Pumpkins and Thankfulness

I know I've said it before, but I love pumpkins. Pumpkins are one of my favorite things about fall. We've kept up a pretty good tradition of going on adventures to get pumpkins with the

twins. We've kept the tradition going of just sort of driving along and picking them up roadside. We've also discovered that the closer you get to Halloween, the cheaper said roadside pumpkins become (they were $1 per pumpkin!). While a hayride at a big place to pick pumpkins from the field would be cool (and a fabulous fall tradition that would be totally up my alley!), I think our budget-friendly tradition will continue! One thing I was especially curious to see was which twin would hate the pumpkins this year. The first year Allie cried and wouldn't go near them. Last year Ryan cried and wouldn't go near them. This year...they both loved them!!!

Ryan running through the pumpkins. He didn't even want to pick one, just run around them!

Allie was especially drawn to their displays of pumpkins. She loved the little pumpkins and thou fun colored/shaped gourds

The kids each picked a pumpkin for themselves and a pumpkin for mommy & daddy (it was cold & starting to rain, so we rushed them a bit...). We waited until the next afternoon to carve them. Wanting to be efficient with our time, Daddy offered to start scooping out the pumpkins to prepare them for carving while I changed the twins into clothes that could get dirty. Wanting them to fully experience the grossest part of pumpkins, I asked him to wait. As a result, we only got 2 of our pumpkins carved before running out of time. Oh, well, the twins got to experience the goop. Turns out, Ryan is not a fan!

Allie had no hesitations about sticking her hands in the pumpkin to pull out the goop!

While Lucas and I carved, we let the twins dictate the look of their pumpkin - face or picture, shape of eyes and noes, smiley face or sad, teeth or no, etc. Sometimes, after we drew the shapes onto the pumpkin, they changed their mind. Thus the weird black lines. Oh, well. They were happy!

They loved looking into their pumpkins!

I have always wanted to make toasted pumpkins seeds, but never have. I loved pumpkin seeds as a kid. This year I decided there was no way I would give up and throw them out. The twins helped me separate the seeds from the bits of pumpkin innards. They LOVED this. Ryan got over his fear of goo, and they ended up splashing around in the pot of seeds with me for about 30 minutes! It was a blast!

We let them dry overnight. The next morning, the twins shook the seeds up in containers with different seasonings (we did 4 different kinds). They had so much fun!

We roasted them in the oven (this picture is pre-roasting), and they came out just in time for our mid-morning snack! The twins really enjoyed eating a snack they made. I was happy to have been so resourceful with our pumpkins. Overall, it was a smashing success!

Also, today is officially the beginning of our 30 Days of Thankfulness. Normally, The beginning of this celebration would warrant its own post, but my laptop is currently out of order, and since I don't know how long it will take me to finish the Halloween posts, let alone be able to start the Thankful posts, I decided to just include them whenever I can! Plus, I'm so excited about this year because the twins can totally participate! Granted, their "thankfuls" might be funny...or strange...but I think it is a great tradition to get them in the habit of doing, and it will be so fun having their daily thankfuls to look back on!

November 1st, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan: Candy (It's been the one thing on his mind ALL day!)

Allie: Glow sticks (we hit up CVS for 50% off treats, and the kiddos got glow sticks & were loving them)

Lucas: My beautiful wife (someone knows how to suck up to their blogging spouse...)

Kim: Coffee. Turns out Halloween (when you trick or treat, which we haven't done in a while) is exhausting. I fell asleep on the couch before 10pm, and still had trouble getting going. An afternoon pot of coffee was necessary to keep more poor family from having to deal with a complete grouch. But a cup of coffee turned my day around, and for that I am grateful!

Feeling lost when I talk about 30 Days of Thankfulness (or wanting to reminisce)? Look back at the previous years HERE and Here.