Ahhhh.. the MacKay cabin

For the first time, Jakey wasn't afraid of the 4-wheelers-- on the contrary he was excited and fascinated by the "motorcycles!" It was so cute watching him discover everything again as a 2 year old. :)

Little Picasso

So, a couple days ago I let Jacob play with some water paints for the first time. He loved it! As you can see, he also loved painting himself--gotta love the 'stash! Haha!

I love FREE STUFF!!!!!

So I have been trying to get better at grocery shopping and using coupons - and today I went to Walgreens and scored big! I got all of this loot for $27.35! I would have cost me $93.87 - and check this out - I got all of the Aquafresh toothpaste (7 of them) FREE!
Just had to brag a little bit - I'm actually kinda proud of myself. :)

Some Catch Up Pictures

It's been a while since we have blogged and we have enjoyed so much everyone's posts. Here are a few catch up pics of events over the past few months.
Happy helpers to Papa's summer project.


Notice the concentration on Jett's face. He loves his new motorcycle!!
This was taken at Willamette Falls:
Sue and I went out with Jon and Lauri Myers for a double date on the jet sleds. We had a great time but the sleds were just a pain through the whole trip with a bad battery and sucking up rocks.
We ended up having a soggy dinner, and leaving one sled to go get the truck and trailer.
We just LOVE this new shower enclosure! Drew did a fantastic job and can't wait to do it again on the next bathroom.

2009 Oakes Family Photos!

I always get Ava's picture taken around her birthday - and this year we decided to update our family photo as well. Enjoy!
P.S. I have copies for anyone that wants one!
(I also have an envelope set aside for the grandparents already :)

Tucker's Birthday

So Tucker had a great 3rd birthday and thanks for all the well wishes and fun gifts for the little guy!! His birthday was on Friday so when Jayson got home, Tucker opened his presents from mom and dad -- a new ball, a Spiderman scooter, and dress-up pirate gear. After presents, we took the kids to a place called Out of this World Pizza and we had a BLAST!! It's a space-themed indoor play-place and it's great! We had some yummy pizza and then the kids went wild playing on the 3 story play structure with long slides and lots of climbing around. There were also 2 inflatables that the boys had fun on and an area where they were able to ride on plasma cars. Jett got so sweaty--he was dripping!! This place was awesome and Jayson and I got to play too! Dallas was an angel the whole time so we were all able to enjoy Tucker's birthday fun!!!
On Saturday, Tucker got a couple more gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Fran. And on Sunday, we got everyone together for cake and icecream and presents from Nana and Papa and from Donna's family. Tucker had quite the birthday weekend and loved playing with all the fun toys!!

On Monday, we tried out the sprinkler gift from Nana and Papa -- the boys loved it and had so much fun playing outside!!
I love this picture of Jett! Pure joy!!!

Tucker had fun with the balls. He was very careful to get only the ball wet!

They got the slide out and Tucker didn't like the water getting him so Jett would block it only to let it go right when Tucker went down the slide! The boys had a lot of fun and it was a great birthday weekend!!!

***

I know this post just keeps going but I had to include this photo of Dallas. He sat like this for a while just watching a little TV!! We think he's pretty cute! =)

FYI
Brycen's baby blessing will be in our ward building on July 5th, 2009 at 11:00am. That is the 4th of July weekend - so anyone that would like to come is welcome. Thanks!

Dallas's Blessing

On Sunday Dallas was blessed at church. He looked mighty cute and was so good through the blessing. His eyes were bright and wide open and he wasn't fussy (prayers answered!) and Jayson gave him a great blessing. We sure love our little guy!

I love this picture of Tucker and Dallas. He loooves his baby brother!
These pictures were taken before church and I didn't get any with his bib off. Gotta keep that white outfit clean!

All of my handsome boys!

Pomp and Circumstance!

Jason is officially a college grad--earning the degree of Bachelor of Science-Business Administration!! Woohoo!! I'm so proud of him, it's been a lot of hard work. Here's a few photos, and yes... the shamu next to Jason, that's me!:) haha! Love you!

~Lisa

Ava's 3rd Birthday and our Trip to Utah

Happy Birthday Ava - 3 Years Old!
We traveled to Utah to bless Ty and Haley's little girl, Isabel, and celebrated Ava's birthday as well. I made her a castle cake and dressed Ava up in a princess outfit - complete with crown and wand - and then all the girls went out to lunch while the boys played golf. We went to Los Hermanos and the waiters there sang Happy Birthday to Ava - except they came from behind and it scared her and made her cry :( But it was short lived. After lunch, we passed by a place that was hosting a Princess Wonderland event on Monday. Darn... we missed it - but we wanted Ava to have a picture infront of the castle - so we asked of we could come in and take a picture really quick. They said yes and gave us free access to the park. It was amazing. My little Princess Ava had a blast in the castle and Cinderella's carriage and Prince Charming's Ballroom! The day ended with birthday cake and presents and lots of memories!

Boys

I love having boys. They are so awesome!! Last weekend was the Fathers and Sons campout and Jayson took Jett and Tucker, and joined his Dad and Josh. The camp they go to is near the beach and they had a great time playing in the sand. The boys loved camping in their bunks and hanging out by the campfire, exploring, and getting dirty, and the weather was warm and sunny!!In the morning they had a great breakfast, then packed up and headed for the dunes! Kim had his truck so of course they couldn't pass up the opportunity to play!

Dallas and I enjoyed a yummy dinner with mom and dad and some quiet time at home.

***

So, on Saturday, before the guys got home, I got a call from Karen and Clarissa saying there was a surprise for them. Once they got home, we all went to Grandma's house and this is what she got for the grandkids to play with!!
(the adult kids play too!)

The upside of Joe's going out of business!

Jett got right on and he is such a natural!!! A true Rowley boy that's for sure! I couldn't believe it! Daddy and Shane helped explain how it works, Jett hopped on and took off! He was on that motorcycle the rest of the day and in heaven! Jayson, Shane and Josh gave Tucker and Brenna rides as well and we all had a blast watching!

Here are some pics and videos of the action!


Such concentration.Jett enjoyed playing follow the leader with the other guys. He liked to lead most of the time, but did a great job following as well!



He discovered that he could jump on this hill and caught air the first time he did it! We tried to catch him on film, but he didn't go as high. I'm sure it won't take long for him to master the jump!



At the end of the night, we were packing up to go home and Jett got on for one last ride. He was doing these jumps at the time and when he landed at the top of the hill, there's another little hill that goes up and then the deck is after that. He thought he would go fast again to jump the next hill, but got going too fast and couldn't stop! He crashed through the lattice fence, went under the deck and hit the house. His first motorcycle crash! He came out with little scrapes on his face and hands. Earlier in the day he had scratched his leg on something else, and he had rubbed both thumbs raw where he held the handlebars, but still kept going!! So now he's all scabbed up, but keeps asking when we can go to Grandma's house again to ride!

That's my boy! =)

You'll NEVER go back to store-bought! :)

So, I have to boast a little bit here...:) I just made the most DE-LISH yogurt ever and am feeling rather victorious on all sides. It was super easy to make, 75 cents a quart as opposed to the $2.50+ you would pay at the store, and it tasted sooooo yummy I couldn't stop eating this morning.:):) All it took was 2 quarts of milk, 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, and a crock pot. You heat it all together and let the yogurt culture in the milk until you have 2 quarts of yogurt. Look up the timing and exact recipe on http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/. This morning I pureed a couple of strawberries and added them, along with some sugar, to about a pint of yogurt, and NUM! It reminded me of eating fresh rasberries and milk at grandma's house when we were little--Jason loved it too. Needless to say, we will never go back to the gloopy, over-sweetened, expensive, store-bought stuff again! I look forward to experimenting with some more fruits and flavors-- I love playing "mad scientist" in the kitchen.:) Anywho, I love and miss you all TONS and TONS and TONS!

Take care all yous! :)
~Lisa