I absolutely LOVE traditions. I cherish the memories that I have from when I was a kid, and the traditions that are attached to those memories. I deeply desire to create the same kind of traditions and magical moments for my kids.
Back when Curtis and I were both single, my sister and her husband started the tradition of Survivor nights. Actually, they started the tradition with Curtis…I joined in a couple of years in. Every Thursday night we would go over to their house, eat their food, play with their children, and watch Survivor. Oh, and have I mentioned that we still do?! Years and years later, through singleness, flirting, dating, breaking up, getting back together, getting married, and having kids of our own, we are still at their house on Thursday nights. It has grown and expanded to include other close friends over the years too. What a great tradition!
Occasionally on these Thursday nights, we’ll throw in other traditions as well. Every year we carve pumpkins together. It started with one pumpkin for one child, and has progressed through the years. Last night we carved 7 pumpkins! It is chaotic, messy, and usually involves some sort of melt-down, but it is so much fun, and a time I know our kids will remember fondly.
Jake and Cole both got into it this year! We let them sit on the table with the pumpkins, and they loved it! Cole tried to eat all the pumpkin seeds and the stringy junk that is inside the pumpkin! He got so into it that he was putting his whole arm in, and trying to scoop stuff out. Jake, on the other hand, had a good time, but was a little more reserved. He looked at the pumpkins, he had fun taking the lids off and putting them back on, and he really enjoyed putting the spoon in the pumpkin to try and scoop stuff out. He was not, however, a fan of actually putting his hand in!
From happy faces, to Avengers logos, to Angry Birds, to Spiderman, using all sorts of tools including a Dremel 3000 and about a million toothpicks (that’s for you T!!), and getting nice and dirty in the process, I think pumpkin carving night was a success (with only a minimal amount of tears!)
Take it off, put it on, take it off, put it on, look up and smile impishly!!
Jake kept inching his way closer to the Dremel tool. Hence the death grip on his shirt!
First good look inside a pumpkin! We’re not sure what to think!
“I’ll look Mom, but I’m not sure I want to touch!”
Using the spoon to scoop out the insides! (and at one point, using the spoon to put a whole bunch of junk back inside the pumpkin when we weren’t looking!)
“Don’t mind me, I’m just going to try these pumpkin guts! Not sure I like them…”
The finished products…!!
Our Epic Story 