Recall your mini Disney lightsabers?

On Saturday when you took some of your Star Wars action figures with you, I got to thinking about all of the great toys from that series you've owned over the years. Certainly one of your favorites were the mini lightsabers we picked up at Disneyland.

There were four of them, each a different color, if I recall correctly - green for Yoda, purple for Mace Windu, red for Darth Vader, and blue for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sometimes they'd break when playing with them, but they were pretty sturdy!

I'll also remember you having imaginary battles with them in the truck/car as we drove between places! Sometimes you'd say lines from the movie as going through the motions!

At Grandma's and Grandpa's on Saturday

Decorating the Christmas tree, Nov. 30, 2013.

I had so much fun with you on Saturday, Kieran! We spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa Bignell's!

The day started with us putting stickers in our NFL sticker books and then enjoying a nice ham dinner that Grandma made. Then we played games with your cousins Bryan and Rebekah; the games includeed Clue and the Dr. Seuss game.

Then we took a drive into town; you got to see the elementary school I went to, we visited the library to get books, I showed you my old high school, and then we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream.

When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's, we made a cool football game. Oh, and how could I forget - you got help decorate the Christmas tree earlier, right after lunch!

Our set of 101 cookie cutters

Do you remember our set of 101 cookie cutters? They were plastic, and we picked them up at Walmart then used them to make sugar cookies for just about every holiday and season!

Christmas by far was the most popular time, with us usually making a couple of different batches during the holidays. Our cookie cutters included Christmas trees, gingerbread men, bells, candy canes, snowmen and stockings.

We also made cookies at Halloween (ghost, haunted house, bat, black cat, pumpkins), Easter (duckies, cross, Easter bunny, Easter egg), and Valentine's Day (three sets of hearts). Letters also came with the set so I could spell out our names!

I usually mixed and match them for different seasons; for example we the footprint, the moon (for the sun) and the fish for going to the beach! I love you and miss making cookies with you!

Your Radio Flyer Retro Rocket toy

Do you remember your Radio Flyer Retro Rocket toy? I actually bought it for you before you were born because I thought it was such a cool toy that you'd love!

And I was right, if I do say so myself! You would sit on it and push the buttons that played a countdown and made swooshing sounds. The seat also lifted, and sometimes you'd stick action figures, crayons, and other small toys in there!

You soon outgrew the toy, which was meant for toddlers (Your legs were too long to comfortably sit on it or push it around), but I kept it in my office as a decoration!

View-master reels about Redwood Hwy.

Yesterday I wrote a trail guide summary about the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park. It's the location of a giant tree that had a tunnel carved through it so people could say they drove through a tree! I remember that well because as a child I had a View-master reel about the national parks, and one of the pictures showed the tree. I always thought going there would be very cool!

That got me to thinking about you. Why? Because I once found a View-master reel set about the Redwood Highway, which included a picture of Crescent City, Calif., where you lived as a baby (You were born just off the highway in Eureka, Calif.). I bought it and stored it in a tote, hoping to give it to you one day.

In all of the moving around last year, I don't know if I still have it, though. I am very sad when I think about it possibly being lost. Soon, though, I will unpack all of that stuff and look to see if I have it. If not, I somehow shall find it online!

Two years ago today at Legoland

Legoland, Nov. 27, 2011.

Two years ago today we spent the day at Legoland enjoying their Christmas celebrations. It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and you'd been with me for quite a fun weekend since Thursday morning.

The highlight was a great play area made of artificial snow! We got to throw snowballs, make snowmen (with Lego pieces for the nose/eyes, of course) and then go sliding down a little snow hill.

What was really great is that it was 72 degrees and sunny that day! So you were playing in shorts and T-shirt in the snow! I bright along gloves, though, so your hands wouldn't get cold!

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

Remember the Star Wars exhibit in Santa Ana?

Two years ago today, we visited the Star Wars exhibit at the California Science Museum in Santa Ana, Calif. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so we drove up from Encinitas (You'd been with me since Thursday morning).

The exhibit included a cool mock-up of The Millennium Falcon in which we got to be in the cockpot where Han Solo and Chewbacca sit and watch a movie about space, and then a whole room full of cool stuff from the various Star Wars movies.

Afterward, we went through the rest of the museum, which included a hockey section and a recycling game near the grocery store area. When we finished early, since we were only about eight minutes drive away, I said, "Hey, we're really close - do you want to go to Disney?" You said, "Yeah!" so we spent the afternoon and early evening there.

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