5 Little Pumpkins

Why is it that carving pumpkins is always harder, messier, and takes longer than I anticipate? The problem is I still keep thinking of it as a family activity even though I'm the one who does all the cutting, scooping, carving, and clean up. Not to mention the seed sorting (which takes forever!) and roasting - but that part is totally worth it. Mmm, just the smell of toasted pumpkin seeds makes smile. We had five pumpkins to carve this year - one for each child. My two youngest are unbelievably cute but extremely counter-productive when it comes to pumpkin carving. My two middle boys have pumpkin goop issues. One is a goop-wimp and refuses to even touch the stuff. The other could play in it (i.e. carry it around the house, hide it, stuff it, smear it, throw it at his brothers) all day which is why I'm still finding dried pumpkin everywhere. But my oldest was genuinely helpful this year. He got tired of the scooping part and I ended up doing it, but (despite my nervousness watching him with a knife) he carved his jack-o-lantern himself. And of course all the boys designed their own pumpkin faces. Here's what we had to work with:I love how their personalities come out in even the simplest of activities. Here were the instructions: Go draw your own design. Notice Clayton graphed his out precisely on graph paper - see how perfectly symmetrical? Isaac - creative as always (I love his robot idea) - drew his in 3 seconds flat (least amount of effort by far) on the nearest thing available - the paper plate I had ready for scooping seeds. Brig made several drawings on regular paper and picked his favorite. He wrote his name on the forehead of every single one (but instructed me not to carve that part). And the girls had absolutely no say. I just made them "girlish" at Clayton's request.
And didn't they turn out great?
As always everyone was proud of their jack-o-lanterns and their hard work (ha!).
And even though it took my scooping arm two days to recover, I loved seeing our five little pumpkins light up five nights of Halloween this year.
See? Totally worth it.

Happy Halloween!
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