Our month of festivities is drawing to a close. To be honest, Halloween itself is a bit of a letdown after all the parties, trunk-or-treats, pumpkin patches and weigh-offs. My only solace is The Biggest Shopping Day of the Year is on Saturday.

And then there was Haddie’s big Halloween party. There was fantastic, creepy food that included eyeballs, dried scabs, bone breadsticks and a goopy green chocolate fountain.

And fun games such as the ghost marshmallow war.

I added something new this year. Many of the kids are 4 years old and in my opinion, ready to be traumatized spooked. And so I did what every good friend would do:

I delegated the responsibility to my friend Tina.

She went above and beyond–she decorated our basement for a spooky storytime and had a fun story, complete with tactile visuals.

Fortunately, there were no victims. Well, with the exception of our brand-new carpet that met a few worm/spaghettio droppings.

And for those who have not been privy to our failed attempts at a group photograph each and every year, let us stroll down memory lane.

2005

2006

2007

2008

Nice to know some things never change.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

The kids and I look forward to receiving the Toys R Us Christmas catalog every year. As we were thumbing through oooing and ahhing on Sunday, imagine my delight to stumble upon Hasbro’s latest treasure prominently advertised: a Ouija Board. In pink, even.

It’s not that I am not a believer in The Dark Arts. I am a believer, which is precisely why I take issue with the presence of a Ouija Board at a toy store. There are many grey areas in this world.

This one is black.

I posted this on our forum yesterday at Mile High Mamas and I was surprised there were many people who did not take issue with it. The Ouija Board is targeted for ages 8-12. So, my question for you is this: would you buy your 8-year-old child a Ouija Board?

At Halloween, there is a lot of talk of spirits and hauntings. I choose to focus on the fun side of it with pumpkins and costume parties, mostly because I really believe there are forces of good and evil that work in this world.

I saw it in full force when my mom owned a popular tea room & gift shop and had a tea leaf/palm reader come in a few times a week. When I was 16, I had my tea leaves read by James, a complete phony whose predictions made me laugh and I wrote off psychics completely.

But we weren’t laughing a few years later with Aziza.

Aziza (whose real name was Bernice–BWHAHAAHA) was a popular tea leaf reader and she had a huge following. Wealthy women would spend a lot of money on her counsel and they lied to their husbands they were going for therapy. For them, Aziza was therapeutic.

I liked Aziza. She was the first palmist we’d had who wasn’t a complete freak but I did not give credence to what she did until one day, a large sum of money went missing. When my brothers and I were in college, my mom would buy back American money from the shop’s American patrons (the exchange rate was a lot higher at the bank). She stashed it in the house and would frequently send us American money.

One day, she went to the hiding place to get some money and it was gone. She and my father were the only people who knew of the secret stash and she was devastated. She went into work that day and Aziza, sensing something was wrong, insisted my mom sit down for a tea leaf reading.

My mom did not tell her anything but Aziza saw something. Two men, one of whom my parents knew. She saw these men come into my parent’s home to do some work. She saw their vehicle. She saw the friend leave and the stranger stay. She saw the stranger take something valuable.

My mom was incredulous. She had forgotten that several months prior she had hired a friend to work on our house and he had brought another contractor with him. And Aziza nailed everything–the friend, the vehicle, the location of the theft.

The money was never recovered. I mean really, what kind of evidence did they have in court: “My psychic told me you did it.” Maybe on TV but not in real life.

So, my question to you is do you believe in psychics, ghosts or spirits? Or do you think they are just a product of an overactive imagination?

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

Possibly the biggest understatement made by fundraising kid as she looked at our 755-lbs pumpkin, Halloween countdown sign and abundance of decorations: “So, do you celebrate Halloween?”

Halloween isn’t all we celebrate. Every Monday evening we good Mormon folk gather our little flock together for Family Home Evening. For those not in the know, the official definition is:

Family home evening is a special time set aside each week that brings family members together and strengthens their love for each other, helps them draw closer to Heavenly Father, and encourages them to live righteously.

The Johnson Family definition:

Family home evening is a special harrowing time set aside each week that brings family members together at odds with each other and strengthens their love their resolve to throw tantrums thereby needing to encourage them to live righteously [by not hitting one another].

Or something like that.

In an ideal world, we would all gather together, link arms and sing Kumbaya. Sometimes it happens that way, many times it doesn’t. The reason? We have two small children who do not always like each other. So in FHE, we try to appease the sibling rivalry and sing a song, say a nice prayer, have an uplifting lesson and then a fun activity.

Most of the time.

Unless Jamie is in charge.

It was his turn last night. A few minutes prior, I asked him what he had planned.

“We are going to watch the Broncos together!” he announced gleefully.

Trying to be the supportive wife, I answered, “That’s fine. We’ll come down and watch with you. Though that in itself doesn’t seem like a very appropriate Family Home Evening activity.

“Don’t worry. We’ll start the game with a prayer.”

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

We had a busy weekend at Casa Canuck. Lots of finish work on the basement and what would a Saturday be without huddling under a canopy in the rain for a pumpkin festival? It wasn’t just any pumpkin festival but the place where The Obsession began last year.

As if we needed even more publicity, our city’s paper ran a picture of us on Thursday of Jamie’s big win last year so we were like mini-celebrities among the pumpkin geeks growers.

We bought some hot chocolate from the Boy Scout stand and the woman selling it to us raved about the entries but then proclaimed, “But those are nothing. You should see this pumpkin that is on display on some guy’s driveway.”

My father-in-law took third place with a 183-pounder and Haddie’s 83-pound pumpkin also took third in the children’s division (because yes, it is a family affair). She wasn’t all that invested in the competition due to the inclement weather but perked up when she realized she won a gift card to her beloved McDonald’s.

A cute little family won the adult division with a 300-pounder. I walked up to the wife to warn her that this was how The Obsession started for my husband last year. She was even the spitting image of me: curly blonde hair, pumpkin-obsessed husband, with two small children.

Saturday night, we went with four other couples to see Les Miserables. I have the CD but have never seen it performed and was blown away. Whenever I see such a production, I often envision my life on stage.

Until you take the earplugs out.

And pumpkin grower extraordinaire is not one of the choices.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

I have many dear friends who struggle with infertility. My heart aches for them on their quest to become mothers.

My sweet Mary Ruth, who once strolled the streets of Jerusalem with me, has begun her own path. After 10 years of interfertility, she gave birth to little Joseph Boone Francks last week.

A light at the end of a very long tunnel. A thousand congratulations to her!

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog