Tea with Mrs. Nesbitt: 2025 Pumpkin Carving Party

Tonight we hosted our annual Pumpkin Carving Party, and it was honestly the best ever. We had a lot of good friends make the trip to join us, and I couldn't take pictures of everyone - I was cycling around to visit with so many friends. Mom worked so incredibly hard for this event, cooking up amazing treats and some special Glögg, a Scandinavian hot drink comprised of grape concentrate, lemon juice and mulling spices. It was actually pretty good! We sat around talking for a good bit as people arrived, and of course we were eating the food there, the mummy hot dogs, the eye ball deviled eggs, and of course the amazing chili that Mom makes each year. Others brought homemade cookies and desserts, and so we had a lot of good eats.

The weather outside was gorgeous. We had the fire pit area looking nice, and corn hole toss set up too, along with the tables lined up on deck, completely loaded with the carving implements. Soon it was ready to get to work! It's so much fun talking and creating artwork, and the weather outside was just perfect for this sort of thing.

Josh brought along an old video recorder and I snapped some photos from my cell phone. Nate was there - he carved a lizard, a current meme. Maddie was inspired by all the Lorax costumes from Dollywood visitors, so she did a Lorax pumpkin that wound up being my favorite pumpkin of the night. It's such a special time, cleaning out the pumpkins, putting way too much thought into what to carve, and then getting the right tools for the job. I've got my own specific tools, my own personal set. I opted to do a simple face, one that would go along with the tremendous stem my pumpkin has.

We celebrated Josh's birthday with a gift for him, and a watermelon cake! And at the same time, they celebrated my birthday as well, and there were a lot of jaws dropping when everyone saw Mom come out with that massive slice of apple pie. We put a candle on top, and I blew out the candle after everyone sang. That was fun. I sampled a little of the apple pie slice, but I'll get a real taste of it tomorrow I think.

As dusk began to really take hold, we began the process of assembling the pumpkins together on the fireplace, stacking them up this time and lighting candles within each one. We had a lot more pumpkins this year, but we managed to make them all fit within the final group portrait. It's a wonderful moment when we turn off all the lights and just sit there, admiring everyone's pumpkin designs shining through, the flickering candles illuminating each pumpkin. It's just so special.

And that was the point where it all sort of wrapped up. We were a bit tired, and that was okay. The guys helped put tables up, and some others helped Mom clean up the kitchen. We said our goodbyes as one by one, our guests left with their pumpkins, and happy memories of the night. Soon, I'd be going through the pictures I took of the pumpkin line-up. All the pumpkins turned out so well! Maddie and I drove Nate home, and that was it for our night, outside of some reading and prayers. It was a good night, but a long day. We were doing quite a bit for the set-up, and there was even Team Edge practice in there, grocery shopping, and a nice little thrift shop gift I found: an Amy Grant CD that I was looking for. Maddie and I were doing some weeding, and laying down mulch too, plus blowing leaves about. And then there was the vacuuming. The point is, we were tired! Time to get some sleep, because tomorrow is going to be fun at KidPak. Before leaving, here are some pictures from our pumpkin carving party!