How to Throw the Best Party Ever...

Alternately titled:

The Day the Crawfish Died

I'm going to let you guys in on a secret...

Hubs is turning 30 soon!

Shh...

So, we decided to go off the beaten bday party path and have a bone-a-fide 

Crawfish Boil!

Here's a few things we learned...

Crawfish are feisty.

Those pinchers are quick.

So, they should be handled by only by the brave and fearless....

and sometimes shirtless :)  or, 

with the net that Ace bugged you to death about last week at Cabela's 

(a purchase that totally makes sense now!)

Next, you need a big pot...

we went with the 100 qt, it was on sale.

(and now a disclaimer...there are dead things coming up...run!)

I had to step away for the next part.

I'm told that you just throw them in the strainer and sink'em into the boiling water...

but I didn't want to hear the screaming.

I'm just a softy like that.

Next, because I'm not the only softy around, we decided to provide alternative food sources.

My trusty brother JRod was our grill chef extraordinaire for the evening.

He cooked hot dogs for the kids, chicken and veggies for the moms.  

And, let me just add, did an amazing job!

Now, I didn't think they were really going to do this, but I sure didn't want those things in my house...

so the just dumped the craw fish out on the table outside and put a trashcan at the end.

It was for the best.

A big, happy, community table :)

It was a great, fun evening. 

We got to catch up with a few friends we hadn't seen in a while, and enjoy family.

We were once again thankful for our new house and yard that allows us to bring everybody together comfortably for fun and fellowship!

We will definitely try to do this again! 

The kids had a great time too...

Poor Bug was a little outnumbered.

I didn't realize until everybody was there that she was the only girl!

The closest to her was baby B...

who at an astounding 6 mo old wasn't up to enjoying the water slide!