Pumpkin Carving

Monday was one of those days that I was so busy being in the moment that I did not get all the pictures I wanted. We headed out initially to go to a local pumpkin farm to pick out some pumpkins to carve with friends plus some sugar pumpkins for roasting and pureeing. It started pouring so we headed to a farm stand instead. All the pumpkins we wanted without tramping through a muddy field in the rain. The big girls each got to pick a pumpkin of their own to carve and a gourd to help Mama decorate for fall. We picked up some local cider and raw cider vinegar. Of course, the big girls got to pick out a fresh apple to munch on as well. Given the rain and chill, I did not get as many photos of this

We threw together an 8lb pork roast and 10lbs of potatoes plus 16 carrots in a cider mixture. It got started much too late. Some cider and spices were set to percolate in the giant coffee pot. We spread a large green tarp on the floor. Our guests arrived and we began carving the pumpkins with gusto. We played, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in the background. Greer stuck her hand in and dug out "guts" with the best of them. Arwen needed to use a tool. The complete opposite of how they normally operate. It was quite funny. They each picked out the "faces" they wanted on their pumpkins and Ralph and I carved them. I was so busy hovering over the roast, imploring it to hurry and working on the salted caramel sauce for the apples and helping that I did not get all the pics I now wish I had of the evening.

It was such a fun night, despite dinner being hours (notice the plural) later than I was hoping for and the caramel never really hardening. The blessing of good friends is that we were able to have fun despite all the things that did not run quite so smoothly and the children melting down at the end from a night that ran too long. I did not get a picture of all the pumpkins together. I did not get enough pictures of us all together--Taryn and I trading places in the kitchen. Ian and Ralph working with the kids on their designs. All of us sorting the pumpkin seeds and guts so we could roast the seeds. The kids giggling and laughing together. Dipping and redipping apples. Inhaling roast and veggies. Sharing life. It's not so easy to capture that with a camera. Crazy. Chaotic. Fun. Frustrating. Delicious. Loud. Precious.