Fall Festival

When we went to Monticello last weekend, we had grand ideas of a fall festival which included carving pumpkins, decorating sugar cookies, and making some caramel covered apples. And like most Pehrson get-togethers, chaos ensued (a fairly common occurrence these days) and we simply just did not have enough time for all those activities. After pawning off a couple of pumpkins to Clay and Heather, we brought the rest of the stuff back to Farmington and found a new crew to join us. Clearly, Hudson was overjoyed after learning the Fall Festival would not be cancelled after all.

Bryn was very concerned about her dad's safety. Apparently, she had heard of his affinity for weapons and had every reason to be wary of a knife-wielding-Nate. Hudson, however, was completely captivated with Nate's carving skills. Most of you are aware that Nate is quite proficient with a knife in the kitchen, but may be surprised to learn that he is very talented when it comes to carving pumpkins. He always free-lances his designs, and over the years has produced some amazing pumpkins which usually coincide with a blockbuster movie for that year. His past creations include a Transform, a pirate skull with crossbones, and even a Batman sign dripping in blood.

With the precision of a surgeon, Nate cut into the pumpkins and hollowed out the insides. Being the gentleman that he is, Nate graciously offered to hallow out my pumpkin too because he knows I find the task completely distasteful. 

Neal, Erin, and Liam didn't hesitate to get in on the action. Liam wasn't too crazy about scooping out the pumpkin, but he was a big fan of eating licorice while supervising Neal. He has learned much about the "art of supervising" from his Papa. One might say that Mark holds a doctorate degree in Supervising, and to his credit, he does it quite well.

While Nate sat there painstakingly putting the final touches on his pumpkin (the rest of us finished in under twenty minutes), we made caramel apples. I convinced Bryn to help me coat, stick, and then bake the apples. Hudson was quite impressed with the end result. He found the idea of fruit on a stick smothered in gooey deliciousness completely captivating. They were amazing, and the amount of time I spent picking caramel out of my teeth was completely worth it. 

And finally the unveiling of the pumpkins. Bryn and I designed the Mickey Mouse pumpkin. Bryn didn't want to be associated with Nate's pumpkin because the clown was simply"too scary." She magnanimously allowed Hudson to be the co-owner of that pumpkin. Most assuredly Nate's creation will ensure that we are "those neighbors" who have the most non kid-friendly pumpkin in the cul-de-sac. Neal and Liam produced a nice pumpkin that I fondly refer to as the "Casper-the-Friendly-Ghost."

After the grand unveiling, we took the pumpkins out to get some pictures. It wasn't quite dark, so you couldn't really get the full effect, but the kids sure enjoyed themselves posing for pictures. But then again, that could have just been the sugar from the caramel apples starting to take its effects. Bryn was literally bouncing off the walls and could barely sit still long enough to take a picture. Liam looked as though he was suffering from a sugar coma, and Hudson couldn't stop smiling. Maybe next year we should only allow the adults to have that much sugar in one sitting.