Book Club...

I LOVE to read, always have...and I'm sure ALWAYS will. There is just something about opening a book, turning the pages and getting right into the story. A book can take you to many places you will never visit, to magical places, to scary places, to quiet serene places. You can fight dragons, conqure fears, and overcome obstacles & hardships...and you can do all this while lying in a hammock on a warm summers day, or curled up to a crackling fire. I have spent many hours ready as I nursed my children, or while they took their afternoon nap and I am NOT guilty for spending time doing so. I have looked forward to and anticipated the clock hitting 1:00 p.m. so that I could put kids down for a nap to indulge in one of life's pleasures. There have also been times when I just couldn't put a book down! I have heard my husband say, "Aren't you going to put that down?" And my reply was NOT YET, this book is SO good. And once again I don't feel guilty.

I have read to each of my kids from the time of their birth. They too love books. Tyson loves adventure stories like Magic Tree House, and Carson loves a furry little character named Geronimo Stilton. Grace finds herself picking up her favorite Munk munk (chipmunk) book time and time again. They never tire of a good story...and for this I am grateful! Tyson is a GREAT reader. This summer I gave him a little challenge that for every page he read I would pay in 1 cent. It isn't much, but it was enough to keep in interested in reading through out the summer when there are lots of other distractions. I'm proud to report that he read all 4 of the Diary of a Wimpy kids books in about 10 days. He couldn't put those down. It is great to see a child so engrossed in a book. Hopefully his love of books will continue through out his life.

So with my love of books I have decided that I would like to start a book club. A club where we read the same book during the month and then get together and discuss it and have TREATS! I have read many great books in my life but am always looking for other suggestions. So what is the best book you have ever read, or a book you have read lately that you enjoyed. Thanks for your input...and Happy READING!

p.s. here is the last book I read, and it was AWESOME! Every mother should read it!

Sorry the picture is kind of small. The book is called "Simply Sane, living outside the FAST lane." My sister picked it up at the Cardston book store for under $5. A GREAT deal!

Getting Excited...

I now Christmas is still aways off but THIS got me excited! Matthew Mead has some great ideas for the holidays. It made me giddy just watching the video!

I am anxiously awaiting fall to come, I LOVE fall. I love the cool crisp morning, wearing hoodies and all the BEAUTIFUL colors! Plus we never really had more than a few good summer days so we might as well get on with FALL.

A Milestone...

Tomorrow THIS boy turns 8! Tyson has come to another milestone in his life...a very exciting one. There is something special about the number 8! It is a turning point in a child's life, a fresh start, a new beginning. From the time our children are very little we focus a lot on turning 8. How we will enter into a covenant with our Father in Heaven and in return we are given the BEST birthday present we will ever receive, the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Tyson has brought so much JOY and LOVE into our home. He is so compassionate and has a very tender heart. He feels remorse immediately when making a wrong decision. He wants to please his Father in Heaven and his parents. He wants to be the BEST he can be. He has determination and drive, and a love of the scriptures. He will often remind us that we need to read or say prayers before going to bed. He is valiant and obedient. I know he will touch many peoples lives with his sweet spirit.

Tyler and I are so happy with his decision to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is excited too. He is very quick to tell people that is he is turning 8 and that he will be baptized. He has faith that his non-member friends will have a desire to attend his baptism. He will make a great missionary someday.

There are many more wonderful things in store for this brown eyed, freckled faced boy. I'm so lucky to be his mother and have the opportunity to see him develop his talents and gain a testimony of the gospel.

Happy Birthday Tyson...we LOVE YOU!

Summer So Far...

Well here we are about 1/2 way through summer. Although we haven't had the best of summer, weather wise, the Pilling family has still managed to do quite a few fun things. Summer is my FAVORITE time of year. The time when there are NO schedules, NO making lunches, NO deadlines, and LOTS of sleeping in. It is a time for kids to play outside, ride bikes and jump through the sprinkler. It also had turned out to be a GREAT time to play the Wii with friends. LOL! I have put restrictions on it though...

Here is a little recap of all the fun things we have been doing thus far:

waiting in a LONG line at the boarder

Bike Rides

Campfires

Eating at Five Guys Burgers & Fries. SO YUMMY!!

1st New Bike

Go Kart racing

Boat rides

Turtle Catching

Fishing

My parents rented a cabin on Echo Lake near Kalispell. We have done this for the past couple of years and the kids look forward to it every summer. This year was so much fun. We can't wait for next year!!

A FUN trip to the Zoo with Aunt Kimberley, Jayda and Grandma! The kids and I had a great time. It was the perfect day...and the kids were pretty close to perfect too.

There are many more fun things planned on our list of summer activities. 2 more weeks of camping! YAH. I just love this time of year.

Grace turns 2!

So this entry is late...very late, but I have an excuse. We have been on holidays...YAH! We just got back and now life is slowly getting back to normal. The laundry pile is diminishing, bathrooms are cleaned, floors vacuumed. The kids have already started the dreaded summer sentence, "I'm bored!" I finally have a minute to sit down and catch up on some fun things we have been doing.

On June 25th we had Grace's 2nd birthday party. Her birthday isn't until July 1st, but I knew we would be away so we celebrated a week early. I loved planning this party! I did a ladybug theme and it all turned out SO cute, the food was great as well. The only downside of the day was that Grace wasn't feeling 100%. Poor little girl!

This is the birthday ladybug dress I made Grace.

I made mini chicken salad pitas, pb & jam sandwiches for the kids, chicken bow tie salad, fruit tray and 3 different kinds of cookies! It was so yummy!!

I had so much fun making this cake...which took 3 hours! I love how it turned out.

My sick little birthday girl.

I had to share this picture of Carson relaxing on the swing. He is the WORST picture taker ever. LOL! I love this one of him.

Grace after some Tylenol...and a LOT of cake. She was much happier.

I can't believe how fast 2 year has gone by. It seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. The past two years have brought us so much joy. Grace brings us so much happiness and laughter. There is never a dull moment when she is around. She has such a fun, bubbly personality. We LOVE you dolly!!

I DID IT!

I woke up on Saturday excited. Excited for my race. I have been preparing for about 4 months now and the day finally arrived. It was a beautiful morning for an 8k run. No wind, clear blue sky and NO RAIN! I have had enough of the rain! I said a little prayer that I would be okay during the race, that my body would preform like I had hoped it would and that most of all I would have FUN and only compete against myself. It is easy to get caught up in a competitive spirit when you see all these racers and they seem to be passing you. It tends to get a bit discouraging. So I decided to focus my thoughts on doing the BEST that I could do and not worry about others. I'm happy to report that my time was 51:10, 4 minutes faster than last year. YEAH ME! I was happy. Tyler was supposed to come with the kids and see me cross the finish line...but I guess I was too fast and they missed it, I was disappointed. Now I need to find a race in September to keep me motivated through the summer.

One more week of Boot Camp and then I am DONE, thank goodness. It has been fun but very challenging. I'm taking the summer off of that and then going to start again in the fall. I need to stay in shape for the cruise we are going on in November...I can't WAIT!

After the race we headed up to Waterton. It was such a beautiful day up there. NO WIND, which is so rare. The kids had fun playing in the lake. Grace was so cute she would run into the lake and then come out and say "C O L D." Is was priceless. I'm sure she could of stayed all day playing there.

Then we headed up Bears Hump. It is quite a strenuous hike but thankfully short. The boys did so well and didn't complain. The loved playing with the little chipmunks at the top & the chipmunks were loving all the licorice they were being fed. Probably not the best thing to feed them. LOL!

As we drove home I kept thinking about our day and how perfect it was. I can only think of a handful of days that were perfect in comparison to this day. I wouldn't have changed anything about it. My life is pretty great right now. My kids are healthy and strong, I have a husband who loves me no matter what and supports what I do, I have great family and friends and I have the gospel of Jesus Christ that keeps me focused on my eternal goals. It just doesn't get much better than that!

Boot Camp...

So I started Boot Camp today...or as Tyler's calls it BOOTY Camp. LOL! I have to admit I am NOT a morning person. I sleep in until I have just enough time to get the boys ready and off to school. But lately even they haven't been sleeping in. This Boot Camp starts at 5:45 AM! that is just CRAZY early. But I committed myself to wake up at 5:30 and drag my tired booty there. Last night I was nervous about the torture I was going to be put through in the morning. I woke up several times to make sure I didn't sleep through my alarm. And then....5:30 came, and I was excited. The class was great and I survived. It was a challenge...a good one. I was sweaty and hot and ENERGIZED after the hour. It is amazing how much you get done when you are up that early. I am showered, hair & make up done, dressed, made Red River cereal for breakfast, washed dished, cleaned up each bed room, made supper for tonight, laundry, and kitchen cleaned and it is only 9:45 AM! I think I am going to get a lot accomplished today...or possibly crash after lunch!

I am looking forward to tomorrow when my alarm goes off at 5:30 AM!

Lots of FUN!

Wow time flies...when your having fun! I have been having LOTS of fun lately. Here are a few things I have been up to:

Sewing cute little dresses/shirts for Grace.

I also made 2 purses. I LOVE how they turned out. They were so fun to make. I can't wait to pick up

This is my new purse. I shrunk down the pattern a bit and I love the size.

This is the one I made my mom for Mother's day. It would make a great beach bag. Lots of room for a magazine/book, sunscreen, water bottle ect.

We have been enjoying the nice HOT weather playing at Indian Battle Park in the river.

Carson has been giving Grace rides around the block in the Jeep.

And picnic lunches in the back yard on the NEW picnic table.

This week we have had Japanese exchange students. We are having so much fun with them!

Meet Mika (in the back) and Risa. Here they are making Chicken Fajitas. They LOVED them!

A quick stop to 7-11 on our way to the Petting Zoo. The girls were amazed at the size of the cups. They said in Japan the largest size is the small childs slurpee cut. I kept telling them that EVERYTHING in Canada is BIG. They agreed!

Our trip to the petting zoo was so fun. There were lots of animals and my kids and the students loved it.

I also had the chance to go on a field trip with each of the boys. Carson and I went to the Dinosaur museum in Warner. We had a wonderful day together!

Tyson and I went to a musical performance put on by the Lethbridge City Orchestra. It was called Carnival of the Animals and it was great. Then we went to the Henderson park for a picnic and to top the day off...went bowling. It was a fun filled day.

Being able to go on these day trips with my boys just made me realize more how thankful and lucky I am to be a stay at home mom. I know there are days when I think it would be easier to take my kids to daycare and go to work, to not have to deal with the whining (as Grace is by my chair crying/whining right now) but I wouldn't trade the cranky days in with them because that means I get to enjoy all the great days too. I am happy that I am home when they get home from school. That they know that if they need anything they can call and I will be there. I know not all women have this same opportunity. I admire the working mother, for all organization it must take to run a household and hold down a job. I know it must not be easy.

I am looking forward to Summer, and this past week the weather has sure been tempting us. My kids are excited for school to be done and are getting rambunctious. It is getting that time of year when I want ALL the lessons to be over, and there to be no running here and there. I keep telling myself, only a few more weeks and then life will slow down...or will it?

Have a GREAT, windy day!

Something Has Been Keeping Me Busy...

Wow blogging has definitely hit the VERY bottom of my list of things to do. I have been super busy with a few projects. I am so happy with how they turned out...now I have time to share them with YOU!

First off I LOVE this site, Knock Off Wood! Really cute, easy furniture that YOU can make. My first project was a kids picnic table. Tyler and i made it together, and he taught me how to use the saw. We had a great time together building this strong, cute table for our kids. This picnic table cost less to make ($17 for the wood & screws, $19 for the paint) than it would of to buy a cheap Fisher Price plastic table that will not last nearly as long! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of us making the table or putting it together. I was so engrossed on cutting the wood, and putting it together that the camera was forgotten. But here are the AFTER pictures. I LOVE IT...and so do the kids!

I have been wanting a new patio table and furniture for a while now, but can't seem to find exactly what I am looking for. So HERE is what I will be making next. I LOVE IT! And thanks to Knock Off Wood...I have all the plans for FREE.

My little girl will turn 2 on July 1st. Where has the time gone? She is so much fun, talking so well and trying hard to keep up to her very energetic brothers! So this year we bought her a cedar playhouse from Costco. Tyler wanted to wait until July to buy it/put it together, but I didn't want to wait that long. There would be all of May & June for her to play in it, and we will be gone for half the summer. Needless to say I won the argument. LOL! So after the table was finished we moved on to putting the playhouse together...what an undertaking! Tyson even joined in and helped.

Of course I had to add my personal touch to the house and quickly ran out to buy fabric to make curtains. They turned out SO darn cute! We just have the door and outside bench to put on and then I will take some pictures to show you just how cute the house is. So stay tuned!

While tackling these projects I realized that you are never to old to try or learn something new. I'm sure most women feel that there is no way they could use a power tool to build a piece of furniture, but I learned YOU CAN! If you put your mind to something you can do ANYTHING. That is a very valuable lesson to learn, and something I hope I can teach my children. The sense of accomplishment you get when you put your mind to something and follow it through is a great feeling. It seems in this world it is easy come easy go. If something is too hard we don't do it, or buy it, or have someone else do it. Why not TRY, or DO IT your self? Determination and perseverance and a litter elbow grease are often all you need. So my challenge for all today is to try something new that you have always wanted to do. It may be build a piece of furniture, sew some curtains, cook a new recipe. I know you can do it...just like I did.

Have a HAPPY day!