Four years ago today: Mountain snow II

The view from where we went sledding.

Four years ago today we went back to the mountains to enjoy an afternoon in the snow!

The afternoon before (Jan. 23, 2010), we drove up into the San Gabriels to explore what was up there. I was so excited to find a winter wonderland that on the way back we stopped off at a sporting goods store and picked up a sled with rope and some other sundries for cold weather fun.

The following morning, we drove back up into the mountains. We went sledding down a very small hillside and tossed snowballs at one another!

Here's a couple of photos from our adventure together!

Four years ago today: mountain snow

Four years ago today, we drove up into the back range of the San Gabriel Mountains and played in the snow, though only briefly. For the past couple of days before then, clouds shrouded the mountain tops, and on this day they cleared, leaving the peaks capped in white.

I decided we should check out just how far down in elevation the snow had fallen and if there would be any great places for us to play in the snow. So late in the afternoon, after our midday naps (You usually fell asleep in my arms after lunchtime milk), we drove on up.

Was I ever surprised by the number of people there! I had difficulty finding a parking spot but eventually did. Unfortunately, sunset came shortly after 5 p.m., so we didn't have a lot of daylight (which is why the photos are a bit dark) to enjoy the snow, though you sure had fun playing in it, especially throwing snowballs!

Here's a few photos from our adventure!

When snow fell at our SoCal house

Jan. 2, 2011

Three years ago today, we got to enjoy a rare afternoon snow fall at the green house in Lancaster, California! It was the first day our part of the desert had received snow in five years!

I remember that when the snow started falling, I had come over to the window and look with me, and then I asked you if you'd like to outside and play in it. You got superexcited and said "Yes!"

One bad thing about the snow fall was the freezing rain knocked down our apple tree in the backyard. It was the biggest tree in our yard and in the corner.

Here's a bunch of pictures of you enjoying the snow that day!

Remember going to the snowy mountains?

Dec. 28, 2010

Three years ago today, we drove up into the back range of the San Gabriel Mountains and enjoyed some snow!

While temperatures on the desert floor were comfortable in the 40s and 50s (At the time, we lived in the green house in Lancaster, Calif.), a mile up on the mountain tops, snow fell rather than rain. So when the weather cleared up there, we drove up to find several feet of snow, blue skies, and temps in the 20s!

I had bought a blue sled for us, and we went sliding down the Pacific Crest trail near Big Pine, Calif. What is funny is we went hiking there just a few months before!

Here are some photos from our adventure!

My email to you for May 4, 2013

Here is my email sent to you May 4, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing? I’m doing fine, though I miss you very much. There’s not an hour in the day that goes by that I don’t think of you!

Hopefully, we will be able to get together on Friday (May 10). Our visitation for April 26 still has yet to be made up, and the Family Center said that next Friday will work for us to get together. We also are scheduled to get together the afternoon of May 24. We will be able to see each other a couple of times this month!

How is school going? What recent books have you read? Are you still studying the oceans or have you moved on to a different topic in science class? How did the spring concert go? I can’t wait to see you again so that you can fill me in on all that you’re doing in school!

Did you know that Sunday is a special day for many Americans? It is Cinco de Mayo. Many Americans celebrate it as a day of pride of Mexican heritage and culture, much like we celebrate the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. The day originally celebrated a major battle in which the Mexican Army defeated the French Army, which invaded Mexico in the 1860s. Mexico is the country south of the United States; when we lived in California, we were very close to Mexico (especially when we lived in San Diego!). Did you celebrate or learn about Cinco de Mayo in school? Maybe you will go to some Cinco de Mayo events on Sunday in the Twin Cities.

Another big day coming up this week is Tuesday (May 7) – It’s National Teacher Day! When I was a teacher, I received a great card from one student on Teacher Day. I taught language arts and grammar to kids, and her card was full of spelling errors and said “Thanx 4 beeing a grate teecher - U lern us stoodents reel goode!” I think I still have that card somewhere and will have to show it to you someday. Be sure to bring an apple to your teacher that day and wish her “Happy Teacher Day”!

I bet you were surprised by all of the snow we received Thursday! Minnesota and Wisconsin usually don’t get snow in May – and if we do, we don’t that much! It should melt very quickly, though, and then we can enjoy the green grass, warm breezes, and sunny skies of spring. I hope to get back out on the trail and do some hiking once spring returns – this weekend, though, I am going to take down my snowshoes and go walking through the woods on them!

Have you read any good books lately? I have. It was called “No Jumping on the Bed” by Tedd Arnold. Despite being told by his parents to not jump on his bed, a naughty little boy named Walter ignores them and keeps seeing how high he can go. He keeps ignoring his parents and keeps going higher and higher. Guess what happens to Walter? You’ll have to read the book and find out! If you’re school library doesn’t have the book, I bet you can get it at the city library when your mother takes you there.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much! I can’t wait to see you in the week ahead!

Love,

Dad

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

My email to you from Jan. 12, 2013

Here is the email I sent Jan. 12, 2013, just in case you don’t receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing? I love and miss you very much and can’t wait to see you on Feb. 1, in just three short weeks. Unfortunately, I’m still not receiving the emails your mother is supposed to send. Perhaps you could please have her resend your emails responding to mine from Dec. 22, Dec. 29, and Jan. 5?

How was your first week back to school? I bet seeing your friends again after a couple of weeks off was a lot of fun. When I was a little boy your age, it also was a lot of fun to find out what all of my friends got for Christmas and some of the neat places they went during their winter break.

Do you enjoy the snow in Minnesota? You always liked it when we went up to the mountains together after a snowfall. We’d go sledding together and throw snowballs. Sometimes we’d stop off for a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Although the winters do get long in Minnesota, one nice thing about them is you have lots of opportunities to drink hot chocolate!

I am glad you’ve enjoyed the games, toys, art supplies and books I’ve been bringing to our visits. Playing with and reading to again has been a lot of fun for me, too. What games should I bring next time? I was thinking some card games like Old Maid or Go Fish. Email me to let me know which games you’d like to play.

Thank you for the watercolor painting you made of the letter Y eating a gumball. I have it hanging over my desk. If I ever go to chew a stick of gum, I make sure I stay clear of that letter Y!

Have you read any good books lately? I have. I recently read “If I Had a Snowplow” by Jean L.S. Patrick. The book is about a young boy who imagines how he might help his mom if his toy trucks were real. He starts in January using his snowplow truck to clear a path for the car and ends in December using his toy truck to deliver lots of presents to his house. The book starts out,

“If I had a snowplow, you know what I’d do? I’d crash through the deep snow, just for you!”

That is all for now. Have fun at school, and I look forward to seeing you in just 21 days! I miss you very much!

Love,

Dad

Your first California snowfall!

It never rains in Southern California - but it does snow! Snowfall covered the Mojave Desert the afternoon two years ago today. It was the first time in five years that snow had fallen where I'd lived near Los Angeles - and it was YOUR first snow fall in California!

 

You'd played in the snow in the mountains near where we lived in Lancaster so knew how much fun it could be to be outside, so you asked if you could go out in it. I got you quick dressed, and once outside you ran through it like crazy and made snowballs.

 

Later that day, one of our trees in our backyard fell over! It couldn't handle all of the wind and the heavy snow on its branches.

 

Here's a whole bunch of photos from your fun hours outside in the snow!