4th of July - extravaganza!

Our plans for the fourth were simple....  Don't do a lot!  I had been feeling a little under the weather, so our plan was just to LAY LOW and enjoy the sunshine.  Tyler spent the morning with Tyson, running down south for a Craigslist find for the nephews, and after lunch and naps, we loaded up the truck and headed up to Cedar Hill.  We had two tractors, 3 bikes, food, and a camera.  What else could we possibly need?  

The kids had a BLAST just cruising the back yard on their bikes and tractors.  Back and forth, back and forth they would go, and then they'd all change up wheels and be riding each other's.  Pretty funny!  And then Grandpa busted out the fireworks.   Oooooh my.  Safe and sane, mind you.  The BIG HITS of the year were pop-its, snakes, sparklers and SMOKE bombs.  The biggest pyro-maniacs of them all were Weston and Madelyn.  By the end of the evening (8pm) Madelyn was trying to slap a few people on the bottom with her sparkler, and Weston was trying to light things on fire with his sparkler.  Hah!  

 While I spent most of the evening on a chair, Kallen showed off his knew walking skills - impressive!  Wyatt didn't know what to think though, I think he fancies himself Kallen's personal trainer and was suddenly no longer needed.

 Grandpa got some good "ooh's" and "aaah's" with this one!

 Nothing like a plate of veggies and a bowl of ranch to distract the two little firework hoarders.

 I love all the chaos going on around Wayne, and he is just smiling at me behind the camera.  Precious boy!

 SUCH a cute picture - next year, we are going to reinact this with Mom, me and _____________ baby girl Silves!  :-)

 Miss Madelyn is the bell of the ball....  Why she decided she needed these glasses on to eat her dinner is beyond my comprehension, but it was funny!

 S.C.A.R.Y.

Groen Family BBQ 2012 - I wish, I wish... Hey, I caught a FISH!

This past Sunday evening it FINALLY stopped raining, and the sun even decided to SHINE!  Just in time to, because we had a family BBQ to head to and Uncle Deryl's and Aunt Shari's.  These two are quite the dynamic duo - not only do we love them, but the boys ADORE them.  Weston practiced saying "Uncle Deryl" for 2 weeks before he came over to help us with our window project.  The HIGHLIGHT of the evening was the koi pond in the backyard.  We brought a "casting pole" for the boys to practice casting with, with just a lure on the end with no hook.  They took turns casting and reeling the line in, over and over throughout the night.  

I think there were around 40 family members there - but it didn't seem like that many because there are so many places to just spread out and play and visit.  It's nice to catch up with this family in the summer months, and we are blessed to have this new tradition!  

 

 Weston was so patient...  And then he actually SNAGGED A FISH on his line!  The stinker ran with it, and the look on Weston's face... total shock, awe, and excitement, along with a "what do I do" eyes popping out of his head look as well.  He reeled it in for a bit, amidst the hootin' and hollerin' from all the adults around, before the dumb fish got smart and spit the lure out.  Uncle Deryl's surprised look was just about as priceless as Weston's!  When Weston asked him, "Uncle Deryl, is that a new record?" all Uncle Deryl could do was nod his head.  Yup Buddy, a new record that no one will bring any time soon!

3 chickens, 3 boys, 1 Dad, 10 fingers and a COOP!

The BIG MOVE happened on Sunday after naps...  the chickens found their FOREVER home!  Two of the three moved with the help of Wayne and Dad, and "Wyatt" (the chicken, not the boy" flew out and into the coop on her own.  She's a feisty one!

 They've been in a child safety corral for long enough...  they wanted a coop, not to be cooped up!

 The boys were all so proud.  While Tyler had no desire to build the coop, he did it for them, and I think this picture says it all... it was worth it! 

 So exciting that they are now all taken care of, and can't escape.  And that Tyler still has all 10 fingers attached!

Thumbs up - the chicken coop is done! (warning * graphic pictures!)

It's taken me a week to convince Tyler to let me put these pictures on the blog, and with that said.. continue on at your own risk!!!  If you are squeamish, just stop right here.

Last Saturday Tyler was putting the finishing touches on the Taj Mahal of  Chicken Coops that he has been building for the boys and their 3 chickens, Wayne, Weston and Wyatt (the chicken names, not the boys' names.)  He was on the last board that he had to run through the table saw (yes, TABLE SAW) and 2 of the 3 boys were sleeping, when I heard SCREAMING.  NOT a good sign!  When he came in the house, he had his hand wrapped in his shirt, and his face was white as a sheet...  NOT a good sign.  It took about 5 minutes for my mom to get here to watch the boys, and for the two of us to head to the Emergency Room.  Just how we wanted to spend our Saturday afternoon!  God is good though, and Tyler managed NOT to cut through any bone or ligaments, or even his FINGER NAIL, but still split his thumb in two.  There was a very gory cleaning session, and 6 stitches and a lot of gauze and wrap, and we were headed for home.  The boys were pretty nonchalant about the whole thing.  Wayne was in the house playing Wii while I put Tyler in the car, and when my mom walked in he calmly told her "Dad cut his thumb, Mom took him to the hospital, and I'm playing Wii" as if it were the most normal thing in all the world.  Yeesh!

So here are the pictures from the ER... can you say OUCH!?!

 See?  Only a blades width (or so) of skin is missing from his thumb.

 A few days later we got to take off a bunch of the bandages and get another good look at how it was healing.  Not too bad!

 I love this shot...  Wayne was FASCINATED by it!

Baby Girl Nursery ready for Baby Girl!

The nursery is now FINISHED and is just waiting for a baby girl to make it complete.   One of the things I love about the room is all the HELP I had with it...  My mom, aunt, sister and cousins who painted it, my mom who helped pick out the chandelier, pillow, and bedding, Tyler who hung the light...  So very special!   We went with a gray, white, and yellow theme....  girly without being PINK!   I just LOVE it, and so do the boys.  We go in there every morning and every night.