Mushy Brains and Carvings

Several weeks ago, Joshua's kindergarten class took a field trip to a local pumpkin patch. Being the responsible parent that I am (and considering the rare circumstance I'm experiencing being away from my regular 9 to 5'er at the moment), I decided to volunteer my services as one of the class chaperones and as the unofficial photographer of the event.

We happened to hit the pumpkin patch during what must have been the windiest day in the history of Sacramento County. The poor children seemed just barely big enough not to get blown away by the wind. It also made for some interesting pictures for me. Hair in faces, eyes closed or squinted, and dust flying every which way. In the end, it was a terrific day for the little ones, filled with hay rides, hay bale mazes, picnic snack time, and picking the perfect pumpkin souvenir. Each child was allowed to bring home one pumpkin of his or her choosing, so long as he or she could carry it without parental support. Sure enough, Josh went for one of the largest he could find. But he did great, so it was a keeper.

Tonight, we decided to make a Jack-O-Lantern with the prized pumpkin. Josh had a blast, digging away at the "mushy pumpkin brains" - digging out the seeds and innards. He also chose the shapes he wanted for the pumpkin's eyes, nose, and mouth... down to "I want him to have three teeth, Daddy." I even gave him a bite of the pumpkin flesh from the inside of the Jack-O-Lantern lid. He loved it!

When the dust settled, turned out that we made a great Jack-O-Lantern. Perfect amount of spookiness for our kindergartner. Pictures are up and dated 10/30/2008 in the Gallery.