We have explored a different pumpkin patch every year since George was tiny (our first one was when he was 3 months old, and we've been to a new one each fall since then), and the one this year was really lovely. We were the only people out there for most of the time, and there were hundreds of pretty pumpkins for the picking.
Pearl and George wandered around checking out the pumpkins for a bit before deciding on the ones they wanted. George made good use of his feet to flip pumpkins over and check out the other sides.
There was some pretty golden light for about 4 minutes right when we arrived, and I was able to snap a few of my favorite photos ever of my little Pea. I just love her in these.
George found the pumpkin he wanted (which, upon kicking over, was discovered to have a completely flat back but he wanted it anyway-- or maybe, I'm just realizing this now, he wanted a pumpkin with a flat back and that is why he was kicking them all over and checking them in the first place??) and he proudly rolled it down the path towards our car.
He enlisted his sister's help.
And, naturally, she took charge just as fast as she could. (She doesn't yet know how lucky she is to have such a mild, gentle, kind soul for a big brother.)
He just nicely held her hand while she took over his hand-picked pumpkin. I really, really love these two people and all of the different things that make them just the way they are.
Happily for George, Mama stepped in and redirected Pearl towards some new pumpkins that were a little more her size.
She didn't need pumpkins to distract her once she spotted the horses. She screamed "Forsies! Forsies!" and made a beeline for them. She kept tripping over pumpkin vines so I gave her a little lift.
I love how you can tell that it was freezing outside by Pearl's watery eyes and red nose.
A closer look at that chilly little face.
We loaded our pumpkins into the wheelbarrow and let G and P go for a little ride on top of them. They thought it was the greatest thing ever.
A couple more pictures (including a rare shot of all 4 of us-- thank you, Kind Pumpkin Farmer!), and then we ran to the car and cranked up the heat :).
And what, you may ask, did we do with our pumpkins? Well, let me show you.
We scraped out the gooey guts. (Or "endocarp," as George will quickly inform you.)
Pearl got to work making sure George's was completely seed-free, bless her heart.
I love how huge the pumpkin looks compared to her head at this angle.
We drew on a scary face with the ever-important "spikey mouth."
We sliced off the tops while people watched in fear that we might slice off our hands (we didn't, and I am a perfectly competent pumpkin cutter, thankyouverymuchMomandJohn). And Pearl ate pizza.
We carved. George was very serious about this part.
I love how focused he looks in these.
He cut out that nose all by himself and would've done the rest alone too, if I had been willing to extend our pumpkin carving time by about 16 hours :).
Pearl thought carving looked like fun so she helped herself to a recently sharpened kitchen knife and the side of George's pumpkin. I didn't mind. My mom, however, did, and in case you were worried, the knife was taken away right after these pictures were snapped.
Pearl recovered quickly when she found another sharp object to hold. I am with her-- if her brother can do it, so can she, right? :)
Madeline broke out the power tools for her pumpkin.
John carved a happy pumpkin face for Pearl.
She thought he looked hungry. How about a carrot stick? No? Perhaps some pizza?
When the pumpkin didn't bite, she fed the pizza to Daddy and herself, respectively.
George and me smiling after the carving was complete.
The finished products (L to R: my mom's, Mady's, mine, Pearl's, and George's):
A closer look.
Pearl came out by the pumpkins and wanted a light. We gave her one and I told her to put it up by her eyes in the hope that it might illuminate her face enough to get it in the picture. This picture cracks me up because of how obedient she was being-- RIGHT by her eyes :).
She was being so silly and crazy right there with the pumpkins, but we couldn't really tell what she was doing because it was so dark. I turned on my flash to see if I could capture any of it. She is so entertaining. (By the way, how cool is that pumpkin on the left? My mom found that somewhere and I have coveted it all season long.)
Madeline came out and she and Pearl had fun playing with the lights.
I sort of can't believe that we just barely carved these and now it's already time to throw them away and start anticipating all of the other fall/winter holidays that I love. This fall went by so fast for me, and though I'm not quite ready for winter yet, I was super happy that Mother Nature gave us one more blissful fall day for Halloween yesterday. It was so beautiful outside that I even took George and Pearl over to a park for some pictures in their "inside costumes." (I almost always plan for a second costume that is plenty warm for trick-or-treating if the other costume they are wearing for all of the school/church parties isn't going to keep them warm enough.)
Here is a little peak of my Zookeeper and Garden Gnome.
More (lots more) to come.
1 comment:
So fun. I always love looking at your pictures:).
Post a Comment