Pumpkin Carving

     This morning was our big chance to carve a pumpkin this year, so Daddy showed Madison how it was done.  She was really into it - especially the initial part where we pulled out the pumpkin's guts!  Daddy carved the lid out just right, and rolled the pumpkin on its side... and then we reached in there and discovered....uh-oh!  What is that stuff?

     Ewwwww!  Madison helped Daddy pull out all the yuck from inside the pumpkin.  Each time, together we said, "ewwwww!"  We said this over and over and over and over again, too!  That's because there were a lot of guts inside this pumpkin.  There was a lot of stuff to remove, including seeds, which Madison now says pretty well.  Mommy got the seeds and is right now cooking pumpkin seeds for us later...yummy!  We can't wait for that!

     You can see in this picture that she has her hair pulled back and is really getting into it, large spoon in hand.  She kept saying, "dig" as she scraped the insides and helped Daddy get that pumpkin nice and clean.  She was reaching deep, and together we got everything out so Daddy could start carving. 

     Last year, we carved Winnie the Pooh  on our pumpkin - but this is the year of Minnie Mouse.  Madison watched Daddy carve his pumpkin slowly but surely.  It took some time, and Madison was helping out frequently by pointing things out:  "Nose!"  "Ears!"  "Eyes!"  "Mouse!"

     When Daddy finished, it was still daylight out.  We went to work for a bit this afternoon, but when we returned, it was time to light the pumpkin!

     Daddy put a candle inside it just before dinner.  We shut off all the lights and finally got to take a look at Minnie and see what she looked like.  Madison enjoyed that very much - she insisted that all the lights go off in the house immediately.  Even the ones down the hallway!

     We'll put this pumpkin out on the porch soon, and tomorrow we'll be sure to take a photo of our little Minnie Mouse sitting next to the pumpkin.  

      But for now, we were hungry - it was dinner time!  With our pumpkin there on the table, we got ready for our evening meal.  Mommy had put out the ingredients for another do-it-yourself pizza, so Madison raced down the hallway to get her apron.  We washed our hands, and then Daddy and Madison created another masterpiece.  Delicious homemade pizza!

     We're not through eating yet though.  Next on the menu:  tasty baked pumpkin seeds.  Yummy!