Let's Catch Up

It's been over a year since my last post and so far Mia hasn't complained yet so before she does here we go. For some reason the blogspot changed the way my pictures load so I can't write captions for each picture like I normally do but I guess I can make due with some stories and all of you readers can decide which picture goes with each story then put your votes in the comment box. The winner gets a sit down interview with me and my boy Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Yes, D-Wayne and I have been homies for a while and he is obssessed with me! I think the picture we took was at the premiere of his movie San Andreas which I thought was terrible but didn't have the heart to tell him that. When I am not hanging with The Rock daddy is golfing with Nino, Lupe and Travis. We have been trying to golf together once a month and we have been having a blast. Travis kicks all of our asses but me, Lupe and Nino have some pretty good competition even if Nino cheats. The girls and I have recently taken up magnet fishing but so far we have only caught a couple of fish hooks. Magnet fishing is exactly what it sounds like where you throw a giant magnet in the water and see what sticks to it. We have seen a lot of youtube videos of people catching all kinds off stuff under water but so far we just have 2 tiny little fish hooks. One of the pictures is of Mia and I at the Balboa peir and the other is me and all the girls at Fairmonut park in Riverside. Even when we don't find anything we still have a great time. Now to explain the pictures of the daddy posters with all of the diamond stickers on it. So daddy is in charge of our comapnies environmental sustainability program at work and daddies auction was the first location in the nation to hit the companies Zero Waste to Landfill goal and we won the Diamond award. When we first started on the Zero Waste journey a few years ago our GM challenged me to be the first to hit Diamond so I guaranteed him that we would and that I would get a diamond tattoo when we hit the goal and he loved the idea and offered to pay for it. That's a picture of me and my GM and the other pictures are of a life size posters of me for employees to play "Stick the Tattoo on Daryn" game at the Diamond celebration we had. It was a great time but it did get a little awkward when an old guy put the sticker on my tramp stamp. My favorite picture has to be the one with daddy and the girls playing scrabble at the table and getting wasted on Dr. Pepper. I also got to babysit Aggies beast of a dog Magnus for a week while they were in Hawaii. We had fun together playing tug of war and wrestling and even though he gave me a run for my money I still won. Lastly many of you may have noticed a full head of hair on my head. I had my first haircut in a very, very long time and it was amazing! I got a hot towel, straight razor shave after my haircut and felt like a million bucks when I walked out of the shop so I think my hair might be here to stay.

Welcome to the Family Frankie!

Welcome my first grandson Frankie to the family. Andrew and Karina did not create little Frankie but he definitely looks like a Graham. He gets his final shots this week and we get to meet him this Sunday. I wonder what auntie Lola is going to think of him?

Suite Hearts

Well girls, daddy out did himself once again for Valentine's day. Steak and lobster dinner was excellent and goodie bags were well recieved by my suite hearts. We even invited grandma to share in the love. On Saturday daddy took mommy on a date and I was going to make it a surprise but since mommy hates surprises I gave her a heads up. So where did we go you ask? Hawaii?, Paris?, Venice?, the beach?, a really fancy restaurant?....NO, we went to beautiful Redlands CA. to go fishing. YES fishing. Ever since Andrew and I went fishing I am literally hooked and want to take the whole family fishing. We didn't catch anything and mommy froze her butt off but it was a nice drive and we had fun anyway. So the lesson here is that you don't have to spend alot of money or make extravagent plans to make your loved ones happy on Valentine's day. Of course this goes for the other 364 days of the year as well. Thanks to all of my SUITE HEARTS for another fantastic Valentine's day. I Love you

Roll Out the Red Carpet for 2021

It's hard to believe that 2021 is here and it's already February. I didn't post anything from Christmas like I normally do because I got an update on my computer and for some reason I could not access the suite. After some hair pulling and a few cuss words I finally figured it out. Christmas was excellent even though we didn't get to spend time with as many people as we wanted to but hopefully soon we will be able to. Another important holiday is coming up this weekend.....Superbowl Sunday. When the girls were little we started a tradition that was supposed to get them interested in football and ask me all kinds of questions but it turned into them just coming to check the score every quarter. 2 weeks before the game I print out a pool with 100 squares and put it on the fridege then the girls can earn squares by doing chores, homework, rub daddy's feet, etc. In the past I would just give them a few bucks if they won but this year I am going to have to step up my game and offer some better prizes because the pool is still empty and the game is this Sunday. Maybe it's time to transition to the next generation and get Belle and Lexi to start rubbing papa's feet and earning squares. Projects have not slowed down in the suite in the new year and after thinking it would only take me a year or so to finish fixing up my fixer upper, I am in year 5 and only have about 3 projects to go. The kids are all doing great. Sarah is expanding the farm and it seems like she has a new animal every week. Andrew is doing good and just got a promotion at work that is keeping him busy. Michelle is turning 21 in a couple months so hopefully bars will open soon. Sophia is doing great in school bringing home her best grades to date and Mia is not letting covid kill her creativity painting all the walls in her room with different themes. (Pictures to come)

Still need to put the siding on but this shed helped me get alot of stuff out of my shed so I can officially call it a "Tool Shed"

Check out these artifacts I found in my planter when I was planting our apple tree. Not sure what they are but they look really old and pretty cool

My new favorite show is Cobra Kai and I love this picture. I was always "Team Johnny" growing up and thought Daniel deserved to get his ass kicked for moving in on Johnny's girl and everyone loves Mr. Miyagi

Catching Fish and COVID

Daddy is blogging from quarantine and I miss everyone so much. I'm feeling much better today so that's good because I was feeling pretty crappy. I first thought I had caught a cold when Andrew and I went fishing for the first time ever by the way but when it didn't go away I had to get tested and 6 short days later results came back positive. So far everyone else is feeling ok so hopefully it will end with me and everyone stays safe. Ok enough with catching Covid and on to catching fish. When Isella and I got married the minister added to our vows making me promise to Andrew that I would teach him to fish. That sounded great at the time but what Samuel (He looked like Samuel L. Jackson) didn't know was that I didn't know how to fish myself. So I put it off for 20+ years thinking I would learn someday then take him. Thankfully I put my pride away and thought we would just go and figure it out and even if we didn't catch anything at least we had some great father son time. After trying to cast out a couple times it looked like were going home empty handed and with a couple of broken poles. After cooling off a bit and noticing that I hadn't removed the clear celophane that came on the brand new reel things got a little easier DOH! So we were finally able to get our poles in the water and some beef jerky in our bellies and even though it was still AM and fricking freezing we cracked open a couple of Modelo tall boys. I think those did the trick because not long after Andrew saw my pole wigling (Not sure if that is legit fishing lingo) After panicking a little I started to reel it in. Well, being a boy scout we were pretty much prepared for anything we encountered, that is anything except for catching a fish! We didn't have a net, bucket or even a bag to put the fish in so we asked a guy we parked next to for a bag then cleaned out my Raider cooler because we weren't going home without him

out him.

Random Stuff

It's Friday and I just felt like blogging. Fall is here so the yard work will slow down and decorating season is coming. I don't even really like Halloween but I do like decorating my house. I'm going to step it up a little this year by adding a fog machine to the graveyard and I'm even going to let my grass die for an extra spooky effect. Actually I just don't like cleaning the yard while the decorations are out and after Halloween I am going to scalp and overseed the grass

Little Dan being silly.

Our garden before it was a garden. And daddy letting the broiler hang out LOL

Shout out to dad, rocking the stache

Yep, still hurt. Still not done but another 6 hour session of shading.

I can't even get a back rub from the girls but Lola gets the spa treatment.

Remembering Dad

Thanks Auntie Veronica for sending me these pictures of us with grandpa. I know we have these pictures but mommy and I are old school so they are in an album. Yes an album. Before Instagram or clouds we had these books with clear plastic slots to insert photos and instead of swipping your finger you would use two fingers to gently pinch the page and flip it to the next page. You can file this lesson along with daddy's post from a while back explaining newspapers. Here are some pictures from the girls soccer days. I wish Mia would let me carry her on my shoulders again and in one of the pictures it looks like grandpa is doing the old missing thumb trick, he was really good at that one LOL!

Rest in Peace Dad

Grandpa Randy passed away on August 29th after battling cancer and a few other health issues for a year or so. He seemed ready for it and I am grateful that he passed fairly quickly after coming home on hospice and didn't suffer too long. He was cremated and his ashes will be at Holy Sepulchre in Orange where great grandpa Herb is buried along with a few other relatives from the Perez side of our family. We'll see you again dad in God's time, until then we'll rejoice in God's Greatness and hold on to our fond memories.

COVID Continued and Lola's Photo Shoot

Well daddy is back to work full time now and the girls are done with school. Sophia and Mia both had all A's and B's this semester and I am so proud of you girls for staying on track and getting everything done amidst this craziness. Not only is COVID bad enough now we have all the sadness, hatred and violence stemming from the George Floyd killing. I pray that this will all be over soon and that somehow we will all learn how to find a middle ground and create a new future and not just try to push our own agendas and not see through the eyes of our brothers and sisters. You all know that daddy is not a real political person but I really wish we could all go back to focusing on the real law given to us in His word and stop trying reinvent what is already perfect. 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other" is what He asks of us. There is no doubt that many changes need to be made in our country and the way it is run but if we were to keep this simple commandment in our hearts and minds at all time there is no way we can fail. I pray that the Lord will bless all of my children with a heart to love, the courage to stand up for what is right in His eyes and a strong relationship with Him to gain the wisdom to know what is right and not rely on human understanding but on His love.

I love coming home and finding treasues like this in the backyard

I don't always drink Bud Light, but when I do I prefer to do it with a flower in my ear

Lola's photo shoot. Aggie and the family came over for our first get together and Angie got Lola to pose so cute. There are like 100 more pictures but these are good enough.

 



RIP Joe

Almost a year ago I blogged about my friend Joe being the MAN for hooking mommy and I up with a beautiful suite at Pechenga for our anniversary. Sadly Joe passed away unexpectedly 2 weeks ago from a brain hemorrhage. Joe and I hit it off as soon as I hired him and even though he reported to me I considered him a friend and learned so much more from him than anyone I have ever worked with. Joe had such a big heart and was one of the most dedicated and loyal guys I have ever worked with. I'm going to miss him dearly and will forever cherish our friendship. Until we meet again, So long Joe.

I broke out the good stuff to say goodbye to Joe

This is the last picture I have of Joe. We went to Heroes for lunch and sent the picture to Mario who left us to work for the city of Corona so that's why Aggie is flying the finger.

 



COVID Lockdown Week....OH Whatever

Well girls, I don't even know what week of lockdown we are in but as long as we are all safe and healthy I am happy. I'm so proud of you girls for hanging in there and doing all your chores and school work. Hopefully this will be over by summer and we can go on a nice vacation somewhere. Until then keep up on your school work and keep the creativity flowing.

 

 

Mia asked me for some tape and this is what it was for. #COVID Creativity!

 



Michelle's new car. I know we are not supposed to go out but this was a great deal. Shell named it Bailey but I told her she should name him Bradley so she could have a Bradley Cooper LOL. She did get sad when I called it a Mini Pooper

 



Mommy found this teak patio set on offer up really cheap and all it needed was a pressure wash and some teak oil. Can't wait until we can have friends and family over for a BBQ

 



Lola gets scared anytime daddy cooks LOL. Just kidding, she climbs up on the arm of the couch whenever we fry anything. I think this one was bacon. She is super smart but I would think she would run towards the smell of bacon not away

 



 

 

How adorable is Lexi playing with her new little duckling. Sarah bought an incubator and hatched a bunch of ducks to go with their 3 German shepherds and a whole bunch of bunnies. She is also talking about getting a goat, some chickens and a cow. I would have never thought Sarah would grow up to be such a farmers. She is also getting a new wiener dog. I guess the German shepherds need a new chew toy LOL!

COVID-19...Pounds (AKA Lockdown week 2 or 3? Not sure what day it is anymore) (AKA tour of daddy's shed/man cave)(AKA starting to lose it)(AKA LOL)

Is it just me or has this lockdown increased my appetite? I'm guessing it's just me but I think there is something about staying at home that makes me hungry. I think we are in week 3 of the lockdown but I did not post last week so this post is titled week 2. Either way it actually feels like week 75. The suite is still doing well and we are all healthy which is most important. As a family we actually like staying home and hanging around the house so I feel for the people who love to go out on the town, they must be going crazy. Even though we are "Homies" we have still been challenged with what to do with our time and avoid being too lazy. Week 1 wasn't too bad catching up on a few projects and cleaning the yard but week 2 got a little difficult with daddy's lack of focus and the lack of supplies. Week 2 consisted of a lot of Netflix. We started watching Ozark and were hooked 3 minutes into the first episode and are already wrapping up the 2nd season. It is definitely not family friendly which is why we haven't caught up yet since we have to wait until the girls go to bed to watch. We tried to watch Tiger King after hearing so much hub bub about it but just couldn't get into it.

Yesterday was Michelle's birthday and daddy made his famous spaghetti sauce. Of course we had nobody over to celebrate but grandma and cousin Heather surprised her by decorating our front porch, doing a "Honk" by and blasting the happy birthday song. Another fun surprise was daddy catching Edward trying to sneak in the back gate to surprise Michelle. I don't think it was too fun for him since I didn't recognize him through the fence and yelled what the F are you doing. It's been a long time now so I don't blame him for wanting to spend time with her and I appreciate him surprising her for her birthday. After a Lysol bath Edward went home (probably changed his shorts) and Michelle thanked me for not freaking out, like I said baby, I don't blame him for wanting to be with you. Maybe I should let him start calling me Sir instead of Mr. Graham??? Today is actually his birthday so I guess I better keep an eye on the cameras to catch her sneaking out to surprise him.

Hopefully my week 4 post will have some good news about getting back to normal in the suite but until then I just pray that God keeps us safe through this pandemic and that our family and all families become closer in the end.

Our Garden with the new shade sail

Our pool ducks Fred & Ethel kissing

 

 

Daddy's pug bottle opener. Thanks girls

Uncle Eric brought me Papa's bear lamp. I can't wait to light it up in my man cave if I ever get one.

Daddy's great grandpa Mike Lopez made this drill press from scratch. Grandpa Mike only went to school until the 3rd grade but the man was a genius. He forged the levers, cut tubing and wired a motor to a pulley system. This thing still works though probably not the safest with no ground plug. He was a welder/fabricator for the SoCal gas company and great grandma says that he actually invented a special valve then the gas company stole his idea after he had shown his invention to his boss. 

This is a chunk of the stadium that used to sit on the Anaheim HS campus. The on campus stadium was built in the late 20's and underneath were the football teams locker room, showers and coaches offices while my papa was there until they built Glover Stadium in the 50's to accommodate the huge crowds that came to watch Anaheim legend Mickey Flynn and the national powerhouse Anaheim Colonists coached by the Hall of Famer Clare Van Hoorebeke. When I was in HS we used it for a weight room, baseball locker room and batting cage. Sadly, a few years ago the decision was made to tear down the stadium and I was able to save a chunk for a souvenir.

One of daddy's lockdown projects. Mommy found this desk on Offer up for free and I am kicking myself for not taking any before pictures because this thing was tore up. Daddy sanded, stripped and stained and even Googled a way to polish the old handles with baking soda and lemon juice straight from my lemon tree. 

When we were in Bullhead helping grandma pack up for Minnesota I had to take one of papa's coyote pavers. He had them all along the side of the house and I remember helping him bring them home. Papa used to save a lot of his labor intensive projects for when the grandsons were around. 

This is a razor sharpening strap for when men used to shave their face with a straight blade like a real man! Those razors were replaced with disposable razors long before I was born and I don't even shave but my papa had one hanging in his garage so I will too.  

I have no clue where my papa got this cup but I always remember thinking it was so cool when I was a kid so I brought it home

Daddy's tool cabinet. I've had this cabinet since before any of you girls were born and have been collecting stickers on it ever since. Each one of the NFL teams are represented except for a couple and each of those stickers represent a pitcher of beer. When Michelle was a baby we used to live walking distance from an awesome pizza place that sold $4.50 pitchers and in the arcade had a bumper sticker machine that sold NFL bumper stickers for 50 cents. Also keep in mind that we used to get a lot of stickers that we already had so my grand total is a lot more than is represented on the cabinet. Thinking back I probably shouldn't have drank so much but like I said it was walking distance from our apartment and I had Andrew's back for the walk home. He was only 7 but almost as tall as me already and had a little mustache. 

Daddy has had this beer cup since 1984 when we went to Nebraska to visit grandpas family. My uncle Ron gave this cup and let my drive his truck "Jezebel" home from the speedway. 

Who is this kid and nice hairline. Of course you girls know that this is daddy when he was a freshman and this is my mean face Mia not my sad face.

No this is not John Cena, this is daddy sophomore year. Same hairline but this might be a sad face since daddy loved wrestling but hated having to wear a singlet in front of the whole school. 

Daddy's wrestling team sophomore year. This was the team that started a 10 year league champ run and the best decade of Colonist wrestling. It was fun being a part of such a dominant team, every kid on it was a stud. The entire front row was from the same gang and Reuben (1 guy away from daddy) won a Super Bowl with the NY Giants. Beside walking away with the 1st place trophy the bottom row would walk away with whatever they could steal. One time they stole an entire teams uniforms because they thought it would be fun to dress up the JV team in them during practice. It was pretty funny but seriously who does that. I think that each of them has done prison time and 2 I know are still in. Sadly when I became the head coach in 2005 our reputation was still well known and I spent all of my 8 years trying to repair it. 

This is uncle Ken (Center) in his team photo from 1982. If you look close enough you can see that daddy is wearing the exact same jersey in his freshman picture nearly 15 years later. I used to hate that Anaheim was a poor school and couldn't buy new uniforms every year like the rich schools but now i am happy knowing that I got to wear the same jersey that uncle Ken did.