scared.... much!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
We forgot, Paul is afraid of heights

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Too cold to touch!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Mr. Bear... Lighting the way!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
It was a cool evening and the Moon was out!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Robin gets her small birthday cake

Did You Know? - The melody for the Happy Birthday song was first penned by two sisters, Mildred and Patty Hill.

It is thought that birthday celebrations originated in the Roman Empire. And they were largely due to the prominent religion at the time, Mithraism, which was later supplanted by Christianity.

Children who are on the leap day of February 29th often celebrate their birthdays on March 1st.

Germans take birthdays very seriously, sometimes receiving a half-day of vacation. The most common gifts among friends include flowers and wine.

In England, when you reach 80, 90 or 100 years of age, you receive a telegram from the Queen.

In India, black and white gift wrapping is considered unlucky.

The French and Italian celebrate Name Days more so than birthdays.

In Korea, the two most important birthdays are the 100th day and the 60th year.

A Golden Birthday happens only once in a person's lifetime. It happens when the person's age and the date of the day they were born is the same.

Close to two billion Birthday Cards are sent each year in the U.S. alone, accounting for nearly 58 percent of all cards sent.

The world's largest birthday cake was created in 1989 it weighed 128,238 pounds, 8 oz. and used 16,209 pounds of icing.

The most common birth date is October 5 and the least common is May 22 in U.S.A.

The day of the week in which the most babies are born is Tuesday while Sunday is the lowest day.

Anne Frank's world famous diary was given to her when she was thirteen years old.

The children's day in India is celebrated on 14th November- the birthday of Jawahar Lal Nehru in memory of his love for children.

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
"Who? Me?  Come on!  It's ROOT BEER"

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016
Family is so very important!

Happy Birthday Robin 12/6/2016

Animated Birthday