2010 Pumpkin Carving Contest Winners!

Thank you to all who participated in our pumpkin carving contest this year and to all of you who voted for your favorites!!! Every year we are impressed with all of the submissions! This year was no exception!

Congratulations to all of our winners!!

Adult Entries (with stencils)

*First Place (23 votes) "Dragon" carved by Jim S. in MA.

*Second Place (11 votes) "Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue" (Sarah Palin) carved by my brother-in-law, Nathan, in CA. Nathan mentioned that he also thought that his carving looked a bit like Harry Potter. Someone who came trick-or-treating at our house tonight suggested that it was John Lennon.

*Third Place (10 votes) "Scarycrow" carved by my mother-in-law, Jean, in PA.

*Fourth Place (8 votes) "TerrifEYEd" carved by Liz. I was disappointed to hear that many people couldn't tell what this was supposed to be!!!!!! It's a person in bed pulling the covers up to his chin with a giant scary eye looking through the window! Hence, the name, TerrifEYEd! How can you not see that?!?! Just kidding, of course! As one of my neighbors said, if you have to explain it that much, people aren't going to vote for it. I'll keep that in mind for next year!

Adult entries (no stencils)

*First Place (21 votes) "Pirate Skeleton" carved by Andy H. in Wisconsin.
*Second Place (20 votes) "Jaws" carved by Ted L. in MA. I gave Ted a hard time because I couldn't make out the shark at the bottom. I guess I shouldn't talk since noone could tell what I carved!
*Third Place (16) "Jagged Jack-o-lantern" carved by Sara L. in MA.
*Fourth Place (11 votes) "George W." (aka "The Best President Ever") carved (actually-sculpted) by Mike. He noticed George W. behind homeplate at the World Series tonight, so we had to take a picture of the former president and Mike's pumpkin. Isn't there an amazing likeness?!? :) I asked some of our trick-or-treaters if they could tell who it was. Once I told a group of teenagers that it was a former president, one of the girls guessed correctly. Another little boy guessed Luke Skywalker. A third neighbor thought it was Voldemort from Harry Potter. Mike said, "I knew I wouldn't win, but I'm the only one who did a 3-D pumpkin!" I have a feeling that we are going to need a new category next year!

Kids' Entries (with assistance)

*First Place (39 votes-a landslide!) "Spike the Spider" by Mindy with help from Eliza (age 5) in WI. Eliza helped pick out the stencil, she scooped out the pumpkin, helped transfer the stencil and helped a bit with the carving. She also thought long and hard to come up with the perfect name. They did a great job again this year!!
*Second Place (14 votes) "Panda" carved by Mark with input from Luke (age 5 1/2) in MA.
*Third Place (13 votes) "Cat in the Moon" carved by Liz with help from Sienna (age 5) in MA.
*Fourth Place (6 votes) "Mean Eater" designed by Ellie L. (age 4) in MA and carved by her mom, Sara.

Kids' Entries (without assistance)

*First Place (24 votes) "Maggie the Dog" designed and carved by Isabella P. (age 7) in MA. This pumpkin was inspired by our neighbor's golden retriever, Maggie!
*Second Place (15 votes) "Insane Maniac" designed and carved by Collin L. (age 7 1/2) in MA.
*Third Place (14 votes) "Peace and Love" designed and carved by Maddie S. (age 6 1/2) in MA.
*Fourth Place (6 votes) "Vampire" Although this is technically Elijah's (age 2 1/2) pumpkin, Isabella designed and carved it for him-as she is known to do every year. He did help scoop out the seeds, though!

The following pumpkins are listed in no particular order, but I wanted to give credit to all of the talented carvers!

"Cat on a Branch" (MK) carved by my cousin, Megan, in CA
"Cat on a Branch" (TS) carved by Tanya S. in MA
"Tinkerbell" carved by Travis H. in MT
"Vampire Bat" carved by Eric L. in MA
"Bat" carved mostly by John F. (age 7) with help from his dad, Mark.
"Roly Poly" carved by Mindy in WI with help from Eliza for Eliza's brother, Ian (age 3).
"Scary" carved by Sarah H. in WI with help from Noah (age 7) and Caden (almost 5).
"Spider" carved by Jim S. with help from Ben (age 4 1/2) in MA.
"Alien Explosion" designed and carved by Calvin L. (age 6 1/2) in MA.
"One Tooth" designed and carved by Madi H. (age 7) in MT.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!