Crab Happy

I love visiting my human grandparents' house.  They always have food that they are willing to share, and I, of course, am always willing to try whatever they are cooking.  Their dogs don't always like me, but that is a minor issue compared to the glorious food and pets that I get from everyone.  Bring on the loving!

Two weeks ago, my human grandmom called to ask us if we wanted to come down to visit.  My mom's aunt, uncle, and cousins were visiting from Pennsylvania.  We already had a really packed weekend:  a Vizsla Meetup, a wedding, plus my mom had just finished her bar exam on Friday.  So, my mom told my grandmom that we were really sorry, but it was just a little too much for one weekend.  

But my human grandmom is a smart cookie.  She knows that if she mentions crabs, my dad will get up out of a bed, pack up the car in the dead of night, drive the two hours down to Southern Maryland before the sun comes up, sing the alphabet backwards, juggle hula hoops, and generally do just about anything for Maryland crabs.  He loves eating them that much.  So, she did what every good grandmother does: 

"Oh, that's a shame.  We were thinking of having crabs."

They look scary, but my dad says they taste delicious.

Then I heard my mom whisper to my dad:  "They are going to have crabs."

My Dad:  "Crabs?  Crabs???  Of course we'll be there.  Tell her we're coming."

So, my mom made sure to take it easy so that she didn't get any migraines, and we jumped in the car on Sunday morning and headed South for the day.
 

The first thing I did when I got to their house was greet everyone with licks and wiggles. The second thing was to burst through the back door to the back yard to play ball.  The third thing was to play volleyball in the backyard by myself (fling the ball in the air with my front paws, bounce on nose, repeat).  The fourth thing was to leap into the swimming pool while my mom was asking my grandpa permission (sorry grandpa, I didn't want to wait).  The fifth thing was to play frisbee with my Uncle Mark.  The sixth thing was to play football with the kids, trying to make interceptions and tackle the other players to get to the ball.  After each interception, I ran a victory lap around the field before dropping it back in front of the quarterback so that we could do it again. 

Then, the crabs arrived, and it was time for dinner.

Beer and crabs -- the true Maryland past-time.

I had to have a "time out" inside while everyone was eating crabs so that I didn't accidentally eat a broken shell if it fell on the ground, but I was so exhausted from all of the ball playing, frisbee catching, and swimming that I didn't care.
 

After they were done eating, I was allowed to come outside again.  It was awesome because all of the best food was still out.

"Puh-lease, can I have some watermelon?"

I worked hard for my food, too.  I did lots of tricks:  sit, stand, twirl, down, through the legs, around, up on my hind legs... you get the idea.  The more stubborn people got "little ears" until they gave in and shared some of their yummies.  And before I knew it, my belly was full of watermelon, strawberries, carrot sticks, potato chips, hamburger, and all of the Charlee Bear dog treats that my mom had brought to keep me on my best behavior.  Ahhh...

What a great day!  Mom, when can we visit again?