Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Pumpkin Carving Fun!

We really enjoy carving pumpkins each year as a family for part of our Halloween fun. Joe isn't really into carving an actual pumpkin yet--truth be known, he doesn't like getting the slimy stuff all over his sweet, little hands. This is the second year he has made what he calls his "Mr. Pumpkin". He enjoys creating and re-creating faces on his "Mr. Pumpkin" while Jamie, Hanna and myself do the real carving.



I am a novice pumpkin carver compared to Jamie and Hanna. I tried to make my pumpkin into a "Pumpkin Jack" after one of our favorite Halloween books, but this is what I ended up with instead:-). Yes, I actually carved this, and not my four-year-old son. Jamie and my mom teased me about the juvenile look to my pumpkin--that's ok. There's only so much you can accomplish while carving and tending to the baby at the same time:-).



Hanna's pumpkin, Jamie and I both agreed, was by far the best of our creations this year. She did a super job!! She does everything on her own now--this is her second year of completely carving alone. She is turning into a crafty girl, if I do say so myself!





Jamie usually chooses a template for his pumpkins. He has done some pretty complex jack-o-lanterns over the years. However, the last two years we've had babies to watch while carving, so we've tried to simplify a bit. Last year he really simplified by bringing out the drill and using a uni-bit to "carve" his. This was hilarious and the kids were cracking up! He free handed it this year. I've been told by some there is a resemblance to Jamie and his pumpkin. I have to say, I agree:-)!



Here's my annual "on the porch" pic of the kids with our finished creations.



Jack was napping while we carved our jack-o-lanterns. He'll probably get to join in next year. I wasn't up to braving it with him this year.


Here's a picture of our own homegrown jack-o-lantern. This one is my favorite, and I'm giving it First Prize!!



We finished off our pumpkin carving family fun with Halloween Pasta for dinner.



We had a super fun Sunday together. A family tradition that I really enjoy each year. Makes me so very thankful for such a wonderful family!

16 comments:

  1. What fun! I really like the non-carving alternative for Joe. He still got to be creative but in a more age appropriate way! All the kids at school got to carve pumpkins and luckily there were a few parents there to help because carving 20 pumpkins in an hour was a lot of work!

    Katie

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  2. I have never carved a pumpkin. How sad is that? I think all of your pumpkins look great! Jesse is so cute in that outfit! I love all of the photos. I have seen that Halloween pasta; I should buy some.

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  3. great pumpkins! we had fun carving ours too and we have been eating Kraft Halloween shaped mac n cheese :)

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  4. Cool pumpkins and lovely tradition too!

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  5. How fun! Your pumpkins turned out great, especially the live baby one =)

    We borrowed Pumpkin Jack book from the library after reading about it on your blog, and I really like it - thanks for the recommendation!

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  6. I forgot to tell you this weeks nature themeis pumpkins so link up if you want! or let me know and i'll link ya!

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  7. Haha, i love your homegrown jack o lantern ;) And ive seen that pasta at our grocery store but didnt buy it this year. Its cute though!

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  8. What fun! I thought Joe's pumpkin turned out so cute. My kids use to never get the opportunity to carve pumpkins, since I canned them, but they would paint the faces and such on them. They got pretty creative with that! Great job to all and their pumpkins!

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  9. I love all your pumpkins - Jamie's face cracked me up. I just love reading the posts about your family life - it sounds so very cozy and bright.

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  10. Where did you find the Halloween pasta? That is way too cool.
    And where did you get the stuff Joe used? Those are just way too cool.
    And of course I love little Jesse in his cute little pumpkin outfit, and the kids on the steps.

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  11. Very fun. I love seeing all the things you do as family time. We do may of the same on our family nights. Makes me want to grab the camera and post about them as well.

    Cool Halloween pasta! I just found a recipe for Spaghetti and Eyeballs that we'll be making this week.

    http://rogersfamilycircus.blogspot.com/

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  12. I love Jesse's outfit. So perfect for your carving day. The kiddos look like they had a blast.

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  13. That picture of Jesse in the pumpkin outfit is so cute!

    Great job on the pumpkins! I used to really get into carving my pumpkin. I did the Pearl Jam stick figure one year and that one was hard! I guess that was about 15 years ago! LOL!

    I haven't carved pumpkins for about 2 years now.

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  14. oh my goodness...I love Joe's Pumpkin! How cute is he! And Hannah is really crafty...Ariel tends to be the same way! And I can't get over how cute Jesse looks in his little pumpkin outfit! It was great talking to you today! :)

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  15. Mr. Pumpking is adorable! What a cute idea. My kids love Mr. Potato head too.

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  16. Love the Mr. Pumpkinhead...he is very cute. If we still had pieces around here, we'd have to do that too. :)

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