The Crab Wisperer!!

We are back from the beach...all a little sunburned and also very relaxed. The girls were so tired, Lucie told me that it was past her bedtime, Scarlett DIDN'T argue with me and Gracie fell asleep reading a book!! It was a great escape for us all. We are so enjoying Allie being here with us - she always makes us laugh, is so quick to look at the bright side of things and is so much like her father in many ways...let me explain.

Right before we left for the beach - we went on our morning run - this was Allie's 4th time running with us and I think she is completely over it. She didn't talk at all and when I asked her what was up - she told me her legs were so sore it was like knives were sticking through them (yes, this kind of detail is very much like her father)! We then were asked by the horse trainer if we wanted to ride one of the beautiful horses that are boarded here - Lucie and Gracie were more than willing....Scarlett tried but got too scared (very big horse that moves around a lot) - I took her turn (and absolutely loved it) and when the trainer asked Allie if she wanted to ride - she said "Oh no - not me" - I told the trainer she was scared in Spanish and when Allie asked me what I said - she replied "I'm not scared, just didn't feel like it" (Tim Jr.)!!!

Our friends went to the beach with us to spend the day - it was great fun and Allie has really bonded with Michele's sister, Heather. She is a doll and her and Allie spent hours talking. Scarlett and Lucie love love love the ocean and our Gracie, she prefers to play with toys in the sand. Me, I love to find beautiful shells and the hammock...so relaxing! We all love it - in our own way!!

In the late afternoon, our friends left and it was just us girls. We spent the rest of the day on the beach and some time just reading and relaxing. We went to our little house to shower and change for dinner. Our house has no electricity - modest shower and we all share two out-houses for a bathroom!! We were excited about the evening and once showered and dressed, started our way to the cabana. The sun was still out and we wanted to catch the sunset - when we started walking back, we noticed a lot of crabs walking around (I don't know if they walk...I really don't know what to call it that they do - but it's sideways and freaky!!) - lots of crabs. I mean 100's of crabs...now, I am not exaggerating....we were all a little shocked and made our way to the main area VERY QUICKLY. When I saw the owner Alex, I told him about all the crabs I had just seen, I guess I thought this was "news" to him, and he said "There will be many more when it's dark"!! My reply was a question to him - or maybe a statement..."Well, I'm sure they don't go on the walking path"!! And he said, "Yeah, they do but you can just kick them out of your way". O.K. - is this guy SERIOUS!!! I mean, does he realize I'm a girl? A girl from the United States who does NOT live on a beach and has really only seen crabs on a dinner plate? (side note...My husband is so sexy when he eats crabs).

Well, we saw a GORGEOUS sunset - and had some brick oven pizza for dinner and some yummy dessert - we were ready to head back to our cute little house for some DVD for the kids and for Allie and I to sit and visit. As soon as we started to walk on the path, Scarlett lets out a loud, ear piercing scream. Lucie takes one look at the 10 crabs running across the walking path and literally melts down (this means that she jumps into my arms, clinging for dear life and is hysterically crying) - Gracie looks at Lucie and starts to cry and Allie and I want to run for our lives!! This is all happening about 20 feet from where we just ate dinner - where there are still about 10 people eating dinner!! Our friend Alex comes to comfort us - looks at us and then immediately offers to walk us back to our house! He is kicking crabs out of the way as we move along and none of us are really doing any better than when we started. I guess I should have been embarrassed but I was too scared!! At this point, I am wondering if this was such a good idea and if I really can take care of my children.

Once we got the little ones settled - Allie and I went to sit on the patio - there was no place to sit in the little house, so it was either go to bed or sit outside - so we bravely took our flashlights and ventured out. As we were sitting there - crabs would come right up on the patio and head straight for us. At first, Allie would scream a little and shine the flashlight right on their face (again, I don't know...do they actually have faces? I swear they have little bitty eyes!!!) and then Allie started to talk to them. She would say things like, "Go away" "Thank you" "I see you over there" "No, not that way" "Further"!! She was making me laugh so hard - I was crying. But the crabs were LISTENING to her!!! I seriously do not know what I would have done without my Crab Whisperer on this trip. She turned a scary situation into a very comical one that we all laughed about. I absolutely LOVE having Allie here with me - she is a complete joy!!

Back to Managua and back to reality. The Consejo is meeting tomorrow!! We are all so excited and very hopeful. Once this happens, I will have a much better idea of when we can come home and that will make all the difference in the world to me - to our entire family. So prayers for a wonderful day tomorrow - one of celebration!! This will give us a reason to visit Las Cardones again but this time...I'm packing tennis shoes!!