Halloween ParTAY 2008!

We were getting kind of sad this year as Halloween was creeping up on us, because we weren't going to have the Walker Halloween party to go to like we have the last 4 years.

One night, we went to dinner with some friends and Becky and I started talking about how we love Halloween parties and we'll miss having one this year since we are both new to this area. That's when we decided, we would have our own party.

We had alot of fun planning it, buying prizes, and decorations. We had two different soups with some super ugly Pumpkin Bread Bowls (made by me - first time) and some sides for dinner. Then, everyone brought a treat to share. I LOVE that the Meier's made homemade Rootbeer. It was the perfect touch to our spooky Halloween party.
After everyone had their fill of dinner, Becky and I decided it was time for our first game - Fear Factor. We drove to this little Mexican gas station and found some pretty sweet food to eat.

First, everyone had to eat pig skins. Pretty much everyone partook in that. (BTW- I did not partake in this game. I didn't want to go into labor from eating this nasty stuff).

Second was some kind of Mexican candy (I think), that we actually had no idea what it was. Everyone that tried it said it was sweet, sour, then spicy. Weird.
Third was fried Turkey neck. We didn't tell everyone what it was the neck of at first but they all pretty much figured it out. We still had quite a few people in.
Fourth, was a little treat in a baggy hanging on a shelf in the same gas station. It has dehydrated seasoned shrimp. It was just hanging there on the shelf! Not refrigerated or anything AND it still had the shell on it. Some wondered if it was meant to be fish bate. I assured them, it was a fine Mexican snack (honestly, I was wondering if it WAS bate myself). It seriously REEKED to high heaven even while it was in it's bag. The smell was horrible. Yet, many ate it anyway.
So, our Fifth and final test was another delicacy located by the shrimp, hanging on a shelf at the gas station. It was battered, fried, minnows - eyeballs, skin, fins, and all! No refrigeration needed here too I guess. It's so weird that people just eat these things as snacks. One person ate it and about puked after she felt an eyeball squish in her mouth. I seriously couldn't believe people were still eating!
Becky and I were a little stressed because we hadn't expected so many people to still be in. I think there were six. So, we went back in her laundry room and discussed what the tie breaker would be. We decided to combine ALL the previous components into a cup, and because we are great and kind party hosts, we added some pickle juice to help wash it all down! It was seriously the nastiest looking thing. Imagine a cup of pickle juice with a pig skin, mysterious Mexican snack, Turkey neck, shrimp with shell, and a fried minnow in it...mmmm, I need a snack! We had 3 people say they would do it, of course Jake was in there still. After all the talk of everything he ate in Africa, I would have been disappointed if he hadn't made it this far.

So, our 3 finalists had to "drink" their concoction and whoever finished it first (chewing and all), won. It was super nasty just watching them gag it down. I have to admit I even got a little queezy from watching. It took them a while to drink and chew and chew some more but finally...Jake won! I am still not sure whether I'm proud to say that or not - neither is he!
For doing so well, we won a blow up witch chair and some "blood orange" Jones drinks so he could sit back, enjoy the victory, and wash the remnants down. Whoever said nerds aren't hot?!?
After "Fear Factor", we decided to play a game that Becky had played with her friends last Halloween. I think she called it the "Snort Game". Honestly, in the midst of making our plans for this party, when Becky told me about this game, I thought it sounded a little weird and was worried no one would like it. But, luckily, we didn't let me get in the way and we tried it out.

What we did was put one person in the middle of a room and blindfolded them. We spun them around while everyone else switched where they were sitting. Then, it's pure silence as the middle man walks around with a rolled up shirt and taps everything. If he thinks he is tapping a person, he snorts. Yeah, that's right - S N O R T S. IF he is tapping a person, that person has to snort back. Based on those snorts, the middle man guesses who it is. If he is wrong, the person just gives him a little tap on the head and he moves on until he gets the name right.

The funny thing about this game is that you can't help but laugh. You don't want to make a noise and give yourself away so you are in PAIN trying not to laugh and snort at the same time. There were some seriously funny noises coming out of people. Not to mention that the person in the middle will sometimes tap something, snort, and it ends up being a lamp. But they just keep tapping and snorting. It was seriously the most hilarious game!! I think none of us could smile for days after that because our faces hurt.

During Jake's turn, he couldn't help but bend over and laugh. I thought he was going to pee his pants!

After the snorting game, we finished off the night with the all popular game of "Mafia". Everyone who knows us, KNOWS that the Atwood's are HORRIBLE at "Mafia". If one of us is the "Mafia", we'll be caught in the first round. We are seriously horrible. Luckily, we never did draw the "Mafia" card so our friends here didn't get to experience our talents.
{Left to right top: Foster's, Jone's, Cains, Mortenson's, & Atwood's.
L to R bottom: Spencer's, Andersons, & Meier's}

It was an extremely fun party and I'm so glad that Becky and I were able to co-host it together. It wouldn't have been Halloween without a party like this. Plus, after playing such ridiculous games, how can you NOT feel like you've connected and grown a little closer to the people who witnessed them. I mean really, for us to even look as ugly as we did that night and still have friends today is ... well... a Halloween miracle!!!