Pumpkins

While my parents were here for Abby's birthday, I dragged them to a pumpkin farm (that's a whole other story of how and when we went when we did...sheesh!).  I wanted to start a tradition of going to a pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin and enjoy some fall festivities.  I didn't always have such an affinity for all things autumn, but it's turned into one of my favorite times of year! 
So the 5 of us went to a pumpkin farm and picked out a 2 bigger pumpkins to carve and 3 smaller cute pumpkins.  Abby wasn't letting us know one way or the other how she felt as she just stared.  No crying, but no smiles either.  Tough crowd, I tell ya. 

Later that evening (after the football games...that's a hint of the complications we had with the pumpkin patch outing), we piled around the dining room table to carve Abby's first pumpkin.  Everyone got involved and I have to say, I was impressed.  Dad made the initial slice into the pumpkin to cut around the stem to pull off the top.  Mom was the brave and strong one to scoop out the guts.  Abby wasn't hesitant to touch and play with the goopy pumpkin guts.  Dad and I separated the seeds from the goop to set aside so we could roast the seeds later (Spoiler Alert: the seeds never got roasted...boo!)  Up next was Brent as he traced a pattern on the pumpkin and put his artist skills to work as he etched out an owl pattern.  It turned out fantastic! 

I've learned a few things from my first pumpkin carving in quite some time:
1. Don't carve the pumpkin so early.  It'll rot before halloween even comes. 
2. Don't seal off the seeds in hopes to keep them moist before roasting.  That grows mold.
3.  Also, don't wait several days before thinking "oh, yeah, I have seeds to roast" and then peek inside.  That grows A LOT of mold. 

**Now, you might be asking why don't I have pictures to share?  They are on my camera, but for some reason when I try to upload I get a nasty message stating that I'm out of room.  So, I don't know what to do.  How does one make more room for photos?  Can anyone shed a light on this topic? **