Pumpkin Carving!

Mira's first pumpkin carving experience! My first in a long while...

Everything laid out and ready to carve!

We asked Mira to help us find the top of the pumpkin (Special Agent Oso allusion).

Kenny was impressed (and a little afraid) of my knife wielding.

Mira thought it was a good idea to help me with the big knife - I didn't quite agree.

When I opened it up and she saw what was inside - she shrieked and cried!

She hopped in my lap and didn't want anything to do with the "yucky" insides - not even with a spoon!

Once I had it all cleaned out and started the carving process, she was on board! First we transfer the pattern by poke, poke, poking!

Then we carve it by moving the saw up and down, up and down, up and down. She really went to town on this part!

Poke the pieces in when they're cut all around.

More carving...the intensity!

Shatzie begging for a bite of pumpkin.

Almost done!

All the pieces are out!

Doing some clean-up and fine tuning.

Ta-Daaaa!!

Our happy Jack.

Mira is pleased with our work!

Cute little pumpkin! And the gourds are nice, too!

Now, Kenny and I are going to toast the pumpkin seeds!! I've never tried them, so we'll see if it's worth the trouble! We've rinsed them and spread them out to dry overnight, and we'll toast them tomorrow!

Letterboxing Tour

Kenny is spending the weekend in Denver with his parents and Kara. They are watching tons of football and other Colorado things...

So, Mira and I spent Saturday doing a Letterboxing Tour! We went through Marshall and Longview and on to Tyler before coming back.

Lots of LB's are found in parks, so that's perfect - we played a little on each playground and found letterboxes, too! Mira loved visiting all the different parks, and she loves helping me stamp in. She's a great LBing buddy! I think I might go ahead and make her her own stamp and logbook!

We were gone right at 12 hours and collected 8 new stamps! Plus, we planted a Hitchhiker in Tyler - hope to see it again one day!!

I learned that Marshall, TX has a lot of great historical sites, Longview has lots of beautiful trails to walk/bike/board, etc - very well-maintained, and Tyler has a ton of really awesome parks! There were plenty of LB's we didn't try this time, so we may have to repeat this tour and look for other LB's in these towns! 

Our first LB find of the day! Not my most flattering, but I love this picture. We were so pumped after our find!

Losts of LB's are also found near Historical Markers. This one was at a beautiful old hotel in Marshall, TX.

There was also a little TXDOT museum with some old trains - Mira thought that was cool!

Having a little lunch at one of the parks in Longview. We were totally unsuccessful at both locations we had picked in Longview - BOOOO!

But, we managed to have some fun anyways!

My LB partner crashed after lunch! =)

There are also lots of LB's in cemeteries. This one was very impressive! That's a grave marker in the shape of a baby grand piano! Now, that's going out with style!

Our last stop before heading home was "The Teddy Bear" park in Tyler. It was so adorable with all it's little statues and the landscaping was just gorgeous!

Mira did a lot of this all day! She looks so BIG!

Helping me stamp in with a big smile.

And she's OFF again!

The park's namesake - how cute were these guys?!

Mira gave his tail a nice pat, pat, pat!

Interested in Letterboxing? Find more info here:

Letterboxing North America

Atlas Quest

or just Google away!!

Maybe you'll join us on our next tour!!!

Country Fun Farms

This past weekend, we really enjoyed the beautiful weather and embraced Autumn!
On Saturday morning, Mira and I bought some yellow, white, and red mums to plant. Then Kenny, Mira, and I all worked together to get them in pots. We got the Fall wreaths hung and dug out the plastic jack-o-lantern. Mira was amazed when Kenny got it out of the attic and even more thrilled when we plugged it in!

That afternoon, in search of pumpkins to go with our Fall display, we spent a lovely evening at Country Fun Farm. Mira ate nearly a whole pickle by herself, we went for a "hayride" (minus the hay?) out to a real pumpkin patch where we actually picked our own pumpkins right off the vine, then we played in the Corn Bin, rode the "train" together, saw some chickens, and Mira rode a rubber tire horse! They also have a corn maze, but Kenny and I weren't brave enough to do it. I tried to get Mira to get her face painted, but she wanted to do the painting - not get painted!

You'll see by the pictures which part Mira really loved. She keeps asking to go back to the "Dunkin Datch" - I'm sure we'll go back; Kenny & I had lots of fun, too!

"Running in the grass"

Enjoying a snack

Finding the perfect pumpkins.

Corn Bin!!!!!!  (genius!)

A quick ride.

Loved the "train" ride (a four-wheeler pulling barrel seats).

Our day's loot - pumpkins (they'll turn completely orange) and mums.

We're going to carve these big pumpkins when it gets cooler and closer to Halloween!!!

Mira loves to wear her gloves.

The finished project - not the best picture, but you get the idea (please, ignore the potting soil that is scattered in front of our steps).

Yay for Fall!!!!!!