The Home of The KCPokes

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays, mainly because we have fun with limited stress, unlike the typical holiday season. It is normally a time for family and friends to come over, chop up some gourds, and relax. With Delaney older this year the holiday also included a field trip, with her school, to Red Barn Farm along with our annual trek to Carolyns Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch. Two pumpkin patches in one year, what could possibly be better for a three year old?

Somewhere along the lines we became the crazy “Pumpkin House” on our block. It started out innocently, at the old house, carving a pumpkin apiece. Then we carved fake pumpkins, figuring they’d be less cleanup and easier (I can tell you they are, in fact, NOT easier). Since then it has grown into a full fledged pumpkin frenzy with friends and family joining the mix. By the time it was done, this year, we had 13 (yes, ten plus three) pumpkins lining our front yard and sidewalk. As I said, it started innocently and somewhere it grew out of control. But when there are pumpkins around, they MUST be carved. Delaney and I received two free for going on the field trip (they were mini pumpkins). Theresa bought five full sized pumpkins for us to carve (Theresa, Joanie, Delaney, Kayla, and I). Our friend Brooks also had two pumpkins to carve, and since his family comes over to our place for Halloween, the pumpkins do as well. We also had the four fake pumpkins that get put out each year, which quickly adds up to thirteen!

Kayla didn’t have an opportunity to carve hers, thus I just couldn’t let it go to waste and spent two plus hours of my life, Tuesday night, carving this one…

I’m not gonna lie to you, it wasn’t easy. It is supposed to fit on a far bigger pumpkin, but I decided to see just how insane I was and managed to make it happen. But not to be outdone, the rest of the crew took the challenge and whipped out some rather impressive pieces of work…

One of Brooks’…

Theresa’s work of art, for Delaney…

Aunt Joanie’s first ever pumpkin, of this sort…

All this BEFORE Halloween even. You can check out the rest of the pumpkins, as well as all the activities and events in the Halloween 2007 Photo Album. I’ve also tried to start uploading a few movies here and there. Most are taken with my camera or phone, for now, so the quality isn’t the best, but good enough for the web. You can see the current movies in the Movies album in the Photo Gallery.

So now we start thinking about what we are going to do NEXT Halloween! How as your Halloween?

You know how it goes with me, within a year I’m always bored with the site and ready to move on. Frankly I thought this would be a good fit, having a true CMS, but honestly it just didn’t give me exactly what I wanted or was more like trying to kill a fly with a sledgehammer; the framework is just far to bulky for what we need. So that means, shortly, you can expect to see another new site come into existence, as the old one goes by the wayside. I’m looking for something more straightforward, visually more appealing, with the same basic functionality. I hope to garner some speed from the move, as well. I’ve been doing some work for other sites so I think I know what I want to move toward.

Stay tuned!

There are updates coming soon. Luckily “soon” is a very generic term, so I should be okay. There are some updates to come, once I find the time. Keep an eye out for the following changes:

More pumpkin patterns. Don’t ask me why but we love these damn things. There will be more patterns from the usual source, as well as a change from standard carving to some etching designs. Keep an eye out for new patterns, as well as photos of our latest creations.
Family update. I made this site so it would be easier to update everyone on what is going on, but like everything else it was a good idea that hasn’t quite worked its way out. I hope to get better about this, or teacn my lovely bride how to post news. I know how you are dying for more potty news and how rough high school can be.
The newsletter. Yes, I’ve been saying this all along, but the funcationality is there, I just have to use it. Of course it also depends on people actually being subscribed to the newsletter; I refuse to spam people with info they don’t want, so if you want it you better sign your booty up now.

So there you have it, the latest and greatest as to what is coming. You’ll only see if you come back, so be sure to keep your visits regular. I recommend prune juice.

I have to admit that the whole blog thing just really isn’t for me. While I do enjoy reading others, mainly for a point of view reference, I find myself questioning what I would really provide on my blog, had I decided to create one. The final outcome of that question was that I just had no desire to share any deep seated insight into myself. But, for the sake of family, we must all start somewhere.

First, to those who don’t follow the scene, a blog is essentially just a “diary”. In this case, the diary will be of the current state of our family and friends. Look around the site and that is all it is, so why would you expect that to change?

I now face a blank page and must decide what to share with my captive audience, that is of course if someone actually reads this. So, to set expectations I must set the groundrules, which there really are none. I have no idea what information we plan on sharing here, or how it will be shared. I create the site, ensure that it works, and hopefully turn it over to the little lady to maintain. But we do hope to utilize this space as a means to provide updates to our family and friends, and quite possibily ABOUT our family and friends. Additionally, with the new site, you all have the ability to create your own blog to share with us or whomever you choose. It is there for your pleasure, so use it.

In parting, I’d like to reiterate again that this site is for us to share information with you. If there is no interaction, then we are just trying for the sake of us typing. Feel free to comment on updates, blogs, pictures, create your own blogs, etc… We are only a few, thus it is a shame to let this all go to waste. So, with that said, I leave with a quote from a famous philosopher, who said…

“I ate what?”