mullet toss - behind the scenes.

we just finished a commercial (or rather 3 commercials) for the mullet toss at the flora-bama. 

the mullet toss is a BIG event down here at the beach...it involves throwing a dead fish over the inter-state line of alabama and florida. 

sounds exciting, huh?

well, it's considered to be the largest beach party on the gulf.

a lot of people show up, they drink, they dress silly/outrageous or wear basically nothing, and then they see who can throw their mullet the farthest.

and it lasts for three days.

anyway, dusty was hired to write, produce, direct, and edit together commercials for the event.

in addition to helping in any way i could, i was also the set photographer.

over on our photography blog, i posted 'behind the scene' photos from the shoot.

and also over there, you can check out the final product on the commercials!

easter celebration.

we celebrated easter with millie (dusty's mom) on the friday before easter sunday.

 

we had told millie to come over at 3:00, but we couldn't contain our excitement, so we called her at 9:00 a.m. and asked her to head on over.

 

and then we headed to the beach.

the water was chilly...gray didn't make it in much farther than this, but boy was he ready with those googles, and that lifejacket and board.

 

after the beach, we went home, put on our pj's, and waited for dusty to get home from work.

 window clings compliments of grandma millie.

i loved those things growing up.

we tried to keep ourselves busy while waiting for dusty...

...gray put some new rides together.

 

and then finally, daddy arrived home...

 with gray's new t-ball uniform in tow.

 talk about excitement :)

time for presents!

 grandma spoiled us all once again...lucky ducks.

 sometimes, dusty likes to pose for the camera...

we received lots of art supplies...fun!

dusty and gray got right to it and started drawing...

 we really had a nice easter celebration.

thank you again to millie for all of your thoughtful gifts and for spending the day with us...we enjoyed having you!

 



a fun-filled saturday.

the weather here lately makes you want to be outside...all day.

last saturday we were at the beach by 9:30 a.m.

we started to have gray count his trains before we head to the beach, so none will be lost in the sand.

he knows this and counts them on his own before we leave.

this day, he packed 22 trains...it doubled from our last beach visit.

i wonder what the number will be next time...

our morning was very productive and relaxing.

gray - played with trains

dusty - worked on his next script

kassie - read sarah's key...it's hard to put down

gray, dusty, & kassie - walked along the beach, were on a mission to find jellyfish, and enjoyed the outdoors.

and of course, snacks were eaten.

we usually don't last all that long at the beach - we were home by lunchtime.

dusty decided to wash our car and gray thought he might as well wash his ride while the soap and water were out.

 

abby singer really enjoyed saturday.

she was able to be outside all day with her family :)

a friend stopped by and before he knew it, dusty was washing his car.

that's a perk, right? if you come visit us, you get a bonus free car wash.

 

once all of the cars were washed, it was time for gray to bake a cake.

gray cannot get enough of baking cakes.

i'm not sure if it's the process he loves, eating the cake after, or both, but this boy loves baking.

i took the picture on the left to show mom & dad that gray is using his stool that my dad made - he uses it all of the time...it sure does come in handy.

 

and the picture on the right, do you see the jar on the shelf? that is our memory jar.

and you see the orange golf ball? that is from when the cermak's were here visiting and we went miniature golfing.

i highly suggest a memory jar...it makes me happy when i look at it.

also in the memory jar, our scattergories' papers from christmas :) i snatched those babies up before they were thrown away.

maybe it's being far away from home, but i like to have little bits of north dakota and family memories everywhere.

 

alright, back to our saturday...

gray has shown a sudden interest in star wars.

so, the friend from above (getting his car washed) came to the rescue and let us borrow his collection of star wars dvd's.

we watched the first one. i'm not sure i'll be able to be a fan.



walk, the gulf, movie, the wharf

we have goals for january.

one of them is to incorporate at least 30 minutes of exercise into each day.

and guess what?

so far, we have been successful and boy, does it feel good.

 

the weather has been nice, which makes exercising outdoors a whole lot easier.

the other day, we drove to the beach, and then walked two miles to our lunch destination.

a new restaurant, the gulf, has opened in orange beach.

it is made out of shipping containers...it's laid back, has fun decorating, yummy burgers and fries, great service, and the view/atmosphere is perfect.

 

 

fresh flowers are on each table.

chairs and couches are available for seating in the sand.

the decorating makes you feel happy...

 

the food is great...the fries were my favorite.

 and the view...

you can't beat it.

after lunch, we walked the two miles back to our car.

and because it's impossible not to, we took our shoes off and headed down to the water.

 

a beach restoration project is happening, where they replace the sand lost during hurricanes in the past five years.

it seems like quite the process...

 and this bad boy is involved in it.

 

we decided to conclude our outdoor fun and go see a movie.

or should i say dusty decided that.

i have never seen so many movies in my entire life.

and movies i would never normally see, which is good i suppose - i'm being pushed outside of my comfort zone.

i believe we are on a mission to see every movie that is nominated for any type of academy award.

this day at the theatre: zero dark thirty.

we both really liked it.

it definitely kept my attention throughout and the acting was superb...especially by jessica chastain.

and also jason clarke.

 

a nice stroll around the wharf was needed after sitting for three hours.

 the weather has been just perfect - 70's and sunny.

although, i hope this warm winter does not indicate a hot (more than usual) summer will be following.



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 :)