Going to a new school in Knapp, Wis.

Just as you had to switch schools from California to Minnesota, when a little boy I also had to switch schools! When I was in second grade many years ago, my parents bought a new farm outside of Knapp, Wis. We moved there from Elmwood in March 1974.

Switching schools was very difficult. Not only did I leave all of my friends behind and not know anyone in my new school, but it also was very small. There were only 10 or so kids in my class at Knapp by more than 25 in my Elmwood class! The teacher at Knapp also was teaching different things than I was learning in Elmwood.

The Knapp school building was very old while the Elmwood school was brand new or only a few years old. To reach my classroom, I had to go up a long flight of stairs to the second floor. The Knapp school I attended isn't there anymore, as it was replaced by a new building.

But I made new friends and figured out all of my lessons, and it all worked out!

Moving from Elmwood to Knapp, Wis.

In March 1974, my parents moved from Elmwood, Wis., to a new farm outside of Knapp, Wis. Grandma and Grandpa Bignell still live there today!

They moved because the farm was much larger and could better support us. While I was little anxious about going to a new school, I was excited because I got my own room in the farmhouse we lived in (Though during winters I had to move back in to the room with my brother because it was better insulated and so warmer).

The farm was very large with a road running through it, so the barn and farm buildings were on one side while the house was on the other. It also was surrounded by woods, which were very fun to explore.

I do not have many pictures of the farm because our farm house burned down in 1985. But here's one for you of my brother (your Uncle Chris) and me (I'm on the left) sitting on the front lawn with the camera looking roughly northwest; the girl in the middle was a neighbor's daughter, and her name was Missy.

My email sent to you on Nov. 17, 2012

Here is my weekly email sent on Nov. 17, 2012, to you, in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

Hope you had a good week. I miss you very much and think about you every day. I did not receive your email response to my Saturday, Nov. 10 email. Perhaps you could ask you mommy to resend it. In addition, your mommy hasn't sent the responses to a number of my previous emails - perhaps you could ask her again to resend those emails, too.

How are the guinea pigs doing in school? What do they eat? I bet you have some funny stories to tell about them!

What new things are you learning in school? Have you learned any new things about space? Right now you can see the planet Venus in the morning. It is the brightest light in the sky (other than the moon), and you might spot it on the way to school.

I had lots of fun building Bioncles and taking them on adventures with you when we got together last week. Have you taken them on some new adventures? I would love to hear about them!

There is a new movie called in the theaters called "Lincoln." It is about Abraham Lincoln, who was a very important president a long time ago. He helped free slaves and keep our country together when it looked like it might fall apart. Maybe you read about him in your presidents book?

Have you read any good books lately? I just read “This is the Turkey” by Abby Levine. It is about a little boy named Max and his family as they prepare a Thanksgiving meal. Dad stirs the cranberries, Max plays with his cousins, and guests bring all sorts of good food to eat.

You have a fun Thanksgiving on Thursday. I love and miss you!

Love,

Dad

My family's house near Elmwood, Wis.

You might recall a few entries ago that I mentioned I went to kindergarten, first grade, and most of second grade in Elmwood, Wis. Well, I just found a picture of the house I lived in outside of Elmwood (see photo at right)!

The photo was taken from the living room and shows your Uncle Chris (on the left) and me sitting at the kitchen table. The front door is beyond us.

The house was very small - just a kitchen, living room, master bedroom, bathroom and bedroom with a half-basement. My family lived there from March 1971 to March 1974.

I shared a room with Uncle Chris. It was painted a light, turquoise blue. We also got very few television stations - two to be exact!

Where I went to kindergarten

Do you know where I went to kindergarten? When I was a little boy your age, my family lived on a small farm, and I went to kindergarten in Elmwood, Wis.!

Kindergarten was only a half-day, and I went in the morning. We had a class of 25 children, and there were two teachers. My best friend, Ronald Wolfe, who lived next to me, walso went to school there. Unfortunatley, I don't remember the name of my kindergarten teachers (Though I think my teacher was Mrs. Thompson.)! That's pretty bad, isn't it?!

I do remember my first grade teacher's name, though. It was Mrs. Rheil.

I liked going to school in Elmwood. My dad took me to lots of high school basketball games there. We had a very good team that won a lot of games. Our team name was the Raiders, and our school colors were red and white.

In second grade during March, my family moved to a new farm, outside of Knapp, Wis. (Grandma and Grandpa Bignell still live there!). At that time, I stopped going to Elmwood Elementary School and went to Knapp Elementary School!

Recall Charlie Brown Farm's dinosaurs?

Do you remember visiting the huge ceramic dinosaurs in Little Rock, Calif.? Three years today after a long hike, we stopped at the Charlie Brown Farms fruitstand in Little Rock to get a close look at the giants.

Each dino was nicely fenced in for our safety. Among the dinos was a nine-foot tall velociraptor, an apatosaurus, a flying pteranodon.

Charlie Brown Farms was a great place to go, as it was full of fun junk to look at it, lots of candy to pick out (and we always pigged out!), and all kinds of cool sodas to choose from. We usually grabbed a root beer!

Here's a whole bunch of photos from out visit to the roadside attraction!

Remember hiking Piute Butte?

Watching a bug cross the trail on Piute Butte.

Two years ago today we hiked the base of Piute Butte, the site of ancient Indian villages and the Antelope Valley Indian Museum, during the early afternoon. The butte is in the Mojave Desert, a few miles from where we used to live in Lancaster, Calif.

One of the neat things about the hike was the musuem, which was built into the side of the butte. So when we weent inside, we actually got to walk up and across boulders that were "inside" a building!

You were fascinated by all of the Indian artifacts that had been collected and were on display in the museum. During the hike, you looked for the numbered markers that told what was at specific viewpoints and made a game out of finding the next one!

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