I bought Mike a trail camera for his birthday... this is our latest find out at our land...

Too many good things have happened... we had a fabulous trip to Missouri to see extended family, and to Nauvoo and other church history sites.  It was great!  Mike turned 40 and we had a fun and big birthday party for him.  We went to Rockport (the beach) this week and had a blast (Cameron got off work early for rain, so we decided to go last minute since he hardly had any vacation days this summer).  Cameron got us free tickets to Sea World and that was way fun.  Last night we hung out with the Updike's again and went to dinner, mini-golf, and then played some Dominion & Seaside.  So fun!  Cameron is a deep-water lifeguard at Sea World and making a lot of money and doing well.  Errolyn is going to a new school for 8th grade and she and I are both impressed with the new school and the students and teachers.  Allie is talking up a storm and smart as a whip.  Emma and Logan are just having fun and working hard.  Mike is an Executive Director at his company now and doing well. I'm the volunteer coordinator and document creator for Cameron's school orchestra.  And I'm in full swing working on this year's Messiah. We've had a great summer!  

I feel like life has been so crazy busy and stressful that I've lost myself a little.  There are so many things I would love to do each day, but I just don't have the time.  My "to do" list is so long that if I do the daily reoccurring things, I don't have time for my "to do" list and vice versa.  So, in the process, I feel like I'm not getting anything done and I'm failing.  But, I've learned not to get too down on myself because that leads into a downward spiral of guilt. I've learned to be happy with where I'm at and with what I'm getting accomplished even if in the back of my mind I feel otherwise.  I still try to do more and be a better person, mom, and wife, but it sometimes feels overwhelming at times and I wish I could do more.

So, I decided that I would devote one hour for the daily things I wanted to get done every day, leaving more time for me to start knocking things off of my lengthy "to do" list.  Yes, one hour is not long enough to do any of these things well or as long as I would like, but at least if I'm gone the rest of the day running errands I won't feel like I failed myself in some of these areas.  So, I picked six things that I wanted to get done every day and I set the timer for 10 minutes for each item.  Exercise: approximately 3 Zumba songs, Chore, Laundry, Organize: cabinets, drawers, closets, etc., Violin, and Piano.  I'll make more time to do exercise and especially cleaning on most days, but if I'm gone all day running errands, at the very minimum I've done these basics.

I love my 10 minute rotations!  Often times I come back to these things after the hour because I see more things I want to get done.  But, sometimes, I don't because I'm so crazy busy.  The exercise makes me happier and gets my blood flowing so I have the desire and energy to clean.  It's amazing how much you can clean in 10 minutes when you're moving fast and know you only have 10 minutes.  And the same thing goes for organizing.  My cabinets aren't terrible, but I can touch up several of them in just 10 minutes, or sort through a stack of papers, or clean under the couch.  I've always wanted to practice my violin more because I love playing and want to get better, but I just can't spend the time to practice for an hour each day.  It's been so nice to play each day, even if just for a little bit.  The last 10 minute rotation was going to be dinner prep.  But, because we currently have swim team in the evenings for 2 hours, we haven't been having formal dinners, but quick ones at different times.  We'll go back to better dinners in a couple of weeks when school is out and swim team moves to the mornings.  So, I had the impression to add in a piano rotation.  I used to love playing the piano, just to play and sing.  But, honestly, I haven't done it in ages!!  I play the piano to find pieces for my choir to sing, or for piano lessons, but it's been years since I played the piano just for pleasure.

I opened up a binder of music and began playing and singing "Look Inside Yourself."  After one verse, I was overcome with the Spirit and heard the thought, "This is who you are.  Remember who you are."  I broke down crying while I continued to play for the rest of the 10 minutes.  I am not a great pianist by any means, but I forgot how much I enjoy playing the piano and singing.  I forgot the calming peace I feel when I play.  I forgot how much I feel the Spirit when I'm singing good music.  I forgot how much playing for myself grounds me and fulfills my need for "me" time.  It was wonderful!  I will surely leave that 10 minute rotation in so I can fill my need for peace and "me" time.

Anyway, that experience probably will seem silly to most, but it was profound to me.  We are also trying to simplify our lives in activities and home organization and it's so freeing to get rid of junk or time wasting activities!

Well, Cameron turned 16!  He got his driver's license on his birthday.  He went on his first date this last weekend to Mormon Prom.  He paired up with three other couples which was fun.  The Prom dinner was at my house.  So, we hung up sheer curtains and lights in the archways to the front rooms to separate it from the house.  We put in a table leaf, got a nice table cloth and runner, I borrowed Heidi's china and one of the boys' gold silverware (or goldware), I ironed fancy napkins with name cards and small flowers tucked in the pockets, there were candles and flowers on the table, goblets for drinks, and I made a nice looking menu.  I know, I didn't simplify there.  :)  But, it was fun to put it all together and it's fun to use my creativity once in a while.  The other boys' parents were in charge of all of the cooking, and the food was great.  Errolyn and her two friends were the waitresses.  I daresay, that the table and food was way nicer than most restaurants. Heidi made two of the corsages and boutonnieres and they were beautiful.  Mike and I chaperoned the dance and then took people to their after prom activity.  Errolyn went to an anti-prom party for those not old enough to go to prom, and she had a lot of fun.

Logan auditioned for his school's talent show and was one of a few 3rd graders selected to participate.  He's singing "Wave Your Flag."  Errolyn competed against almost 100 teams from 12 different middle school's in a Gifted and Talented Mentathlon and her team took 1st.  Emma graduates from Kindergarten next week which is fun.  Allie is talking up a storm.  We taught her "Red Light, Green Light" yesterday and she loved it!  I wish I had videotaped her because she was so cute playing.  And I'm hosting a double 16th birthday party this weekend for Cameron and his friend Ben.

I'm sure a ton more has happened, but that's the short version.  :)

(The table looked way nicer in person...)

We normally do our Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday because we like to leave Sunday for the more spiritual parts of Easter, but we ran out of time yesterday.  The two funny parts of the Easter Egg Hunt were: Cameron's eggs being hidden really hard but yet Allie finding two of the eggs that Cameron couldn't find and Mike writing the egg papers this year, which will not happen again!  Haha!  I usually write the papers that go inside of the eggs, but asked Mike to do it this year.  His papers were: one back scratch from Mom, Mom will do your chore, etc.  :/  Haha... my way out is that Mike and I are one... so he has to do them too.  :)

I planned our Ward Camp-out this last weekend and it was awesome!  It was really difficult finding a camp-site for a ward this large!  I spent hours calling campgrounds for prices and driving around to different sites.  I finally found one, but the Bishop (Mike) didn't like it.  Then I found another two which fell through.  I started driving up and down the river asking campsites for discounts.  Finally, I prayed (again) but this time said that I had done everything I could do and now needed to turn it over to him completely or we would have to cancel the camp-out.  There was one more place I drove to that was expensive and completely booked up when I called the manager.  But, he called me back and said that one of his camp sites that had washed away in the flood 2 years previously could be cleaned up in time for us to use it.  And, he gave us a flat rate that was way cheaper than every other camp site I had looked at.  I was so grateful!  It was a beautiful site with grass, trees, right on the river, bathrooms, sinks, showers, etc.  We played volleyball, had s'mores, stayed up late hanging out with friends, the kids swam in the river, the Ward provided breakfast, and then the Primary had an Easter Egg hunt.

Last night, Errolyn and I went to the Conference broadcast and they really emphasized service and helping out the refugees and those in our community.  The talks were wonderful and I enjoyed cuddling with Errolyn since it was FREEZING in the chapel.  :)

I only have a few minutes left to write so... we went to Universal Studios and Disney World for Spring Break and it was awesome!  Harry Potter World was absolutely amazing!  And Emma loved meeting Anna, Elsa, and dancing with Belle.  Our condo we found on VRBO was super nice and cheap.  We also went to Utah for Christmas and had a wonderful time with family, sledding, and with the kids seeing real snow.  We also went on a month long road trip last Summer, with Mike joining us for the last two weeks.  My favorites were: Mount Rushmore, Garden of the Gods, Carlsbad Caverns, Yellowstone, Brian Head... but there were many cool places in between.

I do have to share one experience from Martin's Cove.  The kids and I were going on a 3 mile or so handcart trek.  Logan jumped on something and scraped his chest really badly so he had to ride in the handcart with Allie, then Emma said she was freezing and we realized she had a high fever, so she had to ride in the handcart.  I had to tell the kids we weren't trying to re-enact the actual Pioneer trek and to stop getting sick, ha.  Poor Cameron was doing the bulk of the pushing.  Anyway, I was talking to Cameron about how many of the men died on the pioneer treks because of how far they had to go, the freezing weather, and the lack of food.  He turned to me and said he would be fine; if he could hike Big Bend, then he could do a pioneer trek and be fine.  I told him it was harder than he thought and he said he wouldn't die but would have been fine.  I thought for a minute and turned to him and said, "No, you would have died.  Because I know your heart, and if Emma or Allie were starving for food, you would have given them yours.  And if they were freezing, you would have given them your shelter.  And you would have died... for them."  He thought about it for a minute, and a little teary eyed said, "You're right.  I would have died."  I love my son... he's such a caring person.

What else... Mike is Bishop now and that has been such a blessing for our family with the spiritual growth that comes from that.  The kids are all doing well in their sports and music.  Errolyn made the top all-region orchestra.  Allie is talking and walking now... she's so sweet all of the time and rarely cries.  There's been so much since I wrote last... but I need to rush off to our Stake's Musical Easter Fireside where Cameron and I are playing a cello and violin duet.  Tata!