Some new surprises for you

I'm very excited to see your reaction the next time you visit (which is Feb. 8)! Grandma and Grandpa Bignell bought you a new bed, and we modified the playroom in the farmhouse so tht it can be your bedroom!

I also purchased NFL sheets/comforter/blanket set for you! Back when we got our condo in Palmdale, you had said you wanted NFL sheets, but they were far too expensive to get, so we got you a generic football set instead; unfortunately, we never got stuff unpacked so that we could set up your room that way.

With your love of football this past year, you should like the NFL bedding even better than when we had the condo!

Your Kitchen Science kit

Do you remember your Kitchen Science kit? I got it for us at the Minnesota Science Museum in August 2013, and we used it to create a mini-volcano!

I assembled all of the materials needed to make the volcano then guided you through creating it. You were so wowed when the "lava" came pouring out of the cone that you wanted to do it again! And we did.

There were several other science experiments in it as well - such as making a mini-rocket, a lemon-powered clock, fingerprint kit, and so on, but as of this entry, we have yet to do them. Maybe we'll do them when you're a little older this summer!

Here are some pictures from when we made the volcano!

My Super Bowl memories

Larry Czonka (Miami Dalphins)
in 1973 Super Bowl.

Today is the big Super Bowl game! Though you've watched others before when we were together, this is probably the one you'll remember as your "first" Super Bowl!

The Super Bowl during the year I was in first grade (1973) was the first one I remember. That year, the Miami Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins 14-7, and the Dolphins became the only NFL team to ever have a perfect season.

I remember lots of other Super Bowls from my childhood years in the 1970s, probably more so than the rest of my life. Usually the Super Bowl involved the Minnesota Vikings or Dallas Cowboys playing either the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Okland Raiders. The Broncos and Rams also made the Super Bowl during those years.

The other big Super Bowl I remember is No. 30 when the Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots, winning the first league championship in 30 years! That was in 1997.

Your second quarter report card

Your report card for second quarter of first grade showed some marked improvement! I was very proud of you for your accomplishments.

If you did not stay the same with an already good grade, work habit, or conduct, you improved. You improved in Christ-Light, Memory Treasures, Language Arts, Spelling, Math, Art and P.E. as well as following directions, attentiveness, class participation, completing assignments, showing love to others, respecting authority and following classroom/school rules.

You received A's in math, memory treasures, and Christ-light, a B+ in language arts, and a C in spelling. You also received an E (for excellent) in class participation!

I have kept your report card so that one later you may look back upon it!

Your height and weight through the years II

In a previous entry, I listed your height and weight through the years. When we got together on Saturday (Jan. 25), you were very excited to tell me that you weighed 51 pounds! So I figured I should update this list!

Here's a list of those measurements that I stumbled across as going through my computer files. It's a little incomplete because I have your height listed on a wall poster (which is packed away somewhere):

2007
Feb. 23 – Weighs 7 pounds, 7 ounces

2008
Feb. 5 – Weighs 20 lb., 14 oz.
June 5 – Weighs 23 lb., 6 oz.

2011
Jan 26 – Measures 3 feet, 10 inches tall

2012
Jan 10 – Weighs 41 pounds
Jan 21 – Measures 3 feet, 11.25 inches tall
Apr 21 – Height is hair under 4 feet

2014
Jan 25 – Weighs 51 pounds
March 25 – Weighs 44 points; measures 4 feet tall (added after entry was posted)

Four years ago today: Tortoise hiking

Spotting a desert tortoise, Jan. 30, 2014.

Four years ago today we hiked a trail in the Desert Tortoise Natural Area. It was a remote area in the Mojave Desert, though driveable from where we lived in Lancaster, Calif.

The wildlife reserve was set aside as a place for the endangered desert tortoise to live. They've been on the planet for about 2 million years but are rapidly disappearing. We were lucky enough to see one, by the way!

I do remember the day being just a tad under perfect warm; we had to wear hoodies and sweatshirts, but it felt very nice compared to the cold winter we'd been experiencing.

Herre's a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Three years ago today at Vasquez Rocks

Hamming it up for the camera, Jan. 29, 2011.

Three years ago today, we hiked Vasquez Rocks, which you also referred to as "the Kirk Rocks"! Except this time instead of visiting "Star Trek" sites, we went searching for sites used during filming of the first season of "The Bionic Woman" (which you really enjoyed watching, by the way)!

We had just purchased "The Bionic Woman" on DVD, and while watching it, I noticed that the episode "Canyon of Death" (which takes place in the desert portion of the "Ventura Air Force Base"), took place at Vasquez Rocks. Since we'd hiked it several times before looking for"Star Trek" filming locations, I was fairly familiar with the county park and figured we'd have little trouble identifying where the scenes occurred.

By the way, you wore a Starfleet Academy cap for the hike!

I put together a photo gallery of our hike including photos from "The Bionic Woman" episode!