An Affair to Dismember

Tyler and I decided to do a Murder Mystery for our birthday celebrations. We looked on ksl and found a box game for only $5. That is not too shabby. We spent time thinking of who might enjoy dressing up and being silly with us and we picked carefully. (It is supremely lame when you invite someone who doesn't want to play.) There was also some prep that went into our costumes. Robyn got out the henna and we both thought of something that might be fun to add to our look. I should mention that we ended up with a Halloween murder mystery. It didn't have to be used in October, but it was monster themed. Tyler was a cannibal and I was a gypsy clairvoyant. 

Tyler requested a cool skull on his throat to symbolize his desire for flesh. And he had a running tally of victims on his arm. Creepy.

I, of course, needed an all seeing eye on my hand. One cannot only rely on one's normal senses to see those beyond...

I had to heavily prevail on the kids to help with dinner that night. They stepped up and were amazing. They made pasta, alfredo sauce, warmed up Marinara, and cooked meatballs and chicken in the oven. That's a lot of things to time correctly and they did amazing!! Seriously, they saved my bacon. Because of them, I was able to enjoy the evening and hang out with my wonderful guests. Even better, the kids dressed up a bit to fit in with the evening. Pearl was sporting some spider adornment and Robyn was a really creepy blood donor. (Daisy also helped and had flowers around her eyes. I have no idea why she didn't get a photo.)

Karen and Mark came first and they looked great. Mark did a painted Frankenstein face with scars. Karen had her scrubs on for her evil dentist. 

Then Jonny showed up wearing a fun pirate costume that worked just fine for his devil persona. He even had an inhaler that Maggie made for him. Excellent. Beth was coming from Idaho and with the snow and accidents on the freeway, she was running an hour behind schedule. There was nothing she could do, and Jonny got a solo picture.

Camie and Nate looked amazing. Nate was wearing his mummy wrap and shades and Camie, the fiance, looked so chic. 

Naturally Tyler looked dapper in his suit and I was over the top in my gypsy wrap. 

We had time to kill, so to speak. We ate dinner, which was delicious and then we played the Name Game. That was really fun. Jonny has played it a lot, but not as one team. I think he still liked it even though there was no clear winner. Everyone came up with great works. 

Beth finally staggered in. Her character was supposed to be a depressed witch and it seemed to show. Don't worry...we fed her and she livened right up. Poor Beth. What a long drive. But we got a couple picture of her later.

The game was pretty fun. It was standard fair, where you read your page and then reveal clues. I'm not sure any of us were very good at it. The rules say you can't lie, so people often just read the stuff on their 'conceal' side when pressed. Mark was the funniest. He would give up and just read his entire page.

We were all terrible characters, of course. I was surprised at the sexual themes of the game. Everyone was having an affair with someone. But it made for many laughs and no one took it seriously. We had great candid moments.

Possibly my favorite cake ever, is a carrot cake I found in a recipe book from the library. It is so delicious. I made that for the party and then decorated it monster style. It was well received. I also appreciate people who appreciate a good carrot cake. 

By the end, I was sure that I had the murder game all figured out. I decided that I was trying to kill Neville, the victim, but Tyler got there first and took the victim's heart. Then a huge spider (a pet of Camie's) drained all his blood and then he burnt up when the sun came out in the morning. (Since he was a vampire and I had tied him to a pillar) What a way to go! And I was exactly right, EXCEPT for one tiny detail. Apparently I cast a spell that changed my soul with his, and it was actually ME who died! What? I was actually a guy the whole game? Neville was actually me in disguise? I couldn't' quite wrap my head around it. It was definitely a twist. 

In the end, even though multiple people tried to kill Neville, it was Tyler who accomplished the task first and was the murderer. (Although please recall that he actually killed me!) But Tyler being the murderer is normal. He is almost always the guy who did it. :) It was a great time and it was a really fun birthday celebration. What a great group of friends we have. 

It is healthy to murder one person a year. Guess we've checked that box for 2021. See you all next year!