Two years ago: Aquarium of the Pacific

Children's playground at Aquarium
of the Pacific, Jan. 28, 2012.

Two years ago today, we visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif.! This was one of your favorite places to go, and you always were asking me if we could go.

We'd had a sring of gloomy overcast skies and cool temps in Palmdale, and I was itching to go enjoy some sunshine. Somehow I came across a discount coupon for the aquarium, and so off we went!

The temp was a gorgeous 72 degrees under sunny skies. I remember that our faces got a little red from the sun as we walked around the harbor from the aquarium to the shops and arcade on the oceanfront!

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

Remember your electric racetrack?

Jan. 25, 2014

On Saturday, I gave you a racetrack toy that we built and played with. It was the Kid Connection Road Racing Play Set.

We put together the track with me cnnecting the pieces (which you handed to me) and you putting on the stickers!

The racetrack formed a figure 8 in which part of it rose above the other. It came with two cars - a black one and a red one.

The challenge was to ensure the race cars didn't spin out, so you had to control its speed...but we didn't want to go too slow or that wouldn't be any fun!

We each did a bunch of trial runs practicing control of the car; you kept track of the number of spin outs on a notepad!

Our day together on Jan. 25, 2014

Playing with the new racetrack toy, Jan. 25, 2014.

I had so much fun with you on Saturday! We began the day by stopping in Hudson, where we stopped at the Dollar Tree and picked up football/basketball/baseball stickers, then at Target where we picked up BeyBlade tops and Lego kits, then at Culvers for lunch, and finally at Walgreens for football cards!

Then we went back to Grandma and Gandpa's where we looked at all of the football cards, put together the Lego sets, and placed stickers in our NFL book. Then we put togther and played quite a while with our racetrack set!

We also took some time to look at your report card. I am very proud of you - your grades and conduct improved across the board from first to second quarter!

While enjoying an early dinenr of hand sandwiches, we played Trouble and Hi-Ho Cherry-O. On the ride back, you watched the opening episode of Jonny Quest on my Kindle Fire.

Remember your dragon castle?

Do you remember your Imaginext Dragon World Fortress Castle? It was among your favorite toys as a preschooler. I think you played with it just about every day.

It had this dragon head on it that could reach down and grab attacking knights with its jaws. Pressing a button also opened windows to the sound of a thunderclap so that the castle appeared to be "alive"!

We mainly used it for big battles between knights and dragons (Usually the ones we picked up at McDonalds). You also would place Disney princesses in it and have them fight off the dragons!

Our Star Wars and sueprhero action figures also had many goes at attacking/defending the castle!

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!

Recall your Transformers toys?

Do you remember your mini Transformers figures? We got a few of them when I lived in Encinitas and moved back to Palmdale in 2011-22.

The toys folded into vehicles and then unfolded into a Transformer. The smaller the toy, the more likely pieces of them were to fall off! So I often found myself repairing the Transformer toy.

Bumblebee by far was your favorite Transformer character. You might recall he was a bright yellow Camarro. Whenever we played Transformers in the car, you'd want to be Bumblebee.

Two years ago today: William Hart home

Jan. 22, 2012, William S. Hart ranch.

Two years ago today we visited and toured the museum ranch and home of silent film cowboy star William S. Hart. It was in Santa Clarita, Calif.

The visit started with going through the petting zoo, where we fed some animals, in particular a big brown swiss cow and and mule deer fawn. There also were various chickens and hogs, but none of them were hungry.

Then we hiked up the hill to the ranchhouse. I was so impressed by your good behavior on a tour that semmed to run a little long for my tastes!

Afterard, at the gift store, you got a collection of cowboy and Indian toys. These became the characters of your Sheriff Jack stories!

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

Your 'Hikes with Tykes' hoodie?

Do you remember your cool "Hikes with Tykes" hoodie? When I lived in Encinitas, I published my first book, "Hikes with Tykes" (with a picture of you on the cover) and got some clothes made up to promote the book!

One of them was an ash gray hoodie for you. It had front pockets to place your hands in when they got cold and a hood to keep out the wind. The words Hikes with Tykes were in black over the left breask pocket.

For myself, I got a matching black T-shirt and black sweatshirt. Sometimes we'd wear our Hikes with Tykes sweatshirts when we went places together!

Remember your Playmobil knights castle?

Do you remember your Playmobil castle? It was a small portion of a larger set but offered plenty of fun times anyways.

It included part of a wall that could be broken through, a small cell for captured prisoners, a took/tower, and a couple of knights to battle it out! The toy sat in your tote of knights toys.

We usually used the play castle in conjunction with other toys...it might be the lair of the evil Star Wars action figures or the temporary base for the good knights as they held out against an assulat from all of the bad dragons!

Remember our gem hunt in Opal Canyon?

Opal Canyon, Jan. 18, 2011.

Three years today we went hiking in Opal Canyon at Red Rock Canyon State Park north of Mojave, California! It is a gem trail on which we searched and dug for opal and other cool rocks.

Our hike began with a drive down a desert jeep trail to the edge of an dry wash. We then hiked up the arroyo to various fossil sites.

Once at the sites, you helped me chip away at the rock with my geologist's hammer. We found some great gems, and I still have them in a box, all labled for you (I will show them to you one day!)!

Here's a bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Recall your parking ramp toy?

Do you remember your cool parking ramp toy we had at the grene house in Lancaster? It was the Fast Lane Street Linx Parking Garage, and we got it one afternoon at Toys R Us. It ook me about any hour to put together, but we got plenty of hours of fun afterward from it!

The elevator on it didn't work too well, but we had lots of great adventures driving cars around on it. Probably the most exciting part of it, though, was the cool spiral ramp that we'd let cars sail down to see how far they'd go when they cleared the bottom floor.

This was one of two parking ramps you had. The other fell apart (Though we kept the blacktop roads that went with it for our construction toys), so we got this as a replacement!

Sledding in Hudson at the SnowPark

On Saturday, Jan. 11, we went sledding (or more accurately snowtubing) at Badlands SnowPark in Hudson, Wis. The snowpark was a series of hills on which we could slide down with intertubes!

I bought you a bunch of new winter clothes for you for the adventure, including boots and snowpants. You loved the cool skull stocking cap I got and wore it over your Angry Birds stocking cap! You also wore your sunglasses - the same ones you had in California!

We did the bunny hill, which still was quite "fun but scary," as you said. You even rode your own intertube down the hill. There also was a rope that you grabbed onto it, and it automaticlaly pulled you up the hill!

Unfortunatley, my camera batteries went dead in the cold, so I was unable to take any pictures of us...

Your NFL jerseys through the years

In your Phillip Rivers
jersey, 2011.

This past weekend when we were together, you mentioned that you don't recall ever having a Philip Rivers jersey. Probably not - you were just a preschooler when you had it! So I thought today I'd list all of the NFL jerseys you've owned (so far!):
>>Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) - We got the purple jersey at the mall in Palmdale, Calif., in 2010, the season that Favre had his big year with the Vikings and they went to the conference championship.
>>Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) - We bought this in Encinitas, Calif., in fall 2011. It was the navy blue jersey.
>>Matt Flynn (Oakland Raiders) - Though he as traded to the Green Bay Packers, I got the black jersey for you for Christmas 2013.

Three years ago today: Carpenteria Beach

Zen meditation on Carpenteria Beach

Three years ago today we went to the beach in Carpenteria, Calif.! The beach is north of Ventura along Hwy. 1 on the way to Santa Barbara.

The temperature was a perfect 71 degrees with clear, sunny skies and a gentle breeze off the Pacific Ocean. You had fun frolicking around in the sand, and I'm certain you enjoyed the weather, as the High Desert where we lived was a little cool.

We didn't spend much time on the beach, as we were on our way to Solvang for the day. On the way back, we stopped off in Ojai!

Here are some photos from our time at the beach!

Berenstein Bears' 'The Ghost of the Forest'

Do you remember your Berenstein Bears' book "The Ghost of the Forest"? It was one of your favorites when a preschooler.

In the book, Papa Bear takes the Bear Scouts on an overnight hike and campout. He secretly stashes a ghost costume in his backpack, though, so he can scare the Bear Scouts after telling them ghost stories around the campfire!

Except Mama Bear sneaks out into the woods in her our frightening costume and scares Papa Bear!

I got the book for you because it has hiking and camping in it - but you like the book for hte ghosts and scary scenes!

Our day together sledding and playing

Playing Beyblade

I had so much with you on Saturday, Kieran! Our few hours together went by so fast!

We started the day snow tubing on the bunny hill at Badlands Snow Park near Hudson, Wis. You might recall they had these all ropes you could use to ride up the hill. After that, we went inside the warming house and played foosball.

Then we went to Target and picked up some Beyblade materials and basketball cards. We disccovered during lunch at Culvers that the basketball cards cube we got was a rip-off, so we went back to pick up a big pack!

We spent the afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa Bignell's and played games, went through our NBA cards and NFL stickers, enjoyed a Star Trek phaser adventure on a derelict alien ship, and opened up a pack of Star Wars action figures (the making of Darth Vader set).

I can;t wait to get back together with you!

Kiddie songs from your preschool days

Earlier this week while going through my computer looking for files to delete - having less stuff on your computer helps it run faster, as it frees up memory - I came across some memories of us: a collection of children's songs that we often listened to when living in the green house in Lancaster.

Among the songs were "B-I-N-G-O," the Chipmunks doing Beatles hits, "If You're Happy and You Know It," and "I'm a Little Tea Pot." I collected them by copying DVDs from the library.

You really liked listening to the Chipmunks songs and some of the railroad songs, especially "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Sometimes, though, you'd ask me to play more adult music, like the pop and rock hits from the Sixties. You had grown-up tastes in music even as a preschooler!

Though you probably wouldn't listen to those kiddie songs now, I refrained from deleting them. Maybe one day you'll want to hear them just for old time's sake...

Books from the library for car rides

One of my favorite things to do is to find library books for you that you can look at in the car as we travel from place to place. We live in a fantastic world with many great people and places, and I want you to learn about and experience as much of it as possible.

Having said that, it's always a challenge for me to find children's books at the library that will match your interests and that you can read!

In the past, I've checked out books on pirates, Star Wars, ancient Egypt, army soldiers, and the Old West, to name a few topics. One book that you REALLY liked was a Pirates of the Caribbean picture book from the Encinitas, Calif., library.

This weekend, I have books for you about football (specifically the AFC West with Philip Rivers on the cover), California, the Los Angeles Lakers, and a book of jokes!

Remember going on Astro Blasters?

Do you remember our many rides on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters at Disneyland? It usually was our first ride when we arrived at the park as it was near the entrance and lines would get long quickly, so I was keen on getting on it as soon as possible!

After going through a queue in which Buzz gives us our orders, we board little carts/spaceships and go off to fight Emperor Zurg's evil robot minions and alien friends.

While in the moving carts/spaceships, we'd fire blasters (We had a toy one to play with!) at red lights on the robots and aliens. Sometimes the ride would stop moving due to a mechanical or a loading problem, and that was an opportunity to rack up megapoints as we could keep shooting at the same targets over and over!

The last scene is a gigantic battle with the Emperor Zurg himself!

After the ride, we were deposited in the store full of Toy Story toys, which we usually looked at, but after quickly growing bored with that, we'd scrambled across the way to Star Traders, which was the big Star Wars store!

Your NBA sticker album in 2013-14

Today's entry is less a memory than a marking of where you are today - because later in life it will be a memory!

One of your favorite activities this winter is collecting stickers of sportstars in sticker albums. I've already written about the NFL sticker album. Now that the football season is winding down, though, you're getting interested in basketball - and so you've been collecting NBA stickers!

You have the "2013-14 Official Panini NBA Sticker Collection Sticker Album". I mention the official name because I know that years later remembering the title of something, even of a really important book in one's life, can be difficult.

You've also told me that your favorite teams are the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Oklahoma Tornado!

Two years ago today: Ghost town!

Two years today we went to Calico Ghost Town bear Barstow, Calif.!

I remember that at the time you were really into cowboys and the Old West. So going to the Old West mining town turned tourist attraction only made sense!

We went on a small train ride, toured a mine shaft, panned for gold, and looked in various shops for cool cowboy stuff. We also enjoyed an ice cream cone!

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

Three years ago today: in Ojai, Calif.

At Libbey Park in Ojai, Calif., Jan. 6, 2011.

Three years ago today, we spent part of the day in my favorite town, Ojai, Calif.!

It was late afternoon, and we drove out to Lake Casitas for a bit. We didn't stay long, though, and from there drove to downtown. After a quick stop at Serendipity Toys where we bought some toy (I don't remember what, though!), we spent most of our time at Libbey Park before grabbing dinenr at Ojai Pizza Co.

We've made several visits during our time in southern California to Ojai. I always loved the small town but upscale feel of the town; it bridges my small town past to my aspirations for the future.

Here are some photos from our adventure!

Our day at Disneyland!

In front of Sleeping Beauty's castle, Jan. 5, 2011.

Three years ago today, we went to Disneyland together! We began the morning with a look at the bronze sculptures on the campus in Pomona and then drove on over to Anaheim.

We began our day at Disney with a ride on Buzz Ligthyear and then a quick stop at Star Traders (the Star Wars store), where you got a stuffed Yoda. We then went over to Fantasyland, which include a run on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

After that, we headed over to Adventure to do Tarzan's Treehouse, one of your favorite stops, and then to Critter Country for the Winnie the Pooh ride!

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

Your Don't Rock the Boat game

For Christmas 2013, Uncle Chris and Aunt Susie got you the Don't Rock the Boat game. We played it for the first time during our visiton Dec. 28!

The game was a pirate ship that balanced on a stand; each player in turn placed a penguin (dressed in pirate garb) on the ship. The object of the game was to not have all of the penguins spill off the boat. It was sort of like the Don't Spill the Beans game we once had.

I remember that you weren't too excited about the game on Christmas Day, but you sure had fun playing it on Dec. 28 (And I did, too!).

Recall your City Vehicle Action Set?

Do you remember your City Vehicle Action Set? We bought it at Walmart when you were a preschooler and we lived at the green house in Lancaster.

You may not remember the action set but you probably recall pieces of it - that's because I tossed it in the tote with all of your airplane toys! Most of the pieces in the action set seemed to involve airports, so that only made sense!

Among the pieces in the set were fake wall fronts for an airplane terminal and a gas station/car wash. There are were airport signs and a delivery van.

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!

Your Scooby Doo Mystery Mine game

One of your Christmas presents that you received for 2013 is the Scooby Doo Mystery Mine game. It's sort of a "sequel" to the Scooby Doo huanted house game we had at the green house in Lancaster, Calif.

We put together the game on Christmas Day, though it didn't stay together as well as the haunted house 3D game, so I'll have to do some taping and gluing to make it all work. We played it a couple of times with your cousins Rebekah and Bryan.

One of the cool things about the game was the miners cart that roll down a track, setting off traps that could knock down the tokens (requiring you go back to start). Everybody wanted to roll the miner's cart down the track!

Two years ago today at Legoland

Dec. 31, 2011, Legoland, Calif.

Two years ago today, we spent New Years Eve at Legoland in Carlsbad, Calif.!

Earlier that month, I had moved from Encinitas to Palmdale but still had stuff left in a storage shed back in San Diego. So, I figured I could do things at once: Pick up some stuff from the shed (about five totes fit in the car - two in the trunk, two in the back seat crammed next to you, and one in the front passenger set); and make a fun day of it for you at Legoland. I remember telling you it would be a long trip, but if you were good, I'd give you a big reward! And you were good!

While we had fun at Legoland, it was cool and cloudy, so that limited us from going on some of the water rides. There also was a heavy fog that evening, which  diminished the ability to see the fireworks, though they still were neat - we wore 3D glasses that turned the lights into Lego Bricks!

Here's some pictures from our day together!

Our day together on Dec. 28, 2013

Scooby Doo video game you played.

I so enjoyed our time together on Saturday (Dec. 28, 2013), Kieran! We had lots of fun hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's playing games and enjoying one another's company.

You also got to meet Aunt Sandy and Uncle Mark, who you hadn't seen since you were an infant. They gave you $10 in half-dollar coins, a snow owl Christmas ornment, and a rocking horse ornament that I squirrled for our own tree when we get our own house!

Among the many games we played (some with Bryan and Rebekah) were: Monopoly Empire, Hi-Ho-Cherry-O, Don't Rock the Boat, Clue, and Life. You also played some Scoooby Doo video games on my compter.

At the end of the day, we went to the Dollar Tree and got some NFL stickers, NBA stickers, an FBI playset, football cards, glue and Scotch tape. We finished the evening with a meal at McDonalds!

I can't wait to see you again!

Visiting Museum of Man in San Diego

Playing in the Egypt chuldren's section
at the Museum of Man, Dec. 29, 2011.

Two years today, we visited the Museum of Man in San Diego's Balboa Park. This would mark your last visit to the museum.

I needed to drive to San Diego to pick up my last paycheck from my former employer (I edited magaines in San Diego but then left to start my own editing business). Since you were on Christmas break from preschool, you went with me from Palmdale for the long trip there and back.

You said you wanted to visit the Museum of Man (one of your favorite spots), and as I knew I wouldn't be going back to San Diego much since I'd moved to Palmdale, I figured going there again would be a great idea.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our visit.

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!

'Luke, how did you get up there?'

McDonald's in Acton, Calif.

You might remember on Christmas Day I told you the story of how we always used to joke about the horse that was atop a McDonald's in Acton, Calif.

When you were 4 years old, if we drove by the McDonald's, you'd say, 'Luke, how did you get up there? Not again!' as pretending to be Sheriff Jack, one of our Old West cowboys (I always was Sheriff Jack's sidekick, "The Deputy"). Luke was Sheriff Jack's trusty horse (You even had a horse that you named Luke in your set of cowboy figures.).

Playing the Deputy, I'd suggest all kinds of crazy ways of getting Luke down, like "We could get a crane and lift him down" or "We could fly one of them newfangled air balloons over the McDonald's and lift him down" or "We could divert the river and flood the whole town so that Luke could swim down from the roof."

Anyway, here's a picture of that famous Old West-themed McDonald's with Luke the horse atop it!

Christmas Day 2013 together

I had so much fun with you at Christmas yesterday, Kieran!

You got a ton of presents. Your favorites, you said, were the Matt Flynn Oakland Raiders jersey (which you wore the rest of the day), the Lego sets (you received a police/robber/ATM set and a Star Wars set), and the Imaginext Eagle Talon castle!

You also gave me your first gifts ever for Christmas - a star ornament and a holiday picture frame, both of which you made in school. I shall place the star ornament on top of our Christmas tree forevermore!

Here are a whole bunch of pictures from our day together!

Photos from Christmases past

Merry Christmas, Kieran! I am looking forward to spending the day with you and making great memories that will last the rest of our lives!

Here are pictures from our previous Christmases together:
>>2012
>>2011
>>2010
>>2009
>>2008
>>2007

Dragon Happy Meal toys

Do you remember all of your plastic dragon toys? They were picked up at McDonalds in Happy Meals, distributed during the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" in April 2010.

We had most of them - there were a couple that for whatever reason we never got - and in a few cases (especially Night Fury and R.D.) we had multiples of them! We seemed to use the dragons in quite a lot of our play. Most often they were part of our knights and castle play, but sometimes they were bad guys in our adventures with Star Wars or superhero action figures.

I thought of the dragon toys because a sequel to the movie is coming out next summer. I wonder if Mcdonalds will release another set of them for us to collect?

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!

A new drawing book for you

Earlier this week at the library I checked out for you a kid's book about drawing. I'm going to photocopy it and give it to you on one of your upcoming visits.

I've noticed during our last few visits that you've taken an interest in drawing, boldly trying to copy - without tracing - scenes from books. You appeared to enjoy the challenge, and I might add that for a six-year-old, were quite good at it!

I've always tried to encourage your interest in art by having paints, colored pencils, colors, markers and Play-Doh available, as well as scissors and glue to make collages. I also took you to a few art museums.

Perhaps the book will be too advanced, perhaps for you this is just a passing fancy. But I think you'll find drawing very satisfying in both the challenge of creating something and in the meditative pleasure it brings.

One year ago today: Christmas presents!

One year ago today we spent the day together opening Christmas presents!

Among the many presents you received were a Go Fish card game, tub of Legos, Imaginext superhero action figures (including CatWoman), PlayDoh, U.S. puzzle map, Transformers, and Hot Wheels cars. You took most of the gifts back to your mother's place, though I kept a couple for our next visit.

I wonder what you'll receive this year for Christmas?

Here's a whole bunch of photos of our time together!

Attending your Christmas program

Dec. 19, 2013

I enjoyed attending your school's Christmas program last night, Kieran! You and your schoolmates sang very beautifully!

Getting to talk with you after the program in your classroom also was a lot of fun. I'm so glad you showed me around the room and some of the projects you worked on!

Hopefully during the weeks and months ahead, I'll be able to attend more of your school events and get to enjoy finding out about all the great work that you're doing in class!

Here are a few pictures I took of the program.

P.S. Congratulations on your great work on the Brazil booklet!

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!).

Four years ago today in Disneyland

Dec. 17, 2009, at Disneyland.

Four years ago today, we spent the day in Disneyland! It was my birthday!

I remember you being very impressed with all of the Christmas decorations at Disneyland, especially those on Main Street USA and the big Christmas tree at the center. At the time, you favorite ride was the carousel, so we went on that right away, as well as the teacups, which you also liked a lot!

We also spent a fair amount of time in Toontown, where you got to meet Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. You were just 2 years 10 months old, and cute as all heck!

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

Pictures of us when we were 6 years old

On my Facebook page I recently posted a retro photo of myself - my first grade picture, taken in autumn 1972 for my elementary school picture. I was 6-3/4 years old.

I posted the retro picture because my cover photo is of you ... from autumn 2013 during our visits, when you were 6-1/2 years old.

We look a lot alike - even have the same early Beatles mop top hair cuts, don't we?

When I was six, I lived on a small farm east of Elmwood, Wis. I attended Elmwood Elementary School. My first grade teacher's name was Mrs. Rhiel. I shared a room with my brother, and the room was turquoise,. My favorite football teams were the Miami Dolphins and the Green Bay Packers! I loved to watch Star Trek, and would catch each weekday after school from 4 to 5 pm on WKBT-TV out of La Crosse, Wis. My best friend in school was Ronald Wolfe. When my parents went out for the evening, usually our next door neighbor, whose name was Hazel, babysat us.

I am very proud of you and love you more than anything, Kieran!

Our day at Action City in Eau Claire

I had so much fun with you yesterday, Kieran! We spent most of the day at Action City in Eau Claire and then came back to Grandma and Grandpa Bignells for birthday cake!

At Action City, you started the day with some racing video games. I was impressed by your driving - you definitely drive aggressively like a Bignell!

Then we went on the bumper cars and after that to the gocart racing track. We got first place on the the gocart racing, making a great move at the end that sped us from second to first place!

We must have spent an hour on the Terminator video game. I think you got ripped off, because when I used your machine gun, it didn't fire all of the time. When you used the machine gun I had through most of the game, you scored "Elite" and won!

Cool new Star Trek Hot Wheels cars!

Last night I found a new toy that I'm certain to buy for you in 2014: Star Trek Hot Wheels vehicles!

They're little trucks and cars that have one of the five major "Star Trek: The Original Series" characters on each vehicle: Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, and Sulu. Here's an article about the Hot Wheels cars.

You've always liked Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. I remember you picking one out each time we went shopping at Wal-Mart, Target or Albertson's supermarket when you were only two years old!

I don't quite know when the Star Trek Hot Wheels come out, but I'll be looking for them!

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!

Two years ago today: Our day at Legoland

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

It was Christmastime, so Legoland was decked out for the season. I remember looking at all of the displays of famous landmarks made from Legos and how they were decorated with Christmas touches, like wreaths on the "doors."

You also got to meet Santa Claus, who was in the shape of a Lego character. The temps were a little cool for San Diego this time of year, so we had to wear pants and hooded sweatshirts to stay warm.

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

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!