We promised our kids we would carve their pumpkins last week, Friday night, Saturday morning, or sometime before Halloween. With the kids sick last week, no one was up to it until this Saturday night.

Riley chose a ghost pumpkin that he thought was really cool:

Fiona went for the all American experience:

Sean, Riley, and Reagan worked together to make me this beautiful pumpkin as a surprise:

Once it was finally dark this evening, we all stood outside and had an official lighting ceremony. The kids were very excited to see/play with fire:

I've often referred to the au pair program as the program that keeps on giving. Thanks to my many experiences (read: botched experiences) in Germany, I can now successfully cook pumpkin and other awesome gourds and turn them into breads, muffins, soups, and other tasty concoctions. No more stringy, uncooked pies! Thanks to my German host family I have embraced the phrase: "Waste not, Want not!" Thanks German Host Family!

Now we give back by teaching our German Exchange student how to save as much pumpkin as possible to be used for breakfast, lunch, and dinner next week. I think she was ecstatic about pulling out the pumpkin seeds. Good job, Fiona!