Mini Pumpkin Boat Race

What do you do with a pumpkin that won't sit up straight and is looking a little sad and haggard? Turn it into a pumpkin boat, of course! Well, really, two boats because once you make one there's already another half just sitting there! And if there's two, the only logical thing to do is race them down the river. So we made a little a sacrifice to the Autumn fairies and sent our two halves down the river (removing the little toy skeleton and witch candle just posing for a photo op so as not to pollute or loose our little friends). We took the last bits of frost bitten flower heads to decorate them and some soft milkweed fluff and made sails of leafy branches. They floated nicely, even when one filled with water. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of rain and the river was pretty low, so the pumpkin boats needed more than a little help to keep going.  And yes, there was a daddy and daughter crazy enough to go into the cold water and help them on their way. There wasn't a clear winner, as neither boat made it to the end of the race at the bridge. Oh well. We didn't make it to the famous giant pumpkin boat race in NH this weekend, but we did manage to have some pumpkin silliness of our own. And there were warm pumpkin seeds to feast on when we got back inside. Yes, I do think this is a new Fall tradition for us!

*A special thanks goes out to Papa for cutting and scooping the pumpkin and Baba for getting those yummy seeds in the oven and tolerating our silliness.