Winners!

So this afternoon Tyler and I were sitting on the couch talking and listening to the radio. On came an announcement to call in to win tickets to the George Strait concert being held on Monday. Both Tyler and I, without telling each other, started to dial the radio station phone number. Mine was busy many times as was his cell phone, but, all of a sudden his phone rang on the other end. He was so surprised to find out that he was caller number 9, the caller they were looking for. I was shocked and excited. Now all he had to do was answer a question. He motioned for me to come and listen to the question so I could help him answer it. The question went something like this, "What Georgian born actress was engaged to Keifer Sutherland and 3 days prior to the wedding called it off. Later she married Lyle Lovitt, who is the celebrity? I immediately said Julia Roberts. So that is what Tyler told the announcer, and I WAS RIGHT! WOO HOO. Now we are on our way to George Strait on Monday. Tyler was glad that I knew the answer because he later told me that he would have answered Lorie Morgan. Lorie Morgan...who is that? I have no idea. So we are both so excited to go see one of Country music biggest super stars! For those of you who aren't country music fans you won't really appreciate the win, but we are SO excited!

Summer Agenda challenge...

While reading Sophia's blog this morning she gave us a challange to post what was on our Summer agenda. Our summer days are already getting very full and busy...and FUN! We have so many fun things planned, I can hardly wait for the days to come.

Here are a few of our plans:

* Calaway Park
* Park Lake day trips
* BBQ's
* Camping at Wasa Lake & Surveyor's Lake
* Silverwood Theme Park & Waterslide
* Running through the sprinkler
* Late night bike rides
* Candy Parade
* Annual Parade BBQ at Grandma's
* Pilling Family Reunion

There are many more activities I'm sure we will participate in during the summer. The weather has be absolutely beautiful the past week and it looks like there is more in store for this week. Tyler is off today and is going to his parents to pick up our travel trailer. I can't wait to get it cleaned out and stocked up. Then we can just hook and and go if Tyler doesn't have to work the next day. This year we are going to have so much fun camping. The kids are the perfect age. Carson is walking, and more adventurous & Tyson is old enough to understand and know the boundaries we set for him. Looks like we have a fun SUMMER ahead of us!

Here are a few pictures from last year...

Beautiful Weather...&...No Camera!

This whole week has been absolutely beautiful! It sure feels like summer is here...I hope it is here to STAY! The kids and I have enjoyed many hours outside basking in the warm sunshine. We were even blessed to have Tyler home for a few days during the week. We spent one of those days at a local park/lake. We invited my grandma to come and enjoy a picnic with us. We packed a very yummy lunch and picked up KFC to top of the meal. I also packed the balls & bats, and the bubble blower. Tyson enjoyed playing on the playground, and also tossing a ball back and forth with us. Grandma H. was impressed with how well he could hit the ball. I can't wait for him to be old enough for T-Ball, I know he will enjoy it a lot! Carson was just his happy-go-lucky boy as always. He found delight in pushing the stroller all over the place. He really is the happiest baby I know!

Here are some picture from our day at the park.

On Friday Tyler didn't have to work again so we decided to head to Calgary and go to Calaway park. We haven't taken Tyson there yet, and we weren't sure if he was still to little to enjoy it. Last year though I did take him to Whoop Up Days and he LOVED the rides that he was big enough to go on. So we figured that he would like the rides at Calaway. Well needless to say when we bought our seasons pass (cheaper than buying a regular admission, so if you go 2 times you more than paid for 1 admission, we though it was a good idea.) we found out that the park wasn't open until the NEXT day! I had looked on the net before going and it said that they were open. Well we were really bummed! All was not lost though because it was a GREAT day to go to the Calgary Zoo. I did forget one major thing though...the CAMERA! I never, ever forget the camera when we go places, well this was the first...and the LAST! I guess we will be making another trip to the zoo before the summer is over so we can get the "zoo photos." I know my sisters want to take their kids, so we will tag along with them. It was a fun day, and Tyson's favorite part was the little crocodile, and the play area. It was the perfect weather, a little over cast and cloudy, but still really warm. And there weren't a lot of people. It was a PERFECT Zoo day!

Tyson has been saying some really funny things lately and I think I should keep a record of it. So why not do it here.

When I was in Chicago he got diarrhea. His uncle Bronc asked him how he was feeling and he replies with, "fine but I have the very quickly poo's." How funny is that!

We were driving in to the city and Tyson noticed the old water tower. It used to hold water, but was recently turned into a fancy restaurant. He asked me what it was and I told him, "It is a fancy restaurant where mommies and daddies go to eat a nice dinner, usually steak." That seemed to satisfy his curiosity and we proceeded to go to Burger King for lunch, and also so the kids could play at the play land. When we sat down to eat Tyson said to me, "Mom this is a fancy restaurant." I couldn't help but laugh to myself. It sure isn't hard to please a 3 year old.

We bought Tyson a 2 wheeler with training wheels the other day (pictures to come soon.) The first day we went for a long ride and were surprised at how well he was doing. Although he couldn't seem to concentrate on where he was going, and talk to us at the same time. Tyler said to him, "Boy that is a real cool bike you have!" Then Tyson replies with in his little sarcastic voice, " I know dad, now stop talking about it!" This kid, he just cracks me up!

Well there you have a few of the many many funny things my adorable son has been saying. I plan on documenting more of his funny mannerisms, and comments. It will be SO funny to read them to him when he gets older.

All Gone...

All of the puppies have now gone to their new homes. One by one the new owners came and picked up their puppy. It was sad to see them go, but to me it was bitter sweet. I have enjoyed having 7 little fur balls in our home. But now they are HUGE and getting into everything, and chewing on everything, including the new plants I planted! Tyson was heartbroken when Batman was picked up. He cried plenty of tears, and said he was very sad that we couldn't keep Batman. I have been trying to explain to him for the past few weeks that we weren't going to be able to keep any of the puppies, but I don't think he or I realized how hard it would actually be when it was time for them to go. All seems well with him now, although he still mentions his beloved puppy. It was a great learning experience for him to have to be responsible for these dogs. He didn't hesitate when I asked him to go and feed them, or put them back in their bed for the night. He would spontaneously go out into the yard and play with them. He was always carrying on of them around, usually Batman. He loved those dogs, and with surly miss them. Who knows, maybe someday again Maggie will have another litter of puppies.

Here is a collage I made my mom for Mother's Day. The size will be 10 x 6, and I will put it in an 8x10 frame. It was SO hard for me to get a picture of Carson holding a puppy. 1 they are too big now for him to hold, and 2 he wouldn't sit still! So this picture will have to do. The puppy with Tyson of course is Batman. I am happy that I have these pictures to show the kids when they are older, it will help them remember these beloved pets of ours.

Chicago...An Awesome City!

I am home from a wonderful, fun filled 5 days spent in the "Windy City," of Chicago. Tiffany and I were so excited to go and see a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show. By the end of the 5 days though we were excited to come home and see our families.

Chicago is a wonderful, busy bustling city. All told in the metropolitan area there are over 8 million people. It is hard to really fathom a city of that magnitude. As you fly into the city it seems to go forever and ever. Streets, cars, schools, shopping centers go on for miles and miles,and there are thousands of people going busily about there day. The people of Chicago are always in a rush. If you happen to wait at a green light for even a second after turning from red, you will be honked at. The people there aren't very patient, but friendly none the less.

After waking up at a very early 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, we primped and primped some more to get ready to attend the Oprah Winfrey show. During our trip we spent a lot of time waiting...waiting for trains, for planes, for buses, and for taxis. The weather was nice and there was always people to watch so we didn't mind sitting back and taking in the city. We had to wait quite awhile in a holding room after going through a few security checks at Harpo Studios. Then it was time to go into the studio. It isn't anything like you see on t.v. It is much smaller and a very intimate setting. I was actually surprise that the studio only held 300 people. One of the producers came out and and prepped us for what was going to happen during the taping. She also had us practice exaggerating our facial expressions so that maybe by some chance we would have a few seconds of fame on t.v. Then we were told the topic for the show which was "Betrayal." The announced that Oprah was arriving and the audience went crazy! She entered the studio and we were all in an uproar. She looked beautiful, as always. She was ready to start taping and was all business. It took her awhile before settling in with the audience. We had as a guest Mary Jo Butafuko. She was commenting on the events of her ex-husband and his mistress who shot her 15 years ago. They have been in the new lately when they did a reunion show and sparks were flying. The show continued on with other incidences of betrayal. The show aired only 2 days after taping, on Friday. It shocked me that it only took 2 days to edit the taping before airing. Now onto some info about Oprah. She is an all business type of woman, and it took her awhile before he comedic self came through. During commercial breaks she would comment further on the guests and their situations. She also spoke about her navy blue shoes she was wearing that Sarah Jessica Parker had given here. After the taping she continued to talk about the topic for the day, and joked around a bit. She really does have a great sense of humor and is a compassionate woman when needed. It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We watched the taping on Friday and were all disappointed that none of us were shown. Oh well...it was still a fun experience. And NO we didn't get a car, not even a small parting favor, but it was still worth it! Another disappointment was that she doesn't' have a gift store. Totally shocked about that!

After we went to lunch at one of Chicago's famous pizza restaurants called, "Gino's East." Chicago is known for it s deep dish pizza, and it isn't made like our traditional pizza. Everything is made backwards, with the toppings going on first, then the sauce on the top. It was very filling and we enjoyed it a lot.
After lunch Tiffany and I decided to stay downtown and explore the city. Chicago is filled with many things to see and do. From Navy Pier, the Shedd aquarium, Museums, The Magnificent Mile, and Historical buildings. We took a taxi to Navy Pier and enjoyed exploring there. And we also waited...and waited for the free trolley to pick us up. Finally after being entertained by a man who said he worked for the President, and spoke into his cell phone without it even ringing, we headed to the famous Magnificent Mile. LEt me just say, this stretch of road is a shoppers paradise. Everything from fine departments store such as Zach's Fith Avenue, Neimen Marcus to Prada, Gucci, Tiffany, Coach. You name the store and I am sure you will find it there. Not all of the stores were "high end", they also had Gap, the Children's Place, and even Payless Shoes. I found a few stores that I fell in love with. H & M is such a GREAT store, and the prices are cheaper than Walmart... and the clothes are cuter by far!

We also went and ate at the Cheesecake Factory, A TO DIE FOR restaurant! We loved it so much we ate there twice. The portion size is HUGE, and the food is out of this world. The cheesecake is the most creamy, heavenly desert you will ever have. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening shopping. Then took our first EVER city bus back to Union Station to go back home.

The next day was filled with more tourist attractions. We went on a trolley tour that took us through the downtown area of Chicago. Our guide was very good and humorous. I didn't realize that Chicago burnt to the ground and had to be built up again. We were able to hop on and off the trolley at locations of our choosing and that was fun. We stopped at the Shedd Aquarium, the 2nd largest aquarium in the world. It was magnificent, and I wish we could have stayed longer. It is a great place to take kids, Tyson would have enjoyed it. Once again we went to the magnificent mile and shopped. They have a 3 story Old Navy! A very fun place to shop at.

Here are a few more pockets from the day.

Lastly, just as Heather was driving us to the airport we had to Shop once more. I found an Archiver's Scrapbook store that was SO close to where she lives. We just happened to stumble across it. Let me just say that this is the BEST scrapbook store EVER. SO HUGE, SO ORGANIZED, such FRIENDLY STAFF! Oh man, I was in heaven. They have a large work room with lots of free demos and make and takes. We also happened to stumble upon this little gold mine just in time because they were having a class and had extras and we were able to buy the kit. It is an adorable metal music box by Prima. It came with all the extras to doll it up. You will never guess the cost.... ONLY $10! A STEAL OF A DEAL. I am going to make mine for my mom for Mother's Day...I hope I have time :(

Anyway, that was a quick run down of our trip. We had a blast! It is always great to go on a holiday, but great to come home as well.

I'm HOME!

I home, I'm happy to see my family and sleep in my own bed, and I am SO happy I don't have to get on another plane, or wait for hours in an airport. I have so much to tell and share and photos to upload. But first I need to spend some time with my family. They all missed me so much, as I did them. As soon as I can I will update on the AMAZING time I had in the "Windy City."