Pumpkins for Halloween

Yesterday (10/25/11) we all went out to the pumpkin patch. It's a small one at Epiphany Lutheran Church which is the church we attend (when we can which sadly because of my odd hours, we haven't been able to go much lately). We like it because everything goes to the Preschool & we really like that church. Everyone there is very nice & friendly. We went to that pumpkin patch last year & really liked it so it was an easy decision to get our pumpkins there again this year.

It was a nice evening & I always like taking my time but there was a thunderstorm watch in effect & it was supposed to rain & Garyn was in alot of pain from his toe. We were going to have to hurry but I was so thankful that Garyn was willing to walk on his injured foot for 10min so we could get our pumpkins. We got there & Rya was so excited to pick out some pumpkins. We only have the Sit 'n Stand double stroller now & I didn't want to take it out since we'd be pretty quick so I just carried Hayden. I was hoping he'd walk since the patch is on grass but since he will not walk in shoes, he would not walk barefoot on the grass. He started crying as soon as his 1st toe touched the grass. Luckily the patch had several wagons so I put Hayden in one but he flipped out! He calmed down when Rya got in but he'd start crying again if the wagon wasn't moving. I was surprised Rya stayed in the wagon the entire time. She usually wants to walk.

We were able to find 2 good pumpkins for Garyn & I. Rya & I loved the tiny pumpkins so we got 1 of those for each of the kids. As Garyn was paying, I decided to take the time to get a few pictures of the kids next to some of the decorations. Rya is a hamm like always & loves having her picture taken. Hayden on the other hand, screamed as soon as I sat him down & didn't stop till I picked him up. A pumpkin patch worker offered to get a picture of the kids & I & I totally love that picture!

Even though we went quickly through the pumpkin patch, we had a good time & I got some great pictures! Our plan was to go home right away & carve them. For the 1st time, I bought the stencil kit & was excited to try it & have pumpkins with awesome designs. Once we got home, it took awhile to get everything set up. Then Hayden was being ultra cranky & Rya wouldn't get out of the way. We were able to get the tops cut off & the insides all scraped out but we stopped there. We decided it'd be easier to carve the pumpkins once the kids were asleep.

Hayden has been tough at night lately. He'll show signs that he's tired around 9pm but will be up till 10pm. He went down around 10pm & then I did my nightly clean up & got on the couch for my cuddle time with  Rya. I fell asleep with Rya on the couch & Garyn was waking me up at about 11:45pm so we could finish our pumpkins. I was so tired & just wanted to go to bed but was looking forward to some alone time with my husband of carving pumpkins. We picked our designs & totally didn't understand the directions. Now that they are done, I realize how easy it was but since it was our 1st time using the stencils we tried to follow the directions word for word. We decided to figure it out ourselves. Garyn picked a grim reaper (it has to do with him riding motocross) & I picked a witch with a 'Welcome'. I decided that was too hard so chose a simple witch instead. Garyn got his design traced on the pumpkin & started carving. When I finally finished tracing my design, I realized I didn't press hard enough & not much of the design was on the pumpkin. I turned it around & picked an easier ghost design. By the time I was done tracing that, Garyn was done with his pumpkin. The grim reaper looked great! I finished my  carving but my pumpkin was so thick that Garyn had to use a regular kitchen knife to get all the pieces out. Once it was all done, they both looked great! I was kind of disappointed we didn't get many pictures of us carving only because I bought special pumpkin carving scrapbook stickers but we were both so tired. We are pretty please with our pumpkins & had a good time. Something I always look forward to every year & always did even as a kid & am so happy I can now do this with my own family.