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!

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.

Remember our car's DVD player?

You might recall that when we made all of those long trips back and forth betwen Palmdale and San Diego that you had this wonderful little DVD player to watch videos on. After we'd played some imagined game in the car for an hour or so, we'd take a break from it, and often you'd watch a DVD to pass the time on the drive.

Two DVDs in particular that I remember you liked as one about Imaginext characters who were knights and samurai and the other about penguins. The Imaginext ones came with a set of action figures we got, and the penguins came from the library.

One problem we often ran into was that we plugged the DVD player into the car's cigarette lighter, and the cord was barely long enough! If it got jerked, it would come out, and we'd have to start watching the video all over again!

I loved to hear you laugh as you listened to the DVD with its headphones!

You picture is in the paper again!

I'm proud to write that pictures of you are appearing all over the place in the media. As I promote my new hiking books, newspapers/magazines/bloggers ask for pictures of me hiking. When I send them photos, and I'm always sure to include at least one with you in it.

Guess what? They always choose the photo that has you in it!

The latest picture and article mentioning you in those articles appeared in Saturday, June 8's Eau Claire (Wis.) Leader-Telegram. I've included it here for you to enjoy!

You were two years old in the photo. It was taken at Red Rock Canyon State Park in California's Mojave Desert.

'Octopus's Garden' will be a book!

Do you remember the Beatles' song "Octopus's Garden" by Ringo Starr? It is going to be turned into a children's book! The book doesn't come out until next year, though, but I will be watching for it as a gift to you! I know how much you liked Ringo's songs.

Here are the words to "Octopus's Garden":

I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden in the shade
He'd let us in, knows where we've been
In his octopus' garden in the shade

I'd ask my friends to come and see
An octopus' garden with me
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden in the shade.

We would be warm below the storm
In our little hideaway beneath the waves
Resting our head on the sea bed
In an octopus' garden near a cave

We would sing and dance around
Because we know we can't be found
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden in the shade

We would shout and swim about
The coral that lies beneath the waves
(Lies beneath the ocean waves)
Oh what joy for every girl and boy
Knowing they're happy and they're safe
(Happy and they're safe)

We would be so happy you and me
No one there to tell us what to do
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden with you.

Here's a video of the song so you can hear the music and see the words as they are sung!

Visiting the Santa Barbara Zoo

Three years ago today we visited the zoo in beautiful Santa Barbara, Calif.!

Though a small zoo, it was very pretty and had some great animals. The highlight for you probably was getting to feed a giraffe. You held leaves up to it, which it stuck its tongue and took from your little hands!

I like the condors a lot - they have been my favorite bird since I was a little boy! We also got to see gorillas, took a train ride around the zoo, fed goats, and went to the play area for fun!

Here are a bunch of pictures from our adventure!

My email to you from June 15, 2013

Here is my letter to you from June 15, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

How are you today? I am doing fine, though I miss you very much! It was so nice to receive your email on Monday and catch up on what you were doing.

I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying summer school. Does it go through August? Do you get some time off from school to enjoy summer vacation? Which of your friends are going to summer school with you?

I bet seeing the dinosaurs was a lot of fun! The science museum in St. Paul has a good collection of them. Which dinosaur was your favorite? My favorite dinosaur is the Troodon. It walked on two legs like a bird and had the biggest brain of all of the dinosaurs – and that still was only as large as a chicken’s brain! Some scientists think the Troodon may have had feathers.

The Twins game sounds fun as well! What team did they play? Who won (Hopefully yours!)? My two favorite baseball teams are not doing very well this season – the Dodgers are in last place and the Brewers are in fourth place! Maybe they’ll get things turned around, but usually by the end of June if a team isn’t in second or first place, the odds are against them going to the playoffs. Hopefully next year they’ll do better!

 

I’m so proud that you’ve learned to ride a bicycle! What color is your bike? When I was a little boy, we used to put playing cards in the spokes of our bicycle wheel so that when we cruised down the street it made this neat thwap, thwap, thwap! sound. Maybe you could send a picture of you on your bike.

I bet you had lots of fun at the farm. Did you get to feed any animals? Where was the farm at? Grandma and Grandpa Bignell no longer have animals on their farm, but when they did, there were cows, pigs and chickens. And of course, they had dogs and lots and lots of cats.

Tomorrow is a big day – it’s Father’s Day! This year to celebrate Father’s Day, I am reading essays at a book store in Stillwater about fatherhood and what a great son you are! What will you be doing for Father’s Day this year? Friday (yesterday) also was a holiday – Flag Day, in which we honor an important symbol of our country and all that it stands for. Did you notice a lot of American flags out yesterday? Traditionally people hang flags from their house on Flag Day. Did you hang one from your house?

Next Friday is the first day of summer – and also the 21^st when we get to see one another again! That’s just six days away! I can’t wait to see you then!

Be good in summer school, and I’ll see you on Friday! I definitely will brings the “Star Trek” stuff! I miss and love you very much!

Love,

Dad