The Results Are In!

I know you have been up all night in anticipation of the Halloween 2008 Pumpkin Design winner. The election was tight and by a margin of only one vote, I'm pleased to announce that Boo! received the most votes. (And no I didn't rig the voting because that was the pumpkin Mike and I did) Guess this proves that every vote counts!

Regardless of winning, I have to admit it was a lot of fun just getting together and carving pumpkins. I think Grayson had a fun time as well. As I was scooping out the goop from inside our pumpkin, it made me think that next year Grayson will likely be having even more fun playing in all of the mess.

The evening also reminded me of how blessed we are to be surrounded by great friends and family, particularly with the upcoming holiday season. It's a lot of fun to celebrate Grayson's "firsts" with everyone. Although he doesn't realize it yet, Grayson has so many wonderful people that he can turn to and will influence his life during times when his parents seem like squares.

Another blessing is the diversity of the people in this support system. This is evident in how some of our friends chose to plan (or not plan) their pumpkin design. Take for example the Carr family. Rob and Michelle shared a pumpkin and combed through stencil books strategically selecting their skeleton design.

The Clays went a different route. Matt and Gina came with Obama stencils in hand, but decided to each carve a pumpkin so they could do their own thing.

Hosts Rob and Courtney Green also went the two pumpkin route. Courtney was so busy entertaining us that she quickly selected the scary skeleton stencil and got to work. Rob on the other hand focused on proper protection like a plastic bag smock and gloves to execute his intricately planned pumpkin diorama complete with an octopus, seahorse, dry ice and more. Although he didn't finish it that evening, I have no doubt it will be a masterpiece.

Then there is Michael and myself. We elected to share a pumpkin as well. I took on the job of cleaning out the insides and Michael was in charge of the design. He freehanded the Boo! without a stencil and also did the carving work. Regardless of the approach, all of the pumpkins came out great and we had a blast.

(FYI: No, my husband is not capable of taking a normal picture)

I hope you've all enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at the 2008 Halloween Pumpkin election. Let it serve as a reminder to get out and vote next week!