Pumpkin Carving 2020

With Halloween on the horizon, we thought this weekend was the perfect time to carve our pumpkins and show a little holiday spirit. 

Sadly, due to the pandemic, the family-run pumpkin patch we have gone to for years and year and years isn't open this year. (Oh COVID, you just keep giving and giving, don't you??) Instead, we picked up pumpkins at a local grocery store and called it good.

In years past, we've had squirrels see our pumpkins as a buffet. My plan to thwart them was to keep the pumpkins in the basement until we were ready to carve them. A few days ago, Finn was nowhere to be seen... after a few moments of hunting, I found him gnawing on one of the pumpkins.
Animals = 1, Me = 0

Eric was the first to figure out his pumpkin design, and what a clever design he came up with! He went into our back yard, came back inside with some sticks, and went to work making arms for his pumpkin creations. How clever is he?!?! I didn't get any shots of him mid-creation, but do have a photo of his final results. 

Eric's pumpkin creation

I was a bit stumped on what I wanted my pumpkin's look and feel to be. I figured EVERYONE would have a mask-themed pumpkin, so didn't want to do that. I almost made a "VOTE" pumpkin, but then started to think that's what I did before the last election. Instead, I turned to my good ol' buddy Pinterest and swiped an idea from a post I saw there. When I saw the photo, I knew it was what I wanted to do ... carving and sewing all in one. How me! 

My creepy, yet crafty pumpkin

As the kids have grown up, they've taken on more and more ownership of their pumpkin designs and the actual creation. We still worry about potentially lost fingers, so closely watch them, but they are now old enough to do most/all of the work on their own. Spread you wings, little ones!! (PSA: Just keep the sharp knives pointed away from them. Please... for the love of all that's holy! We really don't want any pumpkin carving-related ER trips. Now or ever. But I digress....)

After much contemplation, Conor decided on a mad scientist design for his pumpkin. (Note: his pumpkin scientist's forehead "scar" is courtesy of Finn... please see the gnawing reference above.) Conor cleverly incorporated our Harry Potter glasses and mad scientist wig in his final design. 

Sketching out the design

Gooey!

Keep the sharp parts pointed away from you, bud!

The proud artist

The wig completes the creation

Annika's pumpkin was partially inspired by the Illuminati coupled with a cartoon character named Bob (I think). She incorporated a bit of herself in the design by including outlines of her hands right in the pumpkin. She worked incredibly hard on her pumpkin and completed the entire process on her own. Her creative process was "let's see how it goes", with very little preparatory sketching. She had a vision in her head and went for it. 

Scoop, scoop, scoop

The artist hard at work

Adding details

Ta da!!

Seeing everyone's final pumpkins was a lot of fun, but what really made the day special was hearing the kids reminisce about Halloweens gone by. The giggled about some of their earliest pumpkin-carving memories and the silly things they remember doing. There were countless "OH YEAH! I remember that" moments. 2020 has been a pretty odd year, to say the least, but having days like Sunday so full of family fun, tradition, and smiles made things feel much more normal.  

Lummi Island Weekend Getaway

Waaaaaay back in June, we were all set to spend the weekend on Lummi Island at one of the off-site houses owned by Willows Inn. Not too shabby, eh? 

What's that saying about "the best laid plans of mice and men"? Little did we know when we made the reservation that we'd wind up in a global pandemic that nixed just about every travel plan known to man... including our stay at the Beach House. Sigh...

We worked with the wonderful folks at Willows Inn and re-booked our stay for last weekend and were thrilled that we were able to keep it this time. Hurray!

The kids didn't have school on Friday due to a teacher in-service day and I have a crazy amount of PTO to burn, so took the day off. Once Eric was done with work. we packed up the car and headed north. Aside from some Friday evening rush hour slow downs, the drive was uneventful (thankfully).

We got checked in just before 6 PM and were settled in at the Beach House shortly thereafter.... just in time to take in the gorgeous purples and pinks of sunset. The house is mere feet from the beach (hence, it is called Beach House... duh) and the view could not have been better! We had nothing but water and islands and beach as far as the eye could see. Just to our left across the water was Orcas Island. The little island straight across the water from the house is a wildlife reserve and beyond that, a smattering of other San Juan islands.

The theme for the weekend was "unplug and relax" and we did just that. We took many walks along the beach, played games (Pass the Pigs, Taco vs. Burrito, Sorry, cribbage, and gin rummy). Annika watched the entire Back to the Future trilogy... but only after spending about an hour and a half organizing the house's toy/game closet. ("But Mom, this IS how I relax!"... uhh... ok!)

Eric reading while Annika watches "Back to the Future"

Conor found a pair of binoculars almost as soon as we set foot in the house. It was a rare moment for him not to have them around his neck or up to his face... just to see what was far away. He spotted a bald eagle almost immediately (good eye, Conor!). While walking on the beach on Saturday, I also saw a bald eagle (dubbed "Conor's eagle" because he first spotted it) and was able to capture some photos of it on Sunday. Win!

Conor's bald eagle

Conor and I had a great walk together on Saturday. We saw many beautiful rocks and shells, not to mention a variety of birds. He climbed rocks and helped me keep an eye out for orca whales ... sadly, we never saw any. 

My beach-walkin' buddy

Conor and the binoculars... weekend buddies

This was the first time all year (I think) that we've gone anywhere. It felt so good to get away from home and just be. Yes, we are together all of the time, but at home, we are together all of the time in real life. This weekend was being together while enjoying vacation mode. We didn't have a to-do list that was any longer than "enjoy the weekend". 

I'm thrilled that I thought to bring my camera along with us. The scenery was astounding and offered many, many, many photographic opportunities. I think one or two of the photos might be seen on display in our house fairly soon. Bonus!

View from our deck

Heron

Northbound view of the beach and Beach House

Beach dogs!

Taking in the view while reading under a cozy blanket

Beach to the south (and Orcas Island beyond)

I realized at some point during the weekend, we didn't hear a single car sound or siren the entire time we were at the Beach House. Instead, we were surrounded by sounds of crashing waves, birds, and a few boats. Really, there was nothing to complain about in terms of the soundtrack!