A Whole Lotta Punkins

I believe if you have little ones you are required each fall to traipse through a pumpkin patch at least once, sometimes more. It's an annual photo op...even if you can't get all your kids in the same picture.

I still remember baby Athena's first pumpkin patch trip in Kentucky like it was yesterday.

Even though Bakersfield does not have fall, per se, and in October it's still 90+ degrees in the shade, we go and traipsed around the dry brittle vines in the baking sun.

Check out poor Jack's flushed, hot cheeks.

The day after Zoe's birthday, while we still had our Jen and Stu around, we went to the mega pumpkin patch/Fall festival Family Farm thingy with the whole crew.

They had a hay ride, and a big, bouncy pillow, face painting and a corn maze, as well as a massive pumpkin patch that kind of looked like like they just dumped a bunch of pumpkins on the ground to make it look like they grew on the vines.

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And then, later that week, Athena had a school, field trip to a different pumpkin patch with her class. I volunteered to drive and we were paired up with her best boy -uhhh- friend, Wyatt.

Wyatt is, apparently, the Macaroni to her Cheese. She luhhhhhves him.

So, um notice a certain closeness here?

So, yea...uh...hmmm. They held hands the entire, frickin' time, I kid you not. Actually, it was more like both Athena's hands on one of Wyatt's but he didn't seem to mind.
Luckily he comes from an excellent family.

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So with all those pumpkins gathered it was time to get them carved. Our total take this year was seven pumpkins, too many to carve all of them and, in fact, a couple were just too small. We picked the biggest three to cut open and painted the rest.

Athena had no problem digging out the guts this year.

Jack wanted no part of it. "Yucky" he said.

And the end result! A funny face, a "scary" face and a pirate. Just in time for Halloween.