Jack and Jill

About a week and a half ago we braved the wind and went to a nearby orchard to pick pumpkins. The pumpkins sat on our table for a few days, then moved to the wall by our back door for decorative purposes, and finally made it to the kitchen counter for butchering. A friend gave us a little kit with colored pegs and patterns so kids can hammer them in the right spots. I decided we would try on our smaller pumpkin, so dutifully cut the lid off and scooped the ick out, only to discover that the pumpkin was TOO small for the pattern. Sigh. So we carved a simple face and dubbed him Jack.

As the children dashed outside to play, I decided to go ahead and scoop out the insides of the larger pumpkin so we could do this all at once. I felt noble, sacrificing my clean hands for the sake of my children's memories. I wonder if someday they will remember these moments and rise up to call me blessed?! Soon the children were back inside to check on my progress, and together we marked where the holes were to be. Tobin and Charis took turns pounding the pegs with the small wooden mallet included in the kit. (I got them started with a few good whacks--very fun.) Arden helped by handing us the right color of peg at the right time. In between whacks he was kept busy picking up all the pegs that he dropped. Because we chose the girl face pattern, we dubbed this pumpkin Jill.


The whole project took about 45 minutes, but you'd think we spent days on it to hear the children talk about it! They love seeing the faces, although we haven't actually lit them from the inside yet. It makes me wonder how we might get up close and personal with other foods at different times of the year...might we make a grapefruit face? How about a pineapple with dredlocks? If you like to talk to tomatoes...if a squash can make you smile...