Father's Day - Jacksonville Style

On June 17, 2012, we finally got to celebrate Father's Day with Jason! Last year, he was deployed, so we just sent him a little album. We were so glad he was home this year!!

We woke up around 7, and while Jason and Reagan enjoyed a show on Disney Junior, I headed downstairs to make breakfast. As I was cooking, Reagan came down to visit and promptly stole a piece of bacon:) I wanted to make him his favorite soft boiled eggs, but it was an epic fail...too runny and hard to peel. Instead, I made him fried eggs, bacon and toast with a side of fruit. Reagan had more bacon and some scrambled eggs with cheese. After breakfast, we took care of a few things around the house and then packed the car for the beach!

Tommy came to the beach with us and we had a great time. We stayed for almost 3 1/2 hours which was a record for Miss Reagan! I decided NOT to bring my camera to the beach this time around though because we had quite a load of stuff between the tent, umbrella, toys, dog, etc. We had a great time and Reagan even went swimming with Jason for a bit. We ran into some friends there too, so Reagan and Liam got to take a few spins in the wagon (our method of transporting all our stuff). As we packed up our things, Reagan fell asleep in my arms. She continued her nap in the car as we drove around Sneads Ferry in search of blue crabs. You would think that living near the beach that would have been an easy task. You would be incorrect! It was a Sunday afternoon, and nearly every place we stopped was closed. Finally, at the last place, I had given up hope and called Harris Teeter. They had blue crabs and we decided to drive further south just to fulfill Jason's craving. That's when I looked to the right and saw a sign on the back of a shed:

On the side of the shack there was a small sign that said: Live Blue Crabs!

Classy joint, eh?!

We made it home with two bags of crabs and quickly bathed Tommy with the hose. Then we all showered (silly thing to do before tearing into a load of crabs:). Jason transformed into chef mode and started filling a large pot with stuff to steam the crabs. While we waited for the water to boil, we let Reagan look at the crabs. I don't think she knew what to expect, but she sure didn't want to touch them!

One of the bags was a feisty bunch and it took several attempts with the biggest tongs we have to snatch them.

Once the pot was boiling, the crabs met their demise:

Jason had lined the kitchen table with several layers of newspaper and as soon as the first pot was finished, he dumped them into a pile. Reagan was a bit hesitant at this point:

But it didn't take long to convince her how delicious they were:

Jason could hardly peel the crabs fast enough to keep Reagan fed! We gave her a whole crab and she loved playing with it, but kept getting Old Bay seasoning on her fingers. Then she would say, "Hot!" and take a sip of milk. It didn't keep her from continuing to enjoy one of her Daddy's favorite foods! 

All in all, I think it was a pretty good day. Jason is an amazing father and although he has been working ridiculous hours and hardly sees Reagan, he makes the most of the time they do get to spend together. All day long she says, "Dada? Home?" And she can hardly contain her excitement when he walks through the door.