Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

We've decided we like picking our pumpkins at Rasmussen Farms.  They have a house where they put out a bunch of pumpkins, so we're not exactly walking into an actual patch, although, I think some of them are grown right there at the house.  They pick them for you, and there are plenty for us to choose from.

Hadley had a hard time picking.  She wanted to take home two or three.  When we told her that wasn't an option, she started crying.  One reason she couldn't decide was because she wanted a green pumpkin (her favorite color) and an orange pumpkin (more traditional).  Well, most of the green pumpkins were soft, so we convinced to get a pumpkin that had some green and some orange.  I think it looks really cool, actually.  Katia really liked her pumpkin because it was so smooth.  I think the boys just find the first one they like.  Josh is a good picker, and found the one I ended up choosing.  Then he looked for the biggest one he could find to get for himself.

Next comes carving.  When it comes to carving time, everyone has their own ideas what to carve.

Hadley decided to carve hers like Lady from Lady and the Tramp

Katia's was supposed to be a Hello Kitty pumpkin, but since she insisted on carving it herself, it didn't work out very well, but she still thought it was sooo cute.

Fischer's is a dragon

Anders wanted to make a scary pumpkin

I wanted something easy, so I did an emoticon and Josh did an oval Y--surprise, surprise.

My favorite part of Halloween is carving the pumpkins because then you get pumpkin seeds!  I love this snack once a year, and happily gut everyones pumpkins, though this year, I made the kids do their own.  The plain roasted seeds are delicious

BUT my all-time favorite are cinnamon-sugar pumpkin seeds!  SOOOOO YUMMMMMY!!!!!

If you want to make them yourself, I suggest you google it, because there are several recipes/methods, then you can find the one that best suits you.