Celebrating your birthday in style

Adam getting ready to add a batch to the pot.

Every year we, along with our friends, host a big crawfish boil. I think this is either the 5 or 6th year we have done it. We usually order around 100 lbs of crawfish and spend the day at a local park cooking it and hanging out with our friends.

waiting for another batch. It was unseasonably cold this year. I had to steal Adam's fleece.

This year the party happened to fall on our birthday. (Did you know Adam and I share the same birthday? Although he is a year older.)

Good friends. Love these ladies.

We invite around 100 or so people and we always get a great turn out. The party this year was a little smaller, but it was awesome because all of our closest friends made it. I honestly think everyone should experience a crawfish boil. I will say not everyone enjoys the crawfish, but those that don't want to eat it usually bring inferior meals like Chick-fil-A to sustain them.

The table with freshly dumped potatoes, garlic, mushrooms, sausage, crawfish and corn. Delicious!

There is nothing like standing around a table eating with your friends. I'm sure it might be a little more entertaining and the crawfish a bit hotter if alcohol was involved, but.. we usually make due. It is a lot of work. We love it, but it really is a lot of work.

The hosts.

Every year we ask one another if we are ready to talk about the boil and most years we can't even discuss it until sometime around February/March of the following year. We always need a good 8 months to forget about the annoying things. But, this year both Carrie and I looked at each other and said- "wow. we have to do this again next year." Maybe we have finally worked out all the kinks and the idea of planning it isn't painful.

This year we had a huge bag of Mardi Gras beads. Carrie's family went to Mardi Gras and they brought all the reject beads. If you have ever been to Mardi Gras you know what I'm talking about. Beads are a BIG DEAL! Fancy beads are an even BIGGER DEAL.

Girls decked out in Mardi Gras beads.

This little one loved the beads. I have a similar picture of Adam from our first year in New Orleans.

Sorting beads.

I highly recommend checking your calendar next year and coming for our annual crawfish boil. It really is a fantastic tradition.