All the states we've been to over the years

After putting together the map puzzle during our last visit, and going over all of the state you've been to, I thought I'd list all of the states I've been to during the years. I've placed in boldface the states you've been to as well:
Arizona
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Washington
Wisconsin

My letter to you for June 23-29, 2013

Here’s my email sent to you June 29, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

How are you today? I’m fine, though I miss you like crazy! I hope you’re having a great weekend full of fun!

Thank you so much for sending the email on Friday. I enjoy hearing about all that you’re learning in summer school, all of the fun places you’ve gone, and everything else about you.

Learning about the states sounds like a lot of fun! Knowing where the states are will be very useful when you travel. Do you know that you’ve been to 11 states? They include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin. I have pictures of you in each of those states but two: Colorado and Utah.

Discovering the stories about all the presidents is interesting, too, I bet! When I was a little boy, just a wee bit older than you, I had to write a report about a president. I wrote about James K. Polk. He was the 11th president, and during his presidency Wisconsin became a state. We also defeated Mexico in a war under his leadership, and that victory meant Mexico had to give up Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah (All states you’ve visited!) to our country, The United States.

I’m so glad you’re getting to throw the football at the park. You’ve always had quite an arm on you! Always remember to put your fingers on the laces when throwing the football – if you do, the football will go farther, and your throws will be more accurate.

Highland Park’s mist machines sound like a good time, too! Do you remember the big misting machine at the California Adventure theme park? Out of the bottom of a fake rocket engine, water would blow out – so much sometimes that it would fog up the area! You always liked when I walked you through it in the stroller. You would reach out and grab at the fog!

A very big holiday is coming up on Thursday – Independence Day! It’s also known as the Fourth of July. On that day in 1776, our country told England we no longer would be part of their country and were starting our own! What plans do you have to celebrate the Fourth of July? Hopefully you will get to see fireworks! I don’t think you and I have ever went to a Fourth of July fireworks together, though we got to see some great fireworks for Halloween and New Year's Eve.

Have you read any good books lately? I have. It was called “Apple Pie on the Fourth of July” and was written by Janet S. Wong. It’s the story of a little girl who tries to convince her parents – who were born in China and have come to the United States to live – that no one wants to eat Chinese Food on the Fourth of July. Instead, people want to eat hot dogs and have apple pie, she tells them. Does the little girl have to eat rice and egg rolls or will she get to have hot dogs and apple pie on the Fourth? You will have to read the book and find out! I bet you can get it at your school or city library.

Well, that is all for now. I look forward to receiving your weekly email, and will write again next week in response to it. I love and miss you very much! Have a Happy Fourth of July!

Love,

Dad

Remember your transporter playset?

A couple of entries ago, I wrote about the neat "Star Trek" bridge playset you once had. I'm following up today with the transporter playset that accompanied it!

While the transporter playset had fewer pieces, it was a little cooler as it had a chamber in which you could place one of the action figures. By pressing a button atop the chamber, it made a shimmering sound and lit up blue. The action figure in the chamber then "disappeared" from sight.

We'd set up the transporter so it was at the back of the bridge playset. Then members of the crew could quickly leave the bridge and beam down to the planet!

The transporter play set came with a Captian Kirk action figure, so we actually had two of them! Sometimes we'd pretend one was the evil Captain Kirk from the alternative universe. Othertimes he was just an extra crewman.

A musical flashback to our past

Entry to Snow White's Scary Adventure
at Disneyland.

The other day while listening to NPR, one of the tunes playing between the reports was this old German folk song (The reports were about Germany.), and I knew I'd heard that song before - in fact, I'd heard it quite a lot before! I couldn't quite place where, and then it hit me - I'd heard it in Disneyland at Fantasyland. It was one of the many songs that played on the speakers in the background as walking by the Snow White and Pinocchio rides.

Oh, how I miss not being able to take you there! We had quite a number of great adventures at Disneyland, adventures that will I'll never forget. But that still falls a little short of being able to make new memories with you!

I don't know the song's title, but if I ever figure it out, I will post it here with a file of the song for you to hear!

Another outing to Moonlight Beach

Two years ago today, we went back to Moonlight Beach! It had became one of our favorite Sunday morning stops before heading off on another adventure before we had to call an end to our weekend.

By this time of the year, the Pacific Ocean water was starting to really warm up, so while initially it was a little cold shock to hit our bare feet, after that it wasn't so bad! Then, after spending some time at the water and playing in the sand, we'd usually go over the the conession stand and get some lunch or a snack (usually ice cream!), and then it was off to the beach's playground for fun!

My fondest memory of the beach, though, was standing in the water together with me holding your hands so that when the waves came in, they wouldn't knock you over (Though they really pushed at us!).

Here's some photos from the morning of Sunday, June 26, 2011!

Taken back to our Disneyland plants

Bird of paradise flower

While visiting a local nursery (a place where plants are sold), I was taken back to the many times that we visited Disneyland. One of the beauties of that place is its great landscaping with all of the wonderful flowers and plants.

The nursery had those cool shrubs that spiral around and can be cut into shapes like there were at the It's a Small World ride. It also had white gardenias (a staple of the Los Angeles landscape), the herbs that grow in the Storybook Land ride, and bird of paradise that lined the sidewalk each walk we took from the parking ramp to the park entrance.

Do you remember the distinctive fragrance that filled the Disneyland night, especially in Downtown Disney as we neared the exit gates or the trams? That was midnight jasmine, which blooms in the evening.

Remember your Star Trek bridge play set?

The new "Star Trek" toys that you like so much during our last couple of visits reminded me of the great "Star Trek" play sets you had when the last movie came out a couple of years ago. One of them was the bridge set that your action figures could play on.

The base of the play set was a plastic sheet that was the bridge's floor showingwhere all of the pieces went. It came with a large viewing screen and the captain's chair with helm station.

The other bridge stations came with the action figures that we bought. Of course, we had all of the action figures!

We often put the transporter station (That'll be another entry!) and bridge play sets together so that we could have been big adventure.