Cousins and Crawfish

June 20, 2014 by

Our week kicked off with a visit from Jake’s niece from Idaho, Claire, who was ecstatic to hang out with the girls. Claire had arrived over the weekend with her dad (Jake’s brother), Jarom, for a daddy-daughter vacation. Jarom had to work in San Diego on Monday, so Claire stayed with us for the day.

We started off with a trip to the park, as per usual, where Claire showed the girls her amazing tumbling moves. Samantha and Amelia were inspired and now all they can talk about is back hand springs.

Having Claire there to assist me gave me a small glimpse of how much easier it would be if the girls had an older sibling who was capable of helping out. Claire carried the twins for me, walked Bandit, and carried the diaper bag– all of which alone were complete lifesavers. 
Do Samantha and Amelia ever join the other little girls daintily playing with Barbies and stuffed animals in the sand? Nope. They always head straight for the boys in construction hats, playing with their dump trucks in the mud. They are going to be such tomboys!
After browsing through Samantha and Amelia’s closet and tutu collection, Claire came up with the idea of having a baby fashion show. She picked out all the outfits and hair accessories, and then we put down red towels in the hall for the “red carpet.” 
I bribed the girls to walk down the runway by shaking a bag of grapes and Claire even found some fashion show-y music which she played off her phone. Claire did a great job styling the girls and, despite the lack of brand-name designers, the show was a success!
Samantha opted to crawl down the runway in order to show that her clothing selection was both stylish and functional for everyday wear. 
The angry model baby look is so in right now. 
I’m not an ambi-turner! (Name that movie).
Later, we met up with Jarom and Jake for some southern fixin’s. The tables at this restaurant were covered in paper and when our food arrived, it was literally dumped all over the table– no plates or silverware allowed. Right up Samantha and Amelia’s alley!
Definitely an authentic southern crab boil feel….and a nightmare dealing with Samantha and Amelia whose eyes lit up with glee as soon as they saw the host of interesting creatures laid out in front of them. The fact that we managed to keep them from grabbing any crab legs and chucking them across the room is a win in my book. 
We also discovered Samantha loves corn on the cob…maybe a little too much. Next time I need to keep her occupied for twenty minutes, I’ll know what to do. 

 The two fisted corn on the cob shake. 

Jake and Jarom decided that the work-to-reward ratio of crawfish was a little out of whack. It took forever to peel those things, only to get tiny fish (smaller than a shrimp) out of the deal. Our waiter said the the true southern way to enjoy crawfish was to sit back, relax, take your time and suck off the heads instead of peeling them. Um, no thank you.

The girls’ reaction to sticking a crawfish in their faces: YUM I DON’T CARE THAT THIS THING HAS CREEPY EYES AND LEGS I WANT TO EAT IT.

DON’T DO IT, SAMANTHA. 

Hehe, a cute little creature! Can we keep him?

I must say the crab was dee-licious!

 The girls’ first time sampling crab was a success and they’re begging to have it again for every meal! Imagine their disappointment when they saw us eating at home with plates and silverware again. They really thought we were finally giving in to their way of dining!

Lots of love,

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