Remember playing Hi-Ho Cherry-O?

Do you remember your game Hi-Ho Cherry-O? I got it for you while I lived in Encinitas.

The game involved spinning to see how many fruits you would "pick" from a tree and place in your basket. You could choose from cherries,blueberries, oranges or apples to pick.

You always had to be careful to not spin the dog. He would tip over your basket,and you;d have to start picking fruit all over again!

Recall our gem trail hiking guidebook?

Do you remember the gem trail book that I used to have? I often used it to plan hiking trips for us where we could find fossils and cool rocks in Southern California.

Though the book was borrowed from the library, I photocopied a number of the pages, and read it quite a lot, so it sat prominently on my desk.

I remember when we once hiked Red Rock Canyon State Park in the Mojave Desert, and while we we were in the gift shop, you saw it on the bookshelf and said, "Hey, we have that book!" So I wonder if you still remember it today...

I think that day I got you stuffie at the gift store, though I can't remember if it was a bat, a road runner, or a songbird. Anyway, there are lots of photo albums on my Facebook site of our gem and fossil trail hikes, and I will show them to you one day (as well as some of the rocks that we'd collected!).

Recall 'Luke Skywaker's Amazing Story'?

Our discussion this past weekend of you wanting books to read at your mother's place got me thinking of all of the great books you once had. You probably had close to a hundred of them at the green house in Lancaster.

Then when I went to the book store to purchase a bunch of them for you, I began to wonder if I should rebuy some of those books for you or go for totally new ones?

Anyway, one of the books you had - and one I couldn't find! - was "Luke Skywaker's Amazing Story". About half of the book came from "Star Wars IV: A New Hope", and the other half was a mix of the highlights from the two movies that came after.

You absolutely loved the book! You'd have me read it to you night after night as a bedtime story, and the pictures kept you in rapt attention.

I think if I can find this book somewhere, I will purchase it for you, just for old time's sake!

Finger lights to search for monsters!

I bet your remember the cool finger lights we had when at the condo in Palmdale! They came in three colors - red, green and blue - and could be worn on your fingers with a little elastic band that held them in place.

The condo was perfect for the finger lights because even during the day as two back bathrooms were dark enough that we could sneak into them, pretending to search for monsters. Of course, they were even better at night when almost every room could be dark!

You liked to play so much with the finger lights that you actually drove me crazy! I'd have to break up the pay with other activities.

When we moved back to Minnesota/Wisconsin, I got some new finger lights that you, Bryan and Rebekah played with at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Three years ago today at 'cowboy museum'

Playing in the Chinese resturant at "the cowboy museum,"
Dec. 10, 2011.

Three years today we visited the Autry National Center of the American West - or what you liked to call "the cowboy museum"!

At first, I didn't think you'd like going to the cowboy museum, as it would be too formal. But you were enamored by the Old West paintings - and even more taken by the cool Hollywood Old West sound stage and the great kids area in the basement.

The kids area included a typical California house from the 1930s and a Chinese restaurant from that period in Los Angeles. We played a lot in both places - in the latter one, you would cook me a meal and be my waiter while I was the customer!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our trip!

Remember Star Wars' pop-up book?

When visiting bookstores as a preschooler with me, one of the Star Wars books you often enjoyed looking at was "Star Wars: A Pop-up Guide to the Galaxy." In fact, I think we got a copy of the book at the library in Lancaster, Calif.

With each page were several illustrations that popped up and flaps that could be pulled to create scenes from the various Star Wars movies. Among them was the cantina from "A New Hope"; it as so elaborate that it almost looked like a mini playset!

Another scene had the big battle between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker from "Return of the Jedi." Sometimes you'd like to take the two characters and have a light lightsaber battle between them!

View-master reels about Redwood Hwy.

Yesterday I wrote a trail guide summary about the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park. It's the location of a giant tree that had a tunnel carved through it so people could say they drove through a tree! I remember that well because as a child I had a View-master reel about the national parks, and one of the pictures showed the tree. I always thought going there would be very cool!

That got me to thinking about you. Why? Because I once found a View-master reel set about the Redwood Highway, which included a picture of Crescent City, Calif., where you lived as a baby (You were born just off the highway in Eureka, Calif.). I bought it and stored it in a tote, hoping to give it to you one day.

In all of the moving around last year, I don't know if I still have it, though. I am very sad when I think about it possibly being lost. Soon, though, I will unpack all of that stuff and look to see if I have it. If not, I somehow shall find it online!

Two years ago today in Disneyland

Nov. 25, 2011, Disneyland

Two years today, we spent the day in Disneyland! It was the Friday after Thanksgiving.

The day before (on Thanksgiving), I'd driven all the way up from Encinitas to Palmdale to pick you up, and we enjoyed a meal at Marie Callenders in Moreno Valley before arriving at my place outside of San Diego for the evening. I had the turkey special, but you enjoyed a hamburger and fries!

The next morning, we drove up to Disneyland to enjoy it for the Christmas holidays. I think we stopped at Ruby's Diner in Carlsbad on the way up there, but I might have that mixed up with something else.

Anyways, I remember one of the highlights is that you were fascinated by the Disneyland Christmas tree. And the It's a Small World ride was decked out as well with Christmas decorations!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our day!

Your Balok and puppet Star Trek figures

Do you remember your Balok and puppet action figure set? It was a Star Trek collection of three action figures, which included Captain Kirk, Balok, and his menacing-looking puppet.

I had purchased the set back in 1998 when there were tons of Star Trek toys out. I always liked to collect those from The Origianl Series.

I never opened it and kept it packed in totes in our garage at the green house in Lancaster, Calif. After you discovered that I had action figures/toys in the totes, you eventually came across the set!

Though I planned to collect the action figures, so many of them were produced that most were worth less than I paid for them, so I figured why not open 'em and let you play with them? After all, it gave us an extra Captain Kirk (We also got one with the shuttlecraft!)!

Two years ago today we were at Legoland!

In front of a Bioncle, Nov. 19, 2011

Two years ago today we spent the day at Legoland in Carlsbad, California!

We started our day with a trip to Moonlight Beach in Encinitas and from there headed on over to Legoland. I'm not sure why we went to the beach first, as we usually saved that for Sunday mornings. Perhaps Legoland wasn't quite opened yet or I wanted to save Sunday for another activity that required us to drive.

We spent a good hour or so doing the Aquazone ride over and over at Legoland! You also bravely went down the tall slide in the park's Egyptian section!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Remember Charlie Bown Farms?

Four years ago today, we stopped at Charlie Brown Farms in Little Rock, Calif., to look at the dinosaurs! You may recall that they had all of these statues for sale, and among them were several man-sized dinos.

Charlie Brown Farms always was a fun palce to explore because they had lots of itneresting stuff there to discover and play with. They also had mega amounts of candy and soda pop options!

It was across the road from a McDonalds that we sometimes stopped at. I almost always pulled off there on my way back to San Diego for a little dinner to eat in the car.

Here's some pictures from our adventure!

Remember hiking Piute Butte?

Three years ago today we hiked Piute Butte east of Lancaster, Calif.! It was the site of ancient Indian villages and the Antelope Valley Indian Museum.

We began with a hike around the grounds through some interesting rock formations. You really liked the loop because there were numbered markers identifying key sights, and you liked finding the next number! The picture at right is of you showing disbelief because somehow you'd missed marker No. 8!

Afterward, we went into the museum, which was this neat building literally built over rock on the side of the butte. You enjoyed looking at all of the pottery and Indian artifacts.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Your picture is in a magazine!

Your picture appeared in an online magazine last week! Every few weeks I write an article about hiking for Seattle Backpackers Magazine and usually send along photos to go with the text.

My most recent article is about dressing kids for winter hikes. Of course, I had photos of you dressed for winter, from when we went up into the mountains after a snowfall while living at the greenhouse in Lancaster, Calif. (at right).

The photo shows us sitting in a sled together! You might remember that I pulled up the hill on the sled and then we went sliding down it together.

Here's the article!

Remember going to the rock show?

Three years ago today, we attended the Rock 'n Gem Roundup, held at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds. We had a blast!

Like an asteroid blast - you got to stand next to the fossil skill of a T-rex, which was so large that it could have eaten you whole! You also got to look at all kinds of other rocks; I believe it's one of the reasons that you're still interested in gems and minerals (When we were at the Minnesota Zoo a couple of weeks ago, you even bought a geode with amethyst in it!).

You won the drawing for free gems at the show, by the way, and got a necklace with a fossilized shell in it! In truth, I think they rigged the contest because they wanted to keep young children interested in their hobby (The Palmdale Gem and Mineral Club sponsored the event). Not that we complained!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Remember dressing up as a knight?

Nov. 5, 2011, Escondido Renaissance Festival

Two years ago today we attended the Escondido Renaissance Festival.

You dressed up as a knight in a Halloween costume I purchased. All of the festival workers, who also were dressed up in such garb, were delighted to see you all decked out and gave you lots of attention for it!

We spent a lot of time at the playground; there was a tire swing in particular that you liked. We also bought from a vendora "stuffie" pirate ship that you absolutely loved! It came with a little stuffie pirate!

There also was march of the queen and her court through the grounds, as well as a large mock battle that we watched.

I also remember that the day was a bit cool, but you seemed warm enough in the costume!

Here's a bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Remember our hike in Nightmare Gulch?

Three years today we hiked Nightmare Gulch!

The canyon is deep in Red Rock Canyon State Park and absolutely otherwordly. Walls of volcanic ash rise up to 20 stories above the canyon floor and virtually no plants grow there.

You walked part of the way, but we went quite deep into the canyon, so I carried you on out in the child carrier. You had a lot of fun playing with the few mud puddles we found along the way!

Here's a whole bunch pictures from our adventure!

Remember hiking Mormon Rocks?

Four years ago today we hiked the Mormon Rocks in the San Bernardino National Forest. We'd often passed the rocks on our way to Disneyland and Pomona, so stopping there for a hike seemed like an idea that was long overdue!

We hiked the southeast corner group of the rocks, taking a trail that rose about 300 feet above the surrounding desert into the hogbacks. The San Andreas Fault runs only a few hundreds away from Mormon Rocks in Lone Pine Canyon.

When we were all done with the hike, you pushed the gear back to the truck as I took it off! You always liked to pitch in and help. Plus I think you were excited about going to McDonalds for a hamburger - which we did when all done with the hike!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Remember playing 'Scary Monster"?

With today being Halloween, I thought I'd share my memories of playing "scary monster" with you! When we were in the green house in Lancaster, you would pretend to be taking a "nap" on the sofa and then say, "Dad, Dad, I think I hear something!"

I'd say, "There's nothing there!"

"There was, there was!" you'd say.

"I'll go check and show you that everything is okay!"

Then I'd go into the hallway where you couldn't quite see me, and I'd say really loud, "There's nothing here. Now you go back to taking your nap!" I'd start walking back to you and go, "Hey, what was that noise?" Turning around, I'd go, "Oh my God, what is that?"
Then I'd make loud monster growling noises and go "Aggh!" and pretend to slam myself into the wall and slide down it.

A second of silence would pass (You'd be peeking over the sofa to try to see what was happening.), and then I'd start walking with a limp like a zombie toward you, making monster growling noises and saying, "Now I can eat that little boy!"

You'd jump off the sofa and run screaming into the kitchen, where you'd break out in laughter!

Happy Halloween, Kieran!

Remember hiking to the dry lake bed?

Celebrating that we've reached
the shore of the dry lake bed

Three years ago today we hiked the El Mirage Dry Lake Beds east of Lancaster, Calif. It's in the Mojave Desert below the back range of the San Gabriel Mountains.

The day we were there, the dry lake bed wasn't entirely dry, though! Rain had recently fallen, so there was an inch or two sheen of water across much of the lake bed.

At this point in your life, you were able to walk on your own during our hikes, but the amount of mileage you were willing do varied each time; we didn't walk very far on this one. I think you were fairly excited about going to the nature center, though, and so wanted to cut this hike a little short!

Here are a whole bunch of photos from our adventure to the dry lake bed!

Remember the Science Museum?

Four years ago today we visited the Discovery Science Museum in Santa Ana, Calif.!

This was your first visit to the museum! We spent a little time looking at the interactive stuff.

But most of our time was spent in the dinosaur section. It had a great play area that you really enjoyed!

Afterward, We spent the afternoon at Disneyland!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our trip at the science museum.