Pumpkin Carving

Ryan and I love to spend time with our mentors Dick and Gretchen Roberts. Have I ever mentioned that they have a Chinese girl living with them? Her name is Ruthie and we just love her too! She came to the US almost one year ago. She had just graduated from high school and came here to go to college. Right now she is going to the Community College of Aurora and doing VERY well! She is from Naning a very southern city in China. Much farther south than where we lived in Nanchang. Dick, Gretchen and Ruthie have such a cool past. When Ruthie was just a girl and Dick and Gretchen were living in Michigan, Ruthie's Dad came to Michigan State University as a visiting scholar. He met Dick and Gretchen at that time and have had a strong friendship ever since. They have even visited his family (and Ruthie) twice in China!

Because this was Ruthie's first Fall season in the US we wanted to make it extra special by doing some things Americans do during this time. We carved pumpkins, drank apple cider, ate pumpkin bread and caramel apples. We had such a fun time together and as always I love seeing our culture through the eyes of a foreigner.

Getting Started: Choosing a design, sticking it on the pumpkin and cutting!
In Process: Carving and Cleaning
Finished Product: Pre-Lighting

The Coolest Part: Lighting
I gotta tell ya, I've done a few pumpkin carvings before but Ruthie won the price for coolest design! She did a great job! And Ryan wins the prize for being the fastest and to be completely honest, he actually did most of mine. For some reason, I tuckered out with all the cleaning. :)