An Inspiring Story

I read this article on MSNBC today. Simply amazing. This man has been blessed with a wonderful family who were unwilling to give up hope. I can't even begin to imagine the pain and difficulties this man went through during all this. Well, just read it:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34109227/ns/health-more_health_news/?GT1=43001

Stone Family Update

I left a little early to meet up with Juliet this morning.  It was rainy, but pretty mild, so it wasn't bad.  I ran from here and on the trail up to Mama Stortini's parking lot where I always meet Juliet in the mornings.  We had a good 6 mile run and then I ran back home, so I got close to 10 miles in this morning.  I felt pretty good.  I'm glad Juliet runs with me because it makes the miles go by a lot faster than running by myself. 

We had parent teacher conferences last night and they went good.  We found out a couple of interesting things.  Cody is VERY shy.  He was hiding behind us while we talked to his teachers (he has one teacher who he goes to for extra help), and they said that is how he is in class every day.  He must get that from his daddy, I was also extremely shy in early grade school.  But he is doing well with his numbers and letters, he just needs to come out of his shell a bit.  Dallas is doing extraordinary in school.  His teacher was beaming talking about how wonderful it is to have him in class and how she is privileged to be his teacher.  She says he cracks jokes at appropriate times, and that he understands sarcasm already unlike most kids his age I guess.  She said he is a natural leader and has lots of friends and that people are drawn to him.  She also recommended us having him tested to enter a school program for "highly capable learners".  She also said it is totally up to us if we want to keep him in his regular school classes, but she did leave us a pamphlet.  We are thinking we will let him take the test to see if he even qualifies or not, and then make our decision from there as a family.  I would like to see him excel in school, but at the same time I would like him to feel like a normal kid with normal friends.

Things have been going good for us and we are looking forward to spending time with family at the holidays.  Also a great time to dust off some good Christmas songs.

Veteran's Day at Point Defiance Zoo

First off happy Veterans Day to all those who have served our country.  I am thankful for those who have risked their lives and to those who paid the ultimate price to secure our freedom.  Like the old saying says, "Freedom ain't free."  Although our country seems to be headed down hill quickly, this is still sacred ground we all walk upon, truly the promised land.

We had a fun day today.  We took the kids to Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and had a fun time looking at the marine life and all the other animals.  My favorite was the tiger.  They are such amazing creatures.  So be

autiful to look at.  The tiger was pacing back and forth in front of the door to his cage.  He must have been waiting for someone to come and feed him.  He looked like he was ready to tear apart any member of his audience for a meal.  I will post some pictures.  It was a perfect day to go to the zoo.  Nice and sunny and perfect temperature.  

We took the boys to McDonalds afterwards.  They had fun at the play land and Dallas was something to behold.  He ate a double cheesburger, an additional cheeseburger, fries, finished off Brandon's burger, and topped it off with an apple pie.  Oh, and washed it all down with 2 small sprites.  That boy must be growing like crazy!  Heck, I don't think I ate that much as a teenager.

I ran 6 miles with Juliet this morning.  She hasn't been feeling well lately, but we got it in nonetheless.  

Dr. Pepper Commercials

I hate those Dr. Pepper commercials.  For example the Dr. Dre and Gene Simmons commercials.  They say at the end "Trust me, I'm a doctor."  It is a slap in the face to those real doctors who spend years and thousands of dollars getting the education and experience to become doctors.    

40 Amazing Years

40 years together...pretty amazing. I know how thankful I am to have 2 wonderful parents who love each other so much and have shown the world that no matter what they are put through, their love is strong enough to last forever!! I love you Mom and Dad. Happy 40th Anniversary!

Hoaxville

I can't believe I was totally enthralled with that UFO looking balloon footage yesterday when it was just a big hoax by the parents. On Larry King last night they asked the kid, Falcon, if he heard his parents calling for him in the house, and he said "yes". When they asked him why he didn't answer them he said "because you said...because of the show..." . Awful fishy. And now there is video footage of the balloon getting launched by the kid's Dad and his wife. I wonder how long they will continue to deny it? They should be responsible for the costs involved in the rescue efforts of trying to rescue the kid from their balloon when they knew dang well he wasn't in there. People are crazy.
In other news, I am finally starting to notice a difference with my running. It is getting easier every day and my clothes are starting to fit good again. I am not even tempted to eat junk any more. It just looks gross to me now, and when I do eat something unhealthy it makes me sick to my stomach. It's funny how that happens as your body transforms and you start to get tough. If only a runner could stay healthy forever and not have to go through the stages every runner goes through of getting super fit, getting injured, losing muscle mass and cardiovascular fitness, gaining weight, and then starting over again.
We had band practice last night. It was only Me, Greg(rhythm gtr.), Jesse(keys), and Peter(drums). It was good though, we ran through the 2 new songs--"Photograph" by Def Leppard, and "Here I go Again" by Whitesnake. They went good. We also ran through "Jump" by Van Halen and by golly I think Peter finally has it down. We went through it successfully about a dozen times (just the solo part, not the entire song). We worked on the beginning of "Walk this Way" by Run D.M.C. and Aerosmith and it will be a fun one when we get the vocals worked out.
I haven't been blogging much lately, I've been getting kind of bored with it. I guess that's why I have never been very good at keeping a journal either. Later.

New Songs for Miyagi

We have been taking a breather here with a long break between gigs, but we have added some new songs to our setlist. Here is one we are doing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ5bS3_BCDs