Happy Memorial day!!!
Team Oakley is very thankful to all who have served in the armed forces and lost their lives in the line of duty. We take our freedom seriously, and we are grateful.
We are also thankful for all those who are currently serving. Thank you all!
Team Oakley plans to celebrate our freedom with many fun things!
First off, Pappy (Michael's dad, Craig), took us out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Michael's mom is out of town, so Pappy took the opportunity to spend some time with Team Oakley. We didn't mind at all :)
Look at these three generations of good looking men!
Emery was being very silly in the presence of such silly and happy men :)
After Breakfast we went home to get some house and yard work done before a bar-be-que later. We are moving in a few days, so we have to get our house ready. We want our deposit back!!!
Beka took to her outside projects that she had been slacking on. She cleaned and sanded many an object that will soon be painted for her garden at the new house. So if you want to see what these treasures turn out to be, stay tuned!
After the yard work was done, Team Oakley went grocery shopping for the bar-be-que dinner. We were going to surprise Michael's mom with some good cooking when she came home from being out of town that night.
Emery loves going grocery shopping! We always let him feel and smell and touch and hold all the different items that we pick out. This time he made best friends with our watermelon :)
Once we had all of our food we headed over to the in-laws. Nana (what Emery call's Michael's mom) came home and was thrilled to see her babies in her house cooking food. She had bought Emery a VERY cute hat when she was out of town.
Cassidy (our brother in law and good friend) came over and helped with some of the food prep and cooking. It was nice to be 'all hands on deck'. Sometimes all the responsibility falls on Beka or Josie to cook for everyone, and it is often more tiring than fun. This time everyone helped and it really eased the work. Plus we all had fun while doing it!
Men cookin....is there anything better?
While food was being made Pappy took the opportunity to fill up the kiddy pool for Emery. Fun is about to be had!
Food was on, pool was filled, it was looking like a great day.
Emery was quite excited to go a'swimmin!
He had some fun toys to keep him company. It was SO SO SO fun to watch him play in the pool. He was having such a great time! He kept laughing, squealing and wrinkling up his nose in joy. It was bliss for Michael and Beka to watch their precious joy have a great time and discover new things. JOY JOY JOY!!!
It was pretty sunny, so Emery put his zoo hat on. We on Team Oakley practice safe sun.
Emery splashed his own face! LOL! It scared and surprised him, then he laughed about it.
Beka was having a great time. She was able to sit back and watch Michael cook, watch Emery play, and hold all these treasures in her heart.
Beka also got to play with Emery in the pool. She LOVED squirting him and watching his little face. Precious!
Uncle Cassidy wanted to play too, so he gave Emery some Ice.
This confused Emery.
Then it made Emery happy.
If we could pick one photo that encompassed the day, it would be this one (below). It is so joyful and full of sweet energy, just like our whole day was :)
After the pool we set out a blanket for Emery. Nana joined him on it.
It was prefect weather outside. Not too hot, but just hot enough.
The food was finally done as the sun was starting to set, so we all loaded up our plates and got to eating! Even Emery took part in some bar-be-que goodness.
After we all stuffed ourselves with good food, there was team effort to clean up. After that was all done, we hung around the house chatting and playing games for about an hour, then Team Oakley headed home to put ourselves to bed. We had a GREAT day, and we were all tuckered out from the fun and happiness of the day. It was a good feeling :)
We were so thankful to be able to spend this day out in the sunshine, with good food, and with our sweet and precious family. We know that there are some who are serving this country right now that are without these luxuries, and without their loved ones. If any of those brave folks are reading this, I hope you know that Team Oakley is very thankful for what you are doing. We pray for you, and we wish you all the love and support that you need to get though your journey.
Again, thank you, from deep in our hearts, to all who are serving, or have served our country in the past. We are very thankful for you. Very.
And thanks to you for sharing this day with us. We hope your memorial day was as joyful as ours was.
Blessings to all,
Team Oakley
