Mix-it-Up Monday: Blanket Tent

The kids had lots of fun with the pumpkins this week. I didn't actually get pictures of us carving them though. OOPS. But that aside, our approach this year was a little more successful than years past.

The girls actually dove in and helped clean out their own pumpkins this year, something they have refused vehemently in years past. I don't know what magically changed about it this year, but hey, I'll take it.

The other thing we did differently was having them draw what they wanted their pumpkins to look like on a piece of paper for us before we drew the face on the pumpkin itself. Everyone was happier with the results (the Girls because their pumpkins were closer to what they actually wanted and Mom and Dad because there was less whining and crying).

All in all, really fun.

The only sad part was that we didn't get to eat Matt's amazing pumpkin seeds this year. They got a little more toasty than we had planned...like BLACK toasty.

So...the plans for this week. We're going to make a big tent out of all the blankets and chairs we can find. (And I'm not going to make a fuss about it or get after them to clean it up.) I've shown the kids how to do this a couple times in the past, but it didn't work out the best with the kitchen stools and the small blankets. This time we're breaking out all the blankets in the linen closet and going to town. And if they can handle it, I just might let them sleep there.