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

We now get to visit every other week!

I am very excited about visiting with you today, Kieran! Beginning today, we get to see one another every other Friday!

I will bring some more "Star Trek" characters as you asked for last time, as well as some of our older toys and games and books that we have. And of course I'll bring some surprises, too!

Grandma Bignell also plans to bake some stuff for you, too, though I'm not certain what she has planned.

I also will be sure to ask you what you interested in to help guide my future purchases for us when we get together in a couple of weeks.

Your love for 'Green Eggs and Ham'

One of the books you loved to have me read to you when you were a preschooler was "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. You'd laugh with glee at the pictures and loved the rhymes - the latter so much that we'd sometimes repeat them to one another out of the blue.

I'd walk past you and say something, "I am Sam. Sam I am!" You'd get a big smile on your face and respond, "That Sam-I-Am, that Sam-I-Am, I do not like that Sam-I-Am!"

Or you might ask me if I liked something, and I'd say back, "I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse!"

The book got you interested in all kinds of other Dr. Seuss titles when you were five years old!

Happy birthday to Beatles' Ringo!

Beatles tribute band at Bugstock on March 25, 2012,
at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Calif. 

Did you know that Sunday (July 7) was Ringo's birthday? He turned 73!

Ringo was you favorite Beatle when you were a preschooler. You always asked to hear his songs when we listened to Beatles CDs in the car or Jeep. "Boys" was one song you always had to hear!

One of the Sunday morning radio programs we used to listen to in the car when in San Diego did a special show about Ringo this weekend. It brought back lots of sweet memories of you!

Our trip to Disneyland two years ago today

On the teacups ride at Disneyland, July 9, 2011.

Two years today, we went to Disneyland together!

The day began as it usually did with our weekend visits that summer/autumn. I picked you up Saturday morning, we had breakfast ont he way at the Burger King in Little Rock, and then drove to Disneyland!

While at the park, we spent some time in Fantasyland, then you participated in the Jedi Academy. You also got to be the pirate helper during storytime at the House of the Future in Tomorrowland. They read "Peter Pan."

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

You're on or in books in libraries!

Did you know that you can be found in a library?

Four of my books are now in Wisconsin libraries, and three of them mention you in some way! Two of my hiking books have your picture on the cover (and one of those have a while bunch of pictures of you in it). Another hiking book, as well as the two I just mentioned, are dedicated to you.

The books  (I boldfaced the ones that mention you) available for borrowing at west-central Wisconsin public libraries are:

>>“Headin’ to the Cabin: Day Hiking Trails of Northwest Wisconsin” – Frederic, Rice Lake, River Falls

>>“Hikes with Tykes: A Practical Guide to Day Hiking with Kids” – River Falls

>>“Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities” – River Falls

>>“Windmill: A Novel” – River Falls

You can check out the books through interlibrary loan if it’s one of the 50-plus public libraries that are part of the MORE consortium in western Wisconsin. Here's a link to the library site!