Let's Catch Up

It's been a while since I have blogged on the suite (Sorry Uncle Chris) but it's not for a lack of material to blog about. All of the Graham girls are doing great including baby Bella. Michelle is doing great in her last year of Jr high with a 3.5 GPA and showing off her beautiful voice in her school choir. Sophia is doing good in school as well and continues to crack me up any chance she gets. I like to think that she got her sense of humor from me but I'm thinking lately that I got mine from her. Mia continues to amaze us with her intelligence and her homework continues to make me look like an amazing idiot. Baby Bella is growing faster than I would like and is talking up a storm, though it doesn't make much sense to us she seems to get her point across fine. Hearing her call me Papa melts my heart every time. Here are a couple of pictures, one of a new shirt that I had to get for Bella and the other is from our last football game where our kids wore jerseys with names and numbers of war vets that graduated from Anaheim and my grandpa was one of the honorees.

Bite your Tongue

For Father's Day I was asked what I wanted to eat for dinner. I usually like to have something that I haven't had in a while or something not on the normal meal rotation so this year I was in the mood for Lengua. For those of you who don't speak spanish that is beef tongue. I know it sounds gross but lengua tacos are amazing and since the girls won't even try it I had plenty. This Fathers Day was the best one ever....until next year of course. We went to Church in the morning where they had a car show and a nacho bar for all the dads. Then we went home and all my girls got to work pampering me. I got to keep the remote in my hand and watch whatever I wanted while my girls made sure my glass was full and I was comfortable at all times. Just before dinner I got to open my gifts and cards. I got the most beautiful hand crafted cards from my girls and Sarah and Bella got me a card to Golfsmith. I also got a new chicken soup book named "Thanks Dad" and I am only on the second story and I have already cried twice. I know I am bias but Father's Day is truly the best day of the year.

This bumper sticker is not on my truck but it should be

The new hat I got with my gift card

At home before the Father Daughter Dance.

At the Dance. Look at the girls beautiful corsages. I brought home a bouquet of flowers for Michelle since she didn't get to go to the dance with us because she is in Jr High now. I really missed her but if she saw me dancing she would probably be happy she missed it.

Springtime in the Suite

Spring is here! This year is flying by so that means we must be having fun. Nothing really new to report from the suite, everything is going well. Michelle just had her birthday and is officially a teenager, Sophia is doing good in school and continues to crack me up with her sense of humor and Mia is getting so beautiful and smart that I would be getting suspicious if I didn't know her mom. :) Anyhow, her are a couple of pictures.

We found a baby bird in the alley that must have fell out of the nest and Mia had the great idea to read to the baby bird to make her feel better. The book was about a baby bird looking for its mother......sooo cute! But the bird died the next day. :(

Here are the girls at the Natural History Museum. Grandpa got us annual passes for Christmas.

This one is from our hike the other day. I had a hard time getting Michelle on the horse but I really wanted a picture.

Daddy on his bike, Believe it or not I used to ride on the back of this same bike when I was a baby. I found it in my dad's back yard and fixed it up.

Here is a mommy duck with 13 baby duckies following her. We saw this on our hike and it was so cute. Sophie said this is what we look like when we go for bike rides because the girls follow right behind me.

Two Thousand Thirteen

Wow, I can't believe January is almost over. I guess I lied in my last post when I said I would have plenty of time to blog since I am not coaching wrestling this year. Things have been pretty normal in the suite lately, nothing big to report but here are a couple of updates. The girls are all doing well in school and Mia is doing exceptionally well as she is being tested for the district GATE program because she is so dang smart. Michelle is finally in her school choir and I can't wait to see her perform. Sophia has turned into a reading machine and is finishing her second Wimpy kid book. Andrew just got promoted at work and continues to make me incredibly proud by what a great worker he has become. He has worked there over 3 years and I don't think he has ever called in sick or even been late once. He gets up at 4:30am every day and even goes to the gym almost every day. He's been dating a new girl who I think is afraid of me but seems very nice. Now if I could just get him to fix his Land Rover so I can park in my spot again and not out on the street he would be perfect. Sarah just moved into a new place and she is so happy to have a washer and dryer in their house. It is 2 stories so I'm sure Bella is having fun climbing the stairs like she does at Papa's house. Isella and I are both doing well also. She has been helping out in the salon at my work and she is loving working with our residents and bringing home a little fun money. I spent a few days in the hospital a couple weeks ago with a mystery infection that the doctors never figured out but I am feeling ok now and I lost a few pounds so I can't complain too much. Valentine's Day is coming up and with a wife and 3 beautiful daughters at home it has become one of my favorite holidays. This year I am going to make my famous spaghetti for dinner and then give all my girls a pedicure. Even though I don't use my cosmetology license professionally my training has really come in handy. It saves me money and scores me lots of points. Anyhow, here are a couple of new pictures.

Me, Isella and Andrew at a Christmas party


Family trip to the snow


We just put this picture up at the house. I can't believe it has been 9 years since this picture was taken. I also can't believe she talked me into wearing lavender.

It's been a while....

Football season is almost over and since I resigned as head wrestling coach I will have plenty of time to blog all winter long. Alot has happened since my last post after our family vacation so I'll try to do my best to mention everything that has gone on in the suite. Football is going well, my team is 6-3 and fighting for 2nd place this week. It is a little disappointing since we have been league champs for 2 years in a row but we have a good core group of kids that have worked hard and have been over matched all season but have fought with the best of them. I am going to miss coaching wrestling but I am looking forward to my first winter off in 7 years. I know Christmas shopping will be alot easier this year. My brother Eric got married last month and is moving into his second brand new house. I am jealous but really happy for him. It has been so nice to have my big brother back again. We haven't been this close since before he left home. His new wife Gina is great and I am happy to have her as a sister in law. Bella had her 1st birthday party last weekend and she made out like a bandit. It was the one day this year that was cold and drizzling so the party was cut short but still fun. Papa got her her very first Coach purse. I figured she is already a Diva so I might as well spoil her like one. The girls are doing great too. We are having a combined birthday party for Sophia and Mia this year. Sophie just turned 9 and Mia is going to be 7. They are both doing good in school and in soccer. Michelle is not playing soccer this year but doing good in school and adjusting to Jr. High. Remarkably, I am doing ok adjusting to her being in Jr. High as well. Until next time, here are a couple of pictures from the suite.

Papa and Bella

Graham Family at Uncle Eric's wedding

Bella with her new Coach purse

The Graham Canyon

As promised I have a few pictures from our family vacation. The trip was a blast. First we went to Laughlin to play on the river and to visit great grandma. From there we took old route 66 to the grand canyon and stopped in a little town to buy some souvenirs. It was the cutest little barber shop converted into a store. We stayed in Williams which is about an hour from the grand canyon and that was a cool place in itself. When we left for the grand canyon I was amazed by the drive. I had always thought that the grand canyon was in the desert so really we would only see a lot of dirt, rocks then a big hole, but about 20 minutes into the drive we started seeing a lot of forest areas that just kept getting thicker. I had know idea the area around the grand canyon was so beautiful. When we got there we loaded up my back pack with water and snacks and hiked a couple hours along the rim. We took a ton of pictures, ate our snacks, saw a couple deer and a cute little squirrel that tried to attack me. He was actually going for some crackers that were on the ground right behind me. A group of tourists from Australia got a big kick out of me jumping like a little girl when he was running right at me. I could have sworn I saw some foam coming from his mouth and a crazy look in his eyes. Anyhow, when the girls got tired of walking and I got tired of carrying Mia on my shoulders we headed back to the hotel. The next time I think we will stay for a week or so to really get the full experience. Then we went to Vegas. The girls have always wanted to see where Isella and I got married so we stopped in Vegas. We stayed at Circus Circus and only left the hotel to see the wedding chapel other than that we stayed there at the hotel. We swam, ate at the buffet, met Sponge Bob and played some games in the arcade. Sophia didn't understand why she couldn't play the slot machines because they looked so fun to her. And when I tried to explain that they were games for mommies and daddies she gave me this look like "You're kidding me". We went home from Vegas and after week 1 out of the way we rested over the weekend. Week 2 we went camping at Green Valley Lake near Arrowhead. It was beautiful as you can see in one of the pictures. Daddy hit a minor speed bump while building the tent but after a few cuss words and a couple of thrown poles I finally got it. We also learned that no matter how many flies buzz by the girls ears, each can produce a blood curdling scream. I thought that would get better as time went on and into the next day but....nope. After the camping trip we came home and did some fun stuff around town. We went to the park, the farmers market (A big carnival in Fullerton), the movies and golfing. Well it was just the driving range but the girls had fun anyway and Isella dropped a 30 foot putt on her first and only attempt at putting. After she sank her first try she didn't want to play anymore. Finally at the end of my vacation Isella and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary. We stayed on the Queen Mary and had a great time. The restaurants were excellent and the tour was great. We went on the Daryn and Isella just walk around trying to open doors tour. It was way better and way cheaper than the guided tours. So it was an action packed couple of weeks and I am so happy we got to take this vacation. Now it's back to work for me but I know we will have a lot more fun before the girls go back to school.

Mia's Trifecta and The Family Vacation

With the last day of school on Thursday we had our end of the year assembly at Raymond School. I am so proud of all my girls for all of their hard work all year but today I am mega proud of my baby Mia. Mia won THREE awards for her hard work. After seeing the pictures you might think that I am proudest of the athletic award she got but really it is the Citizenship Honor Roll award that I am doing cartwheels over. The citizenship honor roll is for students that got all O's (Outstanding)in all citizenship categories for the entire year. I am at a whole new level of proud, not just because it seems she didn't inherit daddies smart alec gene or because I didn't see my last name on many citizenship awards. Nope, I am so happy because that is exactly what I have been praying for lately. I've been praying that my girls would be a good example to others in school and the citizenship honor roll sounds like an amazing answer to prayer to me. It can be very difficult for a kid to be a dedicated Christian in school now a days and that's why it's been on my prayer list for some time. In addition to Mia's Hat Trick, Sophia won an award for reading and we can't forget Michelle's big graduation tomorrow. Michelle will be going to Jr. High next year (another big item on my prayer list)and I can't figure out where the years went. Tomorrow also marks my last day at work before my vacation. I am really looking forward to our vacation this year. We're going to visit Great Grama in Arizona, visit the Grand Canyon and Vegas, go camping, go to the beach and Knotts and I plan to do a lot of golfing. Isella and I are also going to be celebrating our 11 year anniversary during my time off. We are going to stay aboard the Queen Mary then visit the Natural History Museum the next day. I hope to have a lot of pictures to blog about after our family vacation but for now here are some of Mia's awards and her dressed up for her Variety Show performance where her and a couple friends all sang "I am a Wildflower" by the Jane Dear Girls. And since I haven't blogged in a while here are just some random pictures I had on my phone. Me , Nino and Jose at Angels opening day Uncle Dan and Janelle Girls with cousins Robert, Taylor and Danny Girls at Danny's Birthday Party Mia Wildflower This one is a picture of the Harley I want since Father's Day is coming up. Just in case the kids can't think of what to get Daddy