Murder Mystery Dinner

Early in August, my friend, Mary, and I decided to host a Murder Mystery.  We chose one called A Taste for Wine and Murder about a California vineyard.  The participants were Steve as Ralph Rottingrape (the bad boy and owner of the vineyard) and me as his wife Tiny Bubbles; Mary as Marilyn Merlot (a movie star) and Tom, her husband, as Papa Vito (the vineyard's manager); David, our bishop, as Otto Von Schnapps (a wine merchant) and Laurie, his wife, as Hedy Shablee (owner of neighboring vineyard).

We started out with hors d'oeuvres and a bunch of sparkling juices on the back patio while we read our information packets and our babysitter put the kids down to bed.  After all was quiet in the house, we headed inside for dinner and the game.  Mary made a wonderful chicken dish and I made a pasta herb salad and attempted green beans rolled in prosciutto.  Unfortunately, I burned the beans.

As we ate, we took turns reading our parts.  We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs at the escapades of our fictitious characters.  I ended up being surprised at who the murderer was.  We had a lot of fun and I hope we can do it again.

Summer Cabin Visit

On Thursday evening, Steve looked at me and said, "You want to go to the cabin this weekend?  I don't have to go into the office on Monday or Tuesday."  So, I took Friday to plan, shop, and pack for our trip.  We left Saturday morning right after breakfast.  The kids look forward to these trips because they get to watch movies in the car.  It's our family rule that the TVs only come out when the trip will be longer than an hour duration.  Needless to say, they don't come out very often.  The kids loved watching Max and Ruby for all 3 hours of the trip.

We did make two stops.  One at a farm stand to pick up watermelon, nectarines, pluots, and grapes for the weekend and another at ColdStone Creamery in Oakdale.  We always stop and get some ice cream.

Our stay at the cabin was great.  We relaxed the remainder of the day, Saturday.  Anna and Matthew played with the toys.  Anna's favorite was the doll house.  Matthew really enjoyed the lobster that you pull around and it snaps its claws.  Anna also spent some time painting.

Sunday saw us taking a couple of walks around area, going to church down in Sonora, and taking naps.  Steve and Anna had a rousing game of air hockey at the table.

Monday was our biggest day.  After breakfast, we got in our swimsuits and headed to Pincrest lake.  It was a great day for it.  It had sprinkled a little in the morning, so there weren't very many people out and the weather was warm but not hot.  Steve headed to the marina and rented a kayak to do an hour's worth of exploring on the lake.  Matthew, Anna, and I headed to a bench on the beach.  I was surprised at how willing Matthew was to get into the lake.  He walked right in!  Anna was a little more cautious.  First, she went in up the her calves, then her knees, then thighs, and finally almost up to her waist.

We spent time wading, annoying the Canada geese, and throwing rocks.  Anna built a 'tide pool'.  Basically a hole with a bunch of rocks in it.  She kept saying we just had to wait until the tide came in to fill it.  Little did she know that the water was never going to come up.

That evening we had a Family Home Evening about the priesthood.  Steve gave the lesson and I made homemade mint ice cream for refreshments.  Unfortunately, the ice cream didn't go over very well.  Matthew and I were the only ones that liked it.

Anna was in charge of the activity and she chose to visit the area's playground.  She and Matthew went on the swings and down the slides.  It was a fun evening.

Tuesday morning was spent picking up and cleaning the rooms we had used.  We headed home around 10:30am.  It was so nice to get away for a little while and spend time together.  Yay for the cabin!