The Gillman Foursome: Pumpkins!!

Okay, so I realize there will be a jump in the time line of events, but due to a high volume of requests, I am jumping ahead to October and the search of the perfect pumpkins and subsequent carving of said pumpkins.

A couple weeks ago, the kids were out of school, Jason took the day off and we spent a wonderful day together at Bandy's Pumpkin Patch. They have a spectacular corn maze, pumpkins, gordes, and other decorating squash and corn, hay rides, and a playhouse barn (which we didn't do). Here's their website if you are interested http://bandyspumpkinpatch.com/ . Last year, the kids and I were here visiting Jason and went to the corn maze without him. We were so excited to be able to go as a family this year. Last year, there had been a lot of rain, or rather the right amount for the season, this year it has been unusually dry. So instead of a bit of mud and some softer corn, this year was dry and dusty and the corn was extremely brittle and frail, but it was fun just the same!

In the corn maze, you have a card where you have to find 6 posts within the maze, each post has a specific hole punch you use to punch your card. Find all 6 posts and punches and make it out and you get to turn in the punched card for a pin button. Sydney had a blast punching, Peyton tried, but couldn't squeeze it, and we were able to find all 6 and get our buttons!

Next, we searched for pumpkins. Sydney wanted the smoothest, orange-est pumpkin there was, Peyton just wanted to pick them all up and load up the wagon, and Jason wanted a big one. We had just watched the pumpkin carving challenge on the Food Network Challenge and he had big aspirations of carving something amazing, those sculpters make it look so easy!

Last night we carved pumpkins! This was Sydney's "first time seeing the inside of a pumpkin!" she said. Wow, we made it 5 years without carving pumpkins?! She laughed when I called the innerds "guts", and thought it felt gross.