Carving Pumpkins

I cannot remember the last time I carved a pumpkin. We had so much fun tonight I feel like a giddy little kid. I want everyone to come over and see our creations! They are nothing special but the magic that floods the air when you light a candle in them on a crisp, dark night is irreplaceable!

We had four pumpkins to carve - two small and two large. We set up the table, newspaper underneath, carving tools set to the side and began to dig in. Olivia was quite intrigued, Braden more disgusted than curious. He wanted NO part of "getting dirty." Steve and I jumped in and started pulling out the seeds and strings of pumpkin that squish between your hands. I have to admit the first handful does feel rather slimy but after that it's fun! Who doesn't like to get dirty - what child doesn't like to get dirty? We were baffled. I also thought Olivia might dive in but she wasn't sure what to do. She did try to carve with a small (dull!) knife and scoop out the guts with a pumpkin spoon but didn't reach her arm in as I had envisioned. Steve and I made up for their tentativeness.

Braden decided to fully participate when it was time to carve! He and Steve chanted, "in and out, in and out" as they pushed and pulled at the knife creating a "scary" face with "shark teeth." See if you can guess which one that is in the picture! :) Olivia and I made a ghost. We lit them right away in the kitchen and turned out the lights. WOW - darkness does wonders for our talents!

We took the jack-o-lanterns outside once we were all finished and got them arranged just perfect. I should probably mention that by this time Olivia was in bed, Braden looking at his catalogs again and the "we" that was making sure the pumpkins were perfect was just Steve and I! It was really fun; I can't believe we haven't done this before now. We didn't know what we were missing. We enticed Braden to come out and look at them with us which he did after I bribed him with trick or treating! Is that bad to use bribery every once and again? Hope not!

So all in all it was a really fun Friday night! I loved being able to be creative and no matter what you do - the result is always great when you light it up in the darkness. If you haven't already (and you obviously don't need kids as an excuse) I think everyone should go and get a pumpkin to carve. If for nothing else, to get the yummy pumpkin seeds that are in our oven roasting right now. What a fun time of year this is.