Carving Out Fun

After our annual visit to the pumpkin patch and we've picked out some giant gourds to bring home, we then engage in another fun family fall tradition: carving our pumpkins and turning them into jolly jack o' lanterns. Actually, my dh does all the carving; in fact, somehow Brett gets stuck with most of the work. While I do the prep work {& clean up} and the girls pick out designs & scoop out the goop, Brett does all the time-consuming manual labor required for a perfect pumpkin face. As happens every year, Brett's audience often abandons him when the carving of three orange orbs continues on & on; I must admit, we find entertainment elsewhere. But once this patient "pumpkin-master" declares the design is done {x3}, we rush back to Brett to "ooooh" & "aaaah" over his carved creations! This year, his clever carvings included a skeleton gone batty, a kitty-spider-pumpkin sitting in a window scene and this funny fellow dubbed "Happy Hal"!