Joy School and Pumpkin Angst

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . little Anna going to her first day of Joy School.  She had a great time.

. . . planting seeds in my container garden.  I put in pink nasturtiums, Swiss chard, peas, and colorful carrots.  Joy has requested that I leave a pot free so she can plant peas and lettuce.

. . . snuggling Baby Todd when he was in a cuddly mood.

And another thing . . .

. . . I have oddly mixed feelings about carving pumpkins now that I'm a parent.  I loved carving them with my family when I was a kid, especially because my dad always created such cool faces.  When my own kids broach the subject, though, all I can think about is what a colossal, messy undertaking it is.

Last year we carved one family pumpkin, each of us deciding on a feature's shape (someone chose the nose shape, someone else chose the mouth, etc.).  That seems like a bit of a cop out, though, now that the big kids are old enough to carve their own pumpkins.  I think I need to just take a deep breath and let everyone over age 4 carve their own this year.  Maybe it won't be so bad.

Or maybe it will.