As we walked up to D-man's school with an armful of these fall veggies (teacher requested for an activity) we could see the kids eyes get as big as saucers and hear their excited whispers of, "Pumpkins!"
What other vegetable gets such a hallowed reaction?
We enjoy pumpkins so much that last Spring we planted our first garden. All pumpkins. 3 different kind of seeds. 15 square feet in Grandpa's backyard. A few months later we had this beautiful full vine with lots of blossoms on it. Our anticipation grew exponentially as the vines began to take over the side yard.
Fast forward to October. My dad brought the entire harvest from our pumpkin garden to our house on one of his weekly visits.
The white one is smaller than my fist. At least our one orange pumpkin has an interesting shape and a cool stem!
Do you know how hard it is to pay attention to General Conference* on TV at home when you're a kid? This year I had a plan, a knitting plan. Dedan loved making this cute little faux harvest guy on a loom. 
Emma used needles and started her own scarf (it's not finished yet). Something to do with their hands really helped my kids sit still. Probably the most peaceful Conference weekend we've had. Dedan was so proud of his crafty skills he took it to school and shared it with his class. Confidence building vegetable craft!
Emma used needles and started her own scarf (it's not finished yet). Something to do with their hands really helped my kids sit still. Probably the most peaceful Conference weekend we've had. Dedan was so proud of his crafty skills he took it to school and shared it with his class. Confidence building vegetable craft! Come October who doesn't love pumpkin treats?....other than my husband, I mean. I found a couple of recipes for my Have To Try This file here and here. But my Chocolate Chip pumpkin bread is a must have in our house. I like you so I'll share my recipe.
2/3 c Butter flavored Crisco
2 2/3 c sugar
4 eggs
1 lb pumpkin, canned or freshly cooked (here's how)
2/3 c water
Mix it well!
Add:
3 1/3 c flour
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground cloves
Mix it up!
With a spoon stir in:
1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
Divide into 2 greased bread pans. Bake @ 350 degrees for 70 minutes. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
Tomorrow Nash & I are headed for the pumpkin patch with our buddies. A whole activity planned around pumpkins! I haven't even mentioned jack-o-lanterns or my mom's famous Dinner In A Pumpkin....
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*that's Mormon for our bi-annual broadcast from church leadership in SLC. 4 different sessions. 2 hours each.
