Our similar haircuts at Christmastime!

I found this really old photo of me in one of Grandma Bignell's photo albums and was struck by how similar our hair styles are! This photo was taken in the early 1970s, probably when I was in seond or third grade. I guess my mom decided I needed a really short haircut, too!

Anyway, we're at my Auntie-I and George's, my great aunt and uncle, who raised Grandma Bignell when she was a teenager. Their house was in rural Fall Creek, Wis., and this is their living room at around Christmas time, I remember that Uncle Chris (the littlest boy in the photo; my back is to the camera) received the black puppy dog toy for a Christmas gift. It could be wound up and then would move, bark, and wag its tail!

The photo is a bit aged, because the carpeting in their living room was a pale pink, and here it looks orange. Years later, when they replaced the carpet, my parents put it in my bedroom, because I only had a wooden floor in it!

My email to you for July 27, 2013

Here is my email to you for Saturday, July 27, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing today? I sure had fun with you on Friday! I’ll write more about our time together in an upcoming letter.

What have you been doing for fun this summer (Besides getting together with your dad J)? I would love to hear about your bicycle riding, friends that you’re spending time with, and summer school. Unfortunately, I have not received an email from you in two weeks. Perhaps you could have your mother resend those emails to me.

Have you seen the Lone Ranger movie yet? I haven’t seen it, so if you have, don’t tell me what happens! But it is on my list of movies to see this summer. With all of the fun adventures we went on as pretending to be Sheriff Jack, the Deputy and the Lone Ranger, I am certain I will be thinking of you the entire time I’m watching it.

Speaking of movies, did you know that three new “Star Wars” movies are going to be made? The next one – “Star Wars VII” – is supposed to come out in 2015, just two years from now. The actors and actresses who played Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca are supposed to be in the new movie. It should be a lot of fun to watch!

Did you know that you actually can see the desert city where “Star Wars” was filmed? It was built many years ago in Tunisia, a country in northern Africa. Many people travel there every year to walk through it. Unfortunately, it one day may be buried by an advancing sand dune, scientists say!

Monday is Grandma Bignell’s birthday. We are having a big birthday celebration with cake and presents. Your cousins Bryan and Rebekah and your Uncle Chris and Aunt Susie all will be there. We wish you were allowed to be there, too. In fact, I think I know what Grandma Bignell’s wish will be when she blows out her birthday candles.

With the arrival of the month of August, school will soon start. You must be very excited about entering first grade! When is your first day? Do you know yet who your teacher will be? What kind of school supplies will you need (Maybe the list for those supplies hasn’t come out yet, though!)? Getting school supplies and new school clothes always was one of my favorite things about the month of August while I was growing up.

Well, that is all for now. I miss and love you more than anything in the world and can’t wait to see you again in just two weeks, on Friday, Aug. 9. Be a good boy, and I will write again next Saturday!

Love,

Dad

We now get to visit every other week!

I am very excited about visiting with you today, Kieran! Beginning today, we get to see one another every other Friday!

I will bring some more "Star Trek" characters as you asked for last time, as well as some of our older toys and games and books that we have. And of course I'll bring some surprises, too!

Grandma Bignell also plans to bake some stuff for you, too, though I'm not certain what she has planned.

I also will be sure to ask you what you interested in to help guide my future purchases for us when we get together in a couple of weeks.

Seeing you later today!

I am very excited to be able to see you again later today, Kieran! We will be together from 2:45 to 4:45 p.m.

I will bring some of the Star Trek Legos characters, and I also have some "Star Trek" spaceship models for us to put together. There are a few other surprises as well in the tote, as well as some old favorites!

I'm not sure which treat Grandma is mixing up in the kitchen for you. But I'm certain she'll have something yummy.

I'll see you later today!

A picture of you and Grandma Bignell

In all of the pictures Grandma Bignell gave me of the time you lived with her and Grandpa Bignell, there weren't any photos of you and her together! That's probably because she took all the pictures!

I finally remedied that oversight on Friday. Here's a picture of her with you from that day.

Grandma Bignell was born after the Second World War in Eau Claire, Wis. She grew up in rural Fall Creek, Wis., and graduated from that village's high schoool in the mid Sixties. She married your Grandpa Bignell about a year after graduating; they were married in Arkansaw, Wis.

She spent most of her life as a homemaker and running with farm with Grandpa Bignell. She did earn a CNA license later in life, though. She loves to gardan and some of her most pleasant memories are of you helping her in the garden by wearing the plants when you stayed with her.

My email sent to you on April 13, 2013

Here is my letter from April 13, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

Grandma Bignell and I had a wonderful visiting with you yesterday! We both were so very happy to see you again and were so very glad that you had fun as well.

Both of us were very impressed with your math abilities. You are very advanced for you age! For as long as I can remember, you’ve been very good at math. When you were only two years old, you started counting. By the time you were three, you could count up to a 100, and by the time you were four, you could count by fives and tens.

Playing games was a lot of fun, too. The card game you taught us was very interesting. Your cousins Bryan and Rebekah like to play games as well. They play everything from Candy Land to Clue and lots of card games, like Go Fish, Old Maid, War and lots of others. Bryan also likes to play Battleship and Stratego. When we were together, I was just starting to teach you to play checkers and very basic chess. What games do you like to play with your friends?

The U.S. map puzzle was a good time, as well. You know a lot of states and where they’re located! Do you know that you’ve been to 1 out of every 5 states? The states you’ve visited or lived in are California, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. I can tell you lots of stories of what you did in each state and have pictures of you in most of them. What states what you like to go to?

I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the books at school. I also read a good book recently. It was called “Being Rude” by Joy Berry. In the book, a young boy who’s in kindergarten/first grade goes around doing all kinds of rude things to other kids, like cutting in line and talking out of turn. He soon finds that no one wants to be his friend at all! Will the little boy start being nice to others so he can have friends again? You’ll have to read the book and find out! I bet you can find it in your school or city library in the children’s section.

Watching you discover how the piano works also was fun. I’ve enjoyed watching you discover and learn new things. That you were so fascinated by the piano was not surprising, for you’ve always been interested in music. When we lived in Lancaster, you used to play my guitar, and I even bought you a toy one to play with when we were in San Diego. You also had a recorder (a flute-like instrument), drums, tambourine, and harmonica. In my office, you’d line up all of your stuffies, give them each an instrument to play, and then taking the guitar would give me a concert in which you played Beatles songs!

Have a good time at your concert Sunday! I wish I could be there to watch you sing. I love and miss you very much and will see you on again on Friday, April 26. I look forward to receiving your email, maybe with a picture of you at the concert!

Love,

Dad