Pumpkin Day at Hicklen Farms

So with Indie home for college break we squeezed in a family day, a birthday dinner, and our annual Fall pumpkin fest into one fantastic Saturday. I say fantastic in its usual sort of fantastic way, others may have been heard to utter it in the "other" way. Yeah, it was super freezing cold, but since when do we not brave the frozen tundra for the annual Pumpkin Day with a positive attitude?! It was an experience, that's for sure!

Have to say, I busted out laughing when I stepped out of the car and heard the old man band singing old country music tunes This is me trying to talk Indie into posing next to the band(Ooh, check out Minnie Pearl in the background! Isn't the ambiance great?!)

Indie thinks to make a quick pick and getaway! (Hah)

Checking out the first of many possibilities

Oh, but wait, there's quite a few over here too. And Taryn is saying, "I'm kinda done Mom"

Long-Suffering looks may surround me but I will not be rushed

Mariah's face says it all but I can't figure out why...looks like a nice pumpkin to me?

So this Red Hat Lady lives here. She's the Farmer's Wife. Mike & Indie insist the farmers were keeping warm with some "help". So, I thought she was explaining about the different pumpkin varieties and trying to get me to "adopt" one, but what what she was really doing was apparently an amazing sleight of hand that not even the camera could catch that involved a little swig of the ol' whiskey flask!

Whoa! There's more pumpkins than I thought! Good thing for everybody I know exactly which variety I want or I'd have to look in each and every row!!

Mariah hits the Jack-o-Pot!

Indy has found a winner!

"Don't worry...it won't hurt a bit when I use the big knife on ya"

Meanwhile....Back at the Prizewinner Pumpkin Patch
Chrissie: "Nope, this isn't it either. I'm just not feeling it!"
Mariah & Taryn: "Mom!! We're not feeling our fingers & toes!!"

Gib goes for El Calabaza Grande

Indie, ah Indie....I love your smile!
She has settled in for a sarcastic wait I had no idea this was happening I do remember a rousing Johnny Cash song while I was trying to find a pumpkin - I bet this was during that

Look at the poor freezing kids

"Mike! Quit hassling me!!
My pumpkin is in THIS pile...I KNOW it is! I just haven't found it yet!"

Indy to Gib: "We're gonna die of hypothermia with the sound of redneck singing ringing in our ears for eternity"

Gib: "Look! Mom can have them dance at our funeral too"

OMG 1

Even bigger OMG 2

Taryn: "Gib! Save me! I don't wanna die!"

Gib the human windbreaker wasn't interested in saving anyone other than himself. C'mon Gib! Now that you're taller than ALL of us, you are honor bound to save us first! (at least this year those two didn't end up in the dirt)

The stress is getting to me...or maybe it's the yodeling. I do NOT like being rushed to find my perfect pumpkin. But the kids playing in the weird squash gave me an idea. I went back for the funky pumpkin Taryn's been pushing on me for the past 20 minutes.

Taryn: "Look Mom! It's a NOSE!"

BACK AT HOME:
The kids are thawed out and Indie's in a better mood
See?! (yep, her sweet lil pumpkin didn't feel a thing)

Scooping & Sorting for roasted pumpkin seeds
What a great batch we made this year too!

Taryn enjoyed making faces & sound effects for us. The seeds were soooo cold by the way. Except for my Gentry's Farm pumpkin that was in the house all week. So I kept hitting warm spots in the goo which of course made for a good joke or two. (hey, I can't help it)

Indie is such a pro. We're still scooping and she's free forming it with a knife and everything.

"First one done.....SUCKAS!!!"
Is that not the cutest little guy you've ever seen?!?!

I'm surrounded by kids with knives and I laugh in the face of danger...HAH!

Mariah did her pumpkin all by herself this year for the first time! No adult help...hey, wait how did that happen?! She left the knife in for special effects. Look at the gleam in her eye. You can't see it in this photo, but the pumpkins get to eat the smaller pumpkins. It's becoming tradition.

Mwa-ha-ha

Dental floss anyone?!

The wait is over!
Chrissie's Alien Pumpkin!

I should have taken a profile so you can see the Mohawk better.

Gib's Pumpkin eating one of the babies.
Sick little kids - gotta love 'em.
Pretty sure they get that from Mike's side of the family.


Grammy joined us a little bit later. Here's the pumpkin I picked for her.
See?! I was multi-tasking people!! It's a Cinderella pumpkin.
Ummmm, Grammy didn't go princess on the carving.

More Halloween later - Mariah has her pumpkin to carve (she did my Gentry's and saved hers from today for Halloween) and we haven't lit them up yet. And, of course, after T's Explosives Camp who knows, we just may really light them up this year!! P.S. In case you are wondering Where's Mike?! There is a Where's Waldo picture of Mike in here somewhere. Go find him. He's a bit of a pumpkin patch scrooge, but I have to say he held it in real good this year and put a smile on his face, pulled out the wallet when appropriate and even scooped when Taryn requested some help! Thanks for all the photos too! Great job Mike!!