halloween hurrah

We spent the day involved in pumpkin activities. The kids dressed up in their costumes and we headed to the New York Botanical Gardens for the Halloween Hurrah. We saw hundreds of carved pumpkins which inspired us to go home and finally carve our own pumpkins. Their pumpkin displays were whimsical and fun, and Sarah and I both loved the pumpkins on fence posts, pumpkin head people on stilts, pumpkin snakes, carved pumpkins in the caterpillars and arches, and the traditional pumpkins on hay bales with corn stalks. Sarah got to help make some apple cider, explore with seeds and beans, and learn all about the insects that help decompose dead plant matter. The millipede was a favorite. The fall flowerbeds and foliage were spectacular. We were amazed by the gigantic pumpkins that were on display and in the process of being carved. They had the world record pumpkin weighing in at over 1800 pounds. The spiderweb pumpkin and the owl pumpkin were something like 1725 pounds and 1675 pounds each. I could not believe how big they were. Princess Leia and the skeleton both had a great time.