WHAT A HEALTHY GUY

Many people know how strong "Marathon Rock" is and the secret to his great strength is his positive attitude toward "running" and his love of fresh veggies for breakfast.

You may be wondering what is in that Vitamix that he drinks every single day? Here is his secret revealed to the world...Looks like spinach, celery, carrots, raddishes, and lots of other green stuff like cabbage, avacado, cucumber, green peppers, , and oh, the finishing touch, tomato juice and a lime ....yes, the whole lime, he plops it right in. Then just BLEND.

Sometimes he adds soy sauce to make it drinkable. The whole thing tastes sort of gritty.

And yes, he drinks the entire two quarts everyday.

...Well we can plug our noses, but it works, he is living proof...

(Or maybe he just has good genes), but....

This guy will be 60 years old in May and look how cute he still is!

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Last week while mom-Amber was basking in the sun in the faraway Island of Hawaii, her little munchkin Hallie, (otherwise known as "Howie" to the little people), teamed up with cousin Stone, (otherwise known by many alias's, "Charlie Brown", "Tough Guy", etc....) .

They learned many things together, important things that only siblings can understand, like;

"If you have a toy, I should have that toy..."

and generally just the traditional;

"Anything you can do, I can do better..."

especially when Stone saw that Hallie could pull herself up to a standing position, and he couldn't. His very extreme competitive nature surfaced and he abandoned his normal yoga routine on the floor that he generally works at all day, and embarked on an intense routine of trying to get himself to a standing position, at all costs may I add.

Notice this first picture Stone has the toys.......now watch........

Now Hallie takes the toys away........
Now Hallie hides the toys behind Stone's back. Ha Ha.....this was a fun game all week.....

Stone is thinking how can he get tricked so easily by a girl?


When she realized she got caught she gave the toy back to Stone...

They did not always appreciate having to eat at the same time.....

Erin thinks if she can just get them down for a nap she can read a book.....And trying to remember who's bottle is who's.....

She was sucessful at one point to get them on the same schedule, and luckily we were able to fool Hallie that Erin was in fact Amber. Humm, lots of other people confuse them too, they are used to it.

MORE BIRTHDAYS

Lindsey Smith (24), Sienna Ballstaedt (2), Lisa Hong (25) and Ginger Ballstaedt (1) all had birthdays!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv72urCWJcU

This link is to a "youtube" made by a Catholic Bishop defending the Momons for taking heat on Prop 8 in California. I personally appreciate his words of support, especially in a time where everyone is protected by "civil rights" except those who believe in God, and more specifically those who believe the Constitution protects their rights to free expression of religion.

So I have a question, suppose the courts overturn the will of the people and decide that the vote shouldn't be counted, and these courts write gay marriage into the constitution of California? Then it becomes law doesn't it? And because Mormon's believe that we are subject to laws, does that mean that Bishops in the Mormon church will be required under the law to perform gay marriages in California? Will it mean that our temples in California will have to close so that we will not be forced under the law to perform gay marriages in the temple?

When did "Civil Rights" become more important than "Sacred Rights"? It seems to me that those who are unfamiliar with sacred religious writings...("Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God...") are unaware of what they are really screaming about - because the lessons of the past and the words of the Prophets should warn us all that our destruction is all that comes from disobedience to God's law.

I FEEL LIKE I LOST MY BFF

You know how sad it is when you finish a book that was really fun to read? I have lost a week of my life while immersed in the adventures of Eragon and his dragon Saphira. The First book, okay - it started slow, but then again so did "Harry Potter" and we are sort of in the same genre which I classify as "Books-Every-10-Year-Old-Will-Love". So what if the author started writing it at age 15 and emphasis on his physique is a little overblown! So what if he hasn't perfected the nuances in conversation and occasionally it reads a little stiff! The promise of romance hints oh so sweetly, but sorry, that doesn't go anywhere. (Maybe in book 4?) Book one still has enough adventure wrapped up in it to keep you fixated on the written page long after the sun sets at night and you just keep thinking you can keep your eyes open for a few more hours..... What with the elves, drarves, shades, bad guys, good guys, blood, gore, and magic, hey, it just makes a fun epic novel.

Well, in book two Eragon has established himself as a bona-fide hero, hey, who woulda known? He is just as surprized as anyone....Hummm.... But the Epic continues even while bogging down the story by a HEAVY new language... Elven. It's not exactly like reading Victor Hugo's Les Miserable in French ... since this language is all made up and no one can understand it except Chris Paolini and the Elves, but I would say our author is enamouredwith this new language to the point that I think he really speaks it in every day. The biggest frustration is all the forty subplots get so spread out like wandering roots of a tree that you are left wondering if they will ever merge and resolve into a solution before Eragon turns 60 years old. But you also wonder if the line between good/evil -right/wrong is specific enough to carry the story at all. Basically book two just compounds and multiplies all the loose ends that never got resolved in book one, so at the end of the book my head was spinning. However, the characters were more alive, insightful, and emotional. It was a clear indication that the author had matured. I sent Rock to Wal-mart immediately for book 3, ($15)it couldn't wait, I had to deal with it. (Number 1,099 on the wait list at the library?...forget that.)

Okay, book 3 is quite masterful. I could not physically unattach it from my body, I slept with it, I saw the Boar mountains every time I looked out the window......The author finally decided he had to wrap up all the loose ends and it was time for the hero to save the world and defeat the enemy!!! Yea, I was dying to know all the secrets of the bad guys.......and I was so impressed that Aragon is much more mature, and even humble on occasion. I guess you could say he grows up, he cares more, he loves deeper, he grieves deeper, and he falters less often. He rises to his stature.

Well, guess what, I ferneically finish the book, and find out that Paolini decides he can't wrap it up in 750 pages!!!! Are you kidding me? Now I have to wait for book 4? BUMMER, I HATE WAITING FOR BOOKS. well maybe i can get something done now....