Daily Pablo

Happy 4th Of July

2011-07-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July everybody.
This year we went up and camped at a spot just about 20 miles southwest of Bishop Ca. called Coyote Flats.

The camp had an awesome stream curving through it and surrounded by giant old pines and huge 13000' peaks with snow on them. We were at 9700' elevation and enjoyed a moonless night with tons of stars. We even watched the space station fly over each night.

Griffin got real good at crossing the stream on the big log, and Joanna even rode the 200' Zip line that Rick constructed.

We ate well, relaxed and it was Griffin's first time in a ground tent.

We got to try out the Drifta Carback Kitchen combo and my new Toyo's also. The drawer set up with the fridge is the best way to go camping.
The drive up was interesting, and hot. Temps in the Owens Valley were over 100, and then we had a 6000 foot climb to do in about 4 miles up some pretty steep switchbacks. Dusty, and on the verge of overheating, we had to stop a couple of times to let the engine relax a bit, then we finally made it to camp.

Griffin had a blast climbing over the log bridge and testing his new boundaries, which were...none. He loved the tent, even though he pitched a fit before we left since we weren't taking the trailer.

here's some panorama's I made of our site.

September

2010-09-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

Well, 5 months isn't very "Daily" but what the hell.
you can see my posts on Facebook if you want to know what we're doing.
Griffin is getting big, using all kinds of funny sayings and going over 40" tall now.

Next month he turns 3. wow.

I'm never reading blogs anymore, seems so futile, and blank.
Like i'm posting this up on a journal and nobody reads it, not even me.

I want a BBQ smoker. A sweet Traeger

or Lang model, not some beat ol Weber back yard disk. And no cheesy 55 gal drum either.

Not quite sure why I just said that, maybe there's a cyber Santa lurkin about and he'll swoop down and leave one for me?

I want a Blue ZR-1 Corvette too dude.

And ARB lockers for the rig and my trip to Italy paid for.

We need to start planning that. If anyone has any tips for Rome, or the Amalfi Coast, I need 'em.
Alls I know is I gotta see the Coliseum. After that, it's all gunna be bonus.

We're going to Mammoth in October, so maybe I can get the boy out in a creek and land some fish?

geez, April already?

2010-04-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

holy cow, I can't believe I used to write here on a weekly basis, and now it takes me 4 months to go look at this page again. Whatever.

We have the raised garden beds project finally off the "to-do" list. It's been a perennial top 5 since, oh about..2001. We have a bunch of plants getting ready for them....yes THEM as in plural! 2 of them that are 8x4x16" deep. So far the list has:

tomatoes: Mr. Stripey, Aunt Ruby, Yellow Pear, Green Zebra, Black Prince, Tomatillo, and Big beefer or sumthin like that.
scallions, red onion and white onions
sweet white corn
yellow beets
yellow squash
cauliflower
eggplant
artichokes
sugar snap peas and regular peas
yellow bell peppers, and some green jalapeno's
pumpkins
herbs: mint,sage,thyme, lemon thyme(german not swiss; weird i know), basil
and a few butter leaf lettuce

What else is new? Joanna is heading to Memphis for her birthday and taking her sis with her. Wen will have her hands full. Too bad I just paid taxes, if they land in jail, they might just have to stay there a while.

I drove thru the Carrizo Plain, and across the San Andreas fault a few times. Then a day later in Mexicali there was a huge earthquake. There was a field of these purple flowers about a mile deep and a few miles wide. And right past that there was gold flowers as far as you can see. The hills were all full of color in the spring bloom. I used my 2M radio and talked to some friends from 70 miles away and found them on a ridge top. We'll have to go back since it just rained again. It's only 2 hours from our house.

Joe was here for Easter, he did a ton of work for us all and got to eat lots of burritos. Griffin was showing him how fast he is on the tricycle now. G-man is 2 and a half now, chatting up all kinds of sentences and makes up stories now and loves trucks of all kinds. He has a new shovel for the garden and a watering can.
Griffin did a pre-run of the easter egg hunt thing here at the house, and he was awesome at it. But when we got to the big show up at the park, he had no motivation to participate. Later we went to Loren's house for an awesome spread of grub and Aunt Peggy had a huge bag of eggs hidden all over the property. He loved it, he was going everywhere and finding dozens of eggs full of coins and toys. It was an awesome sight watching him grab an egg and drop one behind cuz he was overloaded.

Joanna had an event take place a the Getty in LA and got lots of sunset pictures.
I wish I had her lens for our camera. It rules.

We have plans for the Memorial Day Weekend to go to Lake Casitas and camp for the long weekend. We got a electronic ignition unit for the hot water heater to install in the Banshee. Can't wait!

Gramma Murphy got Gman some Green old school Vans, shoes. I like em.
He's out growing all his clothes fast. here he is sitting in the cruiser's driver seat.

Well Happy Earth day to you all. We might be on Refugio beach picking up trash and removing grafitti.

latest photos and the haps

2010-01-23T23:01:00.000-08:00

We spent some time with the Cortez'ezes up at Carpinteria State Beach Campground and had a great time exploring the tide pools and enjoying awesome sunsets.

I have no idea what this is called, but I think this pic is award worthy if I do say so myself.

Yes, this is about 20 feet from where I parked the trailer.

Nice huh? the best thing is...it's only 20 minutes up the coast from us.

Mom and Dad came up with Sheila and Leah and we went for a walk down the beach. Mom liked the way this tree looked , so I took this picture for her.

Here's Griffin in his rain jacket. Ventura county has just gone thru the "Western Wallop" they called it on the weather channel. We got a bunch of rain and El Nino is in effect. Twenty seven years ago today was the first night we spent in our new house in Ventura. It was also a El Nino year then, and we felt it all the way across the United States on our trip out here. We drove thru a blizzard following a rig that was probably down a stretch of highway that was closed and we didn't see the sign because of the white out. Being from Northern Michigan, we thought nuthin of it.

Ventura is losing an icon downtown. A really old Burger Shack built out of corrugated steel after the war.
Top Hat Burger is closing for good. It's right on the corner of Palm and Main St.

This is some pinstriping on the counter. Little known fact: California's first trial with DNA was solving a murder that happened here, and way before that, in 1870 , err sumthin, this was the location of the very first Brewery in Ventura.

Here's my family, snug in bed.
2010 has brought in a cough and cold for these two and they have been battling it.

We'll post more, but for now, hope you all have a great year, and are safe.

Happy 2010

2010-01-01T18:56:00.001-08:00

Fall, Family, Fun

2009-10-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FALL!

Leah and Griffin in the Landcruiser

Yea Leah! The potty team!

Boy with light cast on veggies - we belong to a community-supported

agriculture group with Underwood Family Farms and get a box of

vegetables every week. So much, we split with Gram & Grampy

Stomping leaves at Carpinteria State Beach

Carpinteria State Beach on a very windy day. We were there

at the Avocado Festival.

Wind-swept boy with avocado sticker.

"G-Car"

Happy fall ;o)

surf spot hang out

2009-09-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

We took the trailer up to Solimar Beach/Faria Beach and hung out all day with it.
A few of us took naps while listening to the waves crash. Griffin Loved it.

When we were all done and leaving, he said "Bye Beach!" and waved.

We all had a blast, and the best part was it's only 15 minutes away~

Palomino Banshee B2

2009-09-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

we got us a trailer, and it's sweet!
more later, but here's a teaser....

as it was pulling up....

we like it alot, and hope to take it out tomorrow to Faria Campground.

what's Happenin?

2009-08-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

Dude, it's been , like, forever man!

Well, I'M BACK!

my 7 month long training in Chino is over, I passed and now I work under a mile from my front door!
No more leaving Sunday nights and driving for 2 hours thru LA traffic, no more coming home Friday nights to a house that's almost asleep already.
No more staying at the Doubletree hotel and hearing that loud train every hour and all those damn jets take off across the street!

The best thing is that Griffin doesn't say goodbye every time he see's me. Now he know's I'm staying around. I get to help Joanna now in the mornings, instead of hearing him in the background while she put the phone on speaker as I drove to work. Now instead of kissing the phone, I get kisses from him directly, and when he's too occupied to leave the back yard , he'll just kiss his hand and wave me off in the morning, as I drop him off at Grammy's house for the day.

It's fricken awesome.
I'm not used to seeing people so quickly after rolling out of bed though..but I'm sure I'll get used to it. It's weird not sitting in the truck for 50 minutes, listening to the news on the radio and thinking out the day...but you know what, I'm over it.

I get my 2 hours a day back, I get to re-discover Ventura, I get to go a Friday without having to fill up again, I get to walk home for lunch and watch TV in my own living room!

I changed the main pic, seein as he's about to turn two and he has the mits of a baby bear, I thought I'd show you what they are like.

He still won't let us clip those claws....any ideas on what works?

Coyote Flats Run ,Toyota Landcruiser

2009-08-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

Coyote Flat 2009 - Toyota Land Cruiser from Jay DeShetler on Vimeo.

More fun in April and May

2009-05-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Time for yummy strawberries!

This is the coolest firetruck EVER!

I'm a fireman, yes I am!

Who are all those strawberry guys behind us?! Better keep my eye on them!

We're a handsome pair

My best pal... Daddy!

Wheee!

Trying my best to get it ALL over my face

Oh Mommy, this is the biggest strawberry I've ever had!

Mmmm...Beeramisu

Meet all my friends ;o)

See My Kite?!

Mom, you're silly

Catch Me!

It's May already!

2009-05-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

the boy went to a check up this week.

He's 34" tall and 27 pounds at 18 months old.

He has at least 12 teeth, 4 of them molars. His noggin percentile is at 95%. That's according to the doc.

Celebration Here!

2009-04-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

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This would be such a great way to celebrate!

http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/

Ett Doo Whoa...

2009-04-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

This is his favorite saying so far....Et - du- whoa!

and ohh noooo!

Today he had his forst Easter Egg hunt, it was over beofre I knew it, he's a fast runner!

Joe was here with us, and Leah showed him how to get the big ones.
He's saying "pease" and "mow" and knows the sign language for "thank you" now too.

Joanna even has him starting to say Pablo...how classic is that? it sorta sounds like his "oh noo"....

Lately he's been wigging out in the afternoons and having some anxiety when he has to say goodbye to Grampa, but at his age, I guess it's expected.

He went on the corkscrew slide today at the park:

X gamer in the making....must have been trying to show off for his uncle Joe.

That's my big mit right there ready to catch him....don't worry. he was all smiles.

Happy Eastah everyone!

is this thing on?

2009-03-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

sorry for the long delay....here's an update:

I've been spending my weeks down in Chino for training in my new position as a service planner for Edison. They put me up in a hotel from Sunday night thru Friday morning and then I roll back home for the weekends.

The boy has grown about 2 and a half inches since the start of '09.

Laura came out to visit us, and spent some good times with him.

Joanna is busy with work, this weekend her parents are in town , next weekend Wendy arrives and the following Friday Vonnie is gettin hitched out at the beach in some fancy house.

Joanna and Griffin just got thru a nasty cold. It missed me, so far...so anyway, we are still kickin, just not posting much since our evenings are so disjointed from how we are accustomed.

Griffin has learned some sign language in his 17 months of being here. He knows book, airplane, hair, bath, hugs, nap time and says a few words too now. "NOOOOO" seems to be a favorite this week, even though he's using it at times when he doesn't mean it. He's outgrown our blended food that Joanna has prepared for him. He's got a molar coming in and wants to use it. But he likes to be left alone at eating time now, you can be in the room...just not all up in his face about it.

We went to Casa for Mexican food and he fed himself and was really great. he still likes cheese like nobody's business. Lately he's been really great at letting us put him down before he's actually asleep. He'll finish the job in a few minutes once he's in his bed.

he can point out things when you ask him questions, he's all over the books. One book has a Tonka cement truck in it and he can point out the boots, shovels, cars, trees, men with hard hats, and of course "CAR-CAR" for big trucks. In another book he can point out at least a dozen other items. When he see's bricks, he'll go over to the fireplace and slap the bricks and point.

Yesterday we took him to the park and he was kicking his ball like a pro soccer player. Running and dribbling it even. Then he met a new friend Brandon who's mom had a bubble wand. He tore up the place chasing after them. Before his new friend left, they gave Griffin his own bubble wand to keep. Even had some chocolates in the bag and other party favors too. It was real sweet.

The pic is from Aunt Laura....it's our new favorite....snot nose and all.

Happy St. Pat's day!

Rev. Lowery's Inaugural Benediction closing - AMEN!

2009-01-23T14:15:00.001-08:00

"...Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen. "

How the boy is measuring up

2009-01-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

These bullbs were a gift from Trisca about 5 years ago...they are sprouting now.

So is this little guy. He's pointing right at his mark.

I finally put up the height chart from Wendy. Might have to stop at Lowe's for some reinforcements so he doesn't tear it off the wall before he hits 3 feet tall.

Are you a Sugar Loafer?

2009-01-05T11:34:00.001-08:00

I remember seeing these stickers on all the snowmobiles and trucks as a kid. I was poking around Facebook and found a group that wants to resurrect the old ski resort.

It's been in a whirlwind of legal issues and real estate nonsense...but bottom line is somebody with about 3 million or so could buy it up and own it.

Of course it would take another 40 mill to get it functional and all that, but there are lots of tax incentives going on now, or so they say.

still waiting I guess. I'd love to take Griffin back there for his first time on ski's. Or maybe the old rope tow at Myles-Kimmerly Park. The infamous glove eater and neck ripper from back in the day. There's nuthin like a 3 inch diameter rough old frozen rope tearing off your gloves and making you lose grip and then twisting you around as it slowly pulls you up the 15 degree pitch. Well...except when the tips of your ski's go off track and you start to fall and the rope pins you to the ground and settles in around your collar for a few seconds that seem to last an eternity. It's kinds like a lufa, kinda like a saw blade, until the next chunk of frozen ice comes across and snaps off and then goes down your collar since the motion of the rope tearing across your back has made your jacket spin about half way around your torso as you're laying face down in the snow pinned down by 400 feet of heavy ass rope laying in the snow. - good times!

Anyway, Sugar Loaf would make an awesome Mtn Bike park in the summer, you could hold races and concerts, maybe put in a brewery and fix up the rooms since there's an Arnold Palmer golf course at the base of it.

Those of you reading this not familiar with the old stomping grounds: it's near Maple City, in Northern Michigan; where I grew up.

This is the church we went to every Sunday. Last years census had 1577 people living in Kasson township.

Fun over the holidays!

2009-01-03T22:32:00.001-08:00

What are you guys up to?! Oh, nothing!
Thanksgiving in Thousand Oaks - Dacanay/Wellman, Fitzgeralds, Murphys, Huefners

Leah's jam session with SamUncle Loren givin' Gman snugs & smoochesChristmas Eve 2008Ok Mom, I'll wear the hat for five seconds...

Christmas Day and a new book about trucks!

I like makin' funny faces, Dad

Christmas morning and Dad's homemade waffles!

Trucks!

Griffin meets Todd and Ruth Ann Kennedy

Holiday Dinner at the Fitzgeralds

Griffin with Aunt Peg

Auntie Meeshie's crown pork roast

Cousins! Sam, Griffin & Matt

Oh gee, Dad, didn't realize what I'm sittin' on!

I had a great holiday with my family.

A still-shot from super 8 movies transferred to DVD - Paul and Joe

Topa Topa Snow and Two Trees

2008-12-18T12:56:00.000-08:00

I took the boy down to the Channel Islands National Park visitors center and we went up onto the oservation deck.

it was cold at the beach..maybe 50 degrees. Snow level probly got down to 2500', the ridge that the two trees is on is blocking the view, but the snow is all the way down to where the Sisar Canyon trail goes up to, which is right to the bottom of the vertical face of Topa Topa.

I thought of driving in from Ojai to the top of Sisar Canyon, but didn't feel like hassling the local ranger for the lock codes just for myself. It would have been a sweet ride though, basically in this picture from the top at the point just to the left of 2trees all the way to the left edge of the main face, (right side summit) all in the snow.

this week's shenanigans

2008-12-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

I think he's been calling 1-800-santa!

maa maa! It's all he says lately, I can see why.

Who's the goof back there? he loves to try to put the cap on the camera as I'm trying to take a picture.

doh, I don't know why this one is rotated, oh well.

This mornings breakfast toast.

ham it up!

here's some pics of the boy:

Happy Holidays

2008-12-12T14:45:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Turkey and stuff

2008-11-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

We were treated to a great dinner over at Loren's with the whole family.

Joanna made some appetizers, Mom made 4 pies and Dad was in charge of the coffee. Sheila and Leah were there, and Leah proved she has unending rhythm. She must have played Rock Band drums with Sam for an hour straight.

Loren cooked two birds, one in the oven and one outside under a garbage can. Real interesting.

The stuffing was also of the double variety, we had one batch with sausage and onions in it, and another with oysters in it. Both were very good. We had sweet potatoes and Pear salad and also rolls and tons of other snacks like 3 kinds of deviled eggs from Michelle.

November News

2008-11-24T10:17:00.000-08:00

Hello there...it's been a while since we gave you much of a story, so here's what's been going on in the Murphy house lately.

Facebook.

yeah, we're hooked. It's a cool social networking site that lets you chat with friends and put up pictures and basically everything a blog does, just without a clumsy front end. more like instant email. There are a bunch of games and time wasters also, but there are lots of groups to mingle around in and old school pals to dig up also.

Surf N turf:

We went to Pismo again on the first weekend of the month and spent 3 days in the sand. Griffin loved it. He was eating Cheerios with a hand full of sand and even though he had a runny nose and a slight cold for the first time, he really enjoyed himself. We cooked a bunch of Pork shoulders in the Caja again , and shared meals with a bunch of friends. We took him out into the dunes on the Poker Run and he loved it so much he fell asleep. FELL ASLEEP while we were flying up 40 foot high dunes and bouncing around everytwhere!The Sand Chef competition was fun, this year's secret ingredient was Chocolate.

Joanna got a few bites for us to share, but nothing like the years past where there was piles of grub being handed out.

We also participated in the Mob Mile. Where everyone runs a half mile up the beach, and back. We all won prizes in the random raffle too! I carried the boy and he was napping for most of that also.

Griffin came home from his weekend in the sand with incredible balance and speed. He practically runs already. He's standing on one leg alot and pushing his limits.

We picked some persimmons yesterday at Jim's house. His mom has 3 tree's, and they are all loaded! We got the treat of some egg rolls for dinner that were hand made by Nam. She's an amazing cook also. I could've eaten 20 of them I swear. She even grinds up the pork herself.

We went to the Camarillo Premium Outlets last weekend for some shoe shopping for the boy. We went to Stride-Rite and got him a cool pair of size 6W with velcro straps. He's fast now. Griffin likes to play with the velcro while in the car seat, but at least he can't trip.

We are planning to have Turkey over at Loren's house with all of the Murphy's joining in this year. Should be around 17 of us and a couple dogs too. Mom has said she's making 4 pies. I hope she doesn't plan on bringing any of them home, cuz the boys are getting bigger and they really like pie.

Matt just turned 13 this month, and Sam is close to 17 already. Both are into music and Sam is going to swim this year, and possibly track also. Sam is close to completing his Eagle project also.

Basically, we've been laying low and enjoying Griffin. He's been wonderful and a total ball of energy lately. He's taking naps during the day and his new thing is waking up and giving grampa a holler, then after they get him out of the crib, he goes back for another session of sleep. He really likes to run around outside in the yard and he's pointing and touching everything, especially the buttons on anything electrical he can reach. He loves to change the channels on the TV while you're watching it. Then turn on and off the power to the stereo, about a dozen times a minute...FUN!

There has been a tractor in the neighbors back yard for the last month and he's really grown attached to watching it work. He makes Grandpa take him outside so he can observe.

Pointing up in the air and saying his sounds of "cra-ku" and "go" and "cah" and the motorboat sound with his lips are fun to watch. He's fond of stuffing himself into thin little spaces, like between the wall and the fridge, or the bed and the end table, or under the ottoman. He's getting used to playing hide and seek also. He'll hide behind the curtains and then pop out with a big smile. Griffin is really adept at stacking things too. It's amazing watching him analyze something and proceed to accomplish it. He'll even walk all around the room in order to get the last 2 donuts to stack on his toy. He loves music.

You should see him dance! he bobs his head back and forth, and squats to the beat. It's hilarious.

Wendy got him a piano for his birthday. It's a little electronic keyboard with a sponge bob character on it. he'll play the keys like he's playing Sheila's real piano. When we were in Pismo there was a sound system set up and we listened to Bob Marley in the morning, and he was dancing all over the place. Everyone was watching him.

Joanna wants alot of lights on the house for Christmas this year, so I guess I'll be doing that soon.

It'll be fun taking G out for walks and showing him all the lights.

Hope you all have a fun Turkey Day and wonderful weekend. Eat lots of Pie and relax.

Hands Free, California!

2008-11-18T14:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtKxrYp0pC0

Happy Birthday Schmoopie (Nov13)

2008-11-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

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Hey Daddy ~ Thanks for showin' Gman and I a fun time at Surf N Turf

Get ready for some grub at Baby Blues!

Love Wifey ;o)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Girl

2008-11-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:54:00.000-07:00

Correction! Leah as Abby Cadabrah!

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Starring Gman as Curious George and Leah as an Angel Fairy

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Fun Day!

2008-10-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

More photos to share Griffin's big day!

balloon and a bath

2008-10-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

Griffin Murphy First Birthday

2008-10-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

da boy turned one.
got some video of the cake eatin and frosting smearin.

Hippo Birdy Two Ewe's

California Avocado Fest

2008-10-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

We went up to Carpenteria for this great little festival. Here's some pics of the boy and the sights.

On the way up there, this is "Oil Piers" surf spot. There used to be a long wooden pier, but they tore it down about 15 years ago. Can you see him in the back seat?

This guy had his hands full. I was jealous. What's that? an old shaft from a golf club? GENIUS!

This is a local landmark, which apparently Michelle has never even been to. You can grill your own steaks and if you time it right on a weekend evening usually see a drunk scuffle on the dance floor turn comedic. It's been there forever.

Asleep at Faria Beach. Too bad....not really.

Playing Joe Cool at the end of the Avo fest.

Happy Birthday Griffin!

2008-10-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

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We can't believe it's already been a year that you've been in our lives, bringing us happiness, making us laugh (and cry) and everything in between. And we think you like us too!

So in honor of your birthday, you can play your music mirror over and over and over again tonight and we won't hide it from you in the pantry ;o)

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It's legit

2008-10-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm not sure if we told all of you or not, apparently we had a son.

That's right.
Our Local paper has let the cat out of the bag!

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/sep/20/births/

Community Memorial Hospital
Murphy, Griffin Michael, boy, born Oct. 15 to Paul and Joanna Murphy of Ventura.

Gee, only 11 months late.
But at least it's finally in there.
now when he's 15 and doing a World Civ report about the history and demise of print journalism, he has something he might find in an archive.

He's walking fast, tugging everything off of counters and tables.
Last week he stood up under the table and bumped his head according to Gramps, this week, his head is taller than the table! Our changing box is 31.5" across, and his heels are at one end and his head touches the other.

He can wave and say "hi!" when you come in the room, and it's been reported that he walked up, grabbed a box of crackers from his cousin and said "crackah". He loves to clap along with music now and even sometimes he dances like Aunt Laura taught him.

He's eating bananas, sweet potatoes, egg yolk, tofu, pureed chicken and green beans, avocado, mango, pears, peaches and tons of cheerios.

Porter Ranch Fire near Santa Susana Pass

2008-10-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

I work in Simi Valley, here's the view when I went out for lunch:

So now the 118 is closed.

When Griffin was born a year ago we had big fires too. I don't think that fire season has stopped since.

Baptism and anniversary

2008-10-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

I've been lagging putting up pics, so here's a heap of them.

He's WALKING!

2008-09-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

For reals! Griffin woke up this morning and the first time I set him down onto the floor, he took all of a second to look across the room at his Tonka Truck and then bolted for it. Last night we had him do about 3 or 4 steps max, then park it on his butt. But this morning he just went for it, I mean like 9 or 10 steps, no pauses, no stumbles. Man, err, baby on a mission! Then he spent the day with Leah and Gram and Gramps. They showed him how to do it the right way. Dad even said he saw him running practically at one point. He's got video of them together. Leah wanted to dance with him. When he came back home , I set him down and called Joanna and screamed: "HE'S WALKING!" I actually have that on video too, the whole time we talked he kept walking towards the phone in my other hand. I had it on speaker phone so he could hear her. He did almost a full lap around the kitchen to the living room and walked for as long as he wanted to, it was amazing! Then Aunt Michelle came over for dinner, and he walked into her arms from across the room. it's all over now.... LOL. We are on our way to celebrate Brien and Michelle's 25th wedding anniversary in South Lake Tahoe. We drive up in the morning. This little guy is gunna be a terror now that he can walk.

Letterman rules

2008-09-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

today in history

2008-09-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

1780 (Sat) John Andre reveals Benedict Arnold's plot to betray West Point.

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1852 (Thu) Born: William Stewart Halsted, established 1st surgical school in US

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1912 (Mon) 1st Mack Sennett "Keystone Comedy" movie is released.

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1926 (Thu) Born: John Coltrane, saxophonist

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1930 (Tue) Born: Ray Charles

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1949 (Fri) Born: Bruce Springsteen,

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1952 (Tue) 1st closed circuit pay-TV telecast of a sports event.

wow, that's alot of great music all on one day.

Surfer's Point Ventura Ca.

2008-09-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

So I took the boy down to the surf for some Cheerios and sun.

Trying to figure out if this video thing works or not, so bear with me.

Of course, the Video camera can shoot 16:9 HD quality, which means it's way better than what's being shown, but I'll have to use three different programs to get it to save the right way, so "baby steps" as they say. hopefully one of these days I'll get it up here in true to life HD like I'm shooting it.

I'm thinking that no matter what quality I put it up as, the Blogger thing will process it into what works....we'll just have to see.

soooooo, what's for dinner?

2008-09-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

da boy, who else?

2008-09-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

He's got the same sleep position as snoopy (who's wearing the purple easter bunny outfit)

September...WHAT?

2008-09-05T11:40:00.001-07:00

no way...it's already September?
did you guys watch the olympics? I tried, but had to contend with this guy changing the channels on us.

He's a crack up, loves to get into everything, and test the boundaries. Like this balloon for example, we had an "over/under" going on it that he'd pop it in an hour, but he never did. Sure got REALLY close though.

Here's Griffin in the morning showing off his crib. The speck on his forehead is a booboo, not a freckle.

And here he is waiting for football season to start. GO BRONCO'S!!!

His baptism is Saturday the 20th at Assumption Church in Ventura, if you are reading this and didn't get my Evite thingy, sorry. Consider this your invite and let us know if you can come by afterwards to see him. We are getting some killer food for the lunch, from the place we always talk about....

NO, Not El Taco De....BBQ....way better!

It's been a busy week

2008-08-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

So I took the week off to get some chores done around the house that have been needing to get finished, and to spend time with the boy. It's been great since I only get to see him from the time I pick him up after work till the time he heads for bed. His attitude is waaaaay better in the morning, lemme tell ya.

As for chores I fixed the hose bib on the front of the house with a new 3/4" ball valve so it wont leak anymore. Also we bought a new water softener that needed to be installed and while I had the water shut off I changed out a valve on one of the toilets and replaced all the fixtures in the tub after I pulled it all apart to find a broken O ring deep inside the valve assembly. Got it all buttoned back together with only 2 trips to Lowe's and before the wife got home so she could take a shower.

We christened it all with a bath for Griffin. He's quite the splasher. that is, until it gets into his mouth and he takes a second to wonder about it, but then gets after it again.

I've got painting on the list of to-do's next. we bought the colors for the bathroom and our bedroom. But after I got the paint, I realized it's gunna be tough to get around the bed and paint that wall, so we might be shopping for a new bed and carpet soon. It's long overdue. So if any of you find a killer deal on a CAL king bed and matching furniture, we're taking all suggestions.

We also got our phones replaced. Joanna's screen stopped working and I've been needing a new one for a while but was too lazy to go thru the hassle. So I got fired up and called AT&T one Saturday because I've been wanting to combine our cell bill with the house bill. Trouble started when I tried telling the lady on the phone that we are under two different names, she says, first, combine names, then combine bills...duh, seems logical. I ask her what she needs, and tells me all I need is the SSN of the person who's on the bill. I get that, and tell her, after 20 minutes on the phone answering things in triplicate, I get transferred to the "transfer" department. Yeah, put on hold for an hour, then the phone just goes blank..like they hung up on me.
I call back, go thru the hassle all over again, this time with some lady from Pennsylvania and all the while just to get put back on hold again, for another 30 minutes.
Screw it..I waited till I was at work and called during normal biz hours, I thought that would help, yeah, not so much. I called in the third time, "transferred" again, this time making the girl stay on the line with me, and after 5 minutes of listening to the stupid message over and over again I asked her what's the point if even they (on the inside) had to wait in line on hold?
"I'm really sorry sir, I'm trying to get this taken care of, they're a whole nuther department"
I finally got thru, told the woman that answered that I wont be put on hold and that I want to speak to her manager, the first girl was still on hold with me and was waiting too, then I got the "manager's busy" line, but she'll "take care of this for me right away...all I need to do is put you on hold for a sec"....that's where I lost it.

one hour and 15 minutes later, I had both numbers in my name, combined two bills and finished.

She actually had the balls to ask me if there was anything else she could help me with..."yeah, next time, don't take an hour to do something that should be accomplished in under 5 minutes"

SO I went online and used the "upgrade my phone" option. Saw that they were out of the model I wanted for the upgrade price of FREE, so I went to the local store.
I got the bratty blond straight outta the valley with an attitude.
"uhh, yeah....we don't do warranty returns anymore" and "okay, so upgrades aren't done here either..." topped off with "yeah, the prices online are cheaper for the same phones, i don't know why that is"

5 minutes wasted. If it weren't for her adolescent lame valley girl accent, i might have given the 28 year old another minute of my time, but she was so clueless and obviously put out by the mere thought of helping me, I bailed. She doesn't deserve my money.

We got the two phones in 3 days, cost= $0.00 SCORE!

of course I erased all my memory trying to write them all to the SIM card so all I'd have to do it slide it into the new phone and continue on, but whatever.
so it's only 96 phone numbers....it's not like it's my life, er..wait.

So if you're reading this and don't get a call from me, that's why. you have to call my people first now! LOL.

We got the boy his first Tonka too. I wanted the huge dumptruck with the steel bed and monster tires of course. Joanna looked at the box, said to me "It says 3 plus right there, what's that mean to you?"
I say, "It means you let him play with it!"
yeah, we came home with the toddler sit n scoop model. fully rounded plastic, nuthin metal on it except the screws holding the front axle onto the chassis.
Where's the danger in that? pssh...
I wanted to get hte rusty, tetanus covered death box witht he little diesel stacks on the side just like I had as a kid. So I went online to ebay, and saw that they sell them for lots of money in good condition, even more in collectors condition, but in "guaranteed trip to the ER for stitches" condition I could score one for about 30 bucks for a genuine circa '68 Tonka. We'll see, there were only 962 to pick from..so I'm not in a hurry....yet.

Mom had a birthday yesterday. We gave her peace and quiet and I went to the dentist and had my mouth pryed apart and picked at with extremely sharp instruments for close to two hours. The technician was shocked I didn't want the needle, and that I wanted "all four quads" done at once. I told her I don't do needles, and I don't wanna drag this torture out any longer than necessary. I was told I was "a trooper" on my way out, I told the girl, "those dents in the handles will return to normal in a few hours".
Mom's always happy after I go thru that level of pain at the dentist.

What can I say, I love my momma.

RIP Leroi Moore of Dave Matthews Band

2008-08-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

Heaven is lucky to have you lead their jam sessions now ~ you are forever in our souls and hearts through your music. Jo & Pablo

Three selections - there are so many great songs that have led us through at least 10 years of my life. I remember first starting to listen to DMB while camping with Brien & Meesh at Montana de Oro back in '97.

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"Granny" - our wedding recessional;

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"41" - Meeshie's skydive theme ;o) and just all-around awesome tune. If you get a chance to hear the 32 minute version with Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, then you've spent those 32 minutes wisely;

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"Where Are You Going" - a key song when I transitioned from Kinko's. I remember sitting in my car in the driveway with this song cranked up loud, just singing along. I wondered where the heck was I going!

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I know I'm going to spend a lot of time in the next few days listening to DMB songs with my ear tuned to Leroi and his beautiful notes. And just thankful for the opportunities to have seen on multiple occasions, one of the best bands, so rhythmically and lyrically fused, each member giving their all to each song, concert after concert. How lucky... Jo

Rugby Star or Top Chef?

2008-08-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

It's a tough call, he has the form for the quarterback throw, but he's holding a flipper...hmmm...

Checking out his newest videos

2008-08-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

We'll have to worry when he gives us his backstage supply list

Griffin and Memphis ribs

2008-07-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

So I got up early this morning and soaked a bunch of hickory chips for a few hours before I put on the ribs.

Ribs?

Yeah, that's right...Pork ribs baby! Last night I prepped them up and slathered them down with some dry rub that Miss Wendy got me straight from the mecca of rib eatin, Memphis Tennessee. I used half of the Corky's mix (from TN)and half Stubbs Dry rub (from TX).

This morning after Michelle came over, Joanna went to the store and got me some Apple Juice so I can give 'em a spritz every hour and a half when I turned them.

I'm using the indirect heat method, and the smell is killing me right now..YUM!

After they were put on the grill I went to work on the yard. I tore down the Matilija Poppy plant that was encroaching on the roof line, and trimmed up the trees. We also had a seven foot tall Anise plant in the rose bed that needed to come out.

(For those playing the home game, that's where all the bees went to since they were evicted last week) That was fun kicking that down. I got lucky and the gardener from next door agreed to take all my lawn clippings away for me. Next week he tackles the back yard for us.

While the ribs were sweating on the grill, I was sweating on the lawn chores. Michelle took Gman for a hot lap up to the park where they had a dog show going on. The ribs attracted a little pooch too. I think he's from across the street, since he hung out with us for a few hours in the back right next to the grill. We gave him a scrap of lunch meat and a bowl of water and he seemed content kicking back under the umbrella.

I was trying to figure out a way to get him into the portable cage we have, but he wasn't playing nice. He was one of those tiny Chihuahua dogs, but he had big teeth and really long claws, so I wasn't gunna push my luck since I just made it thru the challenge of the bees all over again. He had the same markings of JP too, but Rat ears that stuck up about 3 inches and no collar, so I couldn't call him by his name. The Mexican gardeners got a kick of watching him run all over the yard....That little perrito was rapido!

But before all of that happened, I took some pics of the boy from outside looking in, and he was cracking me up, so I have to share...

(you can sorta see some teeth in that one, besides all the drool I mean.)

So what are all of these crazy antics for anyway?

Feast yer eyes on these!!!!!

Gunna eat 'em in about an hour....better get in the car now and drop us a call if you want any saved.

Consider this yer invitation.

Happy American Beer month too.

Seven years ago this weekend we were in Portland for the beer fest for the first time.

I went to Bevmo and grabbed some beers that would be served up there, just to make it like we were up in the pacific northwest and sampling all those great beers.

Your'e still not in the car? what's wrong with you people?

here's Griffin!

2008-07-22T18:22:00.001-07:00

here's the boy at 9 months.

he's too big for the bathtub now, so we'll be changing to the "big boy" tub soon (read sink or family tub).

Aunt Michelle came over for some G time and gave him a good scrubbing. He actually left a dirt ring for the first time. All that crawlin around gets dirt everywhere!

The Murphy's have entered the Digital parenting world for real now. We got a HD digital Video camera and now can shoot vids.

I'd post up the first one we shot but it goes like this:

"How's this thing work?"

shakey video of floor, and hands and images that want to make the average viewer hurl due to rapid movements.

"I think you click this"

more shaking, rapid zoom in and outs, shot of the floor, shot up my nose, shot of the ceiling....

I'll save ya the horror.

Let's see , what else has been going on?

Nancy got married last Saturday. Congrats to her, and Brian. Was a really nice ceremony and I got to video it for them. It was a last minute request, so I thought I could attempt it. It was withtheir camera, so I ddidn't have to worry about anything. Griffin was flirting with all the pretty girls and was in a great mood. Nancy looked terrific. Brian wore this cool Zoot suit Tux and her party looked like 50's pin up girls.

We had a bee hive in the back yard removed. Good times there. had to sweep up a hundred or so dead bees, but it's all clear now.

The transmission in the little blue car I drive to work is taking a dump. Gunna have to replace it since I dont want to spend 18 grand on another car right now that gets 34MPG.

Griffin has a top tooth coming in, and the one next to it is about to pop thru as well for number four. He went to his 9 month check up today. Doc says he's all good.

measured in at 29 and a quarter inches long and tipped the scale at 21 pounds. I think they shorted him some on the scale, but all that crawling and climbing he's doing must be burning calories.

He pulls himself up on all the chairs, and I've caught him let go and stand on his own balance even.

oh, today is our second anniversary. Literally!

8 years and a month together....wow!

we got sushi tonight, just like our first date. But instead of the drunk at the bar interrupting us, it was Griffin letting us know he's doing another lap on the floor. That kid is fast!

oh, thanks to Aunty Kath and Uncle Jim for the cool shirt! Griffin now has some Uof M colors for this years Rose Bowl game.

Our pal Dr. Agave (Todd Kennedy) also got married last weekend. Best wishes to ya Doc!

well, that's about all for now, the boy needs a changing.

Love you all, see ya soon!

P G & J

And I got BIG FEET

2008-07-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Auntie Meesh for da great photos!

Cause I'm FAST!

2008-07-15T13:12:00.001-07:00

Gas Can Rock, Rubicon Trail Lake Tahoe 2008

2008-07-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

here's my 15 minutes of fame....

I'm on youtube baby!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwegGXnyBiM&feature=related

Auntie L is here!

2008-06-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

YAY! all the way from Alexandria, VA.

Her flight was delayed and traffic was heavy, but she's here for the week.

Crawlin

2008-06-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

So both of the Murphy boys learned how to crawl last week.

Me doing a wheelie at Loon Lake

The infamous "Big Sluice"

While I was on the Rubicon trail in Tahoe, Griffin was ripping up the carpet and getting rug burns going across the floor at a rapid pace. I on the other hand was going slower than cold molasses.

Griffin greeted me after the trip by shuffling across the floor at a good clip , right into my arms.

Here are some photos that I took of the trip up north with the Nor Cal 80's group.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pablovta/sets/72157605818981874/

I'll try to get a video of Griffin this week from dad.

He's already pulling himself up and wanting to take steps.

So much for placing him in the middle of the room while we eat and having him be there when we turn around.

2008-06-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

A) Out on the Sahara grasslands…
The resilient and dedicated Griffin traverses the lands at a leisurely pace in hopes to find the illustrious edible treat “Ribs de Saul” of the Ribbus backus babius species. Our cameras found this brave soul charging thru the thick fields of prey amongst the dangerous surroundings where Sprinklers and hose lay about waiting to spray at the slightest twist of a branch.

DOH! I said Branch!

B) Seen here is the neighbor from that old timey TV show “Tool Time” as a child. This has to be where his sense for lurking around was ingrained thru early childhood experiences by his father hounding him to spy in the hopes of startling the home owner as they relaxed in their yard.

“inGRAINed” “Hidey Ho Neighbor!”

C) Ventura Fire Department wants to remind you that all brush clearances have to be maintained at minimum of 100 feet from all buildings and that sudden spontaneous combustion can result from this big fat guys bald spot reflecting into dry grass the summer sun’s reflection never before seen as bright as it is now due to Global warming, plus his own luminescence from lack of sun exposure. Previous growth limits of “Taller than a one year old” have been recalled, due to losing the children in the grass. We are now using the “taller than a 6 month old” in order to save the children.

look who turns 8 months old on Sunday!

He had a great time last weekend, he got to meet Scott Estes for the first time, and Aunt Wendy and even had a BBQ dinner made for him by the Saul's. Busy boy was in a great mood the whole time.

He's rocking more and just about to crawl with authority. He's eating all kinds of foods, and has two teeth in the center bottom row. We have even moved up to a size 3 diaper now.

Sleeping thru the night happens occasionally, but his 4 AM feeding is still there.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been grey and cold here all weekend, with sprinkles even.

We had 100 degree temps last week, this week it's struggling to go over 70, actually, closer to 50 in Ventura.

But that's a good excuse to watch sports I guess. It's always a huge weekend for the sports, but this year it counts more because the Red Wings are in the Stanley cup Finals, and the Lakers are in the Western Conf. Finals, and the Pistons are in the Eastern Conf. And it's Indy 500 weekend too!

pretty much, after this sports are over, cuz I barely watch the Lakers anymore since it's not really basketball, and I'm not into watching baseball much, and we have tons of chores to do around the house and F1 races are on too early.

but check out the boy!

we got all did up in our Hockeytown Red for the game, which they won....4-0! sweet!

We watched the Indy race too. His first. Almost got to see Danica knock out a dude, but they careened her off her warpath before she could throw down on the driver who took her out. That woulda been awesome to see, but glad she didn't. it was a cool race, good weather and over 300 thousand people on hand. That's about a 5 hour wait to get outta the parking areas.

Lakers got beat last night; that figures. It's too much to ask that millionaires who get paid to play a game* follow the rules. (* it's entertainment now, we get to change the rules so the millionaire felons can travel, carry the ball, foul, charge, and play crap defense. whatever.) truthfully, without Chick Hearn, it's not worth it.

We're gunna grill up some grub today. Yesterday it was Brats, Saturday it was Chicken and corn on the grill. We used the Gilroy Garlic Festival Garlic Mop sauce on the bird, I liked it!

Then I tried to copy the Blues on the Cob from Baby Blues BBQ in Venice....Nailed it!

Cotija Cheese and some Lime, with a dash of Cayenne Pepper...YUM!

Hope you have a safe holiday, and here's to those -who today is for.

7 months old

2008-05-20T10:23:00.001-07:00

Well, he's almost too big for the seat. We're gunna have to find him something to fit into until he's a year old and gets to ride facing forward.

cute stuff

2008-05-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

seriously now....
how cute is this little guy?

(little being a relative term)

here he is trying to get more from gram.

oh yeah, Go Wings! one win away baby!!!! then it's on! for the cup.

It's Mom's day

2008-05-11T21:30:00.001-07:00

For her first Mothers Day we went up the coast an hour or so and had a nice walk thru a canyon and a lunch under some huge Sycamore trees. We started the morning off with some cheesy eggs on a bagel, nothing fancy, but just something for the tank. We got Griffin fed and loaded and jumped in the truck and started north on the 101. It was around State street when we started to ask what was for lunch. We tossed around the ideas of Jalama Burgers, or even Jocko's for a huge pork chop, but the idea of checking out El Capitan State Beach and campground won.

They have a concert series there, cabins, yurts, and even RV spots up in the canyon. It was awesome. It seemed everyone had strollers and kids everywhere. Basically it's super fancy car camping. You pull up , unload and stay in a nice cabin and then just pack up and leave; they have maid service like a hotel room that will take care of everything. It was written up in Sunset magazine even.

We did a lap with the boy, checked out everything and then went across the freeway to the beach side for a look at the view. You feel like you're way far away, but it's only 10 minutes past Goleta.

I got Jo a Monte Cristo sammich and a cup of meatball soup, also some bread pudding for dessert and a Thomas Kemper Root beer. If you've never had those root beers, try to find some, they are really good. I had the Tri Tip Dip sammich. (Coulda used more meat, and less salt in the au jous, but the bread was good) Griffin had some rice cereal with us out on the huge pine picnic tables.

We then came home and the two of them napped, while I drove. It was foggy and cool along the coast. Once we turned inland the sun came out at our house.

We treated ourselves to a really sucky gift this weekend too.

We got the Dyson "Animal" , and boy does it suck. It's the crazy purple vacuum that works amazingly good. You can feel the floor shake from it pulling all kinds of remnants from your carpets. We had to empty the container for each room.

It has a HEPA filter even, and the air it puts out is 150% cleaner than the air you breathe normally. I guess we should just leave it on all day then?

anyway....amazing power. We did the whole house, non stop. BEST TOOL EVER! good thing I used the 20% off coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond too.

Griffin loved watching us.

Joee thought it was nice to watch me do the front room also.

seriously, I can't get over how flippin great that thing is. (yes I have photos)

Happy Mothers Day honey. You're awesome. We love you. We appreciate you and we need you.
Thank you for trying so hard everyday, and doing all the things that you do.

And the rest of you mom's out there, same goes for you!

Griffin, Griffin, Griffin Oy, Oy, Oy

2008-05-06T06:37:00.000-07:00

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Just out and about on a very hot day to watch cousin Matt run track.

I can't wait until I can run like that!

Woot Up

2008-04-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

I've never been to woot.com until this morning. I only know about it because AC's mom mentioned that was where she got her Dyson. Imagine my surprise when I saw this...

No, I don't mean the funny tee-shirt with little army men parachuting out of the pocket. I mean the little marketing description that goes along with it. How can it be addressed to me?

It's not a trick of the web or anything. It just happens that their infamous product description for this item starts off with my name. Here's the full text:

Dear Joanna,

It has been too long since I have seen you. I wish I could tell you where we were, but the censors will not allow it. All I can say is that we are safe for now. I still have the ring you sent me, I keep it inside my uniform for now. I want to buy a chain and will the next time we get paid. Tomorrow we are making our assault on the pants. I know you have heard from some people how we should be tolerant about how they do not match the shirt but I want you to know that I think it is unforgivable. And anyway when we tried to appeal to the fashion police it did not work, and that made us look weak as a people. We had no other choice I feel. I am not scared, rather I am glad for the chance to serve what I believe in, so that future generations know not to wear white after Labor Day, even if it is supposedly just stonewashed. Seriously, that is not an excuse, and even if it was, stonewashing is out so it is just as bad. I hope you pray for me.

Your Love Always,

Jake

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So my interest is peaked... they got my attention. Going to read "What is Woot" to get the story.

Okay so it's not his feet

2008-04-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

But he's had everything in his mouth that he can get his hands onto.

I caught him doing an Elvis pose :

That goes with his lip thing he does sometimes....

and then I caught him with a mouth full of pooh:

he hehe heheheh.....I said pooh!

and just generally looking as cute as ever:

He loves to bounce and spin in the chair and then do this lockout motion with his legs. He's done it for a while now, but he's growing so much that he just stands on his own in the chair as he peers over the front tray trying to find the stuff he launches off the deck. He's turned over a couple times today on his own power. Gramps set him down on his belly and then sat down, when he turned to find him , Griffin had flipped over onto his back, looking straight back at him.

He has started to get more lift with the push ups too, and has found out that backwards is an option as well.

He really likes to sit in the boppy and "bridge" backwards so he can look at you upside down.

Then he lets out this gutteral squelch sorta like a cross between clearing your throat and the sound that comes out of Carol Channing.

I'm an official dad now too, I have whipped out the wallet photo now at least 5 times without provocation.....I'm proud dammit!

Check out my boy!

tomorrow is Joanna's Birthday.

She turns my mug number from the brew pub.....that's right, "the answer to life "according to the book: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Also James Worthy's number....

or Chris Chelios' number transposed...

okay, enough hints. We'll just say it's her 27th from now on.

Happy Birthday Love!

and no, I will not be getting you a vaccuum...that gift would suck.

6 month old finds feet

2008-04-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

give him a chance, they'll be in his mouth soon enough.

The classic thing is: he did this pose mid dipey change the other day, and fountained straight up into the air about 7 inches and it landed on his belly. Luckily I had a dry wipe ready and capped it off!

Gramps had a good laugh about it.

Dancin cousins

2008-04-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

How cute is this?

everybody together now.....AWWWWW!

Caption contest

2008-03-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Alrighty folks, who can come up with the best caption? don't worry, you don't have to sign up to do anything, just type in a comment under anonymous and put your name in the reply.

Winner gets a 1992 Sentra with 237000 miles on it!

Here's the G-man showing off the new flooring at Kev and Steph's house. Kev made ribs and berry cobbler and we grubbed.

The house has come a long way in the past 3 months, with new dry wall, flooring and no more ceiling popcorn. Fresh paint all over and new furniture to boot!

We had dinner tonight with Leah, Sheila and Joe at Gram and Gramps house.

Leah was showing the boy the proper way to eat his food.

Proper etiquette is to finish and then ask for more....simple.

and here's the money shot:

hee hee, that's funny!

Good Friday

2008-03-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
How's it going?

I have the day off and so far have had a job interview over the phone, finished taxes online, changed the boy and fed him the first of a few jugs de leche (that's milk in spanish) and took a few shots of handsome Griffin for you all to look at.

I was gunna try to type a long post, but the boy is tootin, so now I gotta change him.

Love you all, Happy Easter from the Murphy's.

Happy St. Patty's Day Laddy!

2008-03-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Here's to you, here's to me...

you better watch out, cuz he might pee!

Jumping into 5 months

2008-03-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

boy catchin air

First Parade on Month 5 Birthday

2008-03-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I got to celebrate my fifth month birthday with a St Patrick's Day parade, downtown Ventura! I wore three shades of green and tried to show my Irish pride as best as I could!

I made sure to keep my eye on everything that went by...

Except no one warned me that those Harley things were going to be so loud!

Dad, explain Irish Yoga to me...

Where's Auntie Meeshka's green? Is purple the new green?

Hey, I get to be in the infamous "arms length" photos now!

Phew! Long day! I think I'll sleep for 6 hours straight now.

Let's see if Mom & Dad are smart enough to sleep now too!

Nighty-night...

LIVE! It's Saturday night!

2008-03-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

here's Griffin!

Jesters are supposed to be happy, aren't they?

2008-02-28T07:13:00.001-08:00

The coolest of cool hats from Auntie Meesh ;o)

bouncy seat is in effect

2008-02-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

So the Tour De California is going thru our neck of the woods right now.

Levi Leipheimer is winningit so far after the time trial yesterday in Solvang.

We've gone up and watched it at the summit of Balcom Canyon Rd. the last few years, but today it's cold and wet and we didn't really get all that motivated to go on a picnic if it were to rain.

Instead we hung up the bouncy chair Joe gave Griffin and it looks as if he hates it.....

NOT! he loved it, he was listing a bit to his left again, which reinforces the belief of mine that he's going to be a south paw. But he had good form, kept his shoulders over his hips and head level thru the turn. Had his fists up, chest high and didn't "roll down the windows" on his big airs.

Uncle Joe would be so proud.

Now we just need to get him to Squaw Valley so he can rip it up with his uncle in the Baby Bjorn!

This week was pretty cool, he slept thru the whole night twice in a row. And Gramma and Grampa had him in the Baby Einstein and Cousin Leah Carmen was showing him all the bells and whistles.

We even had a lunar Eclipse. I tried taking some pics of it, but they didn't turn out all that swell.

He's 4 months old

2008-02-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

Got shots yesterday, let out a scream, but he's doing great at 16 pounds.

Arepas

2008-02-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

yeah, that's right, Arepas. The Venezuelan treat.

pronounced like uh-rape-a's, but you have to do that trilly thing with the ~r.

Our friendly giant Alvaro gave me a bag of PAN, and said to go home and try these arepas like they make in Venezuela. I saw Roberto make them in Pismo at the Surf N Turf, and his wife was obviously very skilled at the procedure. Hers were like little golden pillows of love, mine were like pucks of corn, but still very tasty. Crispy on the outside, and warm and soft on the inside.

We sliced up some Chilean Avocados and prepared some Carnitas de Michoacan to complete our South American inspired feast for dinner tonight. Oh, and a mango.

YUM!

(sorry, no pics of the mango)

Well, what else is new?

it hit 80 degrees yesterday here. I guess winter is over.(I say that all the time, cuz then Murphy's law takes over and we get more rain) Either that or there really is proof that global warming is here to stay.

Joanna has had a fever since friday night. She hit 102 today. miserable.

Aunt Michelle came over and gave us a break from the boy as she took him around the block and played with him so we could get some sleep. I got 4 hours and it felt like two days.

The boy is getting big. And real vocal. I bet his teeth will start to arrive around St. Patties day.

Oh, I'm now a certifiable uber-nerd. To go along with the rest of my computer tech nerdness like the CISCO CCNA program, I am now a fully licensed HAM radio Technician. Yeah, that's right...in case of an emergency the FCC might call me and tell me to send encrypted messages to the Space Shuttle, or broadcast emergency information across the nation. Cool huh?

well, probably not.....but I could if I had too.

Basically I just got it so I can talk with the guys on the overlanding trips we do with the Landcruisers. It's just a plus that the if the world were to end next week, I could totally go "Wolverines" on the commie punks that were invading.

okay, hopefully not....but it's always good to be prepared , right?

Not to mention I can do VOIP and APRS with it, and even run a gateway for internet service too.

UBER NERDS unite! form of....slide ruler! hahahah LOL.(I'm so glad Joanna married me first, there's no way she woulda married me if she knew what a geek I am.)

okay, gotta go shop ebay for a pocket protector.

2008-01-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

A really cool thing happened yesterday...

As the Boy was sitting in my lap, reclining a bit, he started to groan a bit and kind of do a crunch so as to kind of work himself forward into sitting a bit more upright. And he did. And I put my arm up just in time to keep him from pitching too far forward.

We've put him in the bumbo chair a couple of times before, but he just didn't seem to care for it or have the neck strength. But after this little try at sitting up, we gave the bumbo a spin again...

He liked it for a little bit and then spit up to emphasize he'd had enough. Another wonderful little step in his development ;o)

My first day back to work on a part-time schedule is tomorrow. I'm totally happy and thankful with the fact that Gman now gets to spend his days with Leah and Grammy & Grampy - a loving, safe and happy place where he can keep his eyes peeled on his cousin and she will wipe his drooly chin (so cute!).

This point in time, though, has come too quickly because I'm not wanting anything to take place of the time I want to spend with my boys. I know the heartbreaking feeling will dissipate over time and we'll be able to soak up all the new milestones as they come at their fast pace. I have been so lucky to be home with him this long. He is the best!

Rainbows and funny faces

2008-01-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

We've had a years worth of rain this week and things are starting to break on the hills.

Of course, all the news teams have "storm watch" "full coverage" and weather Doppler's with their channel plus the suffix of thousand behind it to make it seem higher tech than the other guys.

I just go here and watch it from the source. Says there was more than 8 inches of rain just east of Ojai. Crazy.

the other morning I was leaving for work and there was a nice rainbow out in the front.

Yep, it was 40 degrees and I made the wife haul the boy out there.....it was his first rainbow sighting. We had "full team coverage" you could say.

Then later we gave him a bath. He's really starting to dig those. His aim is getting better too, if you know what I mean.
And these are just too funny for words:

Month 3

2008-01-16T08:28:00.001-08:00

---
Happy Day on Tummy!

---

And almost too big (+14.2 lbs) to fit in the moses basket!

Happy New Year 2008

2008-01-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, how's it goin?
Did ya have enuf egg nog? did ya see Dick Clark drop the newer, brightest ever ball ? I did.
It's just amazing he's still going, he's gotta be 107 years old I think. his wife was there to give him a big kiss right after he did the countdown. I just hope that after he's gone, Carson Daly or someother punk doesn't try to weasel in on that gig like they already have for the whole show.

anyway...

So I married off Kev and Steph, that was cool. I was pretty nervous, and everyone saw me shaking, but oh well. I made it through, and never would have been able to pull it off if it weren't for Joanna's help and her insistance that I read it aloud a few times. It wasn't as "off the cuff" or "Adlibbed" as I wanted it to seem, but once I got up there and looked out into those eyes staring back at me, I was sure glad I had it all written down. They said they liked it, and I didn't faint and take out the happy couple on my way, so I guess that's a plus. Steph looked amazing, Kev looked shocked, as I guess we grooms always do. Not that he was shocked at how she looked, duh, she always looks great, but I mean he looked shocked that he was actually gunna do it. (Get married , do it....I mean)

anyway...

Little G was the hit of the party, we danced with him during the first dance and the photographers loved him, we must be in 30 pictures. Meesh took some awesome pics, she should sell them I swear. Griffin was calm the whole time, mostly. Mom and dad had a good time too. For a cake they had a pile of cupcakes, in four different flavors, and they were awesome. Some said too much frosting, but so what? , it's a wedding.

We stayed at the Arcadia embassy Suites, not too shabby. they give you breakfast and happy hour included in the room cost. Call it a bonus. We had a room on the top floor, in the far corner, with only one room next to us. Loved that! What wasn't so loveable were the 6 Illinois kids running laps around the whole hotel, on each floor as there dads just chased them from one elevator to the next. yeah, fighting the urge to open a door and clothesline them was hard for the first 2 hours. I knew it was bad when Joanna opened up the door at 10: 25 PM and gave one of the girls the "stare down" and said sternly "NO MORE RUNNING!"

"Thank you honey!"

I couldn't blame them though. Might have been the first time the kids saw an atrium style hotel and 4 elevators. I mean, c'mon...Illinois? Shoot, they coulda been traveling to the Rose Bowl game and Kullyforneeyah for the first time ever. I just kept telling myself (whatever to chill out a bunch of 8 year olds it takes, I'd do the same) let it go dude.

I just wonder how bad those kids were crying on the plane home from getting their asses handed to them by SC. Cripes , even the 3rd stringers were kicking the crap out of their team.

So lets see, what else? oy yeah, since were talking football....GO BLUE BAYBEE!!!!
Sorry Brookses....that's right Michigan totally redeemed themselves. Flippin sweet!
now that was a great game!

So new Years, what did you guys do? I did the dishes, put the kid in the sack by 9, wife in bed at 9:30....crazy huh? I know....you're probably thinkin we were out in LA at some killer party all night....oh no. Not even close. Didn't even get out of the house, or my jammies. Loved It!
But I can say I at least saw Dick drop the :newly covered in LED's , brightest ever, oh my god look, it does patterns now!, ball.
And ten seconds later I kissed the wife, and crashed in bed, only to be awakened 2 hours later by the boy.

It rained yesterday.

"Full team Coverage" on the news. Geez, anything to get that stupid white trash Brittany off the tube. And thank god for it. Sposed to keep raining tomorrow. I hope so.

Joe got a ton of snow, a levee broke in Nevada in a town that Thor and Trisca live in. They are fine. they live on the high side of town. But I guess 3500 people are flooded out er sumthin. Fernley actually made it on CNN for something other than a meth lab bust! who hoo!

I guess the highway has been closed from Truckee to Reno. Got 5 feet of snow in a day and a half. I guess we spend tomorrow on the Squaw Cam trying to catch Joe on one of his laps of KT22. Then again, since he never wears hats, and the snow will be up to his waist or shoulders, it might be easy to find the shaved head guy in the pack of crazies. I knew this guy that was maybe 5'2" that used to ski with a scuba snorkel tied to his goggles on days like that. It would be hilarious when he came off a huge jump, submerged into the landing so deep he dissapeared , only to come shooting out below and then blast out a huge plume from the snorkel. He'd always do it from "The Fingers" and the whole KT chair would see it and cheer. One time I skiied with him and he had to leave cuz of brain freeze. He wasn't tall enough for the snow to go around his big melon head, and his forehead froze. oh well, too bad, like they say, no friends on a powder day. Gotta suck it up and keep going or miss out. Advantage 6'4" guy. sweet.

We went to Babies R us today. Spent the gift cards we got.
Thanks Aunt Betty and Uncle Tom, Griffin is now the proud new owner of a pair of Chuck Taylor Converse shoes in black. They're sweet! I already renamed them the UP-chucks though.
He was such an angel in the store, not a peep the whole time. we got him home for his feeding, and I changed him and the whole routine, but then about a half hour after he had finished eating, out it came. Huge projectile vomitting this time. I mean, big, not really HUGE in the "Stand by me" movie scene "Barfarama" style, but more like, "Hey look, I got new kicks, I'm a rock Staaaaaarrrrrr!" phooey. I wiped them off. wasn't too bad.

all right, I gotta go. I'll post up some pics soon.

here I'm imitating his hand, he does this when he falls asleep. He sticks them out. Griffin hits week 12 on Monday....3 months already! man!

I think he might be a southpaw....more on that later.

ohh! Fernley is on TV! see ya.

2007-12-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

On the 12th pound of Griffin the 12th ounce gave to me

2007-12-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

That's right, he's tipping the scales at more than 12# 12 oz. now.

23 inches long and wearing the 3-6 month clothes already!

Family saved by monoxide alarm

2007-12-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

While the Murphy family slept soundly last Tuesday night a deadly threat lingered in the home.
Carbon Monoxide was being recirculated into the heating system due to a cracked air box in their heater. If it weren't for the fresh battery and carbon monoxide/smoke alarm working as designed the new father could have come home to find a horrible scene.

That's right! The forty year old heater gave up the ghost. Right after I left for work in the morning the alarm started going off and Joanna called the fire department since it wasn't the smoke alarm and it wasn't stopping. At first she thought it was the jackass next door with his equipment,(yeah, that again). But the air meter gauge that the fireman used wasn't noticing anything about that since it was outside. As he walked from register to register in the whole house he noticed it rising and rising as he walked back to the bedroom we all were sleeping in.
Joanna had the windows opened up at this time and it was maybe 50 degrees outside, so the heater was going pretty much all morning. Just as the fireman was measuring the register, the heater cycled on, and spiked his meter. That was the culprit.

Joanna had called me at work and I dropped everything and raced home the 33 miles in pretty good time. Hardly any trucks on the road at 9 am compared to 6.

The Gas co. was called out to shut down the heater and he checked everything in the whole house. After writing us up a ticket on the "Cracked air box" and starting up the heater to show me the faulty equipment the tech went through the whole house checking everything. He replaced the valve out on the main coming into the house even, re-lit all the pilots and cleaned the stove top ones too. After saying "Boy, yer lucky, you coulda burnt the whole house down!" with all the tact of a drill Sergeant, I didn't even mind that he was getting wet while working outside. I mean, sure, it wasn't his fault..but c'mon, nice and loud so the baby and stressed out mom could hear wasn't what I needed at that moment. It was obvious we had a close call and we were already on edge.

Okay, so have I scared all of you into going out and buying the monoxide version of the smoke alarm yet? You need one, today. CO is a silent , odorless killer, we were very lucky to have had that thing. It saved the lives of my family and the 32 bucks I spent might as well have 32 zero's behind it on a check right now.

So mom called a guy out of the yellow pages after I had called a friend and dad had called a local company he knew, but we were still kicked out till that was replaced, which wasn't gunna happen till Friday afternoon. Mom's dealin' skills were at full speed and she bartered a second furnace for their house even. The guy got a second call and mom dropped the "my grandson needs heat" line and the guy came out the very next evening to measure and price it out.

We toughed it out the first night with the help of a heater from Grandpa, but we decided to go camp out at the Fitzgerald's for the remainder of the week. Meesh and Brien came to the rescue with their guest bed and awesome hospitality. I dropped 20 minutes off my commute and they got to hang with Griffin and help with a bath even. It was a win-win for both of us.

So Friday I got a call from dad saying it was in: "How do you stop this fire alarm thing?" he says;
I thought to myself, "This can't be good" for a sec, but then it was just all the oils on the inside of the brand spanking new Rheem Classic Plus Super Quiet 80 two stage furnace burning off for the first time. He opened up the windows and let it crank for a few minutes and then headed out to oversee the install at his place. By the time I got home, there was nothing but warm air blasting. Man, this new one cranks it out, it is actually "super quiet" like the title says and doesn't turn on nearly as often.

The Murphy family returned home to a warm house, and all has been fine since.

Thanks family for all the help.

Look Ma... Neck!

2007-12-16T19:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas Spirit

2007-12-16T19:53:00.000-08:00

Daddy Pablo did a wonderful thing for Griffin and I - he brought holiday spirit into the house. I was perfectly resigned to not putting up decorations this year. But as we woke up Saturday morning, he brought out the decorations and tree and set everything up while Griffin and I watched.

Thank you Schmoopie ;o)

Chocolate stout, bottle opener, lipstick tattoo

2007-12-09T22:22:00.000-08:00

Kev and Steph went to the GABF in Denver in October and brought back a beer or two. One of them he brought over and left for me to try. Fort Collins Brewery's Chocolate Stout.

I've had that beer opener for about three years sitting on the shelf, waiting for a good place to put it, but haven't actually found one. Tonight I got fed up with it sitting there taunting me, so I busted out the drill and put it up on the wall. Joanna got it for me from McMenamins from Edgefield (near Portland, our annual trip headquarters). It worked well, as proof in the next shot. The caps just drop right in the can, Who'da thought? genius!It was very tasty, smooth and I wish i had a few more. Kev, work on that would ya? I'd bet dollars to donuts he's already found a better travel bag to take with him to Colorado on his honeymoon in 3 weeks. He brought home about two cases worth of fine ales from that state the last time he went.
"Put your hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care!" Froggy leading the disco dancing as Aunt Michelle takes the boy for a moment while the 'rents get a shower in.
Well, those weren't there a minute ago! I can't blame Meesh, I mean, look at him!

He got his bath this morning, first one where he didn't wail the whole time thru it. Man, what a difference a non-crying baby makes to the whole chores thing. Then Meesh peppered him up good with the smooches and left tattoos all over him for me to clean off again while the ladies went shoppin.

Funny thing, that beer label has a lips print on the label also....I swear, and no- not from me, it's printed that way.

record catch

2007-12-07T20:32:00.000-08:00

How many of you knew that this guy holds the Buena High School Record for Touchdown catches? Did you know he also is part of the record holding 4x400 team?

Well, he caught Griffin pretty well, but the thing was I think he was stil thinking he was in a relay still since he only had him for a minute or two before he handed him off.
~I kid, Griffin was being crabby boy and needed to move, but anyway, Jim always had great skills when it came to catching things.

A Visit with the Collins Clan

2007-12-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

A nice visit with Jim Collins, his wife Megan and Nam, his mom last weekend.

Six-Week Old Fends Off Wild Bear

2007-12-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

6 week old learns to drive

2007-12-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

not really, but wouldn't that be cool?

You always see those over hyped headlines in the world digest type news rags at the counter, I wonder if one of them is going to take my photos and crop in a truck one day and add that head line.

So how's things?

I've added a site counter and meter thingy that gives me stats of how far away people are when they look at my blog, and lots of other techy nerd stuff. It's pretty cool!

The boy is getting large. Still a grumbler, and likes to do big stretches each time I unwrap the swaddle before a changing and feeding. We have him live on G-TV right now, still trying to figure out a way I can get my web cam taped and put on youtube and then put that feed on here.

Last night I took my girlfriend out on a date since my wife is too busy lately. We went to Scotch and Sirloin and had a nice dinner, a beer and even Creme' Brulee' for dessert. Actually once I got her to talk to me a little I found out it was actually Joanna, just in her nice clothes and make up again. See, she's been stuck in the house for 6 weeks and has only seen the outside world maybe 5 times, so Michelle; or should I say St. Michelle, came over and took over the duties with the boy for 2 hours while we had a date. It was great.

The classic part was watching Joanna run around going "Oh NO!!! I don't have anything to wear!" Which in this case was quite accurate. She's lost a few sizes and nothing is fitting her anymore. She looks terrific, and who wants to wear really old clothes the first time out?

(Savvy readers will take note on what she'll need for Christmas gifts)

Our waitress was great, she has a 3 month old we found out. We got the vegetable medley on the side of our plates, and they should have called it the mound of broccoli instead. I stopped the waitress to ask if we could get more than one carrot in the veggies and mentioned we have a "Colicy baby at home" and that broccoli is a gas maker. She told us she has a 18 pound 3 month old at home and knew exactly what we meant. Out came a dish full of carrots, uh okay....

Anyway, dinner was swell, we talked about the boy mostly. We were no more than an hour into our field trip, er- date, and already wanted to call home and see if he was okay still.

When we arrived, we found him mellow and happy. Ten minutes later, we were in our grubs and back to normal. All is good.

There's a first for everything

2007-11-28T22:40:00.001-08:00

Today I got an email from my brother.

~yeah? so....

One that he typed, on a computer....himself.

~whoopee!

For the first time ever! Seriously.
So yeah, WHOOPEEE! That's awesome.

See, for those of you reading this that don't know Joe all that well, he's the kind of guy that doesn't want to be tied down to anything. He has a cell phone, but doesn't use it to call anyone, just if his boss calls him, he'll answer it, but I did get a call the day Griffin was born.
-well, we got disconnected once, but he called back since he was in Kirkwood on the job, but you see, he's not really one with the technical aspects of life in the 21st Century.

But today was a huge first step. Last night he was here and I was showing him how you can buy a laptop for under 500 bucks in about a minute and he was ready to pull the trigger about a minute afterwards. So when he packed up for the trip back to Tahoe today, Sheila gave him her laptop to borrow so he could play around with it and see what's up out there in cyberworld.

It was kinda funny in a way to hear him complain about not being able to get anything done without a computer. He couldn't pay bills (almost), he can't get the info on the skiis he wants from the magazines anymore since they all say "for more info log onto www. buymorecrap.com" and it was kinda sad in a way too, since I've been online since March of 1995 and just take it for granted.

12 and a half years...man, time flies when your'e online huh? But I couldn't imagine life without being plugged in. Joe relishes it, and I envy that. But I'm glad he's willing to give it a try.
I already showed him all the weather sites he can check out for the big powder mornings and the camera's all over Squaw Valley that he can remotely control and I showed him Ebay and Paypal. ~Yes I warned him. He's heard it all.

What's funny is, I still remember the very first website I went to back then. It was WebMD and I did a search on causes of epilepsy. Then Kevin showed me chat rooms, and I searched for breweries and beer recipies and sat at his house till 3 in the morning asking him about graphics programs and "what's a shortcut?"

Well Joser, I'm proud of ya brother! Now you can check this out and stay in touch with your nephew and family and enjoy a whole new world of junkmail and timewasters.

Better yet, here's his address, send him your favorite stuff and show him the ropes.
g4joer6@yahoo.com

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-23T19:22:00.000-08:00

A family feast was had at the Murphy's house on the hill in Ventura yesterday.

Karen came from LA and Joe made it home from Tahoe. Uncle Owen and Aunt Laura flew out from Virginia and we all enjoyed the grandparents cooking skills.

We had pumpkin pie for dessert, and of course the obligatory canned cranberry sauce for me.

This year we had two grandchildren present, Leah and Griffin.

The weather was clear, cool in the morning , but warmed up nicely in the afternoon.

You can see my photos in the slide show to the right. Mouse over it and pause or move forward and back if you want.

Owen played the piano, the girls gave Joe dating tips and G-man slept alot.

Thanks for the good grub!

One month complete, 479 to go to match me

2007-11-17T22:28:00.000-08:00

So the little guy passed a huge milestone this week. He turned a month old!

And the big guy passed a larger milestone, no not a gall stone; but his 40th birthday.

Dad gave me a copy of Griffin's genealogy, which goes back 9 generations. Pretty amazing to look at all the names, dates and history that this guy has in him. Lot's of Franks, Harold's and James and Johns, but he's the first Griffin! (He would have been the first Thelonious Danger also) Joanna dug up a copy of hers and there's a Napoleon in there even. I see that we have a Primeau in the blood lines, wonder if that family in Ontario has ties to the huge hockey player with the same surname? hmmm.....

We received a great gift from Uncle Owen and Aunt Laura, socks! Not just any socks though, ones that look like Chuck Taylor Converse. We also had a delivery for Griffin all the way from Linden, Michigan. Not to belittle the socks sis, but this gift rocked! It was his first Hockey shirt, and not just any hockey shirt, but a RED WINGS HOCKEY SHIRT!!! I guess the red socks will go with it pretty well. Thanks Aunt Betty and Uncle Tom! Griffin and I will be matching uni's when we go to the WINGS vs. kings game in January.

So what's going on around here anyway? Well, we've been battling a cold, Joanna has a terrible cough that wont let her go more than 4 minutes without hacking from a tickle in her throat so basically she's gotten maybe an hour of sleep each 8 hours of the day in between feeding times and the like. oh, our neighbor had the jack hammer running all day again today. Yeah, that's great. I had a talk with him this morning, lets just say he got the business end of my negotiation skills after he told me that I should go get him a longer air hose if I don't want the motorized compressor 5 feet from where Joanna is trying to rest. This isn't one of those little utility compressors, this is one of those huge, on a trailer, vibrate the whole house with it's huge, rumbling smelly motor type industrial work site compressors. The kind that when you pass a work site you see them 50 yards away form where the guy is using them because they are so frickin loud! Third weekend folks......the third weekend of my sons life in a row where he thinks he lives in a rattling, vibrating, humming, deafening clacking home.

Somebody tell me again why I have to find a solution for this guy's problem? Wouldn't a reasonable, mature adult after 3 weekends of not hearing a peep from a guy next door at least admit that it was loud and just go get another 100 feet of air line once he heard of the sick people next door? what a jack ass.....anyway.

So I'm 40 now.
yay.

Kidding, it's actually pretty cool. Now when that pierced freak at the counter asks, "Can I help you SIR?" he's actually correct.

I did find my first grey chest hair last week though....ugh. What am I complaining about, my beard is practically solid grey and has been for years; so I'm kinda puzzled why it took so long for the chest to follow suit.

But like they say, the mind is first to go. I forgot my cell phone on my birthday , so when Joanna called me to wish me Happy 40th, it rang on the table in the entry way, instead of in my pocket.
oh well.

So , what have I learned?
Always but the Maximum Strength of anything....if there's a regular, and a Maximum....go big.

40 years ago my parents probably had the same full hearts that i have now when I look at my son, only a huge difference is unlike my dad, I'm not 26 with two daughters as well. Granted, I would love to be able to afford a house on 4 bucks an hour and have gas cost 11 cents a gallon!

I wonder if there will be oil when Griffin hits month #480? Might cost $1000 a barrel by then.

I wonder how many more branches to the Murphy Family tree will there be, and if Joanna and I will have a Thelonious after all.

Aunt Michelle, a furry beast, and Snoopy......

OH I KID!!!!!

G~TV has Worldwide audience

2007-11-10T19:16:00.000-08:00

Griffin had his first international viewer of G-TV today.

Tuned in from Tel Aviv was Elliot watching the boy wriggle around and wave.

We took the big kid out for a drive today, it was nice weather and we had to get out of the house. The neighbor rented an air hammer and spent all day rattling our house too as he broke up his pool.

We took Telegraph Rd. east thru Santa Paula and then turned North and went to Ojai. Griffin loved it with the sunroof open watching the trees go by and hearing all the Harley's rumble past.

We contemplated taking him into a restaurant for the first time, but since he was doing so well, we figured we'd keep on going. We finished the loop back into Ventura along the beach and then home. It was nice to see the scenery, and not our four walls for once.

He's challenging us with the spitting up of his meals. It's really frustrating to have Jo work so hard with him, and then he keeps it for a half hour and then wants to return it to us for some reason. We've tried holdinghim more vertical, shorter feedings, more burp stops and combo's of everything we can think of, but this week has been a little rough on the mom.

here's a few pics we took, he wore shoes today for the first time.

and those will be the last for that pair, they barely fit him....too bad, I liked 'em.

Getting bigger

2007-11-09T04:59:00.000-08:00

He's gaining mass folks! We've broken the 9 pound 4 ounce barrier and are heading straight for 10 pounds!

We had a slight weight gain issue the past few weeks that the doc wanted us to tackle. For some unknown reason, they want the baby up to his weigh in within 2 weeks of birth, so they feel good about his plumbing and engine I guess. We'll, I don't need his weigh in to tell me his plumbing works. It is working, overtime.

Well, yesterday grandpa came and helped Joanna and Griffin to the doc's office and put the little fighter up on the rack. He's back baby! we stuffed 12 ounces on the bruiser in a week, with uppin' the reps and making him press bigger volumes. No, we didn't have the theme from Rocky playing, but we shoulda!

Joanna is doing great, already losing the pregnancy weight and looking great. Feet swelling was a problem, but it looks as if that is going away rapidly now. Grandma has come over and sat with Griffin for a few hours to give her time for a long shower and a walk around the 'hood, which helped out huge! thanks Mom!

Daddy spent last Thursday and Friday up in Pismo. (wha? how could he?) I know, trust me, I know.... It was the 6th Annual Surf n turf Landcruiser weekend and if you can only get one event in, this is the one. I left around noon, and headed up the 101 without much traffic at all. Pulled into Pismo around2:30 -ish and was on sand by 3 after a quick stop at the store for Mole, ice and water and some cilantro and limes.

Mole, cilantro, limes...what could that be for? MEATFESTIVUS!

We had the mother of all pork cookouts! It was awesome, and I had the front row seat, shotgun!
Rick Cortez,(from the Frogtown Artwalk in LA) bought a La Caja China box after we spent that night talking about it, and Baby Blues of course; and brought it up for the weekend for it's maiden voyage.

It's a Cuban way of cooking pork, well pretty much anything really, by heating up the air under the coals in the box and using marinaded meat. It works. AWESOME, I might add. granted, we we're looking at this huge plywood box and a few bags of charcoal standing on a beach with lots of cold fog and wind and sand everywhere ;that was bound to make it's way in the box, with some trepidation. Did Rick just spend a bunch of money on something that wasn't gunna work out? Did we have enough coals? Why call it the China Box if Cubans use it?

So the cilantro and limes were for the pork tacos we made Thursday night with the 16 pounds of pork shoulder I marinaded at 5 am that day. See, while I made it look like I needed to go to Costco for a diaper run and stuff, I really needed to get the boneless pork shoulder for the cook out we had planned. I threw together the garlic and lime marinade that morning while getting the boy up and changed and ready for a feeding

and while making breakfast for the wife

and doing some laundry

and packing the rig before we went to his weigh in where they told us he was below his target weight.

So I stuffed the two 8 pounders in a couple freezer bags and headed to the doc's all loaded up in the Highlander. Afterwards, came home and got the dishes cleaned up and then rolled out.

yeah, that was harsh. I know. All the guys in Pismo did a great job of laying on the guilt too.

Funny how that all stopped after they ate the pork though.

So how does it work? You pull out the grates, slap the meat in between them, wire them shut, place inside the box. leave them there.

on top of the box you start a bag of coals, when grey you spread them out. An hour later, flip the rack on the inside and add more coals to the top. one hour more, add more coals, a half hour after that, flip rack, add more coals. 20 minutes, start peeking. If it's crispy enough for you, pull it. if not, leave it and look again in 10 minutes.

We went with 3 hours time. AWESOME( have I said that yet) the meat was juicy throughout, the outer layer of skin was crispy and the garlic and lime juice was amazing. We even threw in naked pork shoulders and chicken and they were cooked to perfection as well! I steamed all the tortillas on top of the coals in a envelope of tin foil and chopped up the cilantro and limes and opened a bag of cheese. When it came time to eat, you didn't have to say a word, the 40 people that were at the camp came with plates ready!

I chopped up 3 and a half pork shoulders in about 5 minutes, the stuff was just falling apart!

GRUB! it was like a group orgasm the way people were oohing and ahhing over the moisture and texture. And I didn't even do the marinade completely right, or for as long as it should've been!

Friday at Lunch, Alvaro brought out his 30 pounds of pork done the right way and we did it a second time. uh--Perfection.

then I got to judge to Sand Chef competition! I got a medal for being the "most involved" judge or something like that for my intensity and dedication to the task at hand. ..c'mon, challenge me!

My flikr site has a bunch of pics from the trip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pablovta/sets/72157602891720020/

Thanks honey for letting the big guy go to Porkstock 2007!

SleepEatPoopSleepEatPoop...

2007-11-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

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Hi everyone! Here I am in my cozy moses basket just snoozin' the day away. I probably just had lunch in this pic - mmmm! Just saw the baby doc yesterday and he said keep eatin' - heck, eat even more and keep gaining weight. Well, ya don't have to tell me twice!

Mom's holding me in this one. She looked pretty funny trying to manuever (gee that's a big word for such a young boy?) the camera to take this one. She's got talent!

She wanted me to include a photo of her in action and not lookin' too tired. How can she be tired? All she has to do is take care of me 24/7! Is that so hard?!

heart breaker

2007-10-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

So USC lost today, am I gunna be upset? not even.

Saw that the Gators got beat also. Sorry Brooks.

My boy was wearing his kick ass jersey I made for him at the shower.

Maybe the mojo was what crushed USC? propelled the Dogs over the Gators? maybe...

It obviously helped us win the little brown jug trophy for the 65th time. Nice.

Speaking of little brown jugs....

I had a great beer with dinner last night, Sierra Nevada's Harvest Ale. It's the only beer made in the United States with fresh flower hops, whole. Not the processed, squeezed and dried kind they usually use, or the pellets that some lesser brewers use. They used 8000 pounds of hops this year for the brewing that lasted a day and a half.

Man, I can't say thanks enough for the DVD "happiest Baby" that the Brookeses let us borrow. hmmm, borrow? does that mean they are going for two? Major needs a wing man!

Today I had "G-tv" on for the sis in Virginia, and the one in Camarillo too. here's a shot of Matt and I geekin out with the web cam. If you wanna see him, I'll have him on tomorrow, if you have Yahoo messenger loaded I can send you an invite and you can watch all the excitement live.

It's actually pretty awesome, he stares right into it alot. No I have no plans to turn him into the truman show, but it's a great way for all of you to get to see him and save the thousand bucks on air fare.

Vandals attack masterpiece art

2007-10-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

Some of you might know that i'm in the Landcruiser club here in Ventura county.

They've all been giving me a hard time as i've been weaseling out of the monthly runs lately with excuses like, "My wifes 7 months pregnant, I cant take her off roading!" and the like.

So I posted up the shot that is on the header and this is what they did to it.

I'm fine with it, actually. I think it's hilarious, I had the idea myself actually but never uttered a word about it to them.

Let's just hope he waits till 10th grade to start shaving like I did. I sure don't want the bearded preschooler to be my kid.

all in all we've had a productive week, the nursery is back in full form, and the Murphy Dairy is at peak production. Meesh and Brien have helped out enormously, as have gram and gramps Murphy when they have power at their house. (fire related issues?)

Smoke isn't an issue now, but the crying was getting to be overwhelming. tonight we watched a DVD; that Major (Pain) Brooks and his beautiful wife Becca with their daughter Amelia sent us called "happiest baby on the block" and it shouldv'e been the video they made us watch before we left the hospital. Sheila actually gave us the book to read recently, but admittedly I couldn't keep my eyes open hardly thru the movie even.

What I did glean from it thru a half open eye was that a tight swaddling, rolling him to the side and shushing him in the ear is a good thing. Drop in the Binky and give him a wobble on top of all of that, and he's stealth. We just used it. GENIUS!

I'm off to catch an hour or two of shut eye before the 11pm, then 1 am, then 4 am duties. or is that dooties?

I'm wondering if it's in the bylaws where a VP can oust a club member..hmmm......Jus kiddin, he's hot!

smoke and more smoke

2007-10-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Malibu started on fire Sunday, then there was a huge fire above Fillmore.

What? you didn't see that one on TV?

Then there were fires out in Saugus, Augua Dulce, Castaic, Irvine, and then San Diego's uber wealthy Rancho Bernardo.

The smoke was funneling down thru Ventura so bad, you could hardly breathe.

It's' better now, but still smoky. we lost a few tree tops on our street, and the guy across the street almost lost his car cover, but I helped him out. Picked a really bad week to leave the Mercedes S class out in the driveway.

Nothing really more to say about it that all the news channels haven't already.

I hope they find the bastards who started most of these.

yesterday I actually could open a window finally. fires are still burning though, like the one near Piru still.

Griffin sees Doc, asks What's up?

2007-10-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

The boy has put on a quarter pound alread and is eyeing the heavyweight title one again.

Dr. Blank saw him today and had a good report. Parents are doing fine, not over feeding or starving him or any of the hundreds of other concerns that fill our heads every second of each hour of sleep deprivation.

It seems there is a fire emergency here in SoCal at the moment. The smoke fills the air and makest it dark outside in the middle of the day even. Yesterday I went to Lowe's at 2ish and it was snowing ashes and we had 35 mile an hour wind gusts till about a few hours ago. It's horrible. Hundreds of homes have burnt from Santa Barbara to San Diego. I got pretty concerned over the air quality and bought an air purifier for the house. What a difference that makes. We've basically sat trapped in a house with all the windows shut and 80 degrees plus with no a/c for the past 2 days. Thank god for Aunt Meesh's lasagna and mac n cheeze and Sheila bringing mom's brisket dinner and mashed potatoes. I dont think Griffin is the only one puttin on the weight.

This Hunter room air ionizer and HEPA filter is the shizznet though. It moves a ton of air and neer needs a new filter, you can just clean them off. It has a remote, and is programmable even.
Not sure how much a ton of air is, but it's alot.

Joanna's got her feet up and Griffin is trying his best to soil each and every item of clothing he owns, before the snaps and sleeves are in place. It's his own little challenge.

So he's a week old already....still no signs of genius or savant like behavior from him that's obvious.

he did smile at me. I'll take that as proof.

96 hours of baby on the wall, 96 hours o....

2007-10-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, all I can say is wow!
To all the parents out there, I salute you.

Whooda thought that after 50 hours with only two hours of sleep you could actually deal with a diaper bomb that resembles gear oil, projectile vommiting, wailing and having your son get his tool cut to the metric equivalent? I'm surprised I wasn't committed, but the nursing staff put up with me fine.

Joanna is doing great. Griffin is doing super great.

He does not like the formula, well; I should say his tank doesn't like to keep the formula.
He can take the formula, he just doesn't keep it. The reason for the formula is that he dropped alot of weight, and they need to keep him in the zone. Sure the nurses try to calm you down by saying the diapers were bigger than usual, and they weigh alot....come on now...if that sounds like a sell , it is. All babies lose weight, i'm cool with that...don't tell me he's a large pooper come on, he's under 100 hours old!

No worries, Joanna is doing awesome now and Griffin's charging right along on schedule. Schedule..there's a concept. You have to write down everything while at the hospital because I never knew this, but it seems nurses only work one day in a row there. We had a different nurse every 12 hours; and with that came different techniques, advice, tips, rules and attitudes.

Check this out; from yesterday till ~now:
got home around 2pm
5pm = Motrin
7pm = Percaset and feed Griffin
10pm = feed the sweet boy
1AM = perc, motrin and feed
4 am = feed the projectile monster
7 am = perc and feed the diaper destroyer
9am = motrin ( for the cankles) and sutures swelling
10 am= feed the sleepy head
1pm= perc and feed
4pm = feed
5pm = Motrin for mommy, dad looking at jar and wondering if she'll miss a few?
7 pm=Percaset for mommy....dad really wondering if these will be missed too, Griffin party of one for the table with a view.
10 pm= feed the boy again.
1AM= Perc for mommy + Motrin and then feed again.

we get to do this schedule for another week or so! jealous?

so you can see why new parents have a glazed look on them when you see them in the store with sunglasses on and a old t-shirt with yellow crust (two days old) on the shoulders; buying gauze pads, stool softener and diapers.

good times. (praying no colic sets in!)

I wont get into the stuff Joanna is going thru, all I can say is you ladies rule.
I have never once made the argument that a man could do the job of a mother, and after seeing Joanna take this charge and never lose it once , it's amazing. You'd have to be a complete idiot to ever utter the thought that a man can do it just as well..no flippin way!

Thank God I have such an awesome wife that gave me such a perfect baby boy. I would have charged my head thru a wall by this time if the roles were reversed. I'm not sure what is more amazing, the perfect little sounds coming from a happy baby, or seeing Joanna do this over and over again with such a positive attitude.

Sure, you can have Ice cream for breakfast!

put your feet up, let me rub them for you.

Babe, sleep, now!

these are some of my best plays so far.
I'm the "Coach" after all.

half time's over, gotta go start up the milk machine.

Seriously people!

2007-10-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

where did you bring me?

less than 52 hours ago I was peaceful, content and happy just doing my thing, and now look at me!

I've been abruptly awakened, had all my orifices poked and prodded and sucked out and had this anti theft "Lo Jack" installed on my ankle like some convict and then you go and stab me with needles?

Seriously, put me back, or prepare for another night of loud persuasion of the vocal kind like this morning...this is your last warning.

And the worst? I'll tell you, after getting weighed in front of total strangers, in my birthday suit; which yes, I know it's only 3 days old, but still...and then stuck with another needle and then returned back to my new digs I was rudely interrupted once again! Look, I don't know where you guys get off just waking me up every 3 hours, but it's really going to put a drag on this relationship in a hurry. Like this morning, remember when I was abiding your laws of forced induction and then Dr. Blank comes in and takes me away? yeah, funny little trick you played on me there, I thought he was possibly going to save me from your madness, but nooo, he ends up taking a knife to my special parts! what kind of sick joke is this people? Sure, lull me into this false sense of comfort and then swoop me away with some supposed authority figure and let him just slice away at my parts, it's crazy I tell you.

Seriously? Dr. Blank, that's his real name. You wanna no why? so nobody an find him once we start walking, I know..I've had conversations with the other dudes on the second floor all night long and we've all come to the same conclusion. yeah, that supposed "crying" I think you call it, it's really our secret code. Trust me, everyone on this floor knows that I'm in the biggest room in the whole hospital, I mean, what did you expect? you just had me lying in front of the whole world naked to see my newly shortened man tool, It's not like I had a whole lot to work with originally!

Okay, so who's the guy with the furry face and the carnitas smelling breath? He needs to lighten up with the hot sauce, he slobbered on my forehead this morning and I'm still warm!

You know what, actually, I think it was him that called Dr. Blank to the room, I'm gunna stick with the lady from now on, at least she's got the food and a wonderful attitude with a soft touch. Seriously, big guy...get some lotion on those mits of yours next time you do a midnight swaddling okay?