Halloween 2020!

Kazie and Justin hosted a really fun Halloween party where we had dinner and then played Minute to win it games. Kazie and I planned the games, and I hadn't laughed so much in a long time! Becky Bowen has a strong aversion to several foods, but mostly to bananas. One of the rounds was having a couple get blindfolded and they had to eat as many foods on a plate as they could in one minute. So when we announced to the group that we were doing Minute to Win It, Becky B. immediately said "NOOOO", and then she said "wait, not Fear Factor. I can do Minute to Win it!" Little did she know it would be a minute of Fear Factor when we handed her a banana on a plate! When her time started, she somehow grabbed the banana with her mouth first thing, spat it out and said "Can I just lick it, or do I have to swallow!" As you can imagine, there were roars of laughter ! I couldn't even breath! But then we felt bad when she started gagging on the little chocolate cookie and grape that were on the plate! Brad and Heidi had to use dig gummy frogs out of buckets of Dino Bites holding a spoon in there mouth! Becky and Derek Cramer had to throw ping pong balls into Halloween buckets. Jud and Jenni had to tie a banana around their waist and use it to scoot a mini pumpkin across the floor. Kazie and Justin had to keep weighted balloons in the air. And then I volunteered to to the "tissue box " round, which I thought was pulling tissues out of the box as fast as we could. No...it was tying the box filled with ping pong balls around your waist and jumping around trying to get the balls out. So, James started spazing out...like moving his body in such a way that I've never seen anyone move before! Everyone was DYING with laughter, and I was just paralyzed in shock! He got those balls out in 5-6 seconds with his crazy "dance"! We got a few videos, and Kazie and I keep watching them and dying! 

Becky Bowen tried to get me back for making her put a banana in her mouth by sticking that plastic rat in the trifle I made! Gross! And despite covid19, I'm happy to record that Trick-or-treating still went on normally in our neighborhood, and our kids each brought home 5-8 lbs of candy! Except for Jackson, because he was working at Iceberg, cooking up fries and onion rings! 

 

Cancun Swunelliamson Vacation!

We didn't know if this trip would be possible with a couple of factors working against us. We were told that we wouldn't get passports in time, but they came the week before we left. It was a miracle since the offices were so behind from the corona shut down. And then we were afraid that someone would get sick with the virus before we left and we would have to cancel. Thank goodness if all worked out because this was one of the most memorable vacations we have been on with great company and very fun adventures! We needed something to brighten 2020!

Our party consisted of our family, the Swain family, and the Gunnell family, 16 in total. We rented a huge van with a driver to transport us from the Cancun Airport, to our resort at the Barcello De Maya Grand Palace. It was pretty annoying to wear a mask for 5 hours on the airplane, but on the up side, it was the cleanest it's ever been! When we arrived at the resort to check in, we were immedietely offered drinks, and took them because it was so hot! I put the glass up to my mouth and it smelled really off, and James told me it was alcohol! It was really different to get used to telling the staff that we did not want alcohol in our drinks! We hadn't learned yet though, because that night at dinner James ordered a Vanilla Coke that was left sitting at the table while we were filling plates up at the buffet. I got back to our table first, and took a sip of the "vanilla coke". It was just nasty and stinky! Justin tried some and said there was run in it! I told everyone to just leave it there for James so we could watch his expressions while he took a swig. He was totally disgusted, and he blamed me for putting alcohol in his drink!! 

The beach was gorgeous and the snorkeling was amazing with lots of colorful fish and sea turtles! The kids entertained each other so well, and they would run back and forth between the beach and the pool. The food was just ok, but the virgin drinks were delicious, and the kids ordered them all day long! They can tell you what a Miami Vice, Mickey Mouse, Mango Tango, Mojito, or Daquiri is! We went to the small gym every morning to workout. When you travel with your fitness coach, there's no slacking off, which was much appreciated! 

Becky Bowen and Becky Cramer gave us a fun bag full of mini sombrero's, mustaches, and lots of candy for the kids. They came in handy to help celebrate Lyla's birthday!

The formal dinners were really fun since the adults got our own table the older kids had another, and then Blaze, Logan, and Lyla were on their own. The kids really bonded and had lots of inside jokes and funny stories they tell from the trip! 

We did one excursion which included 4 wheeling, zip lining, and swimming in 2 cenotes. Four wheeling was very stressful for me and not my favorite! But I loved the zip lining and watching everyone have so much fun! Blaze and Lyla went on a few runs together, and the videos are SO cute!!

At the second cenote, there were little fish by the stairs in the water that would nibble at your dead feet skin! It felt so weird and was so disgusting to think about! They kept joking that it was a free pedicure! 

Not a bad look for Paul!

 

Perkins Halloween Party 2020!

It was so fun to be able to get together, even amidst COVID! 

Jackson and Paul helped make this gruesome centerpiece... a meat head! They did an excellent job! Although all of the kids usually love bbque smokies, not many of these disgusting ones were eaten at our party! I can't imagine why not!

We had a taco bar, and Caleb brought smoked Ahi and salmon for us to try. It was delicious! 

We had a "cake walk" but the kids got to pick prizes instead of cakes. Our kids also planned a few other games and gave out candy for prizes. 

Peter won the kid pie eating competition and got a hand pie for his prize. Luke and Caleb used to love to get those when they were young and I took them to Food 4 Less. Caleb won the adult competition, much to Luke's disappointment! 

I think the favorite activity of the night was playing Murder in the Dark. We sat in a circle, in the dark, holding hands,  while the "murderer" sent around squeezes. If you only got one squeeze, you were dead, and everyone had to make a guess as to who the murderer was. The kids couldn't keep a straight face and giggled a lot, so they were pretty much horrible at the game, but we all had lots of fun playing!