Our New Tradition

This year, for the first time ever, we had a little pumpkin carving party. I really don't like carving pumpkins, or maybe I really don't like cleaning pumpkins out. The carving itself isn't all that bad. But the seeds and slimy guts are not my favorite thing. However, I put that aside and got four pumpkins ready to be carved. Jared found really good directions and tips for the actual carving as well as templates; which were perfect for us non-artsy types - we could just trace! The carving party began right after dinner and was so much fun I think we will be repeating this fun activity every year from now on - including the cinnamon rolls for dessert!

Natalie and Jared made this one. What that means is that Jared did all the work and Natalie ATE the raw pumpkin pieces that Jared cut out.


Samantha and I made this awesome owl pumpkin. Samantha was mostly there for moral support and encouragement as well as to put the candle in place once we were finished.

Abigail was one speedy carver. She made an amazing bat and finished up well before the rest of us. She spent the rest of the time finding all the cut-out pieces of pumpkin and feeding them to Natalie. Emily and Madison worked together on the biggest pumpkin. They got off to a rocky start because they both wanted to be in charge. In the end they split the work of carving in half - Emily the left side and Madison the right.

Comments

  1. Charissa & Don BishopOctober 22, 2010 at 3:59 AM

    We love pumpkin carving parties. We have the missionaries over the week before Halloween and eat dinner, carve pumpkins and toast the seeds, so yummy!

    Glad you all had a blast, the owl is pretty awesome! We are going to make caramel corn this year, do you have a recipe??

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sarah MoranOctober 22, 2010 at 8:40 AM

    The recipe I've always used is from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

    7-8 cups of popped popcorn (not microwave), 3/4 c brown sugar, 6 T butter, 3 T light corn syrup, 1/4 t baking soda, 1/4 t vanilla. 1) Remove any unpopped kernels from popcorn. Put popcorn into a 17x12x2 baking dish in a 300 oven to keep warm. 2) For caramel, in a pan combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until it boils. Continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, without stirring, for 5 minutes. 3) Remove pan from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour caramel over popcorn; stir gently to coat. Bake at 300 for 15 minutes. Stir, bake 5 minutes more. Spread caramel corn on a large piece of buttered foil to cool. Store in an airtight container.

    Good luck and have a fun carving party!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charissa & Don BishopOctober 23, 2010 at 3:31 AM

    Thanks Sarah! The Baking Soda sounds weird in this though

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Faith?

Image
What would you say if someone asked you what faith is? In Hebrews 11, Paul defined faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The assurance of things hoped for - faith is knowing that because of Jesus Christ, we can hope for a brighter future. I feel as if hope and faith are one and the same. Life can be heartbreakingly difficult sometimes and even though I know that challenges are there to help us learn and grow, I sure wish I didn't have to go through those hard times. When I have felt surrounded by struggles and I couldn't see any way that things would ever get better, the only thing that has kept me moving forward is hope. Not the kind of hope that is sort of wishful like hoping your team wins a World Cup game, but hope that is sure because it is based on Christ. Having faith in Jesus Christ is having hope and knowing that His promises are sure.  The evidence of things not seen - faith in God grows when we see Him working in our...
Read more

Anxiety, Friendship, and Insecurity

This post has been kicking around in my head for a while now. My emotions have been closer to the surface lately - which can be both good and bad.  For a couple of weeks last month it was a bad thing and I found myself crying at pretty much everything and feeling alone and friendless even when I was surrounded by people. You'd think I'd be better at making friends after almost forty years of moving and having to form new connections at each new place. Instead, the older I get, the more difficult the process becomes. Even after I make friends deep down I question if we're really friends. I think these feelings of insecurity are part of what makes me willing to do almost anything for my friends. If I do nice things for you maybe you'll continue to tolerate my presence? I think I do a pretty good job hiding my insanity. I can fake confidence really well - smiling and laughing and making small talk. And then I go home and overanalyze and question every little thing I said...
Read more

Four Decades

Image
Birthdays are markers in our lives. Moving from one decade to another is a milestone that is not marked by an accomplishment or an important decision, but simply your age. That's something you can't control as time keeps moving forward whether we're ready for it or not. I can honestly say that I'm not bothered by turning forty and that I still look forward to my birthdays. But there's no denying that those milestone birthdays (you know the ones, they end in zero) are a big deal. A time that, for me, leads to some looking back to see if I've accomplished anything worthwhile in the previous decade of my life or in any of the decades of my life.  So I found photos of myself at all those other ages that end in zero. Maybe if I take it a decade at a time it will be easier to see what I've learned? Seriously, whose dog is this? Italy, 1981 Okay, this first one is already breaking the rules as it's not from a milestone birthday. I have two pictures...
Read more