Or, rather, it’s the first pumpkin.  I have been checking on all of our lovely green pumpkins daily, and I saw that this one had turned mostly orange.  It didn’t really look quite ready, but the stem was turning brown and dried out and so I figured it was time to pick it, lest it fall victim to mold, pests or what have you (the stink bugs here are just awful right now).  Neve happened to be out with me and was thrilled to carry it back to the house and announce to everyone that the first pumpkin had been picked.

We are all hoping this will be but the first of many.  We haven’t had rain in weeks and everything is looking rather sad, so I don’t know.  Cross your fingers!

Next year we’ll be clearing out a larger tract of land that will serve as the pumpkin patch.  I’d like to have enough that I can invite the whole neighborhood every year to pick a pumpkin and have a jack o’lantern carving party complete with hot apple cider and cinnamon donuts (and caramel apples maybe?).  This year I’ll do it on a smaller scale with a few friends that have kids, but I can’t do it up big this year since I don’t have enough pumpkins and it would get too expensive to buy that many.  But I am planning, and it will be fun.

We spent a lovely weekend with friends and taking the kids all over the place so it was busy busy!  No crafting done!  Oh well.  But the girls got to help out at the local animal shelter with their brownie troops on Saturday – we almost came home with a kitten …good thing we’re too broke right now!!!!  Then Emily was off to a pool party for her friend’s birthday, and then later she went to a sleepover.  Big day!  Sunday we all went to Alex’s house to hang out and have dinner and let the kids play and go nuts.  While we were there the best thing happened:  Paul put all the men to work clearing out Alex’s garage and everyone got to see first hand just what a taskmaster/slave driver my husband is.  It was quite vindicating that now they believe me when I say he can be really rough to live with!  And Paul had a great time without getting all greasy.  Amazing.

Oona got another cake for her birthday – Alex made it, along with a yummy blueberry tart – and she loved it.  She was also trying like mad to get the whole walking thing mastered.  They grow up too fast.  Sigh.