Pumpkin Carving in Costa Rica!

Even though they don't officially celebrate Halloween in Costa Rica, there are costume parties (more in San Jose than in smalltown Nicoya) and pumpkins available for sale. There is no trick or treating so I'm one of the only ones in town that probably carved a pumpkin and put it out but it was fun to do with Matthew. It was his first real time actually carving a pumpkin and he didn't want to get his hands all messy with the goop (sp?). He DID like trying to get in there using the butter knife I gave him to try out his carving skills, however. This pumpkin was unique in that it seemed to have beansprouts growning inside when I opened it (which I had never seen before) which of course, were actually sprouts from the pumpkin seeds. The pumpkin wasn't borderline rotten or anything but apparently was already trying to grow more pumpkins inside itself. I took the seeds (that weren't already sprouting) and toasted them and they were delish! Here are some pics of Matthew getting in on the carving....and Negra (the dog) was hanging out as well! Thanks to Lisa for the great pics.