We spent the weekend getting into the Halloween spirit by attending Glensheen Mansion’s Halloween Spooktacular event, carving pumpkins and prepping Halloween costumes. I just have to start with this photo because I think it is my favorite of the weekend. We also found out from the veterinarian that Daphne’s tumor was benign and the margins were clean. She is a healthy and happy Boxer!

Back to the Glenshen Spooktacular ~ With hundreds of Jack ‘O Lanterns illuminating the seven acre grounds of Glensheen mansion, we couldn’t help but go and get inspired for our own pumpkin carving. There were many of the traditional carvings and some that caught our eye including SpongeBob, Tinkerbell, pirates, owls and other amazing designs. Without a tripod, it was impossible to photograph the glowing pumpkins. We did take a few photos along the way using flash so that we could capture some of the unique pumpkins.






The outdoor tour ended with roasting marshmallows over a fire pit and making yummy s’mores. The perfect way to end a chilly evening.

Today we started the day by gutting our pumpkins and then jumped right into carving. Sebastian and Sophia enjoyed getting their hands inside the “guts” and pulling out all the stringy mess including the much coveted pumpkin seeds. We saved every seed so that we can roast them in the oven. Mike and the kids enjoy the salty, crunchy treat.




Sebastian carved his pumpkin by himself. Mike helped tape the pattern on the pumpkin and Sebastian took it from there. Here is his finished spooky pumpkin.

Sophia chose a Dracula pattern for her mini pumpkin.

And because I needed an extra challenge this year, I chose a Boxer. It was time-consuming, but not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.


I don’t think Daphne was quite as excited about her pumpkin portrait as I was. However, she did feel the need to lick the boxer pumpkin’s ears…but I guess that’s not unusual. She licks everyone.

Can’t wait for costumes and candy tomorrow…