Spooky Pumpkins

Sunday evening we did our annual pumpkin carving.  Justin isn't a big fan of the carving part, so I typically do it.  Garytt was eager to watch at first.



But I guess it took a bit too long for me to get the pumpkin open because off he went.  (But look, I can carve pumpkins without even looking...ha!)



After I opened up the first pumpkin, it was time to dig out all the insides.  Garytt was eager to help...





Until he decided it was "yucky."  I tried to get him to touch the pumpkin guts, but he would have none of it.





Garytt decided it was safest to just poke around inside the pumpkin with his spoon...then his hands wouldn't have to come into contact with anything slimy.



Then Westyn had a breakdown in the office.  I think he wanted to see what was going on at the table.



So, we put him in his highchair so he could view the action....he was much happier.



After I finished carving my pumpkin, we let Westyn take a look at it up close.









Of course, then it was time to clean out Justin's pumpkin.  Again, Garytt didn't want to touch the insides.  However, once I got it mostly cleaned out, I convinced him to pick up one of the remaining pumpkin seeds inside.



He only touched one pumpkin seed and then he was done.  This boy really doesn't like the feel of slimy things!

Although Justin doesn't like to carve his pumpkin, he does draw out a face for me to carve.  I tend to carve a very traditional Jack-O-Lantern face into my pumpkin, so Garytt wasn't too surprised by the finished product...he has seen similar "spooky pumpkins" in coloring books and on cartoons.  However, when we showed Garytt the face Justin had drawn onto the pumpkin, he was excited and tried to make the same silly face...it was pretty funny.





So, I set to work carving Justin's pumpkin.  Apparently, Justin felt the need to capture my face as I was concentrating...this is serious work!



While I carved Justin's pumpkin, Westyn played with his pumpkin.







Garytt also played with his pumpkin (kind of like a bowling ball) while wearing his winter hat that looks like a puppy backwards.





And here are the finished products.





I thought our "spooky pumpkins" (that is what Garytt calls Jack-O-Lanterns) turned out pretty well.  We don't really do those impressive carvings where you do a witch flying on a broomstick with the moon glowing behind her.  I'm so not that patient with the process and I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Jack-O-Lanterns...although it's mostly that I don't have the patience.

We are ready Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Last weekend we went to Peach Tree Farm pumpkin patch. Garytt was very interested an excited about all the pumpkins they had right at the front. He tried to pick up a few of them.

Justin convinced him to just give the pumpkin a hug since it was too big for him to pick up.

Then I tried to get the boys to pose at one of the many places for a photo op but Garytt really wasn't into sitting for a picture. Westyn, however, was all about sitting there playing with they hay.

We then headed out to the pumpkin patch and found some animals to visit on they way out there.

We also came across a little cabin about the size of a playhouse on the way out to the pumpkin area. Garytt really liked playing in there and peaking out the window.

Then Westyn got in on the action, too.

Then I convinced Garytt to climb to to top of a hay stack and tried to get another picture of the boys together. Again, not a huge success.

One of the other things Garytt enjoyed out at the farm was all the wooden cut out figures. He enjoyed peaking out of the holes and looking around (even though he looks a little worried in the scarecrow one).

We finally headed out to the actual pumpkin patch.

And, of course, there was another photo op. They had a horse made out of corn stalks pulling a wagon full of hay.

And I still didn't manage to get both boys looking at the camera at the same time.

Finally Garytt was able to pick out a small pumpkin for himself and one for Westyn.

And he was very excited to hold his pumpkin the rest of the time.

We did convince him to let me hold it while he did the hay maze. He was so excited about the hay maze that we lost him for quite some time in there! (I have to say that despite the fact that he enjoyed the hay maze, I didn't much like the fact that it was totally enclosed, including the top. Every other toddler hay maze I have seen, the parents can see over the top of the hay bales to keep an eye on the little ones. So, this maze made me a little nervous.)

The only way we convinced Garytt to leave the fun of the hay maze, was to entice him with a tractor ride! Justin and Garytt went on the tractor ride while Westyn and I hung out. It's just too much trouble to figure out what to do with the stroller.

Garytt was excited to wave at us upon their return!

As we headed back towards the entrance, there was another corn stalk horse with a wagon full of pumpkins.

Garytt decided it might be more fun to jump in the wagon of pumpkins with Westyn.

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of the boys from our pumpkin patch outing.

We had a great day at the pumpkin patch, especially with the wonderful weather. When we got home, we lined up the two big pumpkins and the two little pumpkins on the front porch. Garytt says "hi" to them out the window every morning and tells me which one belongs to Daddy, Mommy, Garytt and Westyn. He's pretty excited about pumpkins!