Happy Hardy Thanksgiving 2011

There is a first time for everything

This weekend I went on my first ever girls trip. My dear friends Susie, Leesa and I drove to Savannah, GA and met up with several of Leesa's friends to run the Rock n Roll Marathon, or in my case, 1/2 marathon.
Here we are after the race. We all ran together for the first 3 miles. With almost 30,000 runners we literally ran shoulder to shoulder. That was a bit crazy for my taste. It was fun to do such a huge race, and the bands all along the course were fun, but I don't think I will do it again. Susie and I only ran the 1/2, the rest of the crew did the full marathon.  The amazing Joseph actually ran 42 miles. He ran from our water front rental house to the start line and then did the marathon. He is the first ultra marathoner I have met and it was so fun to get to know him.We finished in Forsyth Park full of beautiful moss draped trees and this incredible fountain.
I was surprised how much fun our trip was. I hear all the time about women traveling together and I completely get it now. We had a great adventure which was also amazingly relaxing. Savannah is beautiful.  I could not get enough of the garden squares all through the historic downtown and the incredible architecture. Every where you looked there was wrought iron, worn brick and stucco, ivy smothered walls and fences. So, so beautiful.


On Saturday night Leesa, Susie and I ate at a Moroccan restaurant. The food was super yummy and they had belly dancers. This sweet one convinced us to get up and try a few moves. You can see how empty the restaurant was at this point or I don't think I would have been brave enough!

As I reflected on how rejuvenated I felt on the drive home I was reminded of this quote by Majorie Pay Hinckley about how women need each other.
“We are all in this together. We need each other. Oh, how we need each other. Those of us who are old need you who are young, and hopefully, you who are young need some of us who are old...We need deep and satisfying and loyal friendships with each other. These friendships are a necessary source of sustenance.” I realize how much I am sustained by my friends emotionally and spiritually and I am grateful. I am also grateful to an amazing husband who was so happy to take over all things family and house for 3 days so I could go play.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Hardys!

May the force be with you...

Halloween celebrations started early for us this year with a trunk or treat this past weekend. Super fun. I adore Halloween and am enjoying what is most likely the one and only time my kids chose themed costumes.

Sophie was funny. All day she kept talking about how the time frame was wrong with she and Grace's costumes. You couldn't have Amidala and Leah at the same time. She was also determined to have a gun to complete her outfit.

The Healing Power of Art

Our Grandma has been visiting for the past 2 weeks. Yesterday afternoon we took her to the airport to go back to Utah. There were some very sad kids in the car on the way home. Sophie cried the entire 25 minute drive. I was SO tired and just wanted to do a quick cold cereal dinner, put kids to bed and rest. The girls really wanted to decorate their pumpkins for a school contest. Luckily I relented.  We had a fabulous evening creating some adorable pumpkins. I was amazed once again at the power of creating. The girls did their pumpkins (except the carving and hat attaching) all by themselves. Sophie and Grace let the boys help paint, everyone was happy. Really. It is the best night we have had in weeks. We even squeezed in time to play in the rain with Molly before it got dark. Times like this make me so grateful to me a mother of young children.

(Mom- Sophie got a hulu skirt you got the girls years ago from the dress up box for her witches hair. Totally her own idea. It worked perfectly!)

New Favorite

We are a bit obsessed with galaxies far, far away at the Hardy home lately. My kids used Kidzui (a pretty great search engine just for children) to search for Star Wars videos this weekend. They called me upstairs to see this one. It is the best laugh I have had for a long time. How can you not love DV and his Stormtroopers doing Michael Jackson?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ZvsFCxxCU

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