Pumpkin Carving - 2024

We never know what the weather is going to be like at the end of October here in Michigan.  Some years, the snow has already started to fly and we end up carving our pumpkins either inside the house or in the heated garage.  Other years, like this one, we are able to carve outside on the deck with minimal layers of clothing on.

This tablecloth has been around for a couple of years and has really seen better days.

All ready to go!

The kids all chose some pretty big (and thick!) pumpkins so I kept my expectations low on how the carving would go.

Somehow, Sam is the one that worries me the most with a knife, so I stood close by her side for most of the carving.  Ha!

Sophia is the most detail-oriented -- and serious -- during her cutting and design.

A tad dramatic.

Looking back at the picture, I remember now that he had that name tag on his sweatshirt because it was originally on his pumpkin to claim it as his.

Still in process.

A little less serious.  

As a side note: Sophia is about 3 months into her ~2 year journey to straighten her teeth.  We opted to go with the clear/removeable trays (rather than metal braces) and have been happy with the process so far.  She rarely smiles with her teeth though when she is wearing them.

The final masterpieces:

A cat, to complement our cat, Mia:

Using toothpicks for spindle-like teeth:

An upside-down hanging bat: