Your many trips to Oregon

When we were last together putting together the U.S. puzzle map, I mentioned that you had been to Oregon a few times. You said you didn't remember going there. That's not surprising, as you were just a baby when  you went to Oregon!

I don't remember how many times you've been to Oregon, but it mainly was to Brookings for shopping trips as we lived in Crescent City, Calif., at the time. We also went a few times to Medford for shopping and the airport there; those trips took us through Grants Pass.

A couple of bigger trips we took to Oregon was to a kitchy place where fiberglass dinosaurs were dsiplayed in the forest and once to a safari camp where you could drive your car through an area with wild animals like lions and bears!

I've included a picture here of me holding you at an Oregon wayside along U.S. Hwy. 101 overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was taken in the evening during autumn 20007.

Remember our pear tree and flowers?

Pear tree, July 2010

Do you remember all of the great plants we had at the green house in Lancaster? They come to mind this morning because about this time each year the fruit on our pear tree (see photo at right) would ripen.

We never ate the fruit because that would require a lot of special care of the trees to ensure they were edible. I just liked seeing the fruits on them and the annual spring blossoms that smelled so wonderful!

We also had an apple tree in our backyard and lots of flowers (including a gigantic rose bush) in front of the house and along our backyard wall.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures of plants that blossomed during July at the green house!

The hospital where you were born

I've been going through some old photographs and came across one of the hospital where you were born! You were born at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, Calif., a minute before midnight on Feb. 23, 2007.

We lived in Crescent City, Calif., at the time with Eureka about 80 miles to the south along the coastal highway (U.S. Hwy. 101). The delivery section of the hospital was on the first floor.

There was an earthquake a few hours after you were born. It was very small, only 4.4 or so on the Richter scale, and while not doing any damage, it still rattled the walls! You slept through it!

The morning after you were born, I bought a really cool blue wrap-around for swaddling you. It had a spaceship on it!

'Tough Little Boys' lyrics

Heard a song this morning for which I had to share the lyrics with you. It's called "Tough Little Boys" (by country music star Gary Allen) and expresses all of the feelings I have as a father for you. The song is addressed to the singer's daughter, but it's the sentiments and feelings of the song rather than the actual words that really matter the most. I love you, Kieran!

"Tough Little Boys"

 Well I never once
 Backed down from a punch
 Well I'd take it square on the chin
 Well I found out fast
 A bully's just that
 You've got to stand up to him
 So I didn't cry when I got a black eye
 As bad as it hurt, I just grinned
 But when tough little boys grow up to be dads
 They turn into big babies again.

Scared me to death
When you took your first steps
And I'd fall everytime you fell down
Your first day of school, I cried like a fool
And I followed your school bus to town
Well I didn't cry, when Old Yeller died
At least not in front of my friends
But when tough little boys grow up to be dads
They turn into big babies again

Well I'm a grown man
And as strong as I am
Sometimes its hard to believe
That one little girl, with little blonde curls
Could totally terrify me
If you were to ask
My wife would just laugh
She'd say "I know all about men
How when tough little boys grow up to be dads
They turn into big babies again"

Well I know one day, I'll give you away
And I'm gonna stand there and smile
And when I get home, and I'm all alone
Well, I'll sit in your room for a while
Well I didn't cry when Old Yeller died
At least not in front of my friends
But when tough little boys grow up to be dads
They turn into big babies again
When tough little boys grow up to be dads
They turn into big babies again.

I found 'Star Trek:TAS' comic books!

I'm so very excited, Kieran - I found some neat "Star Trek" comic books that are written just for boys your age. They are based on the "Star Trek" characters as shown in the "Star Trek" cartoons (also known as "Star Trek: The Animated Series")!

One of them is a version of "Yesteryear," the spiode in which Mr. Spock is shown as a little boy who's 7 years old! That was probably your favorite "Star Trek" cartoon episode when you were a preschooler.

I shall read through the other comic books - which are all posted online - to see which ones you might like best. Then I will have to print them out and bind somehow into a folder for you!

Your love of great water fountains

June 26, 2009, in Ojai, Calif.

It seems that wherever I go, something there reminds me of you! Yesterday I was at a concert where there were water fountains - and lots of kids were playing in them just like you used to do!

While you found any water fountain fun to slash in when a toddler and a preschooler, two of them come to mind.

One was in Ojai, Calif., behind the arcade area. The fountain had a flower pattern in the middle of it and the water came right up to the lip, where it flowed over into a basin below.

The other was in Downtown Disneyland. The fountain was shaped like a flower petal and shot water upward like a geyser. You always wanted me to take you over to it so you watch it!

My email to you for week of July 6-13

Here is my email to you for the week of July 6-13, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you today? Hope you are doing well. I had so much fun with you yesterday! I’ve also attached the photos of our time together as I promised.

I am so glad you liked the “Star Trek” guys and the Enterprise. Having them take the pod to an alien planet and explore it, just like we used to play, was a good time. There are other “Star Trek” pod characters we can get, so I will look for them in stores and bring some along the next time we get together.

Putting together and playing with the Lone Ranger Legos was fun, too. There are a whole bunch of Lone Ranger Lego sets, so I will look for them as well. We have to find one with Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s faithful companion. I sure hope you get to see the movie soon.

You have really gotten fast – Catching you was really difficult when we played football! I am so proud of you that you working on your baseball and soccer skills and getting better at them. When you were younger, we had a T-ball set, and you were very good at hitting the ball. You had very strong arms and could hit the ball a long ways! You also could throw a great spiral with the football. Always focus on and master the fundamentals, and you’ll do really well playing any game.

You’ve also are really learning the states! I was amazed at how many of them you remembered when we put together the puzzle. Would you also like to learn where the countries of the world are, since you asked about Greece? I shall have to find a world map puzzle for us.

The air rockets that you shot off at school sound like a great class project. How high did your air rocket go? I once had a model rocket that looked like the Enterprise from “Star Trek.” It went about 40 feet in the air. When you are older, we will have to shoot off some model rockets at Grandpa and Grandma Bignell’s farm.

The “Snackin’ Safari” game with the elephant springs sure was neat, wasn’t it? Getting the food cards to stick to the suction cup is difficult to do, isn’t it? I think the game might better if the elephant trunk and the cars had magnets on them instead, don’t you?

Have you tried on the new shirt yet? It’s pretty cool how it says “California Lifeguards Association” on it! Since the Long Beach T-shirt I got you was a little big, this time I got you one that was a size smaller – I hope it fits!

Hopefully the Pokémon cards also will help your set that you have. I’m afraid I don’t much about Pokémon – maybe you can explain more about it to me next time!

Well, that is all for now. We next get together on Friday, July 26, and I can’t wait to see you! I love you and miss you very much; I think about you every day!

Love,

Dad