Pumpkins!

This year, we did our pumpkin carving a little early to accommodate my Dad's business trip, so last weekend while my Grandma was in town, we renewed the tradition!

I LOVE carving pumpkins. It is the best. From the violent hacking of the top to the graphically gooey, sinfully delicious seed/membrane-ectomy. First there is the process of selecting the pattern, then poking the holes painstakingly exact, THEN comes the carving. With a little saw, and a lot of patience, wonderful things can happen. I've known what I was going to carve for at least 2 months now, I was super excited. When the moment finally came, it was glorious.

Here are some pictures of the final products from the night:

This one is Garrett's. Despite what you might think, the RS does not stand for Relief Society, but rather "Rune Scape," an online gaming community with which he is rather obsessed. He designed the pattern himself - and did quite a good job on carving the letters - especially considering he's 10 years old!

This one is Joshua's. He spent HOURS on this. Definitely the most time-consuming pumpkin of the night. Rather than just CARVING the pieces out, he actually scraped away the outside of the pumpkin using various tools, ranging from a butter knife to a lemon zester. I think it turned out GREAT! There is so much detail - I'd say the time hard work Joshua invested paid off!

Now this is Andrew's. Can you tell who it is? Before I spill the metaphorical beans, let me just say that he MADE THIS PATTERN UP! He took a picture of (secret person whose identity I will not yet reveal) and then enhanced the contrast (maybe?) on photoshop then just sorta freestyled the actual hole poking and carving. It looks really weird and like NOTHING without the candles inside lit, but once you get those babies on and the lights off, you can definitely tell that it's atleast a face. (It's Michael Scott, for those of you who had not already guessed.)

This pumpkin was carved by Bryce Taylor, a long-time family friend. He's been coming over annually and sharing in the carvitude for about 5 years now, and each year he jokes about how he is so terrible, but then his always turn out great! Go Bryce!

This is my Grandma's! It was her first pumpkin she ever carved, and it looks great. I noticed that she is a very precise carver. Much concentration was involved and she made it look so effortless. The saw was gliding through the pumpkin's flesh like a really sharp thing through a really soft thing. It was great.

Now, I'm sure you are all wondering, even WORRYING about what I ended up doing for MY pumpkin. Stress not, little ones! The time is soon at hand. 

Dum dum dum DAAAAAH!!

Here is my little beauty. I was superthrilled about it. Now, I hope that you can all tell what it is, and don't think (as Whitney, a girl in my dorm thought) that it is a flying squirrel leaping from branch to branch (what the???). I guess I can KINDA see it, but really, it is EDWARD SCISSORHANDS!! YAY! The best movie ever made became the best pumpkin I've ever carved. I feel that I captured his forlorn longing and profound sadness quite well. 

What do you think of all our creations? 

What are YOU going to carve this year?