Murder Mystery Party

I don't know what got into me, but I decided I wanted to throw a Halloween Party! As I was compiling the guest list and getting a little overwhelmed with the number of people to invite, I had an idea... why not throw a Murder Mystery Dinner Party?! It would give me a good reason to narrow down the guest list and even better, it would assign me a character! No need to think up a couples costume this year! Plus, it would provide the entertainment for the evening. I wouldn't have to think up games or activities and try to coerce anyone into playing. ANDDDD, I've always wanted to participate in one of these. Score. Score. Score.  

 

And it was great for all those reasons. But, I didn't really take into account how much work I would need to put into this. Like, a lotta work. It was a little stressful designating all the roles. I wanted everyone to have fun, but I didn't know exactly what each role entailed. So I stewed and contemplated and finally made decisions. Then I made an invitation, got them printed and mailed them out with the roles included. (I had asked ahead of time to make sure I knew who could attend fo sure.) OK, so after you buy the game (about $35), you have to print everything! 100+ pages! And cut all the clues up and put them in envelopes. And assemble the name tags and victim paraphernalia and games, etc. And if you want to do the pre-game activities, you end up delivering those instructions to all the guests homes the week before (Oops, I did it the day before. But glad I did... it was funny texting everyone and acting out our parts ahead of time!) And then since I was doing a dinner, I had all the dinner stuff to get ready. Plus the decorating and cleaning and grocery shopping and normal parental responsibilities, etc. Oh, and making the caramel apples as take home gifts. (That, in and of itself was a NIGHTMARE!! Apparently I stink at making homemade caramel. I literally had to crack the stuff off the apples and do it all over again. Ugh on a stick!!)  If it weren't for Megan and Brinn the day of the party, taking my kids, I would have been a basket case! Yay for amazing friends!!

 

The party was at 8pm on a Friday night. Travis put all the kids to bed and grilled the steaks the hour before everyone came over. Sooo helpful.

 

 I had asked the guests to bring either an appetizer or dessert. I also had all the stuff out for Italian sodas... in blood dipped goblets. ;)

Slowly, our guests started making their appearances. And it was a HOOT. I mean a serious crack up to watch everyone come in, not only dressed to perfection, but acting like their characters too.

Here we have the town's police officer, Officer Nelson, and Margo- the gothic chick in the neighborhood. (Most of the characters weren't married in the story.)



Here is Addison Shade, and interior designer and the narcissistic, one upper, Mr. Dawson, a pharmacist. (Technically, Mr. Dawson was supposed to be my husband, but I didn't realize that until I about mailed out the roles and Travis was already excited about his character.)  

 

Travis was Quentin Maddox, the creepy convenience store clerk that whistles and gives everyone uncomfortable stares. Can we just say he nailed it??

I was Isabella Dawson, a gossipy housewife that no one likes and the party host. 

Michael was JR Sage, a snooty and rich businessman. I don't think he had to act much. Kidding!! ;) And Brinn was HYSTERICAL as Kendall Kennedy, the germ a phob, animal loving and cranky librarian.

Clayton was the muscly, Gaven Phoenix and Eva was the ill tempered chef, Dakota Drumly.

Lash killed it as a pipe smoking restaurateur, Basil Cross, (his bald head took over an hour to put on!) and Tania was a very fancy world traveler, Pepper Crenshaw. 

Wes was a retired chocolatier, Robby Charles, and Mikelle was a news reporter. Her mom brought her that blazer that very weekend! They looked great.

The game is divided into 3 rounds. The first round/hour is drinks and appetizers and everyone gets their first set of clues and information. It basically tells you certain things that you should blab to everyone and other details to keep to yourself to help you solve the mystery. I had a hard time keeping a straight face gloating to everyone that I was in the best shape of my life and LOVED doing Yoga and Pilates. And also confiding that my husband just lost his job and is on all sorts of crazy pills! Ha! Everyone else had various stories and played it up really good. No one could say anything without Bron one upping them in the most ridiculous ways possible. Megan had printed business cards ahead of time (like 100!) and kept giving them out to everyone constantly. It was all so funny.

 

(Also, I'd like to draw your attention to Officer Nelson's "stick" hanging off his belt loop. That would be a Vitamix attachment. Hysterical.)

The second round/hour is dinner. We had steaks, baked potatoes, rolls and salad. Everyone gets their second set of clues and this is when the murder happens. The person who becomes the victim is told in their second set of clues. That happened to be Megan. (She was a really good sport about it. Especially since she was required to talk like a ghost the rest of the night!) So she went to the bathroom where I had set out the victim sign and white face paint and yellow crime scene tape and got herself all ready to be murdered. The person who was designated to find her, was told so in his set of clues. So that all happened and the rest of the hour was spent in "heated" debate, trying to figure out who killed her. Everyone had a paper to write down details and their hypothesis and then when enough time had past I made everyone take a turn to make their accusation. Only one person sort of got it right! (I had seen who it was on accident when I was assembling the clues. I was so bugged because I wanted to play along, but it ended being OK, since I felt too busy and stressed in the moment, making sure everything went the way it was supposed to.)

The third round/hour is supposed to be dessert and when everyone gets their last set of clues. We all went in the order it told us, reading our cards out loud, which exonerated us as the killer. Until the last person read, who was the murderer! It happened to be Eva, the chef! What I didn't realize, was their was a twist at the end, and Wes's character confronts the murderer and had us all laughing our heads off! Who knew we had such animated actors for friends?! I loved it and was so glad everyone went all out with the game!

We were stuffed into oblivion, but still managed to squeeze in some of the yummy desserts and talk for a bit before everyone had to head home. Being on the planning end of it, there was plenty of things I wished I had done differently, but I was reassured that it went well and everyone had a good time. It would be fun to make it tradition but I don't know if I have it in me!! I will definitely need a year to recover before thinking about making Murder and Mayhem on Boggio Drive an annual event. I'll need at least that long to get Quentin Maddox's teeth licking leer to leave my nightmares!! ;)

Olive's One Year Photo Shoot

I couldn't narrow it down. Just couldn't. So here she is in all her vintage sweetness!

Her headband/dress that I ordered online became quite the debacle, so these weren't taken til about a month after she turned one. I'll admit, with all the time I had put into her outfit and the cake, I had a ton of anxiety beforehand!! I just wanted them to be perfect. That's not too much to ask, is it??!! No pressure, Megan! ;) She only smiled for the first 5 or so minutes, which stressed me out, but it all worked out! I MELTED when I saw them. Just melted into a big, gooshy, Mommy puddle on the floor. Her soft cheeks and dainty smile... the dress, headband and pearls... it was all EXACTLY what I wanted! When I was first trying to decide what outfit to put her in, I had a glittery, gold, dress picked out, with matching glam, Happy Birthday letters for the background. Then I decided that was way off. A soft, old fashioned style would be much better suited for her name. LOVE EVERYTHING about how it turned out!! Oh my sweet Olive!! Thank you so much, Megan!!!! I SO dang lucky to be such good friends with an amazing photographer!

(For printing later, I'm noting my extra favorites ;)

Favorite!

 Another favorite.

Favorite!

Fav

Oh, definitely a favorite!

Um, yes!

So sweet.

 LOVVVVE this one.

Favorite.

 Obsessed.

Fall break - AZ style

The morning after Travis got home, we took off for Mesa. It was our Fall Break. He planned on driving out to spend the weekend with us though. This picture doesn't do it justice, but the clouds were weirdly low on the drive to Holbrook. I really felt like I could reach out and touch them.

Those cheeks. She was NOT a happy camper on this drive, and screamed 90% of when she was awake. So this sleeping monster was peace to my ears.

Shelley told us about this place called Senor Taco that is bomb. And they have a location in Fountain Hills! So I swung through their drive through for me, and then we got nuggets for the nuggets. 

Did your mouth just fill up with saliva? Mmmm, cuz mine did. This was such a yummy taco it is torture writing about it and not getting to shove it in my face again.

Ohhh and don't get me started on the burrito!

From there we drove straight to the Phoenix zoo to meet our cousin buddies! Thank you, Pogo Passes!

This monkey supposedly loves babies. But Lindi sure as heck did not love her! Or any of the animals for that matter. So funny! She would shriek in terror if any got close.

And this goat got too close. ;)

It was hoooooot. And I packed sweaters. So the kids got these expensive snow cones mostly because I wanted a snow cone.

We ended at the splash pad where we snarfed on Shelley's kettle corn. And maybe, someone elses. Shhhh, don't tell anyone that we totally snaked someone's bag of corn. Listen, it was almost completely full and no one came back for it, for at least half an hour. I'd call that fair game. And we did dump out the top layer. (Much to the pigeon's happiness) Trust me guys, the popcorn was THAT good.

 



We stayed at the Evans' and that night while I was trying to get my circus ready for bed, Olive started jumping on the mattress on the floor with the boys and fell off and conked her head on the wooden entertainment center. She was wailing like a banshee (but of course didn't want me to snuggle her), when I checked the back of her head, really just out of routine's sake. My heart sank when I saw the gash. I did not feel like going to urgent care for stitches! Luckily it bled very little and she happily plopped down in her pack and play for bed. (She ended up hitting her head over the next two weeks in that exact spot several more times and acquiring a goose egg over the cut. :/ )

 

Friday morning dawned and I decided we'd go get a fun breakfast treat at a place Shelley raved about- Nekter. Kind of like an organic Jamba Juice. I scanned the smoothies quickly and picked a banana/berry one plus an Acai bowl. They were both huge, so the boys and I all started sharing. Not 15 seconds later, Collin got a concerned look on his face and said, "Mom, that smoothie makes my neck hurt!" It registered. I quickly looked back at the ingredient list. Cashew milk! Dag nab it!! How did I not register that the first time! I had no idea how bad he'd get, so I quickly grabbed all our things and started rushing them out the door, as Collin started crying and wailing, "I don't want a shot!!!!" All the while, the posh and granola onlookers judged, I'm sure. We raced to AJ's in the same complex but they didn't have Benedryl. So then we drove to Walgreens up the street. After the initial meltdown, he calmed down somewhat so I knew it wasn't code red or anything. And by the time I bought the Benedryl he was having a new meltdown over not wanting to drink it. He HATES the stuff. I told him I didn't know what would happen if he didn't drink it, but it was up to him. He stared at me for a minute, then took the one dose capsule and drank. 3rd meldown. It must taste just horrible. We get in the car and hear the throwing up sounds. Now smoothie and medicine are all over my car. Awesommmmmme. We headed back home to conclude what was supposed to be a productive morning of errands. 

 

An hour later, Shelley came over with her kids so we could play! What would I do without my sister??! She was also super nice to let me run to a couple of stores while Olive finished up her nap. AND did her hair up all cute to match Lindi. Twins and twins!

I forget what's in her mouth, but she needed it ALL in.

Why not balance precariously on two skateboards?

We ended up taking the kids to AirWorx for a couple of hours. Crazy boy heaven. Only, this time our girls were a little crazy too. We longingly watched on as other parents relaxed in chairs while the young'uns played. One day!

And just like last time, we finished the evening at our food sanctuary, Gecko Grill. Marcie met us there and we also ran into Natalie Hawkins and her crew! That was a big group of kids running wild!

On Saturday, Travis watched the kids while I spent a few hours hitting up Hobby Lobby and Lowes. Favorites, Target and TJMaxx had already been hit. Then, Marcie was kind enough to watch our kids while Trav and I went to the temple. We decided to give the Gilbert temple a try! It's definitely beautiful, but I have a feeling we'll probably stick to our alma mater from here on out. :)

 

At 5pm we met up with our cousins to eat Somburros and go to the pumpkin patch! A smaller take on the dusty and crazy Schnef Farms. We rode the "hay ride". My that dirt field was pretty. ;)  (It's hard to really appreciate pumpkin farms after the beauty of the farms in New York.)

They fed the goats and got licked clean hands!

Putting stickers on pumpkins became very serious business!

They played on a few toys, ran amuk in the "corn maze" and hopefully didn't trigger Lane's grass allergies! All in all it was perfect for our little families and a lot of fun!

Right after that, us Udall girls all got together at ELF (Everybody Loves Fondue) for a little dessert! We missed the Sellards girls and Trellany, but the rest of us made it! We gorged on silky smooth cheese and sugar, then took our laughter out to the patio when they closed up for the night. Family really is the best.

On Sunday, I was able to visit a good friend of mine, Anjane. She's had some really terrible health problems start up over the past couple of months and is basically on bed rest, indefinitely. We were childhood friends and I have some of my favorite memories with her. It's just been years since we really hung out or caught up. 5 hours flew by. Really, it felt like I had been there 30 minutes. We laughed and cried and hugged and reminisced. I really love her. When one of her spasms started happening I stayed a little longer and felt my heart breaking, watching. She has had MORE than her fair share of trials in her lifetime, but she continually stays positive and strong in her convictions and faith. She is an amazing example to me of a follower of Christ and someone who will always remain faithful to the end. I was so grateful for that time we had together. I even ended up missing church, but my wonderful husband never texted me once. He just got all the kids ready and went by himself! I really can't say enough about how much I appreciate that man.

 

 

Especially, because then he let me crash for an hour on the bed and woke me up in time to go take my nephew's baptism pictures! I was really excited to do this. I need practice and it makes me happy to be able to use my camera to help someone! I was just a little nervous, because I wanted them to look good and I don't know how to edit yet so they needed to be good all on their own! I shot for about an hour and we ended up getting some nice ones. He looks so handsome! I can't believe he's getting baptized!

 

We had dinner with the Evans' that night and the kids played and played. At one point, Neil (who is 5 years older than Collin, but somehow his best friend/cousin on that side- they are two peas in a pod) and Collin came rushing in from outside. They breathlessly kept patting each other on the back and saying with enthusiasm, "Wow, YOU were such a fighter!" "No, YOU were such a good fighter!" Bahahah. I guess they had been wrestling on the trampoline.



 

 

Monday morning it was Phoenix Temple open house time!!! Really, the reason for this whole trip! We got tickets for 10:30am (Just enough time to grab some more Nekter before making the drive out there! This time, NOTHING with cashew milk. :) Travis's dad drove out with us and Marcie and Austin met us there. It was a little warm, but pleasant weather. Here we are waiting to load the shuttle buses. 

I think the booties on little kids is so cute! I had asked the boys to pay attention to the art work inside and tell me which was their favorite at the end. It was cute to watch them paying attention and make comments and exclamations as their "favorite" changed. Collin's ended up being the expansive desert picture in the endowment room. The art really was beautiful. When we talked with the boys about what we would be doing, Collin immediately remembered the Gilbert temple and asked if there would be a giant chandelier in this one. It was only 8 months ago, but I was impressed that he remembered. This Celestial room had four chandeliers instead of one big one, but I loved them. They were so unique and seemed to drip in elegance. Walking on a silent tour through a temple is such a sacred experience. What a distinct blessing that we had the opportunity to take our family through two in one year. 

Well the sun was just perfectly in our eyes, so these are not ideal, but we are all here! It was wonderful!

We went to Rito's for lunch after that... yummmm. It was just really crowded and took quite a while. Then, Travis packed up our stuff while Olive napped and I took the boys to Grandmothers for a visit. They had been asking all weekend to visit Grandmother. (I think maybe the shortbread cookies and toys had something to do with it. ;) But they really do love her and it's sweet to hear them ask for her. She loves their visits and even gave them each a can of Sprite when we left. Well, if that isn't a gift from the gods! They were thrilled. We had wanted to leave earlier, around 3 or 4pm, but I don't know why we ever think we can get on the road by then. It was after 5pm when we finally headed out. Travis was SO NICE and let me diver his car in solitude so I could listen to the Saturday sessions of conference. That's what he had done on his quiet drive to Mesa so he let me have the same privilege going back. I don't know many husbands that would volunteer to take all the kids. That's why I got the best.

 

And it really was a relaxing, enjoyable drive! And I was glad to hear the kids were good for him too. They even slept most of the time. That's good karma for him! :)

 

We stopped in Heber at Dairy Queen for a late dinner. It's really the only place you CAN eat in Heber. We were munching on our organic cheeseburgers and fries in the really clean and sanitary restaurant, when my heart just filled with happiness. Really though. I looked around us and chuckled because it wasn't exactly the location for an immensely happy moment, but it still happened. I just felt incredibly blessed and lucky to be me. To have these 3, healthy, sweet kids that are a total handful but completely worth it. And a loving, AMAZING husband that dotes on me like I'm the Queen of England. What could I have possibly done to deserve such a wonderful family and incredible life?! I felt like my heart would burst from joy and I said a prayer of thanks to my Heavenly Father for these 4 invaluable blessing around me.

I mean who wouldn't love these goofballs?! Even Olive is trying to get in on the game, haha! Add a Blizzard in there and I have everything I need to make me happy! ;)