Our visit to Disneyland two years ago

In the band at the House of the Future in Tomorrowland.

Two years ago today we went to Disneyland together! That summer, I was living in San Diego, so we often stopped in Disney along the way from Palmdale to Encinitas.

You participated in the Jedi Academy, and around this time that summer, we had memorized the three light saber moves: "To the left shoulder...to the right leg...to the head"!

We then went over to the House of the Future, where you played the drums in a band! That aftenroon, we spent a good amount of time playing at the Redwood Challenge Trail in California Adventure.

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

Our trip to Disneyland two years ago today

On the teacups ride at Disneyland, July 9, 2011.

Two years today, we went to Disneyland together!

The day began as it usually did with our weekend visits that summer/autumn. I picked you up Saturday morning, we had breakfast ont he way at the Burger King in Little Rock, and then drove to Disneyland!

While at the park, we spent some time in Fantasyland, then you participated in the Jedi Academy. You also got to be the pirate helper during storytime at the House of the Future in Tomorrowland. They read "Peter Pan."

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

A musical flashback to our past

Entry to Snow White's Scary Adventure
at Disneyland.

The other day while listening to NPR, one of the tunes playing between the reports was this old German folk song (The reports were about Germany.), and I knew I'd heard that song before - in fact, I'd heard it quite a lot before! I couldn't quite place where, and then it hit me - I'd heard it in Disneyland at Fantasyland. It was one of the many songs that played on the speakers in the background as walking by the Snow White and Pinocchio rides.

Oh, how I miss not being able to take you there! We had quite a number of great adventures at Disneyland, adventures that will I'll never forget. But that still falls a little short of being able to make new memories with you!

I don't know the song's title, but if I ever figure it out, I will post it here with a file of the song for you to hear!

Taken back to our Disneyland plants

Bird of paradise flower

While visiting a local nursery (a place where plants are sold), I was taken back to the many times that we visited Disneyland. One of the beauties of that place is its great landscaping with all of the wonderful flowers and plants.

The nursery had those cool shrubs that spiral around and can be cut into shapes like there were at the It's a Small World ride. It also had white gardenias (a staple of the Los Angeles landscape), the herbs that grow in the Storybook Land ride, and bird of paradise that lined the sidewalk each walk we took from the parking ramp to the park entrance.

Do you remember the distinctive fragrance that filled the Disneyland night, especially in Downtown Disney as we neared the exit gates or the trams? That was midnight jasmine, which blooms in the evening.

Remember Jack Sparrow and pirates?

On Friday when looking at Toys R Us for some more "Star Trek" characters, I came across some of the old Disney "Pirates of the Caribbean" action figures, and they brought back a flood of memories!

You really like Jack Sparrow and had him and a few other of the Pirates action figures. You also had a super big pirate boat for the action figures that we got one night at Disneyland.

When we were at the Disneyland Pieces of Eight pirate store in New Orleans square, we'd sometimes get the swords and other pirate gear and pretend to be dueling pirates. I'd say "Tell me where the treasure is, Jack Sparrow, or I'll run ye through!"

And when in San Diego, we'd sometimes go to the maritime museum where they had old sailing vessels that you could tour. You called the museum "the pirate ships" (though submarines were there, too)!

I also had a big picture book that I kept in the car about pirates that you'd look at when we made those long journeys between San Diego and Palmdale.

Recall your cool shark-tooth necklace?

Do you remember the cool necklace fabric necklace I got for you at Disneyland summer 2011? It was made of light brown rope-like material that had dark brown and white beads weaved into it; a shark tooth hung from it.

The necklace looked great with with your surfer T-shirts and sunglasses, and you often liked to wear it. I recall once when taking you to school that you asked to wear it and did so proudly when you got to the schoolgrounds.

Once I find in my photo collection a picture of you wearing it, I will be sure to post it here!

Fortunately, the necklace is one of the few items of yours that I was able to rescue from my Palmdale condo before it was ransacked. I still have it - and am proudly keeping it as I await the day that we are reunited.

At Disneyland two years ago today

Our perspective for the June 11, 2011, Jedi Academy.

Two years ago today we were at Disneyland together, Kieran!

Perhaps the highlight of the day was that we watched the Jedi Academy just a little offstage. You hadn't participated yet in the show, and we were checking it out so that you could see how it all worked.

About midway during the show, Darth Vader came back by us and slapped his light saber on the railing right next to where you were, and you jumped back!

When Darth Vader walked away, you turned to me and said, "I don't like that Darth Vader!"

Here are a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

What we did two years ago today

June 4, 2011, California Adventure

Two years today we spent the day in Disneyland!

I had just moved to San Diego and so didn't have a lot of money - one thing I did have, though, were our annual passes to Disneyland! So we started using them every weekend we were together until I got a few more dollars into my account.

We went to Fantasyland, Toontown, and Tom Sawyer's Island. That afternoon, we headed over to California Adventure for the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail! One of the cool things you did at the chellenge trail was the tire swing!

Here are some pictures from our day!

Spending Memorial Day at Disneyland

Kieran at Disneyland, May 30, 2011.

Two years ago today, we spent Memorial Day at Disneyland!

I had just moved to San Diego, and when picking you up for the weekend, we went to Disneyland on Saturday and then drove along the ocean back to my place in Encinitas. Having just moved, I didn't have a lot of spare money, but since Disneyland was on the way between my place and your mother's, and since we had Disneyland annual passes, going there again on Monday made sense.

We spent a good amount of time in the morning at Fantasyland and then during the afternoon went over to California Adventure. I remember us seeing the Muppet 3D show and going on the Monsters Inc. ride.

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

Memorial Day weekend trip to Disneyland

Two years ago today, we spent the day at Disneyland in what would become one of many trips that summer to the theme park.

Usually our visit began with a ride on Astro Blasters ("the Buzz Lightyear ride," as you called it) then a stop at the Star Traders (read "Star Wars") shop across the way. Then we'd head on over to Fantasyland for some rides, which almost always included the teacups. The afternoon would be spent at one of the playground areas, usually the Redwoods Challenge Trail in California Adventure.

This particular weekend, you got a Mickey Mouse dressed up as a jedi stuffie at the Star Traders store! The above picture was taken that afternoon at California Adventure.

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

Our mini-vacation at Disneyland

Trying to make the "C" a "G" at the
California Adventure entry.

Three years ago today, we began a four-day mini-vacation at Disneyland and California Adventure. We went to each park Thursday through Sunday and stayed in Pomona!

At this time in your life, you liked to meet the Disney characters. Donald Duck was your favorite, you said, and you got to meet him at California Adventure! I think you also met Goofy, Mickey, Minnie Mouse and the bears as well.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our California Adventure portion of the mini-vacation. If you were to go to the theme park today, you would find that it has changed - they tore down the letters in front of the park and changed the central area. I kind of like it the "old way" - the way it's shown in these pictures - but the new look is nice, too.

Our last trip to Disneyland together

Standing in line for Buzz Lightyear ride, April 15, 2012.

One year ago today was the last time we went to Disneyland together. You might recall that Jane and I had the condo in Palmdale, and the three of us went there as a family.

We showed Jane all of the cool places that we liked to go in Disneyland - like the Pinocchio restuarant, the tea cups, It's a Small World ride, and the Jedi Academy.

Then we went across the way to California Adventure. We tried to get onto the Monsters Inc. ride (Jane liked Sulley), but the line was too long, and we didn't have much time, so we instead went to the Toy Story ride. You and Jane went together in one car, and I went on the one behind you.

My one regret about the trip is that you asked to go to the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, but it was getting late, so I said, "Next time." But there was no next time. How I wish I could take you there today to enjoy that playground...

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

Sharing some pictures with you

Scandinavian Festival, April 17, 2010

The other night your cousin Rebekah was visiting Grandma and Grandpa Bignell the same night that I was, and she wanted to look at pictures of you and all of your adventures. I have many of them online so was able to show her some that I have posted for all of my Facebook friends to see.

Rebekah is the same age as you and also in kindergarten, so she's very interested in the fun that you've had.

We looked at pictures of your trips to Legoland, Disneyland, the beach, and to the Poppy Festival last year in Lancaster. I think she was a little envious of all of the great adventures we've taken together!

Showing her the pictures was fun because I got to recall all of our fun times together and to tell her fun stories about you. She says she can't wait to meet you in person!

My email to you for March 16, 2013

Here is my email to you for March 16, 2013, just in case you don’t receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you today? I hope you’re doing well. I’d doing fine, though I miss you very much.

How is school going? I did not receive your email to me last week, so I did not get to hear from you how you are doing in kindergarten. Please have your mother resend the email to me so I can catch up on your schooling.

Tomorrow (Sunday, March 17), you will have to make sure you wear green. Why? Because it’s St. Patrick’s Day! It is a very important day for people who are Irish. Though we’re not Irish, we still celebrate the holiday out of respect to those who are and because it’s a lot of fun!

Do you get spring break at your school? The school where your cousins Rebekah and Bryan go has spring break in just another week. During spring break, they get the whole week off from school! Schools often have spring break so that parents can take their children on vacation, and then the kids don’t have to miss any school.

If you could go on vacation, where would you go? Some people travel to lots of fun places like Disneyworld in Florida (We used to go to Disneyland in California.). Other families travel to scenic or historical places where they can enjoy nature or learn about our past. Places like that include a national park, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, or Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital. Other families don’t travel at all but spend their vacation in their own house, enjoying their time together playing games and watching movies and maybe going to fun places that are nearby, like a mall.

After St. Patrick’s Day and spring break comes Easter on March 31. Do you have big plans for Easter, like going to an egg hunt or maybe out to eat for Easter dinner? I am going to Grandma and Grandpa Bignell’s for Easter. Your Uncle Chris, Aunt Suzie, cousins Bryan and Rebekah, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Mark all will be there. We are having ham and prime rib for dinner. All of us wish you could be there with us for Easter sinenr.

There sure is a lot of snow on the ground – much more than we had in California! Do you like playing in the snow? Have you made a snowman or snow angels yet? Have you gone sledding? When I was a little boy your age, I always liked to go sledding down snow-covered hills and then have hot chocolate afterward. You might remember that we went up into the mountains near our house in Lancaster and went sledding and had hot chocolate afterward – it was the first time you ever had hot chocolate, and you loved it! You had so much fun going up and down and down the hills and drank so much hot chocolate that you slept the whole drive back to our house.

Once the snow starts to melt in a couple of weeks, the wind will start to pick up as spring arrives. That makes for great kite-flying weather. Would you like to fly a kite?

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much and can’t wait to see you again on March 29!

Love,

Dad

Your favorite Disneyland play areas

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: Sept. 3, 2011

Besides rides and shows, we spent a lot of our time when at Disneyland in two really cool play areas: Tom Sawyer's Island in Disneyland and the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in California Adventure.

To reach Tom Sawyer's Island, we had to a raft across a river. The island had a cool tree house, some neat dock challenges (like pumping water to get to the treasure chest, and a wrecked pirate ship that had been trapped in the sand.

You loved the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (which you called "the bear place") and often pretended to be a Jedi knight trying to find lost clone troopers. There was a fallen hollow sequoia tree that we would play this game in over and over; I'd be an injured clone trooper that you rescued. A picture of it is at above right.

What memories do you have of your favorite Disneyland play areas?

Your favorite Disneyland shows

Kieran vs. Darth Vader on Aug. 27, 2011

Yesterday I wrote about your favorite Disneyland rides. Interestingly, we didn't go on all that many rides whenever we visited Disneyland - maybe four or five at most. That's because we spent a lot of time doing other stuff there, like going to shows, shopping in stores, and playing together whenever we found fun interactive activities.

By far, your favorite two shows to attend were the Muppet Show 3D in California Adventure and the Jedi Academy in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. We went to the Muppet Show so many times that you actually started memorizing some of the lines/jokes (especially Fozzie the Bear's "waka waka!")!

You almost always were selected for the Jedi Academy. A couple of times, you even wore your Luke Skywalker costume when participating. After a while, you started memorizing all of the light saber moves they taught at the academy. The picture above is of you battling Darth Vader at one of the shows.

What memories do you have of these two shows?

Your favorite Disneyland rides

Francis Ladybug ride, Sept. 10, 2010

Saw an advertisement on a website for Disneyland and started thinking of all of the times we went there and what your favorite rides were.

By far, your favorite ride when you were 2-3 years old was the Mad Tea Party (or the "tea cups" as you called it) and then as a 3-4 year old, you loved the Francis Ladybug Boogie (or "the ladybug ride" as you called it) over in California Adventure. You'd ask to go on both rides over and over, and we'd get back in line and do them all again and again!

Other favorite rides that you always liked to go on - but were happy to do just once a visit - were: the Haunted House (but only when it was decorated for "The Nightmare Before Christmas"); It's a Small World; Monsters Inc. (at California Adventure); and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

What rides do you remember going on?

Recall the Peter Pan book reading?

A year ago today, we went to Disneyland together. Since we'd gone so many times before, we both were in the mood to find something different to do. And we did!

For the first time ever, we went to the robot show which was near the House of Tomorrow. Then we went to the house of Tomorrow itself and played some video games we'd never done before.

But then we fell back on some old standbys., most notably participating in the Peter Pan show. Do you remember playing with the cannon on the ship-shaped bed they had in the Peter Pan room (see the picture at right)? We'd gone so many times to the show that you virtually had it memorized!

And, of course, you participated in the Jedi Academy training and got to battle Darth Vader! That was such a constant of our Disneyland visits that often the rides and shows we went to revolved our the Jedi Academy show schedule.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our visit that day!

Seeing the statues at Western University

A year ago today we stopped off to see some life-sized art with a visit to the bronze statues by internationally renowned sculptor Seward Johnson on display at the Western University of Health Sciences campus in Pomona, Calif.

We'd seen the statues before during the many times we'd visited the campus. Your mother was enrolled in an FNP program there while you were a preschooler. You always were fascinated by them, especially the one of two painters (see photo at above right).

I remember that we were on on our way to Disneyland that morning, and you asked if we could stop to see the statues! We were driving just a few miles away from them, so I said, sure.

Here's a whole bunch of photos of our visit to the bronze statues.

Christmas photos through the years

Christmas 2011

I am very sad that we do not get to spend Christmas together this year. We've had lots of fun Christmases together through the years, and I've included some photos of them (The link takes you to the 2011 photos).

We always started our holiday season by putting up the Christmas tree and decorating the house on Thanksgiving day. You always liked to help with that, especially putting the ornaments on the tree. Once the tree was all finished and the lights turned on, you'd stare at it in awe of its prettiness.

We also went to lots of different places to celebrate the holidays. Among them was Disneyland, of course, but in 2011 we also did Legoland a couple of times. Legoland was neat because it created a a special snowy area to play in - and we's go into it wearing shorts because the temperature was 72 degrees in San Diego!

I love you and miss you very much - Merry Christmas, Kieran!