Improvables: Eighteenth Annual Halloween Show

On Friday, October 30, the Improvables presented our annual Halloween show, one of the best nights of improv of the year, at Backstage Performing Arts in Centerville. I dressed up as Dr. Ryland Grace from the movie/book Project Hail Mary, accompanied by a Rocky toy that my artistic cousin Eden 3D printed and painted for me. (He did a phenomenal job!)

The rest of the evening's cast consisted of Claire (Catwoman), Keenan (Skeletor), Kyra (Sarah Suffrage from "Schoolhouse Rock!"), Liz M. (Clark Kent/Superman), Parker (Teen Wolf), and Richard (Vector Perkins from Despicable Me), with JoJo (pirate) as MC and Tyler (Starfleet officer) on tech.

We played favorite Halloween games like "Tombstone" and "Campfire Tale," we gave advice as if we were our costumed characters, and we also put on a round of "Mumbling Movie Murder Mystery" in which Deadpool was (somehow) killed with the candlestick from Clue at Elsinore Castle from Hamlet, and all of it witnessed by Curious George. (As with so much of improv, you had to be there in the moment.)

We had another large audience attend, including my Good Luck Charm (aka JB), which is great news because we not only had a joyful night together, but also because it means that when people pay money to see our shows, we live to improv another day.

Plowman Family Dinner/October 2026

For monthly family dinner, we gathered at Mike's and Jana J.'s home in Layton on Sunday, October 25. The menu consisted of a variety of soups, together with Sarah's salad, fruit, veggies, and (provided by JB) pumpkin brownies and chocolate chip cookies.

October comes with the highest number of family birthdays in the year: those of 18-year-old Kira, Jana J., Steve, nine-year-old Ike, Ben, and yours truly. They sang "Happy Birthday to You" to us, and the kids blew out the candles on their cookies and ice cream.

This day fell on Ike's actual birthday, so he opened a number of his gifts.

As it was the last Sunday before Halloween, many of the kids (the niblings) wore their Halloween costumes. We got to see McKenna as Michelangelo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Christian as some monster ... thing, Katy as the White Rabbit, Danny as a soccer player, Graham as Marty McFly, Tanner as Pikachu, Ike as a ninja, Sadie as Belle, and Sam as Batman:

Just for fun, Christian paused for a pic with little Paisely, in which he ate (consumed) Paisley.

I guess you had to be there! It seemed funny at the time.

Arbuckle Family Dinner/October 2026

On Sunday, October 11, it was our turn to host family dinner for JB's side of the family. Nobody was happier to have visitors than our Leia.

 

Wynnie, however, was another story. She doesn't do well with groups of more than a few people and was actually shaking due to social anxiety at one point. Still, she made it through the evening okay and received a lot of sympathy attention.

JB prepared roast beef and roasted vegetables (mainly potatoes and carrots) as the main dish. We also enjoyed salad, rolls, and apple crumble for dessert.

We had The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on the TV, and others played board games. In other words, a pretty standard, enjoyable family dinner for us.

Jana J.'s Murder Mystery Birthday Party

On Saturday, October 10, JB and I attended a surprise birthday party/murder mystery for our sister-in-law Jana J., who hit a milestone birthday on that day. It may not be my place to divulge the exact number, but suffice to say I am one year and one week older than her.

(Incidentally, yes, I had a birthday last week. Didn't need to post about it this year, though JB definitely spoiled me with a trip out for sushi and a few gifts. I spent much of the day and the weekend watching general conference on TV. It was wonderful, as always.)

Jana J.'s daughters, Kylee and McKenna, put everything together for the murder mystery: the invitations, the plot and character assignments, the props, the snacks, etc. We assembled at The Barn, a Jackson family favorite location in Layton, for this special occasion. Most of the invitees were the birthday girl's siblings and spouses, along with her parents and a few close friends.

The theme for this murder mystery was "Murder at the Juice Joint," and it was set at a speakeasy in Chicago in the Prohibition era/1920s. We all dressed up accordingly and tried to act out our characters as well, accents and all.

It had been many years since either JB or I had participated in a murder mystery event, and we were grateful to be included. I was assigned to play private detective P.I. Pinkerton, while JB assumed the role of celebrity filmmaker Harper Hollywood.

The rest of the cast was rounded out by crooked and quirky politicans, officers of the law, employees of the Juice Joint, and of course gangsters, among others.

Kylee and McKenna were pretty clever with the props. For example, this ashtray and cigarettes (when in Rome—or Chicago, I guess?) were actually broken up Oreo cookies and pretzel sticks dipped in vanilla chocolate:

Sadly, the money, used for bribes and such, was also fake.

Toward the end of the evening, the real killer was revealed. We also voted on best actor and favorite costume (Summer), and there was also an award for the person who accumulated the most (fake) cash (our 18-year-old nephew Jackson).

We had wonderful evening together, but most importantly, Jana J. had a great birthday. We'll have to do it again next year, or another time very soon.

Plowman Family Dinner/September 2026

The whole famn damily on the Plowman side—well, nearly all of them—gathered at our house on Sunday, September 27, for monthly family dinner. In addition to hosting, we provided the main dish, which was pasta and spaghetti sauce. Other attendees brought fresh fruit and vegetables, breadsticks, brownies, and apple crumble to round out the evening's menu.

We celebrated three September birthdays: my sister, Biz's, as well as those of four-year-old Sam and nine-year-old Tanner. Here are the birthday kids, being sung to and then blowing out the candles on their cake:

Sam, who of late is obsessed with dinosaurs, was beyond grateful for his Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton costume and said he'd likely be wearing it on our upcoming Halloween:

Plowman Family Dinner/August 2026

On Sunday, August 23, JB and I hosted monthly family dinner for the Plowman side at our home in North Salt Lake. Nearly 30 people turned out, making our house noisy but fun for this warm summer evening. We were perhaps most surprised and pleased to see, among those who attended, our niece Jenna, who recently graduated from BYU-Idaho and who just moved to Provo to start a new job there. (At least, I hadn't seen her since last Christmas Eve.)

Poor Wynnie was a bit overwhelmed by the number of people who turned up, and she stuck pretty closely by my and JB's side throughout the evening.

The evening's menu consisted of various types of enchiladas as the main dish, all provided by Dave and Jessica. The complementing side dishes included watermelon, strawberries, a veggie tray, and potato chips. JB prepared the dessert options, which included peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream and this delicious banana pudding:

Eight-year-old Ike (successfully) campaigned for those gathered to play several rounds of Mario Kart on the Switch, while others played outside or at the park next door.

The kids also played "Pass the Parcel," a family tradition, and that was followed by the singing of "Happy Birthday to You" by all for our lone August birthday: 11-year-old Danny.

Staycation

Rather than embarking on a family trip up to Bear Lake this summer, we decided to do something different (and a little less expensive) and opted for a "staycation" instead. Said staycation would include local outings and activities we could do together as a family, and then we could separately return to our homes at night and sleep in our own beds. Not a bad deal, huh?

Well, I was sold on the idea from the start. Our collective staycation began on Thursday, July 16, and this first day consisted of a trip up to the Pineview Reservoir in Ogden for swimming and other aquatic fun. Someone (OK, it was me) had a couple of doctor's appointments at that same time, keeping the Plowbuckles away from this event.

We were, however, there for everything on Day 2. Friday, July 17, found us up at Boondocks in Kaysville, where we first ate lunch together. Our meal consisted of pizza, chicken fingers, and other goodies. Three-year-old Sam kept us all entertained with his impromptu karaoke performance of Benson Boone's "Beautiful Things."

After lunch, we bought our respective four-hour passes and started off with a variety of outdoor activities. JB, my siblings, and a number of the niblings played on the water boats while I watched and statyed relatively dry. Ben broke a bat in the batting cages. There was also a rope course that looked pretty daunting from the ground below.

JB and I completed a course of mini golf, and we also joined Jana 1, Sadie, and Graham for a session on the go karts. In this pic, I'm not looking at JB's phone because I was too busy trying to get untangled from my seatbelt and arm belts and was seeking the aid of the ride operator:

Our afternoon together concluded with a massive game (over 25 people) of Laser Tag, something I hadn't played in years; my tally sheet at the end attested to this. Eighteen-year-old Jackson blew everyone away with his laser-shooting prowess—literally and figuratively, I guess?

In the evening, we congregated at Ben's and Adi's home in Centerville for a barbecue, which included Steve's custom-made fat burgers, fresh watermelon, and other delicious treats. After eating, we set up a screen for an outdoor movie, the family-friendly new release Sheep Detectives.

Day 3 fell on Saturday, July 18, and it brought us up to Syracuse, where we rented out a private swimming pool and pickleball court. Due to my sore right foot (see the boot I'm wearing in the pics below), I didn't get in the water nor did I play any pickleball. But everyone who did had a great time, and I was content to watch on the sidelines and eat lunch (a sandwich and other snacks).

This "pickleswim," as it came to be called, was a great success. (It was JB who discovered this wonderful location and got us interested in going there in the first place.)

Our staycation was capped off later that evening at Steve's and Summer's home in North Salt Lake, featuring food and games. Yours truly was dealing with a migraine and stayed home, but JB went and had a good time with the whole gang.

All told, I'd give the staycation concept 9.5 out of 10 stars. The activities were fun, and the company was even better. Perhaps we will do another one next summer?