Carving Jack-o-Lanterns...scary stuff

So, we got home from a long weekend, and realized - it's the last weekend before Halloween!  We have these pumpkins sitting out back that needed to be carved.  So we carved.  It was a huge mess but lots of fun.. After we were done, Taylor wanted to go see her "orange thing" and we ended up letting her sleep with her lantern in her room.

AJ kept wanting to touch everything, stick his hands in the pumpkin goo, and rub it all over his legs... YUCK

The kids were totally entranced by the carving and gutting of the "orange things"

Every time we looked away, AJ was grabbing the pumpkin tops and throwing them on the ground.  I wonder what that translates to when he's an adult...

AJ loved playing with the scooper and splattering me and Taylor with goo!

Taylor is at this age where she doesn't seem to ever want to smile normally.  Every time we try to get her to smile, we either get a half wink or this weird hugely open eye look.  It's hilarious to watch.

Here it is again...her "smiling eyes" - Such a nut!

The best way we can get her to smile for a picture is to quote commercials.  Sometimes we say to her "moisturizing and comforting" or "knobby knees" or "skinny minnie" or "it's a bonus".  No idea why these things make her laugh so hard, but I know I like to watch infomercials, so maybe it's genetic.

Here we are, final product.  Taylor's pumpkin has 4 eyes and a sad mouth.  It was a lot of fun, in the past, we had bought the pumpkins and not bothered to carve them.  Also, it's impossible to find a good pumpkin carving knife.. maybe I just don't know what to look for.