Our Saturday outing to the aquarium

Getting our picture taken at the Sea Life Aquarium

Grandma Bignell and I had so much fun with you Saturday at the aquarium and Mall of America!

Here is what we did:
>>Lunch at Rain Forest Cafe (where we played Go Fish and you had a cheeseburger)
>>Sea Life Aquarium (follow the link to photos!)
>>Snack at Johnny Rockets (Oreo ice cream malt and French fries)
>>Lego store (where you made three figures)

Leaving was very difficult. I wanted to stay and keep having fun with you!

Today, I am planning our next outing - hopefully the weather will be good for Como Park Zoo!

Great news for us, Kieran!

I am very excited today, Kieran! We now will get to spend more time with one another and go places other than the family center.

Our expanded time togther begins today! I will see you at 11 a.m. I have a fun day planned for us at an aquarium and also lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe.

We also will get to talk to one another by telephone each Tuesday night. Your mother will place the call to me between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The telephone calls will replace the emails that I send each Saturday.

I also soon will be speaking with your teacher and attending your school activities.

Do not worry, I will continue to write a daily blog post here until we finally are allowed to speak to one another each and every day unhindered. I also will continue to fight for your right to see and talk with me. The right will be slow in coming, I fear, but it will come.

I will see you at 11 a.m. later this morning! I love you!

Geordi's rocket and the Borg cube

"Borg cube"

Do you remember "Geordi's rocket" and "the Borg cube"? When you were four years old, and I lived in Encinitas, we'd sometimes (okay, alot of times) drive from Disneyland back to San Diego via I-5, which took us past the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.

"Geordi's rocket"

One of the science center's icons was a large black cube - which looked like a Borg cube from "Star Trek." Another was a giant white rocket. Both easily could be seen from the freeway on our drive back.

After you'd seen the movie "Star Trek: First Contact," you started calling the science center's rocket "Geordi's rocket" because it looked like the Phoenix spaceship that Engineer Geordi LaForge helped build in the movie. The movie also had a Borg cube, so we started calling the center's cube "the Borg cube"!

Everytime we'd go past the science center on our drive, I'd say, "Look, there's the Borg cube" and you'd say, "And there's Geordi's rocket!"

Remember Borders in Santa Clarita?

Entry to Borders in Santa Clarita

One of the many places you enjoyed going to when we lived in California was Borders bookstore in Santa Clarita. Sometimes you'd even ask if we could go to Santa Clarita, which meant going to the mall and Borders!

Outside of Borders was this great water fountain that you loved to watch. Water spewed out of balls positioned along the fountain's sides toward the central geyser, and sometimes you'd hold your hand over the nozzles in the balls to keep the water from coming out!

Borders had a great childrens section on its second floor. Part of it were raised, carpeted steps where we could sit and read children's books together.

They also had an elevator that you loved to go up and down in! You especially enjoyed pressing the buttons to get us to the right floor!

Unfortunatley, the Borders in Santa Clarita - like all of the Borders nationwide went out of business. That was too bad; I have great memories of the Borders there, in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and many other cities.

Your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figures

Do you remember your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figurines? We purchased them during one of our many visits to Disneyland.

The set included Mickey, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Pluto. Like all of the other plastic figure Disney sets we had, none of the arms or legs moved, but they were solid and didn't break, and they sure stood well on their feet, which was really difficult with some of our action figures!

We had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playset that was purchased separately, so we would use the figures to play Mickey Mouse and friends visiting one another.

My time as a first grader

I'm so proud of you that you're in first grade! You've just started a great adventure in your education. Though it doesn't seem that way now (And won't for a long time!), this time in school will go very fast, so make the most of it.

I went to first grade at Elmwood Elementary School in Elmwood, Wis. My first grade teacher was Mrs. Rheil. We had about 60 kids in my class, so there were two classrooms of first graders. My best friend, Ronald Wolfe, was in my class!

Everybody in our classroom had to put on a sock puppet show, with a classmate, about what our dads did for a living. Ronald and I were partners. He got really nervous when our turn came, as we hadn't written or practiced anything, like some of the other kids had. I told him not to worry and to "just follow my lead"!

We did great! We just each pretended to be our dads and had the class entranced. The teacher even called both of our parents and told them what a great job we did with the sock puppet show!

Five great quotations to live by

This entry, I'd like to do something a little different by giving you some of my favorite quotations that I live by. I understand they may not make too much sense right now, while you're only six, but maybe one day they will.

"Life is just what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus

"...there're just so many summers and just so many springs." - Don Henley

"You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" - George Bernard Shaw

"Dad, can I hang out with you?" - Kieran Bignell

Playing with 'Lift off!' with you as a baby

Yesterday as going through my photos of you, I got to thinking about the time when you were about three or four months. One thing we always used to do together was I'd hold you out in front of me, my hands cupped just below your arms, your little toes playfully digging into the warm spring air, and say in my most serious news voice, “We’re 15 seconds to launching the first baby to the moon, and Baby Kieran is that baby!”

Then I’d start a countdown, and after “1” go “Lift off!” and raise you superquick high into the air then hold you over my head so you were flying like Superman. You’d break into a giggle as your flabby tummy pressed against my palms and would start moving your arms and legs like you were swimming. I’d shift you around from side to side, going, “Quick, fast, zoom, we’re on our way to the moon!” and the scent of baby powder would waft down toward me on the currents of air created by the motion.

After we’d done that a few times, whenever we got to “3” in the countdown, you’d ball up your tiny fists, close your eyes tight, and tense up, as if to ward off the sudden stomach-in-my-throat feeling you must have got from liftoff. But you always giggled with glee once I got you above my head.

 

My email to you for Sept. 14, 2013

Here is my letter sent to you Sept. 14, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine though I miss you like crazy! I am sorry that we did not get together today; unfortunately, other people decided that we should not. If I had my way, we would be able to get together every day! I have made arrangements for us to get together either next Friday (Sept. 20) or Saturday (Sept. 21), however.

How is school going? You must be in your third week by now! What kinds of things are you learning about in reading class? Even if some days reading class isn’t very fun or interesting, always pay attention and try your best – there is nothing more important to learn in school than how to read. Once you know how to read, you can look up the answer to anything else you can learn about in school. That’s not to say math or science or music or gym class aren’t important – they are – but even if years later you forget what you’ve learned in those classes, so long as you know how to read well, you’ll be able to find the answers.

What new stuff are you learning about in music class? You’ve always had a great interest in music, as you enjoyed listening to songs while at home and in the Jeep, playing with your musical instruments, and pretending to be a performing band while plucking my acoustic guitar. You’d even make up songs and tell me that it was a new one sang by one of the Beatles! The melody you tapped out on the piano when we were last together on Sept. 5 was very lovely, though I could hear a bit of sadness in it. Keep learning how to play the piano – you definitely have talent and one day could write songs that make people very happy.

I have been busy working but this week had the chance to take a hike through the woods behind my farmhouse. With autumn’s arrival, the leaves have fallen off the bottom branches, or at least the animals fattening themselves for winter have eaten much of them bare. So at last I was able to see many of the chipmunks and squirrels, who I’d only heard scampering through the summer, as they made their last collections for the cold months ahead. In one small cliff cutaway, I even spied a bee’s hive built beneath a limestone overhang. Then while walking along a ridge, I unwittingly frightened six wild turkeys asleep in the grass on a ravine’s side. They took off with a whoosh that scared me as much as I did them. After jumping back, I realized what was making the hillside come alive as they took to the air; I don’t think I’ve ever seen turkeys fly that high. Down at the ravine’s bottom, the pond has yet to dry up, which the black bears apparently appreciate, as I spotted their paw prints in the sand and from the trail to the green water a path of crushed grass, the wild fresh scent of their broken stems still filling the air. These bears must have bad table manners, though, as some of the scat was full of acorns that appeared to be unchewed. Imagine a bear just stuffing a paw full of acorns into his mouth and swallowing whole!

Did you watch the football games on Sunday? My Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers both lost, but the teams playing them had to come from behind to beat them. I see your Chicago Bears won, though! And the Minnesota Vikings lost – while I like Adrian Peterson, I don’t like the Vikings because they are the Packers’ (and the Bears’) rival, so I was pretty happy that they lost. Maybe one day Adrian Peterson will play for a good team like the Packers!

Well, that is all for now. You have a good weekend and a great day in school. I will see you next week, either on Friday or Saturday.

Love,

Dad

Recall our Peter Pan playset?

Do you remember our Peter Pan playset? It consisted of figurines of the major characters from the movie and some other cool accessories.

We purchased the playset during one of our many visits to Disneyland. It formed the core of our box of "pirate toys."

Often we used the figures and accessories when playing with our "ocean" toys - especially the rowboat and gazebo. We usually played with them on the glass coffee table, which served as the "water surface" of many ocean and island adventures, at the green house in Lancaster.

Theonly real downside to the figures is that they didn't move like our many other action figures!

Your first 'Star Wars' action figure!

Do you remember what your first "Star Wars" action figure was? It was Grand Moff Tarkin, the evil general who ran the Death Star in "Star Wars IV: A New Hope."

We never purchased Grand Moff Tarkin. Instead, we found him the flower bed at the green house in Lancaster. I washed him up, and viola! we had a new action figure.

At the time, you were more into the "Star Trek" action figures I had squirreled away in the garage. Once we started watching "The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars" rerun marathons, though, you got quite interested in "Star Wars" action figures, and our collection took off!

You really liked to collect clone troopers - but I'll save that for another entry!

Our first visit to California Adventure!

Dancing with Donald Duck, Sept. 11, 2009

Four years ago today, we made out first visit together to the California Adventure theme park!

Staying in Pomona the night before, we waited for the park to open and got to walk around it with virtually nobody there. Our walk (You were in the stroller.) began counterclockwise, first going through Condor Flats then into the Grizzly Peak Rec Area.

That's when we first discovered the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail! It included a walk across the rope bridges high above the play area.

We also got to meet lots of the characters there. The lines definitely were not as long as at Disneyland!

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

Your Matchbox Car Wash Mini Playset

Do you remember your Matchbox Car Wash Mini Playset? It was one of many Matchbox car playsets that you had.

This one was neat, though, because it folded up into a box that you could carry around! We kept it in an end table between the sofa and the wall in the green house we lived in at Lancaster, Calif., along with all of the other Matchbox and Hot Wheel sets.

I think you were more of a collector than a player with the Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars, though. You'd play a little with them each day, but you were more into your action figures.

The two purple guys who came with the car wash got put in with our airport toys, if I remember correctly. I think we used the guy carrying the rag as an airplane mechanic at the airport hangar!

Remember your basketball set?

Do you remember your Little Tikes basketball hoop? It was a basketball hoop with backboard on a short stand that I bought you when a preschooler while we lived in the green house in Lancaster.

You had a soft Nerf basketball that you could use to make buckets. We kept it inside until the weather got warm then moved it outside onto the side of the house by the grill.

Generally you preferred to play football or hit the baseball off a t-ball stand rather than "shoot buckets." Still, you played with it just about every time we went outside, usually by tossing the ball at it a couple of times.

Do you remember your U.S. puzzle map?

When you were five years old, I purchased for you a puzzle that was a United States map. Each piece was a state (or a group of small states, such as those in New England).

We always started by piecing together the outside border of the map, which had each of the flags for the states. Then we usually started by going west to east.

You quickly learned all of the big states - like California, Texas, Florida and Minnesota - and then soon began to remember the shapes of other states. I was very impressed at how quickly you picked them up! Often I told you stories about your visits to each of the 10-12 states you'd been to.

A map puzzle was how I learned each of the states - their names, their shapes, their locations - when I was a young boy. I am so glad to pass on this "tradition" to you...perhaps one day when you are a daddy, too, you'll teach your son about the states by using a map puzzle, too!

My email to you for Sept. 1-7, 2013

Here is my email sent to you Sept. 7, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you today? I’m doing fine, though I miss and love you like crazy!

I so enjoyed my time with you on Thursday! We sure packed a lot into those two hours!

You certainly have a lot of energy, which is not surprising for a young boy, especially one who’s a Bignell. All of the Bignells – my cousins and yours – have a lot of spunk. Although I exercise daily, I must admit that all of the karate, football, spinning and wrestling we did wore me out! You are very strong and athletic, and I'm impressed!

I'm so very glad that you enjoyed the volcano we made! There are more “kitchen” experiments in the science kit, as well, including making a clock run with a battery made from a lemon or tomato! We will have to do some of those in the weeks ahead.

Putting together the Bionicles was a good time, too. It brought back lots of great memories of when we used to do that at Legoland or at my place in Encinitas. I hope you enjoy playing with your new Bionicles!

I enjoyed playing checkers, too. You really knew the rules well! When I was in fourth grade, I was a master checkers player. I was so good that no one wanted to play me because they always lost! So I turned to chess, but there were only a couple of other students who knew how to play that. I think you’re going to be a master checkers player, too!

Constructing the puzzle map was fun as well. You did a great job of putting it together all on your own while I worked on the Lone Ranger Lego kit, which I think is a mound that scorpions live in – there’s a little catapult on it that you can shoot the scorpions out of! Too bad we ran out of time to complete the puzzle (or the Lego toy).

Say, I don’t believe we looked at the football cards you received on Thursday. Which players and teams did you get? Also, did you see the first pro football game of the year on Thursday night? The Denver Broncos were playing the Baltimore Ravens. You may recall that Peyton Manning now plays for the Denver Broncos. He set a record by throwing seven touchdown passes in a single game! The Broncos won 49-27!

What books or stories did you read in school this past week? I read a neat book about autumn called “Leaf Man” by Lois Ehlert. The book has pictures of leaves arranged to look like a person – called Leaf Man – and traces his movement across the landscape. It has a lot of cool pictures of Leaf Man in it.

We next get together on Saturday, Sept. 14 – a week from today! Your mother and I are still working out the times. We no longer have to meet at the visitation center that we have been at since last winter. I have not yet decided what we will do when we get together, but I have some ideas and promise it will be a lot of fun!

I look forward to seeing you then. I miss and love you very much! Be a good boy in school this week!

Love,

Dad

 

I enjoyed our time together Thursday

I so enjoyed my time with you yesterday, Kieran! We sure packed a lot into those two hours!

As a young boy, you certainly have a lot of energy. I must admit, all of the karate, football, spinning and wrestling wore my out! You are very strong, and I'm impressed!

Putting together the Bioncles, playing checkers, and constructing the puzzle map were a good time, too! I hope you enjoy playing with the Bioncles at home!

I'm so very glad that you enjoyed the volcano we made, too! There are more "kitchen" experiments in the kit,as well, including making a clock run with a battery made from a lemon or tomato! We will have to do some of those in the weeks ahead.

Here are some pictures of our time together!

Your Uncle Chris' birthday is today!

You and Uncle Chris playing together
at you birthday party in 2008.

Today is your Uncle Chris' birthday! He was born when I was four years old. That was a long time ago!

I have tons of great memories about my brother and will have to tell you some of stories when we get together.

You got to spend lots of time with Uncle Chris when you stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Bignell in the winter/spring/summer of 2008. He even bought you a toy tractor for a birthday present!

He and his family miss you very much and can't wait until the time comes when they can see you again. I signed the birthday card I got him with both of our names on it.

Remember your space shuttle toy?

Do you recall your space shuttle and launching pad toy? It was made by Fischer Price Imaginext, and we used it on lots of great adventures in which our intrepid astronauts would explore other worlds.

The shuttle had cargo doors that opened, so often you put Imaginext astronauts or Star Wars action figures in them. After pushing a button on the shuttle, a countdown would begin and then it 'd make a blast off sound, as if its rockets were firing!

Then you'd pick up the shuttle and with guys I was carrying in another of your spaceship toys, we'd fly the two crafts through the house to a table or desk and land the ship. Our astronauts then would explore the planet (and usually have to escape it)!

Remember your squishy goo toy?

Remember your blue squishy goo toy you had as a presschooler? It was a flexible blue tube filled with gel that you could squish in your hands. Inside the gel were plastic pieces of stars, planets and a crescent moon.

We picked up the squishy goo toy at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. I thought of the squishy goo and you because a couple of days ago I visited the science museum in St. Paul and saw some similar (but not the same) stuff (And yes, I picked up a couple of surprises for you that I'll share on Thursday when we next get together!).

You loved playing with the squishy goo! Unfortunatley, it eventually developed a pinhole leak and started fripping the gel, so we had to toss it. :(

Recall your Star Trek Pez dispensers?

Do you remember your Star Trek Pez dispensers? They were a set of eight dispensers of the major characters from "Star Trek: The Original Series": Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov with the USS Enterprise.

I bought them at World Mart in Santa Clarita, I believe. They came with Pez candy, which after you ate up I didn't replace so as not to spoil your dinner! You didn't seem to mind, though - you were more than happy to play with the dispensers as if they were action figures.

Later, I got actual action figures of all the ST:TOS characters for you at Christmas 2011. Unfortunately, I don't have all of the dispensers or action figures any more, but I'm certain one day when you're older you'l be able topurchase them as a collector, should you wish.

Home is your soft place to land

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to listen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

Office politics, school bullies, rush-hour traffic…where is one to go these days to find a little peace of mind?

Home ought to be a soft place where we can land. It is the comfortable place where our inner needs can be addressed.

When the outside world stresses us, our fears and insecurities rise to the surface. We fear for our job, we worry about not being to get a good grade, we fret that we’re not valuable (Otherwise that driver certainly would have shown us respect by not cutting us off on the freeway!).

Home is where we can decompress. It feels secure, allowing us to relax and recuperate. That gives us the right frame for us to be mindful of our stresses and needs, to calm our screaming inner voice.

We then are more centered…and able to face the multiple challenges that the world tosses at us.  

My letter to you for Aug. 31, 2013

Here is the letter/email I sent to you on Aug. 31, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing today? I’m doing fine though I miss you like crazy!

I had a lot of fun with you Friday!

Your memory is very good, I must say – you remembered exactly where every chess piece went on the board and how they moved. You are on your way to becoming a master chess player!

You also impressed me with your cool karate moves. You’ve got quite a strong punch and kick! Keep working on those moves! I’ll keep practicing my Canadian karate moves, too! J

I’m glad that you enjoyed the Lone Ranger and Army Lego pieces. I’m sorry that the Army Lego Jeep was frustrating to put together – the instructions looked very complicated, so no wonder you didn’t want to follow them! I think, though, that I might have in one of my totes a Lego car that is very easy to make…I shall bring it next time, and we can build it together, okay?

Your knowledge of the states keeps improving, too! I think you knew twice as many on Friday as you did just the week before! I am still looking for that world map puzzle, though. I may have to order it online.

Speaking of online, I looked up and watched the Disney XD show you told me about – I thought you had said “Crash and Burn Scene” rather than “Crash and Bernstein”! I can see why you enjoy the show so much; the humor is exactly what you would find hilarious! I like Crash’s T-shirt showing a skull with headphones on it.

Too bad that you’re friend Milo didn’t come back to school this year. Losing a friend to moving always is difficult; when I was in third grade, my best friend Marc moved, and I had no idea where or if I’d ever get to talk with him again. He introduced me to “The Six Million Dollar Man” and we liked pretending we were “The Bionic Boys.” I was happy to hear that Richard and all of your other friends are back. You guys should have a lot of fun this year!   

Going up north to the farm and the lake sound like a good time. What did you all do on the farm and lake?

I forgot to ask you on Friday how you liked the Titanic book you took home last week. One of the neat things about first grade is that you’ll learn to read and soon will be able to read the book all on your own!

I’m very excited – we get together again on Thursday (Sept. 5)! I miss and love you very much and can’t wait to see you again!

Love,

Dad

Recall your Pirates of the Caribbean boat?

Do you remember the Pirates of the Caribbean Queen Anne’s Revenge Hero Ship Play-Set we once had? We bought it in fall 2011 during a visit to Disney. You'd been looking it over a lot during previous visits, but it was awfully expensive.

Then I landed a little extra money editing and with a 10% discount on my Disney annual pass, decided "Why not?"

You were in the stroller and had to hold it the entire way back from Downtown Disney to the parking ramp because it wouldn't fit beneath it. You were so excited you couldn't stop looking at the box and gripped it hard so it wouldn't fall.

I lived in Encinitas at the time, and we put it together the following morning. It was huge - about 2-1/2 feet long and 2 feet tall. It included an escape hatch, a retractable plank, a mid-section that slid open, and a rotating crank. I recall a cool glow-in-the-dark skeleton that hung on the ship's prow.

We had lots of Pirates of the Caribbean action figures that we were able to play with it, too!

Learn something new every day

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to lisen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

As we go through life, we have a tendency to focus on a few narrow paths: our careers, our immediate family, our college major, our community. Each of those areas certainly is enough to keep us busy!

They may not be enough, though.

Often we feel unfulfilled because we do nothing but work, raise our kids, study a specific field, live in one small area. We desire to get away from it all for a while. This is necessary to keep our minds fresh.

We don’t necessarily have to travel long distances or abandon all we find comfortable to reboot our mental and emotional health, though. Oftentimes the solution is as simple as learning a little something new every day.

Picking up new knowledge also may be paramount to maintaining a job, family and community. With new information, we can bring a different perspective to work problem, parenting, and local issues. With new information, we can better adapt to new situations because we’re no longer trapped by the notion of “But we’ve always done it this way.” With new information, we’re better able to think creatively. This all occurs because when we actively learn new stuff, our understanding of how the world operates broadens. We gain an understanding that transcends our everyday lives.

How can you learn something new? It’s easy. Google a word. Open a dictionary to a random page and find the first word you don’t know. Go someplace you’ve never been before. Talk to someone who specializes in something you know nothing about. Take a class. Listen to public radio. Attend a lecture. Read a book.

What new thing will you learn today?

Remember that big St. Bernard stuffy?

When we lived in the grene house in Lancaster, you might recall that I had a couple of big pillows a large fluffy St. Bernard dog stacked next to the television in the living room.

Sometimes you way lay on the pillows and dog while watching television. Other times you'd play tackle the dog!
When we did football, "tackle drills," I'd place the the pillow beneath my knees so I'd beyour height for you to ram into.

The dog was a stuffy I got for your mother before you were born. She liked St. Bernards, and for a while we were putting together a mystery novel about a nurse whose St. Bernard solves murders that the nurse gets entangled in!

Always stay physically fit

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to listen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

In our modern times, most of us are spared the physical labor that our ancestors had to endure just to survive. Machinery does the work instead, and many of us now spend our days seated comfortably at desks. The result is many of us gain weight and become physically weaker.

“So what?” you might ask. “Less physically demanding labor sounds like a good thing.”

That’s true enough. We’re now free to pursue personal interests and have more leisure time.

Still, there’s plenty of good reasons to stay physically fit by exercising, walking and watching our diet.

Research shows physical fitness reduces the risk of contracting debilitating diseases from diabetes and heart ailments to various cancers. Each of these diseases can be expensive to treat and can limit our ability to function even if we’re just sitting behind a desk.

In the short term, staying physically fit improves one’s mood. Exercise increases production of endorphins, which in turn reduces depression. A brisk walk or swim has been shown to boost your memory and ability to learn.

Regular exercise also means you’re more likely to live a longer life. With strong bones and muscles and not suffering from disease, your body will be able to recover more quickly from illnesses and injuries that strike you in old age.

So why not make a difference in your life right now and for the long-term by lifting some weights, dancing, or even just stretching?

Remember our Disney figure sets?

During our many visits to Disneyland, we got into the habit of purchasing play figures of characters from Disney movies or rides. Usually six or seven came in a set, and there were at least a dozen sets!

One of them was the villains set (see pictures). It contained bad guys from various Disney movies.

Often these figures/characters became parts of other play sets! The Peter Pan pieces, for example, were part of our pirate toys while the Buzz Lightyear toys became part of our space toy collection.

Unfortunately, none of the figures had movable parts. Still, they stood upright quite well (better than our various action figures!) and were a lot of fun to play with anyway!

Our hike along the Sierra Alta Trail

Sierra Alta Trail, Aug. 25, 2010

Three years ago today we hiked the Sierra Alta Trail in the Angeles National Forest!

The trail was about 6800 feet above sea level so nicely overlooked some canyons yet was shrouded by higher mountain peaks.

The trail was surrounded by greenery and very comfortable in temperature, a nice respite from the sandy, hot desert where we lived!

You got your own trekking pole for this hike. It was a brief enough trail that I let you walk it by yourself. You had a blast, though I had to keep telling you to wait up as you wanted to run ahead out of my sight!

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

My email to you for Aug. 24, 2013

Here is the email I sent to you on Aug,. 24, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Dear Kieran,

How are you today? I’m doing fine, though I miss you like crazy! I hope you’re doing well and are having lots of fun during this last week of summer.

I so enjoyed our time together on Thursday! You’ve gotten really tall and have quite the powerful swing when it comes to light saber battles!

Your knowledge of the states as we put together the USA map was very impressive, too! I really enjoy talking about all of the places we’ve visited and hearing about all of the states you’d still like to see. I am looking for a world map puzzle so we also can learn about countries and oceans. While you’ve never been out of the United States, perhaps when you become 18 you’ll want to travel overseas.

Teaching you how to play chess was a lot of fun, too! The game is very complicated and will take a long time learn, but you're well on your way by learning the names of the pieces, where they go on the board, and how they move.

Building the ancient Egyptian city out of the craft blocks was a good time, too. It looked just like some of the cities we saw when visiting the Egyptian section at the Museum of Man in San Diego. I posted pictures of our work online!

How did you like the book about the Titanic that you took home on Thursday? I remember reading to you kids’ books at Barnes and Noble about the Titanic and how much you enjoyed them. I thought you’d like that book!

I am so proud of you that you are about to enter first grade. You will find it a lot of fun. Always do your schoolwork, even if it’s boring or difficult, and you will do fine. In fact, you’ll find that that first grade and school in general gets easier when you do your assignments!

One book I recently read that you might like is about going to first grade. The book was called “First Grade, Here I Come!” by Nancy Carlson. It tells the story of Henry, who after the first day of first grade, isn’t sure how he feels about it. The teacher isn’t like his kindergarten teacher, and the fifth-graders hog the monkey bars! Will Henry come to like being in first grade? You will have to read the book and find out. When your mom takes you to the city library, I bet you’ll find the book there in the children’s section.

We next get together on Friday, Aug. 30 – just six days from now! Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to bring. I see your email “send” button is not working again, as I haven’t received an email from you since Aug. 11. Perhaps you could have your mother help you with that. In any case, I have saved all of my emails for you so that if there are any of mine that you do not receive, you’ll be able to later read them.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much and will see you on Friday!

Love,

Dad

Remembering our visit together

Kieran, Aug. 22, 2013

I so enjoyed our time together yesterday, Kieran! You've gotten really tall and have quite the swing when it comes to light saber battles!

Your knowledge of the states as we put together the USA map was very impressive, too! I am looking for a world map puzzle so we also can learn about countries and oceans.

Teaching you how to play chess was a lot of fun, too! The game is very complicated and will take a long time learn, but you're well on your way by learning the names of the pieces, where they go on the board, and how they move.

Building the ancient Egyptian city out of the craft blocks was a good time, too. I posted pictures of our work online!

Always pursue your dreams

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to listen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

If you meet people who are perpetually grumpy or cynical, they probably aren’t happy with themselves. They view their life as a failure, their job and home as something they must endure.

Most likely, they lack an important quality that people who generally are happy and positive possess: They don’t have a dream.

A vision for our future, of a place where we want to ultimately end up, can be a significant motivator in lives. It gives us purpose. That purpose in turn then shapes our daily decisions. We decide to save money, to study harder, to take a second job, to master new skills all to pursue our dream.

More importantly, the journey to achieving a dream also will build character and strengthen your willpower.

For example, if a woman and your dream is to slim down from a size 20 to a size 4, envisioning what you’ll  look like in a mirror, the great clothes you could wear, the compliments you will receive, and the looks of admiration from men you will get, can help you through difficult times. For example, if you have a bad day at work or just had another difficult phone conversation with your mother, rather than turning to a bowl of ice cream to alleviate your emotional pain, you instead can use that vision of what you’ll look like when slim to hold off from indulging.

If a man and your dream is to own a sports car, envisioning yourself driving that car, the happy smile of your girlfriend as she sits in the passenger seat, and the nods of respect you’ll get from other men you pass on the road, can help you through tough times. For example, when you get a bad grade on a test or a girl turns you down for a date, rather than going out drinking with the guys to deal with the depression, you instead can use your vision of turning that key in the ignition of your beautiful sports car to keep from wasting money on beer (Alcohol will just exacerbate your bad feelings anyway!).

Indeed, you may never ever own that 16-room mansion or actually reach the summit of Mount Everest – but your efforts to do so will provide an incredible payoff.

And should you achieve your dream, you’ll find that the next one you pursue will be all that much easier to obtain.    

Remember going to maritime museum?

Taking the helm of a sailing vessel
we took out into San Diego Bay.

One of your favorite places to go when I lived in Encinitas, Calif., was the San Diego Maritime Museum - and we were there two years ago today!

I think you called it the "pirate ships" because so many of the boats there were from the 1800s and used sails, just like the pirate ships of old. The museum also had submarines there that you always enjoyed exploring.

I remembered that one time we visited dancers were performing on one boat, showing the popular moves of the time that the ship sailed. You asked if we could stay and watch them, and we did. You were enamored by their moves!

Here's a bunch of pictures from our trip two years ago today to the maritime museum!

Always believe in yourself

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to lisen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

Perhaps the most important gift any person ever can give is to believe in yourself. That may sound kind of selfish, but ultimately it’s what’s best for everyone.

As the old saying goes, if you do not believe in yourself, who will? After all, achieving anything of value requires some level of self-confidence. Even when no one else believes in you, an inner certainty that you can persevere and ultimately be victorious will carry you through difficult times and lead to success.

You cannot be personally happy if you do not believe in yourself. When wracked by self-doubt, you ultimately become depressed or grumpy. No one wants to be around someone who’s like that all of the time. By not believing in yourself, you actually push people away, which further feeds your isolation and self-doubt.

In addition, by grumpy and gloomy can affect other people for the worse by causing them to respond curtly to you and others. Your little black raincloud spreads across the sky of other people! Now imagine what would occur if you instead presented a sunny happiness upon others. Their moods would improve. The result in a nicer world to live in…and people who are more supportive of you when you need help and encouragement!

Recall visiting Silver City Ghost Town?

Silver City Ghost Town, Aug. 19, 2010

Four years ago today we explored the Silver City Ghost Town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains! It was a collection of buildings brought there to make up this roadside tourism attraction.

Along the way, we drove through the mountains and saw some neat country scenes! During one stretch, cattle weren;t fenced in, and we drove by thema s they stood on the road!

Twenty-one buildings in all preserved at the ghost town. The town was supposedly "haunted," but that probably was just made up to help bring people in. It also has appeared as a backdrop in a number of film and video shoots.

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

Always find a purpose to guide you

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to lisen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

All too often what holds us back from experiencing happiness is that we lack purpose. Without purpose, though, anything we do and everything we encounter will feel meaningless. It’s a quick route to depression, anger and trouble.

We need purpose in life to guide and excite us. If our purpose is to provide for our family, getting up early on a cold morning to go to work so there’s money to pay for food and a roof over your children’s heads is not only easier, it’s looked forward to. When troubled times come, a purpose gives us the strength to persevere.

Many people will tell you what your purpose is in life – to serve God, to help others, to serve country, to pursue the truth, and so on. They may be right. For such people, at the very least, what they profess is their purpose works for them. It may not be right for you, though…and you are the only one who can determine your purpose.

Finding purpose is easier than you might think. Begin by making a list of the people you admire (e.g., Mother Theresa, Peyton Manning, and your teacher Mr. Johnson) and list at least one character trait about them that causes you to regard them so highly (e.g. selfless=Mother Theresa, cool under pressure=Peyton Manning, caring=your teacher). Next, make a list of things you feel passionate about (e.g. sports, traveling, cancer-stricken sister). Then compare the lists. Is there something that you feel passionate about in which you can strive to uphold a character trait of one of the people you admire (e.g. a selfless person might become a coach; a caring person might become nurse who takes care of the ill)? You now have a purpose (to be a coach who selflessly mentors children so they can avoid a life of poverty or crime; to be a medical professional who ensures the ill do need needlessly suffer and are healed).

My email to you sent on Aug. 17, 2013

Here is the letter I sent to you on Aug. 17, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine though I miss you like crazy!

I am so glad that you’re having a busy and fun summer. That’s what summers should be about when you’re young.

It was exciting to hear that you’re learning how to swim. That’s a very important skill to have and a fun activity. I once knew how to swim, having taken swimming lessons as a young boy when just a little older than you, but I almost drowned once. Now when I go in the water I tense up and can’t swim or float very well. There are many times I wish I could go swimming, though! Have you learned how to float yet?

I also am glad to hear that you’re working on the bicycle riding. Besides being great exercise, it’s lots of fun to go whooshing down the street with the blow blowing through your hair! What color bicycle do you have?

Going to the zoos always was a favorite trip of mine, too. I like the jungle/tropics section of the Minnesota Zoo. Como Park Zoo has changed a lot since I was a little boy; in the 1960s, the animals were kept in small cages, but now they fortunately are placed in environments that are more like where they would actually live if in the wilds. What is your favorite part of each zoo?

The Blue Jays should be a good baseball game. I think the Twins actually might be able to win that one! Not that I should talk – two of my teams (The San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers) actually are doing worse than the Twins. But the Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place, and hopefully will make the playoffs this fall! Who will you be rooting for to win the World Series?

Football season also is about to start. Exhibition season, in which the players get to practice by playing games that don’t count, already are underway. Adrian Peterson says he plans to run for 2500 yards this year. Do you think he can do it?

Thank you for telling me that you enjoy seeing me. I know you do – we always have lots of fun when we get together – but it was still nice to hear anyway! I always enjoy being with you well. In fact, I am very excited because we will get to spend time together every week for the next three weeks! Our next visit is in just five days on Thursday, Aug. 22. We then get together on Friday, Aug. 30, and then on Thursday, Sept. 5. Is there anything you would like me to bring this Thursday?

Well, that is all for now. I miss and love you very much! I look forward to reading your next letter and will see you on Thursday!

Love,

Daddy

Remember our wampa action figures?

One "Star Wars" toy that we always had fun with were the action figures from the wampa scenes in "The Empire Strikes Back."

I can't recall if we bought these pieces as from a couple of different sets, but in any case we quickly combined them into one. It included a wampa, the white monster that captured Luke Skywalker, Luke himself, and his taun-taun, the dinosaur-like creature they used as a horse. I recall that pieces of raw meat that the wamp ate came with the set - yech!

We also had a Han Solo dressed up for the winter scene on Hoth (the planet where the wampa lives), so I think we combined two kits: Han Solo and the taun-taun; Luke Skywalker and the wampa.

Unfortunately, I don't remember any specific stories about playing with these toys, only that they always were part of the starfighter base that we typically built on the glass coffee table in the green house in Lancaster.

Always forgive others for wronging you

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to lisen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

Once someone has wronged us, our natural reaction is to protect ourselves. This means being punitive and distrustful of the person who hurt us. We probably are angry at them and want justice served.

While we should make clear to this person that what they did caused pain and is not permissible, we cannot allow our bitterness and resentment to transform into hatred and violence. If we do, then we also become a person who wrongs others. If this chain of wronging continues, then all of us will be filled with anger and hatred for one another.

The only way to break the chain of wronging is to be forgiving. We have to let go of our anger and hatred and tell ourselves that the person who wronged us did not actually intend to or that they suffer from a calamity that led them to make a bad choice.

Forgiveness is not just a way to bring about peace in the world but is necessary to heal our own hearts. Anger destroys us emotionally by making us cynical and bitter. It destroys our physical well-being by raising our blood pressure, increasing our risk of a heart attack, and reducing our immune system’s effectiveness.

How can we forgive? We must consciously decide to forgive. Unfortunately, forgiveness usually does not happen with one bold statement. Our anger can be persistent. We must tell ourselves to forgive every time our anger flares, until the matter finally is settled in the heart.

Going to your first concert - 'The Beatles'!

Three years ago tonight you went to your first music concert - by a Beatles tribute band at the park in Palmdale, Calif.!

You always loved the Beatles (One of the many, many loves we share!), so going to the concert was a no-brainer.

The first half-hour was spent waiting for them to come on stage and goofing around with one another. Then they came on, and you tried to guess the song titles (You were fairly accurate, by the way!).

We left at intermission, after they'd played the Beatles hits through about 1965/66. By that time, it was getting way past your bedtime, and you were about to fall asleep in my arms!

Here are some photos from the concert!

A moral code to live by: the Golden Rule

Unfortunatley, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to lisen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. 

Perhaps the most important rule you can follow when interacting with others is the Golden Rule – “Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you.” Virtually every culture has some version of the Golden Rule in its moral code: “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself” (Chinese); “Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others” (Greeks); “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful” (India). Along with “Don’t commit murder,” the Golden Rule perhaps is the most universal of humanity’s moral axioms.

The Golden Rule is more than a “Be nice to others” stricture, though. Underlying it are the basic beliefs that every human being is of value and therefore deserves to be treated fairly. These are the foundations for human rights and justice. For example, if you believe that others shouldn’t limit your ability to speak or vote, then you cannot limit their ability to do the same. If you do limit their ability, then you must believe yourself superior to them. You then should expect that holding yourself above others will result in their resentment of you. Given this, the Golden Rule also is about reducing violence.

So before doing something that effects another, ask yourself “Would I want someone to do that to me?” If you wouldn’t like someone cutting in line in front of you, getting a better test score because they cheated, or flipping you off, then don’t do it either!

Playing Curious George computer games

The other day your cousin Rebekah was watching "Curious George" on PBS. That got me to thinking about how much you loved the show and the "Curious George" games we'd play on the computer when together.

One of those that we played was "Present Time". It was less a game than an activity. First you got to pick out who you were going to get a present for and then you selected their gift. Finally, you got to create the wrapping paper for them by coloring it and picking out the pattern!

Another game you really liked was "Mix and Paint". You could mix four different colors together and then brush it on a line drawing of one of the characters from the cartoon.

There were other games we tried as well, but "Present Time" and "Mix and Paint" seemed to be your favorites!

Our hike along the Traverse Ranges

Atop the Transverse Ranges
at 4,995 feet elevation

One of the many interesting places that we hiked when living in California was Ritter Ranch Park. It's not much a "park" but more of an area preserved and set aside so that it can't be developed. Anyway, we hiked it three years ago today!

I remember having a difficult time figuring out to get there when planning our expedition. But eventually I found the right roads, and we drove them through Acton and then up a steep, winding mountainside.

We hiked the eastern-most ridgeline of the Transverse Ranges. The ranges are among the fastest rising pieces of earth - and the rocks we stepped across were more than half a billion years old.

You loved it up there, playing with a hiking stick as we walked about the road! I'm not sure why - maybe it was the view or just a sense that this was a wonderful place for a great adventure.

Here's a bunch of pictures from our adventure!

My letter to you for Aug. 4-10, 2013

Here is my letter to you from Aug. 10, 2013, just in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine, though I miss you like crazy!

I want to begin by letting you know that I was as disappointed as you were about not getting together Friday afternoon. I’d also like you to know that I wanted to get together and did not cancel our visit. I actually was driving to the center when I received the call that our visit had been cancelled. I have asked the center to set up a makeup visit, but whether or not we are able to do that is entirely up to the person who cancelled this visit. I love you very much and never would cancel or be late for one of our visits except in the direst of emergencies. If I were allowed to, I would see and talk to you every day.

In addition, I want you to know that your emails to me continue not to be sent. As of this writing, 31 days have passed since your last email was sent to me. That is very unfortunate, as I am now not aware of what you are doing even though I would like to know so we can talk about those things (and perhaps I even can participate in them in some way). I have never missed sending my weekly letter to you in the nearly 11 months since I have been allowed to write to you, and I never will miss a letter except in the direst of emergencies.

Hopefully we will get to see one another again very soon for our make-up visit, and hopefully I will begin receiving your emails during the next day or so. We are next scheduled to meet on Friday, Aug. 23, but there is no reason that we cannot have a makeup visit before then. I always will change my schedule to be there for you and to see you.

You must be getting very excited about a couple of big events that are coming up!

First, the Minnesota State Fair starts in just 12 days, on Aug. 22. It is a lot like the Los Angeles County Fair we used to go to in California, but I’d say the Minnesota State Fair is a wee bit better. When I was a little boy your age, I remember seeing the fair on television. One of the cool carnival rides the TV always showed was a big yellow slide, like what we used to go down on gunny sacks at Legoland and at the Poppy Festival in Lancaster. Hopefully the slide will be there again this year, and you’ll get to go down it!

The other big event is that you’re about to start first grade! I don’t remember much about my first day in first grade except that my friend Ron and I had to go through different doors into the school than we did during kindergarten. The kindergarten room was in a different section of the school than the first through sixth grade classrooms! My first grade teacher’s name was Mrs. Rhiel. Do you yet know the name of your first grade teacher? What day do you start school? Do you know which of your friends will be coming back to school with you this year?

I hope that you’ve been having a great summer and have gotten to go to lots of places in the Twin Cities. There are many fun things for kids to do in Minneapolis-St. Paul, from carnivals to museums and from sports to bookstores. I miss and love you very much and look forward to seeing you at our makeup visit!

Love,

Rob

 

Your visits to the state of Wisconsin

You and your Uncle Chris at your birthday party
at Grandpa and Grandma Bignell's in 2008.

One other state that you've been to - and after California and Minnesota is the state you've spent the most time in - is Wisconsin (My home state!).

You've been to Wisconsin twice. The first time, from Dec. 11, 2007, through early September 2008, you lived with Grandpa and Grandma Bignell on their farm in Knapp, Wis. I have lots of pictures of your stay there!

Then, in October 2008, we drove on I-94 from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport to Baldwin, Wis. Along the way, we stopped at the visitor center in Hudson, Wis. (The center no longer exists.), and I got some Green Bay Packers football cards for you there!

Remember you pinpression?

One toy you enjoyed playing with as a child was a pinpression. It had plastic sticks that you could press your hand or other objects against, and the other side would show its impression! Yours had neon purple sticks.

We often used the pinpression when playing with your Star Wars action figures by placing the characters in it, pretending it was a block of carbonite, like what Han Solo was placed in during "The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Return of the Jedi"!

Over time, some of the sticks broke off, fell out and were bent in the pinpression. But we still enjoyed it anyways!