Pumpkin Party Success

I was afraid our family pumpkin carving party was not going to happen this year. Luckily, things worked out and we were able to get together on Friday night for food and fun. I always look forward to this night and was glad when Micah said he had been looking forward to it all week too!

Micah and Nate came early to help me clean pumpkins. Micah was a ninja with the knife and the three of us were able to finish the job quickly.

David and Kristy dressed up for work, so they came in their costumes which were great! They also brought dry ice to add to the festive feel- a first for us!

Angela had to come late because of work, but she made it and that always makes me happy. Having extended family around always makes things more fun!!


After our traditional Halloween Dinner (with a few new surprises on the menu this year!), Soren and Emily were excited to start carving. They eagerly picked their patterns and pumpkins to match and then- neither of them stuck it out to the end. I finished Emily's Elmo pumpkin and Angela finished Soren's Cookie Monster pumpkin. (Shaving was a new technique for us this year and I'm not sure if I'm a fan. Thank goodness David brought his more "professional" tools for carving or I would have been in trouble!) Kristy was a good sport and entertained kids while we carved. They played with her phone (and David's!), started an air hockey tournament and watched How To Train Your Dragon. After the movie, they came to see the finished pumpkins.


I'm always amazed at the results each year and love putting the pumpkins out on our porch for all the trick-or-treaters to see. Micah's "axe murderer" was a huge hit. (It blows my mind what he creates each year because he does it free hand!) Nathan's "Jack Skelington" was also a favorite. David's "devil face" scared some of the younger kids but impressed the older ones. Kelly and Megan took on my personal favorite- the double layer hand! Next year I want my whole garden full of these! Kate tried to carve the YW torch, but was disappointed the face didn't turn out, leaving it to be a plain torch. I like it, especially with the right light that made it look like real fire! After finishing Soren and Emily's pumpkins, Angela took on the spider and I took on the bat and the pirate fish. I love them all. David also started a Beatles pumpkin for Kristy, who is a HUGE fan, but didn't finish it before they needed to go. At nearly midnight, we still had two pumpkins left! Micah was the hero and did the small ghost and the jack o' lantern.



So- pumpkin carving this year was a success. I'm so thankful for the family that came and made it a great night. We missed Ben and Melissa this year. We hope they missed us because it was a lot of fun! Maybe they can come back next year.