Best Pumpkin Party to Date!!!!

What a magical evening...where to begin? The perfect weather? The kids waking up in the mood to help with every last detail?  Last minute friends from far away RSVPing YES?  All good places, but let's start with the food.

 This pot of soup was the best Butternut Squash soup I have ever made.  My mom taught me the recipe ages ago and I have made it dozens of times, but, perhaps because it was the day of the Pumpkin Party, the soup was amazing.  More amazing than every before....it could have been the vegetable stock I used, now that I think of it....

Anyway, it was DELISH.

 Naturally, I made rolls.  I tried my hand at one of those fancy pull-apart deals (as seen to the right).  I have to admit, it looks as good as it tastes.  So, if you ever want one of those for a dinner party or something, hit me up.  I'd be happy to make you one.

OH, do you see the "ghosts" on the table in the background?  Those were set up on hay bales in the yard and the kids got to throw tiny pumpkins through them.  Super fun!

Of course, Finn friendly cupcakes - even the pops, which Liam meticulously decorated with stickers, were Finn friendly!  I'd like to mention that I used every bit of cupcake magic I learned from the master, my friend, Amber.  Thanks to her I managed to impress quite a few peeps with these.  Thanks, Amber!

We scooped with Chuckie and Mira before the party actually began.  Whenever you ask Finn to smile or say 'cheese' - this is the face he makes!!

These smiles really capture the feeling of the day.  Hey, how do you like all the lights in the garage?  That was me...I also covered our back deck with twinkle lights...it was lovely...

 While the pumpkin party was totally amazing and super duper fun, it was different from parties of the past.  I think I might have written that exact sentence last year...well...it was just SO weird that at 9:30 just about every one was GONE.

Most of our friends have little people under three - and that really changes the dynamic.  I think, in a few years, when the kids are all 5 and up and can be left to run around quasi-unsupervised or in the playroom with a movie, things will change again.



Another noticeable change is the pumpkin carving element.  Many of the pumpkins were carved by kids or for their kids...in the early years, the carving was a BIG DEAL amongst us 'grown ups.' The caliber of carved pumpkin was of an entirely different caliber.  Now, I feel like those of us with kids are just happy to see our kids light up when a candle is placed in a simple jack-o-lantern.

Anyway, we didn't put enough emphasis on the pumpkin carving.  We didn't even judge or give away the golden pumpkin.  Next year I think we'll have a kid category and an adult one...and some stronger emphasis on the competition part.

That said, we all had a great time carving simple pumpkins while our kids tossed hula hoops around pumpkins and each other.

  

 Of course, there is ALWAYS an exception.  Chuckie and Mira worked on their pumpkins for a good hour, maybe more.  And of course, by that time I had put the camera down...theirs were artistic and creative and the hands down winners of the night.

I am going to spend the next 11 months conjuring up a design to compete with them....

ABSOLUTELY impossible to get a shot of him...he just kept moving.  This is the best 'fang face' I could capture!

Not really a great shot of the cozy tent/party area...but I just wanted you to get the gist.

This year's pumpkins.

 Again, this doesn't quite capture how cozy the deck was...and I failed to get the campfire we had going most of the night in the shot...but trust me, it was cozy and warm.  SO many people brought delicious things to share.

Homemade chili, miso soup,  and mac-n-cheese.  We also had pizza and wings this year from our local country store.  Homemade brownies and pies.  Cannolis and cider donuts. It was AMAZING.  We are still enjoying the left overs.

Dear little Finn fell asleep sitting up on the couch.  He was so dirty and sticky...but I just tucked him some clean pj's and gave him a good soaking on Sunday.

I can't capture the magic of the night and these photos don't come close - I wasn't in the mood to carry around the camera all night so there were many photo ops lost.  We had so many wonderful friends tromping around our house and yard.  It made me feel so completely full and happy to see kids running through the leaves and pulling each other in the wagon all over the yard.  Kids running all over and every where and their parents, my friends, sipping hot cider and smiling. Bill and I worked all day Saturday to get ready and all day Sunday to clean up and I honestly cannot think of a better way to spend a fall weekend.

And here's the thing I did not expect.  Sunday.  The clean up day.  It was maybe one of the best days of my life in the most simple and loving way.  While Bill was out returning the table and chair rentals I was determined to clean all the floors and dirtied bowls and pots and what not.  I asked Liam to take his brother outside.  And he did.  And those two boys stayed outside and played with each other and the dog for well over an hour.

By the time I was finished with it all it was lunch time and Bill was back.  And do you know what we did?  We made a fire in the back yard and roasted hot dogs for lunch.  We also heated up some left over soup.  Chuckie and Mira came by and joined us by the fire.  After lunch, and some pie, we curled up on the couch and watch The Village.  It was SUCH a perfect afternoon.

After the movie, the kids and I went outside and organized the truly ridiculous amount of random pumpkins scattered about the yard.  (Ridiculous for a family of four - a bunch of people must have forgotten or left their pumpkins behind, carved and not.)  We tidied up and as it got dark, lit up all the jack-o-lanterns.

The evening ended with a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGG bath for the boys.  They were the dirtiest they have been...maybe ever.

It almost feels silly to say it...but it was a perfect weekend.  Perfect.  The boys were so happy and excited.  Bill and I - well, if you know us, you know we are happiest when we are serving food and sharing beverages with people we like - so we were happy.  The weather was great.  The air smelled great.  It was just great.  And yes, I am a big ole cheese ball.

Next year we will invite more people.  We weren't sure of the 'capacity' of our new place and now we know.  If you are reading this, consider yourself invited.  We've got the room.

Sack of potatoes...

When I was a little girl my dad would sometimes swing me up over his shoulder (often near bedtime) and exclaim that he was hauling up a "sack of potatoes."  When I think back on that time, a more accurate description would have been "a few stalks of corn" or "a firm pillow."  I bring this up to illustrate something I did today...

I was up on the tree house with the boys this afternoon - Bill finished the floor yesterday, so that was very exciting to test out.  The tree is on a small incline, so from one corner Liam likes to jump off as it's only about 4 or 5 feet.  Well...I thought to myself from that corner, "Hmmm, that doesn't look so far.  I'm still young and brave, I should jump down."  Yes, I thought these things...while the more seasoned part of my brain...or body...was whispering fiercely, but with not quite enough conviction, "You really shouldn't do this, you are not in shape, you are not as young as you think...."

I jumped.

I imagined I would land on my feet.  I did not.  On the bright side, Finn, from the tree house floor said, "Good jump, Mommy."

Anyway, talk about a sack of potatoes..or, more accurately three and a half 50 pound sacks.  NOT pretty, my friends, not pretty.  The thud...perhaps THAT was the quaking many folks around Albany felt around 5 p.m. today.  The ground, soft with moist dirt and fallen leaves, did not feel soft at all.  And now, four hours later, I am sore.

So yeah.  That happened today.

Let me leave you with some fun photos from the Cub Scout camp out Liam and I enjoyed this past Friday. It was very chilly but perfect in every other way.

What could be better than roasting weenies over the fire???  Yeah, I said weenies - no need to stifle your giggles...unless you are a man and at work, that might be embarrassing.

 GLOW NECKLACES AND SMORES!!!!!!!!!  WA-HOOOOO!!!!!

 This popcorn catching game was as fun as it was dangerous - open pan of hot oil in a crowd of 8 year old boys...hmmm...

My handsome boy

Mummifying our boys was a lot of fun.

 Liam and Eli tossing hoops around pumpkins.  Anyone attending our pumpkin part will get to play this game.

Good, old fashioned Tug-O-War.  Boy, did they love that!!

Good times with my Cub Scout buddies.  It was a great time.

Well, now it's time to drag my sore muscles back over to the oven.  I am making granola for the first time and it needs to be stirred every 30 minutes for the next hour and a half.  Nighty night.