I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most visually-creative person in the world.  I can make magic through the speakers, but I can't take that creativity and put it on paper... or on a pumpkin, as the case may be.

 

Maybe it's knowing that I'm not the best at visual creativity that makes my domination in our yearly pumpkin carving competition that much sweeter.  Maybe it's just the competition of it.  Maybe it's the fact that it makes my wife so mad when I when that makes it so sweet.  She absolutely pours everything she has into the holidays.  She starts decorating for Halloween in August.  She goes well beyond all-out, and to know that Scrooge McDuck is pitching a 13-year shutout just kills her.

There have been some years where it's been pretty obvious I dominated the competition.  Then there have been years such as 2013 when outside help is needed.  I posted the picture on Facebook and asked you to vote.  I didn't announce which pumpkin belonged to each of us out of fear I'd be voted against just to break the streak.  You responded in mass, and it wasn't even close.  The people have spoken, and as you can see from the picture to the left, I once again crushed it.

Here's the funny thing... that's not even my pumpkin or my design on the left.  Being the wonderful dad that I am, once I get done cutting open and de-seeding the pumpkins for Erica, the two boys and myself, I carve Logan's pumpkin for him.  His nickname is Danger Baby, and at only 5-years-old I'm not quite ready to hand over the sharp knives.  I was going to choose an easier design than what Logan picked out for his pumpkin, but he wanted the ghost that you see on the right in the picture.

I carved Logan's pumpkin, and once I was done I was exhausted.  All the cutting, the removing of the seeds, the carving... I just wanted a beer while I watched football.  Even though I'd not yet carved my pumpkin (my official pumpkin) I called it a night.  I knew just looking at Logan's pumpkin that I'd won the competition over my wife's plain devil pumpkin.  There's no detail.  It looks like.... Ya know what?  I'd better stop while I still have all the appendages needed to win next year's competition.

There's still time to change the tide for my wife.  You can still go to Facebook through this afternoon to vote.  She'd be very appreciative, I'm sure, but I'm also sure most of you couldn't live with yourselves if you voted for her pumpkin just to end my championship run.

More From KUSJ-FM