fun in the kitchen.

dusty and i arrived back in orange beach from north dakota on friday.

we had such a wonderful time.

memories were made, pounds were gained, bonding happened...

i feel happy, very happy :)

 

i started editing pictures yesterday and this one was one of my favorite series...

i titled it 'fun in the kitchen' (clever, eh?):

 

 

 

the lesson learned from this baking adventure?

use unsalted butter.

when it's not specified in the recipe, always use unsalted butter.

 

and in case you want to read up on it:

http://www.mrsfieldssecrets.com/blogs/blog/2010/06/baking-tip-salted-vs-unsalted-butter/



the trifecta.

we managed to do a couple of things on our 'things to do over the long weekend' list.

one of them being miniature golfing at the track.

the track has more to offer than just miniature golf...it's kind of like a mini mini amusement park?

 

we arrive at the track and i'm under the impression that we will only be golfing...

until dusty announces that he's going for the trifecta.

apparently, he had it all planned out in his head - he was ready to take me on in skee ball, go kart racing, and miniature golf.

well, bring it on, mr. bias.

 

1. skee ball

dusty takes his competitions seriously.

very seriously.

now, in my opinion, dusty had a little advantage on this event.
i asked him how many times he thinks he has played it in his life. answer: 40.
my answer: 5

results: scratch
we had faulty machines.
dusty was given 6 balls, i was given 10.
dusty's machine did not keep score, mine did.
we chose to not put more money into the machines and moved on to the next event.

 2. go karts

this is neither here nor there, but dusty estimated he has driven a go kart about 30 times in his life.
i had maybe once before this day. my memory does not serve me well, so it's possible that i have more and don't remember.

i wasn't sure on the rules of making contact with other cars, so, i just went for it.
if dusty got near me, he got a little push into the wall.
needless to say, i took the lead...and i kept it.
i ran the best line i could (according to dusty) and never looked back.

he let me know after the race that if he had been leading, he would have slowed down, let me catch up, and then start racing again.
that thought never crossed my mind.
i was in it to win it.

results: kassie +1
         dusty 0

3. miniature golf

dusty did better on the front nine.
i did better on the back nine.

the unfortunate results: kassie 61
                                    dusty 60

3 event results: 1-1
it appears that a re-match is in our future.
no one wants to end in a tie...not these competitive souls.


turkey and pumpkin pie.

believe it or not, the fun started at wal-mart.

we wandered in on wednesday night, went straight to the turkey section, and all of the turkeys were gone.

i asked a sweet, older lady to please tell me that there were more turkeys in another section.

she guided me in the right direction.

during our walk, i started rambling -

+ i've never cooked a turkey before

+do you have any suggestions?

+ my mom said something about a turkey in a bag that i can just put in the oven for a couple of hours...have you heard of that?

+ do you think we'll be able to have the turkey cooked correctly by tomorrow?

+ are we too late? will the turkey thaw in time?

 

i managed to get all of that out in a very short walk.

we get to the turkeys, she asks how many people we are feeding, hands me the turkey i need, and then starts in on the instructions.

we were given very strict ones...and we listened.

 

we get to the checkout and we are greeted by another sweet, older lady.

she sees the turkey and wonders if we'll be able to get the bird ready for tomorrow.

we were given more strict instructions.

the lady behind us in line gave us her two cents as well.

 

we left full of new knowledge.
and that trip was deemed, by dusty, our most fun trip to walmart ever.

 

during the car ride home, it was decided that dusty would take the reigns on the turkey.

he likes those kinds of things and i kindly obliged.

the turkey was all his.

my only request was that if he had any type of question whatsoever in regard to the cooking of the turkey, he would contact the butterball hotline.
unfortunately, we didn't end up needing the hotline, but don't think i didn't try to get dusty to call it for any little 'challenge' we came across.
i'm not sure why i thought it would be so entertaining.
maybe it's because i have a feeling dusty would have found a way to make it fun.

the turkey turned out great and everything went off without a hitch, which i know, does not make for fun stories.

millie (dusty's mom) was given the task of plating the canned cranberries...a favorite of the bias's.

while dusty conquered his first turkey, i made my first pie.
i didn't want to overdo it, so i used a pre-made crust and chose pumpkin pie.

it was delicious.

i'm not sure if it's possible to mess it up though.

 

well, i hope all of you had a wonderful thanksgiving and long weekend!



long weekend. thankful.

i'm really looking forward to the four day weekend.

mostly because that means dusty and i get to be together all of those days.

 

we have a bit of separation anxiety.

spending the day apart while working? neither of us like it.

what's that...you're running to the store? i'll come with you.

now, don't get me wrong. i'm pretty sure i need alone time more than anyone.

but, being apart for more than a couple of hours is not our jam.

i know, it's ridiculous.

i hope it doesn't ever change though.

 

now, i made a list of options for possible activities to fill our weekend:

+ miniature golf

+ driving range

+ walks in our favorite neighborhoods

+ work on diy christmas presents

+ board games

+ hub stacey's for their yummy french dip sandwiches

+ garage sales/thrift stores

+ bonfire

+ hot tub

+ and of course, watch movies

 

before we can get started on our list, we will be preparing and hosting thanksgiving dinner.

i will be making a turkey for the first time.

wish me luck, and lots of it.
i'm also making a pumpkin pie, which will be the first pie i've ever made.
i would buy one that was already made, but dusty's mom gifted me a pretty pie plate that i have yet to use, so, now is the time.
the pumpkin pie will be made with a pre-made crust, fyi.

 dusty will be making his famous mashed potatoes with packet gravy and boxed dressing will be served.
oh, and canned cranberries were also a request...and warm dinner rolls are my favorite, so those will be on the menu.
chips and dip (made in crockpot) = appetizer
alright, well now you know what we will be serving.
that was not my intention, but it happened.
 

we will be missing everyone in north dakota very much, but thankfully we will be home soon for christmas.

so excited! 

 

also on the list for the weekend, counting our blessings.

happy thanksgiving!



cookies and a double header.

millie, dusty's mom, visited us on sunday.
grandma millie and gray started off the day with making creepy pizza cookies.

90% off after holidays at target is awesome.

and for the most exciting part - eating the cookie.
gray was the only brave soul to eat the creepy cookies.
he made it through just half of one, which is unheard of for gray.
obviously, this kit is more so for the activity aspect, not necessarily for quality cookies at the end.

now, for our afternoon events.
millie, dusty, and i went for a double header at the movie theater.
we went to skyfall and flight...both good.
it was fun - we stocked up on snacks and drinks and made a day of it.
after our movies, we picked up chinese food and a few pre-made frozen pina coladas and headed back to the house for a 'sleepover'.
we all decided these kind of days need to happen more often.



sand creations.

do you remember my last post about the cermak vacation?

it was the day we took a break from the sun and headed to pensacola.

well, the day after that, we were back in the sun and at the beach.
it's hard to stay away long when you're on vacation.

pretty girls.

i'm a sucker for top knots/messy buns on little girls...it doesn't get much cuter.





ryan and ayden played a little football.

look at emery with no toys - the sand was honestly enough to keep her busy.
dusty made it to the beach with us on this day - always fun :)

and then dusty needed help, thank goodness lifeguard ayden came to the rescue.
you should have heard them laughing the whole time...

pretty sure they were both exhausted after this role playing.

abby wanted in on some of the action
so, she got to ride dusty the whale.

after a fun filled morning, we left our things on the beach and walked up to the hangout for lunch and some more relaxation.

 once a couple of drinks were consumed, lunch was eaten, ping pong and foosball were played, we were back at the beach.

sandcastle building time:

 ryan is the master of sandcastles.
he contributed much more than his helpers.
this day's final product:

i like the incorporation of the twigs...and the frisbee.
it really does make it complete.

ayden and dusty built these bad boys:

 you even get to see the behind the scenes action.
this structure is very fitting coming from dusty.

i loved this day at the beach...lots of fun :)



pj's and pumpkins.

first off, i'm going to show you a little photo of dusty.

he was sick and he is one of those dramatic sick people...you know the kind, right?

also, we both received a pair of those awesome pj's from his mom - early christmas gift. they are the most comfortable thing to wear, so, we wear them...often.

 

alright, onto pumpkins.

gray and i painted pumpkins this year, while dusty, being the man that he is, carved his pumpkin.

 

gray loved every minute of it.

and then we ended the night with bedtime cuddles...

 ...the best kind.



karate kid.

it's official, gray has begun karate.

he loves it.

he is beyond excited for karate nights and we often hear him counting to ten in japanese while he's going about his business.

 

 

 

i would like to get pictures of him in action, but apparently in the martial art world they frown on people photographing during times of focus.
so, these photos will have to do for the old memory book.

you're fun, pensacola.

okay, back to the cermak vacation - day 5.
we opted for a day out of the sun and to pensacola it was.
our first stop was the naval air museum.

we jumped on a bus when we arrived and got a tour along with an explanation/history lesson of each plane.
after the guided tour, we explored the museum on our own.
i didn't take very many pictures of our exploration though...

 we did manage to take pilot pictures of each other...
and then we went to hubble at the imax theater.
my first imax movie...it's pretty cool :)

 

 

once we put in a few hours at the museum, we drove to pensacola beach.

we searched and searched for a restaurant on the water and ended up at hooter's.

our table was perfect - 3 tv's - vikings, bears, and nascar.

everyone was happy.

 the night was ended with a little sunset walk on the beach.

 pensacola was a good switch up for day 5.

a day to remember.

i still have a couple of days left to blog from the cermak vacation, but dusty, gray, and i had such a wonderful saturday together i had to document it.

 

the weather has been cooling off just a bit and we are taking full advantage.

how awesome is this bike?

we got this and the boy version from my lovely parents...i may have told y'all this before, but it's worth mentioning twice.

also, i'm starting to prefer riding the vista over the trek...whoa.

we are making that thing gray rides in, last as long as we can...it's starting to be a tight fit.

do you know how long it would take if he rode his own bike to the park?

we would probably arrive at sunset.

 

alright, back to our saturday.

we started the day off with a bike ride to the park...

it takes a while before dusty feels like our bikes are condition ready for a ride...every single time, he fills up all of the tires - to the brim. both bikes' tires and gray's ride.

and our pump sucks a big one (i went cheap on that), so it lengthens out this process quite a bit.

rarely do we agree on when they need air...i'm convinced around every fourth or fifth ride would be sufficient...at the most. 

 

upon arrival, water was needed:

gray's favorite way to reach the water fountain.

it's tradition.

 

after gray played on the equipment momentarily, he joined us in the shade.

and then we sat and played lots of games.

rock, paper, scissors.

and gray showed us new games he has learned during recess at school.

do you remember the ones where you say a jingle, point at shoes, and then whoever's shoe you land on last is out?

not the best explanation, but that's what he's been learning from the girls at school, so that is what we played.

and then we made up our own games...fun, very fun.

gray is very good at ad libbing when we make up songs - he can create a whole song without hesitating - i think he gets it from his dad. dusty is making up jingles daily.

i tried to make up a song about thomas and friends...i don't have the same talents as they do.

 

we also talked about animals.

 

tigers in action:

above picture: love.

dusty being dusty...love him.

 

after our park adventure, dusty had to get some shots at the festival of flavor, so gray and i tagged along.

while dusty was shooting, i had a photo shoot with gray.

he's getting more into the camera and i'm very happy about it...he's starting to think poses are fun...this is big.

bottom left is my favorite.

 

gray had been eyeing the rock climbing wall since we had arrived.

when dusty finished, we hit that thing up.

look at the excitement on his face - so cute :)

he made it about half way up, got very nervous, came back down, and then repeated that sequence three times.

he'd get to the bottom and then was convinced he had to try it again.

 he ended up leaving in tears because he was so disappointed in himself for not pushing the button at the top.

next time, gray, you got this.

 

i'm pretty sure that every rock climbing wall we come across in the future, gray will be getting strapped up.

he's bound and determined to hit that button.