The Day We Had 20 ‘Kins & Counting

***I just saw the headline about the Duggars and couldn’t resist the post title since we really did have 20 pumpkins.

This year we got our pumpkins at a cute little farm stand in Coeur d’Alene.  Kyle’s work schedule has been out of control, so we opted for something near his work so he could be with us rather than going to a traditional pumpkin patch.  It worked out great!  After a fun breakfast at IHOP the girls each found their perfect pumpkin.  Of course Emily had to kiss a few before choosing hers. 

Kyle had to go back into the office, so we headed home to paint the little pumpkins.  The girls worked hard and drank lots of hot chocolate while they each carefully designed little pumpkin families.

The made each pumpkin have it’s own little personality and loved showing me (and demonstrating) each facial expression. 

They spent all afternoon on the project, with only one break when we decided to go play in the leaves.

They were quite pleased with their finished products and were ready to carve their big pumpkins when Kyle got home to finish off their pumpkin families.

In case you were counting, 17 pumpkins are pictured above.  I designed a little one too (#18), but we forgot to have him adopted into a family for the pictures.  The other two little ones belonged to Emily.  On one of them, she colored and colored and colored.  The other one sadly met its demise when I was getting the milk out of the fridge and Emily was standing there with me.  Unbeknownst to me, she put the tiny pumpkin on the ledge created by the bottom drawer freezer.  I didn’t see it there, so when I closed the door, it smashed that poor pumpkin to bits... gooey, smelly, slimy bits.  Other than that fatality, the afternoon was a hit and a very good use for a lot of squash.