ND Trip...
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We just got back from spending a week in ND! This was our second trip there this summer. We rocked out the caddy once again, although this time we decided to drive straight through both ways…Thomas spent the majority of the time behind the wheel-he drove the entire way there (15 hours with stops). We spent some time visiting Grandpa Dean, Grandma JoAnne, Uncle Daniel and cousin Dylan at the farm. Vivianne took a liking to their dog, Jake. As most of you know, Vivianne doesn’t stray too far from her mom, but at the mention of Jake’s name she suddenly seemed to forget all about me and go with whomever would take her to see the puppy :-) |
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Vivianne enjoyed a couple days of swimming. We kept her shoes on…she would get in and out of the pool so often that it was just easier to keep them on…she didn’t seem to mind at all.
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Granny, Pappy and I took her to the Tommy Turtle Park one afternoon. It looks like Pappy had more fun on the slide than she did:-)
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Here is a photo of Vivianne and her cousin, Sidney.
Thomas’ home town, Kramer, ND, celebrated 100 years. We took in some of the festivities:-)
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The rest of the time was spent catching up with some of Thomas’ old classmates at his 10 year high school reunion.
We had a GREAT time!
Vivianne Playing Peek-a-boo
Notice the little wave the third time she jumps out…what a clown! I’m going to have to figure out how to baby proof the wine cooler now…
Interesting Video
This is an interesting video of Dr. john Medina discussing the topics from his book Brain Rules recorded at Google. Two of the twelve “rules” are discussed in the video.
A few take-aways:
- Do at least 20 minutes of cardio 3-times a week. It seems the impact this has on the brain is dramatic and definite. Yet another reason to hit the gym…
- Wives need to feel like their husbands listen to them without judging them in order for a marriage to last (at least in America). Wives need to be able to explain their “feelings” to their husbands in a manner in which the husbands can understand what they are saying (this is seriously in there…said a little differently…in the “Questions” segment at the end).
- Our schools, businesses, and society is not set up to maximize what our brains methods of learning. In fact, it classrooms and cubicles are almost the antithesis of the ideal.
- Children look at the world the way we all should…with open eyes. This is not news, but it is reiterated well.
It’s long, but interesting. Dr. Medina is a passionate speaker, which always helps. If you don’t have the patience to watch the whole thing, I would recommend watching from 44:00 to the “Questions” section…about 4 minutes. During that segment, he discusses his mother and reads a piece from his book about how his 2-year old son made him a student again.
1st Boo Boo
On Tuesday afternoon, Vivianne was running outside and wiped out on the concrete, pretty much a face-plant. She cut her upper lip a little and it swelled up…but after about a minute of screaming, she seemed fine. Here is a picture of her lip the next morning.
Vivianne at Daycare
Here’s a picture of Vivianne in her classroom at daycare taken last Friday. She is standing by her spot at the table. They sit on little chairs…she’s a big girl now :-)
