Because impatience is my middle name

I love Halloween. I mean, who doesn't? Everything about it is so much fun, the costumes, the candy, the parties, and every now and then a haunted house (no we didn't know those people). 

I think my absolute favorite part is carving jack-o-lanterns. I have carved one every year (except last year) for as long as I can remember. Now of course, since I am a perfectionist and not good with advance planning, they never turn out as cute as I want them to. I usually just start sawing away with one of those cheap little pumpkin carving knives until it turns into a smiley face. There are also a lot of pretty awesome jack-o-lanterns out there to compete with, which honestly I don't see how they do it. So this year I decided to get a smidge more complicated, and do a little copyright infringement.

Say hello to Pumpkin Kitty! Okay so her bow is a little lopsided, which probably no one but me would ever notice. Other than that, I think she is pretty cute. And believe me, it wasn't easy getting her to actually look like the real Hello Kitty (for me, anyways). First there was a paper sketch. Next, the dry erase markers came out, which I think was Shane's idea. I usually just use a pencil, which as it turns out doesn't erase well from pumpkins.

 Is that ear bigger than this one? Wait, I think her whiskers should be lower...

Even with that, she didn't turn out 100% as planned (stupid tiny pumpkin knives), but that's okay.

Shane was going to go for one of the paper designs they include with the pumpkin carving tools, but couldn't choose one he liked. I think he was having more fun taking pictures of his rock crawler anyways...

...so he ended up with a cute jack-o-lantern face instead. He probably could've carved six of these, and roasted all the seeds, by the time I got done with mine. 

So here is where the impatient part comes in. That was all two weekends ago. I got so excited about Halloween that we carved those stupid things on October 1st.

This is what they look like today, October 21, with 10 days to go til Halloween: 

Okay a little gross and rotten, but she's holding in there. 

Shane's isn't holding up so well, but I think it gives him some character. 

But wait, this is the best part! 

Since we've had so much rain here lately, this is what they look like on the inside now: 

The little $3 strobe light has now turned into pond decor. Lovely. 

Maybe I'll learn a lesson and wait a bit before we carve them next year. But knowing me, probably not.