Learning from Failure

I was reading Segullah today and someone linked this article from wired.com in their comments. It is a fascinating report of a scientific study showing how some of our brains learn from failure. I thought it was really incredible. I also think it is exactly what the Savior teaches us. The point of life is not to avoid all failure, it is for our failures to instruct and humble us. When take a good look at people I want to emulate they are not perfect or without challenge in their lives. But they are incredibly positive, don't give up, can laugh at themselves and just keep getting up when they fall down...again...and again...and again. Christ's grace is a very real part of their self concept.

I am recommitted to helping my kids (and myself for that matter) strengthen our "growth mindsets".  Cheers!

http://m.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/why-do-some-people-learn-faster-2

I had no idea cantaloupe could kill me...

I heard an very inflammatory news report yesterday about the listeria outbreak tied to cantaloupe. Really? One more thing to worry about? We love melon and I had heard that you should always scrub them before slicing and eating. I have never done it though. Isn't that interesting? I hear a great health tip that would take about 30 seconds to a minute but have all sorts of reasons for not actually DOING it. Anyway, I found this great article from an Oregon newspaper this morning about cantaloupe and bacteria. It has some tips about eating cantaloupe that I didn't know. It is from Sept. 15th and so their numbers about the outbreak are old.


http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2011/09/cantaloupes_again_found_to_har.html


Here is the short version - always wash melons before slicing and eating and don't leave them out. Refrigerate them when finished ie - don't leave them on the counter all afternoon...cantaloupe are more susceptible to bacteria because of their rough skin. BTW the article does mention how much melon we all eat and how few of us get sick. 

Finally...

My rescheduled 40th birthday triathlon was on Saturday. I look so official...like I really know what I am doing. I am surprised I could smile like this before the swim. I was so nervous! The guy next to me was an identical twin. He (or his brother) raced by me all morning.

 750 yard swim, first in open water. Even felt great enough to wave to my kids as I got out of the water.

14.5 miles on my bike.











3.1 mile run.

The end!

I honestly have never had so much fun competing. I hope there are many triathlons in my future.

I finished about 10 minutes faster then I thought I would. How often in life do we do better then we think is possible? It felt good.

Luke & Noah's First Day

Luke and Noah started preschool this week. They are having a blast so far. Is it crazy that I am already worried about next year when they start kindergarten? Silly I know...

First Day of Second Grade

Sophie and Grace had their first day of 2nd Grade today. I have a better picture of Grace but I thought this was funny... she was not so excited for school this morning at all. Of course none of us were happy about the 6am wake up it required. The girls chose coordinating outfits and wore matching best friend necklaces. At the end of the day Sophie was really upset that she had not been able to talk to Grace all day. They had assigned areas (?) for recess, so even though they were out at the same time couldn't play together.

I have such mixed emotions about my kids growing up. Summer went by too quickly and was so fun...none of us were ready for it to be over. But here we go, ready or not...

Sophie's First Sewing Project

All summer Sophie has been asking to sew her own skirt. We used a skirt of Anna's for inspiration. Sophie completely designed this herself. I helped with some of the sewing. She did about 85% of it herself. I think it turned out adorable! The other kids all sewed pillows also. 4 straight seams, putting in stuffing ='s a pretty fun afternoon.

PS - Thank you mom for teaching me to sew myself as a little girl.

Florida Keys

I have blogged less this summer then ever before. It is sad to me because it has been an amazing few months and I have not recorded very many memories. I am going to try to catch up a bit. Jason and I just returned from diving in the Florida Keys. It was wonderful! We got some additional certifications that now make us able to dive deeper and longer. We are excited to be able to dive some wrecks in North Carolina on the coast now. Our underwater camera has a very limited depth limit, we could only bring it on one dive and the visibility was not great.





We were diving from Islamorada. We saw some things we had never seen...huge Goliath grouper, monster parrot fish, a bat fish, several enormous eels...lots of fun stuff. I am a bit surprised how much I enjoy diving, I really, really love it! Jason has wanted to dive for a long time. I just figured I would be brave and try it with him. Now I am a true convert. So much beauty under the ocean!

We found a bit of local history also.

This is Fort Taylor, Civil War fort in Key West. We had no idea it was there.

The very beginning of highway 1, southern end of the US. Key West was fun to see. I enjoyed driving past Ernest Hemingway's house and there are loads of beautiful old Victorian homes. I don't need to ever go back though. It is super crazy and very crowded. The sparsely populated, more wild keys are definitely more my style.

Happy Summer Adventures to all!