Family Activities: Fall Pumpkin Carving Fun
The girls carved pumpkins glowing on the front porch! Can you guess who designed which one?
It has been a tradition for our family to carve pumpkins around Halloween. A lot of times we carve the pumpkins the weekend before Halloween, but with everything going on this year it was a little later this year. On Halloween afternoon our family went out to search for the perfect carving pumpkins. After stopping at three stores we started to wonder if we were even going to find any pumpkins to carve. Finally, we ended up at Publix and thankfully they still had a lot of pumpkins including some huge ones. All the pumpkins, not matter what size were $5! Of course the kids picked the biggest ones they could find. We came home with one 25 pound and one 26 pound pumpkin!
This year instead of dressing up and running around doing trick and treating the kids decided they would rather spend the evening as a family celebrating Halloween. So thankful that the girls wanted to hang out and spend a relaxing evening with us. We let each kid pick out their favorite bag of candy, a pumpkin to carve, some fun games, and family activities to do Halloween evening. For Halloween dinner we picked up Chinese take out as a special treat.
My brother and sister-in-law brought my nephews came by dressed up as the cutest little lion and minion! It was the first year we had trick or treaters because usually we are never home for Halloween! It was great getting to see them and spend some time hanging out with them on Halloween!
The pumpkin is fresh, washed, and ready to be carved!
Cleaning out their pumpkins! They did the majority of the cleaning, designing, and cutting on their own!
Brina saw a cat designed she liked online and used that as an example to draw one on her pumpkin! We used wet erase marker to draw on the pumpkin before carving it out.
Karlie couldn’t find a design she liked online so she drew a rough draft of what she wanted on a piece of paper than drew it again on the pumpkin! She really wanted a rocket, Saturn, and a star on her pumpkin so this is what she created!
Brina carving her cat pumpkin out!
Karlie carving her space pumpkin out!
We have a space and cat pumpkin glowing on our front porch!
The girls chose more non-traditional pumpkin designs. Brina got her cat idea from another pumpkin she saw. Karlie designed her rocket, Saturn, star, and space one completely on her own (and fit her personality and interests perfectly)!
The pumpkins! I am pleased with how well the girls pumpkins turned out and they really did most of the work on them!
Recipes: Worcestershire Flavored Pumpkin Seeds
Our kids love getting their pumpkins every Fall before Halloween so we can carve them and roast the pumpkin seeds. Due to traveling and other activities that have taken up our time we were a little later getting our pumpkins. Finally, on Halloween we got the girls pumpkins, after going to three other stores we found pumpkins at Publix! After cleaning out their pumpkins we had enough seeds to make two big patches of roasted pumpkins seeds, another favorite tradition of our family.
Every year we used at least one of our favorite pumpkin seed recipes and try to experiment with a new one. Some years the new pumpkin seed recipes are amazing and they become a new favorite while others are a flop. This year we made the Cinnamon Apple Cider Pumpkin Seeds and I tried a new pumpkin seed recipe using a touch of worcestershire sauce. The worcestershire flavored pumpkin seed recipe was a big hit with all my family members. They agreed it was one we could add to our collection of favorite pumpkin seeds recipes.
Worcestershire Flavored Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 cups fresh Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 tablespoons Butter or Margarine
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon liquid Wood Smoke
- 1/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt
Rinse the fresh pumpkin seeds. Saute pumpkin seeds in the butter for about 5 minutes (until they start to turn brown). Add the worcestershire sauce and liquid wood smoke to the mix of pumpkin seeds. Saute and stir continually for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the seasoned and garlic salt onto the pumpkin seeds and mix until evenly coated. Spread seeds into a shallow baking pan and baked at 250 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until crispy. Stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and put in a dish to serve.
In our house if the pumpkin seed recipe is good about half the pumpkin seeds have disappeared before they have completely cooled and been put into the bowl to serve. The kids especially like to come by the stove as they are cooling and “taste test” the new recipe and provide their feedback! Some of the pumpkin seed recipes we have made are sweet while others are salty. The worchestershire flavored pumpkin seed recipe fits into the salty range. You can adjust the amount of seasoning based on your specific tastes. Enjoy!
Great Work Girls!
Great Work Girls!
The girls completed their extra math work this week and earned pumpkins! The pumpkins were on clearance for two dollars at Walmart so we figured it would be a fun activity to do together with the Halloween Holiday. I don’t know which was more fun for them, scooping the seeds out and dehydrating them so they could eat them or doing the jack-o-lanterns!
Super excited that they continue to go the extra math with their math learning. If you want to read more about why we are doing this activity you can see my post on Going the “Extra” Mile with Math It has been very beneficial for our family!
A Spooktacular Halloween
Monster bags, note, and goodies on their bar stools at breakfast. They were excited to see a little treat waiting for them at breakfast. These bags were too cute, the package came with a variety of eyes and mouths that you could put together in any combination.
Here is a picture of one of the pancake, sausage and bacon Halloween monsters the girls ate for breakfast.
Jake even got festive Halloween sprinkles on his toast!
Karlie’s goody bags to share with her class are all packed and ready to distribute!
Brina’s Halloween class goodies are packed and ready to go!
Teacher Halloween Gifts
A monster and note waiting on Karlie’s seat when I picked her up from school.
Brina had an orange monster and note waiting on her seat in the van when I picked her up from school.
Our little Dancer and Superwoman!
The girls were super excited to have the opportunity to meet up with their cousins (we were able to capture a picture of the adorable blue crayon….there was also a cute little monkey that joined us that evening)!
Every day for the month of October the girls got a little treat in their pumpkins (if they did well at school, after school activities, and at home). On Halloween Day they got their last little goodies. Some of the items they received were Halloween socks, Halloween Underwear, books, glow sticks, crafts, and more!
Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
Green cat with a “K” on it….wonder who that one is for? We also found a purple cat with a “B” on it too! 🙂
While Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa were here visiting we made some delicious rice krispie treats. I made regular rice krispie treats and cut them out with Halloween (pumpkin, ghost, and cat) cookie cutters then the kids and Grandmas decorated them. It was a lot of fun making these tasty treats together.
Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treat
Someone ate a Black Cat…….Karlie!
Brina enjoying one of the rice krispie treats after she finished helping decorate!
Colorful pumpkin!
Spooky green rice krispie ghost!
Decorating rice krispie treats with Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa. The decorating team was MUCH faster than the cookie cutter, ha! 🙂
A plate full of decorated rice krispie treats!
Another tray full of pumpkins, ghosts, and cats…….
After the girls got a chance to taste test one cookie we sent some of the treats home with the Grandmas, 1 went into each of the girls lunches for the next day, and the rest we brought to Community Group to share with friends. This was a fun and easy Halloween activity for everyone to do.
Family Activities: 3 Big Pumpkins with 6 Different Faces!
One side of the pumpkins had a Mr. Potato Head type face on it! Karlie’s “serious” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “silly” pumpkin, and Brina’s “puppy dog” pumpkin! This side of the pumpkin took a lot less time to do. It was super easy and if you don’t want to mess with carving or cleaning out a pumpkin this is a great alternative. The girls loved picking out the pieces for their pumpkins and designing a face.We were super excited to have Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa come visit us for a few days in October. During their visit we were able to squeeze in a lot of fun activities. One of the activities was carving pumpkins! The girls had a blast hanging out with both Grandmas and have a lot of great memories of their time with us. Thankful that they were able to come visit us. 🙂
The other side of the pumpkins had the carved version on it which was perfect for the evening. Karlie’s “scary” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “cat” pumpkin, and Brina’s “happy” pumpkin sitting on the front porch.
The PROCESS……
Scooping out the pumpkin seeds
Gross……slimy pumpkin hands!
Karlie designed her own “scary” pumpkin face complete with eyelashes! She drew her face on a piece of paper and Jake helped her transfer it to her pumpkin. So proud of her scary pumpkin!
Brina wanted a “happy” pumpkin!
Trying to get Skip-A-Doo to pose with them in front of the pumpkins…..ha! Skipper wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but I have to give them credit for trying to get her to cooperate for the picture!
The girls had a lot of fun doing the pumpkins with Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa. They thought it was neat having a “2 sided” pumpkin with different faces on each side. The jack-o-lantern that they carved was their night pumpkin and the silly faces were their day pumpkins. We used the pumpkins seeds to make 3 Seasoned Pumpkin Seed recipes. Did you carve or decorate pumpkins? I would love to see your pumpkins, feel free to post a link to your pictures in the comment section below!
Leaves + Pumpkins + Ghosts = Oh My….It’s Halloween
Karlie and Brina raked up a bunch of leaves to “stuff” the pumpkin!
What a difference a year makes…..so much has happened over the past few months it is hard to believe it is Halloween again! I like to think that I have learned all the lessons I need to know by now but I find myself still trying to balance this thing called life. At times I am torn between having fun with my family and getting things done on my never-ending and always-growing “to do” list (does anyone else struggle with this or is it just me?!).
Sometimes the best way to get things done is to have fun doing it with your family. For example, you can make raking leaves a game by seeing who can stuff their “leaf pumpkin” the fullest or fastest! You get to have fun with the family plus you get a few extra leaves off the yard all at the same time.
Last year it was much warmer for Halloween so the kids spent almost all their free time outside playing. Only a few days ago we were wearing shorts and it was 80 degrees outside, but with the storm up north the wind has picked up, leaves are raining down on the yard, and there is an extra chill in the air.
Two little pumpkins for my sweet “pumpkins”!
They got these cute little pumpkins from a fall activity we did with a group of friends at a local farm. Since these pumpkins were too small to carve we made delicious Pumpkin Dip and a small batch of Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds!
The girls made these easy “Banana Ghosts” to take in their school lunches!
It was cute hearing them giggle as they put together their little ghosts. We took 1 banana, cut it in half, the girls put a dab of peanut butter (or soy butter) on it, adding raisins for the eyes, stuck a straw in the bottom and put them into bags for their school lunch. The straw was a fun addition because the ghost would “move” (in slow circles) when they held it up which added to the excitement. Sometimes it’s the simple things that you already have in your kitchen that bring the widest smiles!
Recipe: Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins (4 Ingredients)
As the Fall leaves continue to rain down in our yard we are enjoying some delicious treats! These Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins are super easy to make, only contain four ingredients, and taste awesome. The last time I made these for a group of friends only 2 came home with us and the girls begged to take them in their school lunches. You will not have to add any water, eggs or oil to this recipe and the muffin will still turn out with a moist.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins:
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
- 1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin
- 4 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
- 4 tablespoons Powdered Sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line 24 muffin tins. Mix together yellow cake mix and canned pumpkin until blended (the batter will be thicker than your typically cake mix). Scoop evenly into muffin tins (I use an ice cream scoop) and set aside. In another bowl blend softened cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Drop a small spoonful of the cream cheese mixture on top of each muffin. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven, cool, and sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar over the top of each muffin prior to serving.
The last time I made these I did about half with the cream cheese and half without cream cheese. Both were a big hit with the group, but the ones with the cream cheese went faster. 🙂
Pumpkin & Yellow Cake Mix Muffins topped with Cream Cheese & a touch of Powdered Sugar
Fresh out-of-the-oven Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Pumpkin Cheesecake & regular Pumpkin Muffins sprinkled with Powdered Sugar and ready to be eaten
Recipe: 3 Easy Seasoned Pumpkin Seed Recipes
Every Fall our family likes to pick up a couple pumpkins to carve. One of our favorite parts about carving and enjoying some time together as a family is making toasted pumpkin seeds. This year was even more special because Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa were here to join in the festivities with the girls.
We did 3 different seasoned pumpkin seed recipes this year. The two that we did last year were such a huge hit that we did them again plus added one more. To make it easier on you I have all three recipes in this post.
Seasoned Salt Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 c pumpkin seeds
- 2 T butter
- Sprinkle Seasoned Salt (or substitute a 1/2 package ranch package mix)
Rinse the pumpkin seeds. Saute pumpkin seeds in the butter for about 5 minutes (until they start to turn brown). Sprinkle the Seasoned Salt on the seeds. Spread seeds into a shallow baking pan and baked at 250 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until crispy. Stirring every 10 minutes.
Dill Ranch Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 c pumpkin seeds
- 2 T butter
- 1/2 package Hidden Valley Dill Ranch Mix
Rinse the pumpkin seeds. Saute pumpkin seeds in the butter for about 5 minutes (until they start to turn brown). Sprinkle half the pack of Hidden Valley Dill Ranch Mix (or any flavor of Ranch mix) on the seeds. Spread seeds into a shallow baking pan and baked at 250 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until crispy. Stirring every 10 minutes.
Cinnamon Apple Cider Pumpkin Seeds
The cinnamon apple cider pumpkin seed recipe was adapted from the recipe My Retro Kitchen shared on her blog. I removed the nutmeg from the recipe but otherwise it is the same. These seeds came out with a perfect mix of sweetness. The other two recipes were more the salty flavors so adding this sweet one was awesome compliment to the three. I want to make them again because mine came out a little oily (maybe they needed to cook longer or I had too much butter?). These were a hit with family and friends, perfect for the Fall festivities!
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds, cleaned and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter OR olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Pour the apple cider in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add the pumpkin seeds and boil on medium heat for 10 minutes. Drain the seeds and pour them in a large mixing bowl.
Pour the melted butter or olive oil into the bowl, along with the salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well to coat and spread pumpkin seed in a single layer onto jelly roll pan or a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring them them every 10 minutes, until butter topping has dried and the pumpkin seeds are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and dry-out the rest of the way on the cookie sheet on top of the stove. Store in an air-tight container.After cleaning out our pumpkins we had a little over 6 cups of pumpkin seeds so we decided it up three ways and made three different recipes. These seeds were a hit with our family and friends. The girls had a blast cleaning and carving their pumpkins!
Family Outings: Fall Festivals & Fun Activities
A little behind in posting these pictures but I figure it’s better late than never, right!? Since a couple of our family members have requested these pictures here we go…..
One happy and one scary pumpkin on the front porch In celebration of Fall Festivals, events, and activities we had the girls do a pumpkin this year. Brina wanted a happy pumpkin and Karlie wanted a scary pumpkin. They did the outlines for their pumpkins and Daddy cut out the pieces. They were both quite pleased with their pumpkins.
One Blue Crayon and One Violet Crayon The girls dressed up this year as crayons! They were super excited to wear their crayon costumes that we picked up on clearance last year.
Goody cups for the girls class at school. The girls helped pack the goody cups for their teacher and friends in their classroom! Besides stickers, pencils, glow in the dark silly bands we included a toothbrush and toothpaste.
Candy Corn Cupcakes for the girls class We made candy corn cupcakes for the girls class at school. They were so excited to take them and share with their friends at lunch.
Karlie and Brina carrying their goody basket into school They were thrilled to carry the goody basket into school. Several other students stopped to express their delight in the cool basket on their way to class, I think that alone made the girls day!
Two little crayons and Daddy getting into the teacup This was the first ride the girls went on at the Fall Festival. So thankful Jake was willing to ride with them, last year I went on it and almost threw up from the spinning!
Hold onto your hats little crayons! It made me dizzy just watching them spinning in circles but they had a blast!
Fun fall festival rides Our two crayons are in the blue one. They loved this ride last year too.
Having fun They loved looking out of their “cage” as they called it over the rest of the Fall Festival. When they got off they told us everything that they saw on the ride and what activities they wanted to do.
Ready to fly on the bug Two little crayons going for another spinning ride on the little bug, too cute!
Bug in flight It was hard getting a picture when both of them were looking at me. The bug got cut off on this one but at least both girls are looking my direction! 🙂
All buckled in...now ready to swing and spin Daddy was such a sport and went with the girls again on this spinning ride. Everyone is all buckled in and ready to SWING!
There they are swinging It looks pretty innocent doesn’t it but if your stomach does flip-flops while going in circles…..
Checking out all the equipment in the medical helicopter They had a emergency helicopter there so you could show your kids. Pretty neat seeing on the devices they put into it.
Two little crayons coming down the slide They had a blast jumping on bouncy castles, racing through bounce house mazes, and zipping down the slides.
Two cute crayons next to a giant black cat The cat was having problems staying up but I snapped a quick picture with them in front of it. They thought it was so funny seeing a giant black cat.
