A family full of veterans

My squad summer 1988 in Ft. Irwin, Calif.
I'm second from left, back row.

Today is Veterans Day, in which we honor our countrymen who have fought in wars. Did you know that you have a lot of veterans in who have served in the military?

Among the oldest is an uncle who fought in the Revolutionary War. He was in a militia that fought in upstate New York and Vermont.

We also have several uncles and a great-great-great-grandfather who fought in the Civil War. They all served in Wisconsin units and fought in places such as Tennessee, incuding the Battle of Shiloh.

Your great-grandfather - who your middle name comes from - served in the Army during World War II, though he didn;t have to go overseas.

Your Uncle Chris and I also served in the Army National Guard, though neither one of us ever were in a war. One day I will show you my medals and stripes!

Your picture is in a magazine!

Your picture appeared in an online magazine last week! Every few weeks I write an article about hiking for Seattle Backpackers Magazine and usually send along photos to go with the text.

My most recent article is about dressing kids for winter hikes. Of course, I had photos of you dressed for winter, from when we went up into the mountains after a snowfall while living at the greenhouse in Lancaster, Calif. (at right).

The photo shows us sitting in a sled together! You might remember that I pulled up the hill on the sled and then we went sliding down it together.

Here's the article!

The Beatles 100 Greatest Songs

This week I purchased a book for you - though I'm going to keep it for a few years until you're old enough to read it (Yes, it's going into the "Future Kieran" box)!

The book.magazine is called "The Beatles 100 Greatest Songs," and it's produced by Rolling Stone magazine. It's chock full of photos and stories about how 100 of their songs were written and produced.

What were the top 10 "best songs"? They were:
10. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
9. Come Together
8. Let It Be
7. Hay Jude
6. Something
5. In My Life
4. Yesterday
3. Strawberry Fields Forever
2. I Want to Hold Your Hand
1. A Day in the Life

How does that compare to you list of favorite Beatles songs?

Castle where Martin Luther stayed

Veste Coburg, Germany

You might remember that during our Tuesday telephone conversation, I mentioned that I had been to a castle in Germany where Martin Luther (who you're learning about htis week in school) stayed. Well, I found the photo!
 

The photo was taken on a very cloudy day, and with the picture being taken nearly 30 years ago, it hasn't held up well, but it's attached. It's a picture of the Veste Coburg, a huge citadel in Coburg, Germany, that I toured in January 1986 (the day the space shuttle exploded by the way).

In 1530, Martin Luther sought refuge at the Veste Coburg from his persecutors. He spent almost six months there under the protection of the Elector John the Steadfast. This was during the time of the Diet of Augsburg, during which the Augsburg Confession, one of the Lutheran Church's most important documents, was drafted. While at the Veste Corburg, Luther worked on translating the Bible from Latin into German.

I got to see the room where Luther stayed, but they wouldn't let us take pictures of it. The photo that is attached is the outside wall of the area where Luther stayed, specifically the part that looks like a house standing atop the castle walls at the photo's center. It's neat to think that nearly 500 years ago, Luther looked out the same windows at the very spot where I was standing! I remember that the castle also had a massive collection of medieval armor and weapons, as well as a modern art museum in it.

I sent the photo to your teacher!

Remember scaling the Kirk Rocks?

Nov. 8, 2009

Four years ago today, we hiked Vasquez Rocks (which you affectionatley called "the Kirk Rocks"!).

We'd been there before a couple of times, but on this visit, you were very keen to hike all the way to the top of Gorn Rock on your own! With a little boost from me, you were able to scale each set of walls to the next level up.

Our trips to the Kirk Rocks usually began with a walk to the Friday's Child Rocks (Where scenes from the Star Trek episode "Friday's Child" was filmed) and then a hike up the Gorn Rock (Where Captian Kirk fought the Gorn in the Star Trek episode "Arena.").

Here's a bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Remember going to the rock show?

Three years ago today, we attended the Rock 'n Gem Roundup, held at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds. We had a blast!

Like an asteroid blast - you got to stand next to the fossil skill of a T-rex, which was so large that it could have eaten you whole! You also got to look at all kinds of other rocks; I believe it's one of the reasons that you're still interested in gems and minerals (When we were at the Minnesota Zoo a couple of weeks ago, you even bought a geode with amethyst in it!).

You won the drawing for free gems at the show, by the way, and got a necklace with a fossilized shell in it! In truth, I think they rigged the contest because they wanted to keep young children interested in their hobby (The Palmdale Gem and Mineral Club sponsored the event). Not that we complained!

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

Remember dressing up as a knight?

Nov. 5, 2011, Escondido Renaissance Festival

Two years ago today we attended the Escondido Renaissance Festival.

You dressed up as a knight in a Halloween costume I purchased. All of the festival workers, who also were dressed up in such garb, were delighted to see you all decked out and gave you lots of attention for it!

We spent a lot of time at the playground; there was a tire swing in particular that you liked. We also bought from a vendora "stuffie" pirate ship that you absolutely loved! It came with a little stuffie pirate!

There also was march of the queen and her court through the grounds, as well as a large mock battle that we watched.

I also remember that the day was a bit cool, but you seemed warm enough in the costume!

Here's a bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Remember our hike in Nightmare Gulch?

Three years today we hiked Nightmare Gulch!

The canyon is deep in Red Rock Canyon State Park and absolutely otherwordly. Walls of volcanic ash rise up to 20 stories above the canyon floor and virtually no plants grow there.

You walked part of the way, but we went quite deep into the canyon, so I carried you on out in the child carrier. You had a lot of fun playing with the few mud puddles we found along the way!

Here's a whole bunch pictures from our adventure!

Remember hiking Mormon Rocks?

Four years ago today we hiked the Mormon Rocks in the San Bernardino National Forest. We'd often passed the rocks on our way to Disneyland and Pomona, so stopping there for a hike seemed like an idea that was long overdue!

We hiked the southeast corner group of the rocks, taking a trail that rose about 300 feet above the surrounding desert into the hogbacks. The San Andreas Fault runs only a few hundreds away from Mormon Rocks in Lone Pine Canyon.

When we were all done with the hike, you pushed the gear back to the truck as I took it off! You always liked to pitch in and help. Plus I think you were excited about going to McDonalds for a hamburger - which we did when all done with the hike!

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

A great day at Nickelodeon Universe

I had a wonderful day with you Kieran! I had a lot of fun, and we made some great memories, too!

We started the day with lunch at A&W at the Mall of America, showing each other all of our new neat stuff. Then we went on to Nickelodeon Universe and rode tons of rides! You really liked the bumper cars and one that whipped around when it went around corners.

After that, we went to Dollar Tree and got loads of football stickers for your sticker book and football cards for your collection. I was really impressed with the way you broke down the sticker book into a series of logical steps so that finding where they went would be easy! We then went to Kokomos for quesadillas and to paste our stickers into the book!

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

Do you recall your art easel?

Do you remember your art easel? I always wanted you to enjoy a broad range of experiences growing up so that you would have a lot of different interests and find out what you most liked to do. So for Christmas I purchased the art easel for you.

After setting it up, your first experience with it was painting with watercolors. You liked to hold the paint brush over the carpet, though, and the paints would drip, creating a mess! So after that, I pretty much limited the easel to colors, markers and colored pencils.

The easel had a neat paper roll on it. After we used up one side, I unwound it and rerolled it so you could use the other side!

Remember playing 'Scary Monster"?

With today being Halloween, I thought I'd share my memories of playing "scary monster" with you! When we were in the green house in Lancaster, you would pretend to be taking a "nap" on the sofa and then say, "Dad, Dad, I think I hear something!"

I'd say, "There's nothing there!"

"There was, there was!" you'd say.

"I'll go check and show you that everything is okay!"

Then I'd go into the hallway where you couldn't quite see me, and I'd say really loud, "There's nothing here. Now you go back to taking your nap!" I'd start walking back to you and go, "Hey, what was that noise?" Turning around, I'd go, "Oh my God, what is that?"
Then I'd make loud monster growling noises and go "Aggh!" and pretend to slam myself into the wall and slide down it.

A second of silence would pass (You'd be peeking over the sofa to try to see what was happening.), and then I'd start walking with a limp like a zombie toward you, making monster growling noises and saying, "Now I can eat that little boy!"

You'd jump off the sofa and run screaming into the kitchen, where you'd break out in laughter!

Happy Halloween, Kieran!

Recall your B. Meowsic Keyboard?

Do you remember your B. Meowsic Keyboard you received one Christmas? I wanted to encourage your interest in music and so got it for you.

You really liked it - but not for the reason I purchased it! The keyboard had different tunes that could be played, and there was this one Spanish-lyric tune that you absolutley loved to play over and over, but it drove me nuts! You also liked to speak into the microphone, but not to sing along!

Still, I wanted you to keep the keyboard as I tried to interest you in the different sound that each key made so that I might show you how to play a tune. That either was a little advanced for your age, or I didn't quite know how to teach that skill (probably a little of both!).

I think, though, that the keyboard did contribute a little to your interest in understanding and playing music. As I got you other keyboards, your interest was piqued, and you seemed to remember skills learned on the B. Meowsic!

Your Lincoln Logs Frontier Junction set

Do you remember your Lincoln Logs Frontier Junction set? We used it to build a mini-fort/general store. It came with a cowboy and a horse.

The toy wasn't quite your cup of tea, mainly because it fell apart easily during construction and especially once you started playing with it! That was a bit frustrating for you!

I probably should have waited to get it for you until you were a bit older, but I loved Lincoln Logs so much as a kid, I was certain that you did, too! I probably was older than you though, when I got my set.

We still put the Lincoln Logs to good use. We'd use the pieces to build fences or walls for our army men and superhero action figures during their battles!

Remember hiking to the dry lake bed?

Celebrating that we've reached
the shore of the dry lake bed

Three years ago today we hiked the El Mirage Dry Lake Beds east of Lancaster, Calif. It's in the Mojave Desert below the back range of the San Gabriel Mountains.

The day we were there, the dry lake bed wasn't entirely dry, though! Rain had recently fallen, so there was an inch or two sheen of water across much of the lake bed.

At this point in your life, you were able to walk on your own during our hikes, but the amount of mileage you were willing do varied each time; we didn't walk very far on this one. I think you were fairly excited about going to the nature center, though, and so wanted to cut this hike a little short!

Here are a whole bunch of photos from our adventure to the dry lake bed!

Remember your Thomas the Train PJs?

Do you remember your Thomas the Train PJs? You had two sets of them - one red and the other blue - that you absolutley loved to wear!

The PJs certainly must have been comfortable and warm; the material had an almost felt-like feel. But I think you really liked to wear them because you loved Thomas the Train!

We had tons of Thomas the Train toys and Thomas the Trian DVDs. We went through a period when you were two or three years old of when treated to a toy you always wanted a Thomas the Train engine or car!

Above is a picture of you wearing the red PJ set on Christmas morning 2010!

Do you recall your Green Lantern plane?

Do you remember your Green Lantern plane? It was an Imaginext toy and went with the all of the superhero toys made by that company (like the Batcave and the Joker's hideout)!

Perhaps because green was your favorite color as a preschooler, you had a definite affection for the Green Lantern, though there wasn't much on the air about him. I do recall a couple of Batman cartoon episodes involving the Green Lantern, though.

In any case, we often used the Green Lantern plane when taking astronauts on adventures to other worlds (usually a table in another room!) rather than as a superhero toy! Our Imaginext astronauts fit perfect into the cockpit!

Where we were four years ago today

Four years ago today, we spent the afternoon at California Adventure!

You enjoyed the water play area near what used to be the Farmers Exposition area (Now it's the Cars section) and got absolutely soaked! Fortunately, it was a warm day, so after a change into dry clothes, you were all okay!

You'd actually discovered the water play area the day before (on a Saturday) in our two-day excursion to Disneyland. So you were very keen on going back there Sunday and kept asking me when we would get to the fountains! The morning was a bit too cool to let you get soaked (I didn't want you to get hypothermia!), but by afternoon, the sun had fully warmed the theme parks.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from that weekend!

Four years today at California Adventure

Four years ago today we spent together at California Adventure!

It ws at the age when you enjoyed meeting the characters. And boy did we meet a bunch of them that day!

There was Chip and Dale, Mickey Mouse and Goofy. I quickly learned that if you want to meet characters, the best place to do it is California Adventure because there are no lines!

We also went on rides. I specifically remember doing Monsters Inc. and the lady bug cars.

Here's a whole bunch of photos of adventure!

In Disneyland four years ago today

Four years ago today we spent our day at Disneyland!

The whole place was decked out for Halloween, which was cool. It was our first exposure to Disneyland decorated for Halloween.

You were a the right age to be really interested in meeting characters. You got to meet Pinocchio on Main Street USA!

One young Disney girl taking pictures in Fantasyland thought you were the cutest thing and you two talked and talked! At above right is a picture she took of us together in a teacup!

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

Remember the Science Museum?

Four years ago today we visited the Discovery Science Museum in Santa Ana, Calif.!

This was your first visit to the museum! We spent a little time looking at the interactive stuff.

But most of our time was spent in the dinosaur section. It had a great play area that you really enjoyed!

Afterward, We spent the afternoon at Disneyland!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our trip at the science museum.

Your Lego clone trooper characters

On Saturday in the bag of candy I include a couple of the Lego clone troopers that we had constructed when in San Diego. I was so heartened when you said, "I remember putting those together with you!"

Here's a picture of what the complete set looked like. I remember putting together the vehicle while you made the clone troopers. You took the vehicle with you but somehow one or two of the troopers got left behind - actually, I think they were in a tote of toys I left in the back seat for you to play with when we drove to places.

I have several other Lego characters that I was able to save when moving from California. I'll give to you each time we get together over the next several weeks!

Our day at the Minnesota Zoo

Thank you for the wonderful time yesterday, Kieran! I had a lot of fun with you and am so sorry that we had so little time with one another.

I enjoyed our lunch - you made some very healthy food choices with the carrots! The IMAX movie did go a little long, but I think you still enjoyed it - I'll always remember how you grabbed at the stars in 3D.

We got a good start walking through the tropics section until the slivers from the tree bark - and at least now we can say we've been to a part of the zoo that many others never go to!

I'm glad you like your new jacket and all of the football stickers and cards, too! I shall have to look for some grape Jolly Ranchers!

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

Major American cities you've been to

Train Town in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2009.

I've previously written about the states you've been to. Perhaps you'd also like to hear about all of the cities you've been to, too! Here's a list of the most populous cities that you've been to so far in your life:
>>Los Angeles
>>San Francisco
>>Long Beach
>>Minneapolis/St. Paul
>>San Diego
>>Denver
>>Sacramento
>>Las Vegas
>>Albuquerque
>>Omaha
>>Des Moines
>>Santa Barbara
>>Lincoln, Neb.

I have photos of you in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Minneapolis/St. Paul, San Diego, Albuquerque, and Santa Barbara.

Remember Barnes and Noble Blondies?

Here's something that should make you hungry!

Did you know that one of your favorite snacks when we were out and about was to stop at Barnes and Noble cafe and enjoy a Blondie bar? It was like a regular yellow pan bar but had M&M's in it!

We'd first grab a couple of magazines - you a Star Wars one and me a Star Trek one - and then I'd get the Blondie for us, usually with milk for you and a cofee for me.

Sometimes you'd go get us a seat so we had a place to sit, and if the table was missing a chair, you'd get all concerned and shout to me, "Oh no! Dad, there aren't enough chairs!" Usually someone would give up their chair for you because you were so dang cute.

We'd then enjoy our magazines, showing each other pictures in them, and splitting the Blondie!

Our telephone call and this weekend

I'm glad we were able to finally talk by telephone last night, Kieran! Hearing your voice again was so wonderful!

I am very proud of you for doing so well on your math test. You've always been very good at math - when you were only three years old, you could count close to a hundred and then by fives up to a hundred! That was better than most kindergartners!

This weekend we will go to the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. The weather will be rainy and cold, so I needed to find something for us to do inside. We can have lunch at the zoo and then see the tropics and the Minnesota animals section, which are indoors. We also might be able to do the monorail. We might also do an IMAX movie, but the only one showing is "Space Junk 3D."

I love you very much and can;t wait to see you this weekend - and to talk to you again next Tuesday!

Recall your Lone Ranger Lego set?

Do you remember the Lone Ranger Lego Comanche camp that we put together this past summer? It contained a teepee, two Indians, and of course, the Lone Ranger.

The Lego set came out with the Disney movie "The Lone Ranger," which was panned by the critics. But you always enjoyed the Lone Ranger, putting him your stories of Sheriff Jack and the Deputy. So I thought you'd enjoy the Lego set.

And you did! You put together the people while I constructed the teepee. We played a little with the guys in the set. I think you really liked the canoe!

Remember your Fisher Price barn toy?

Your barn toy

When you were just 1 year-old, you received for Christmas a Fisher Price barn toy. It was a neat playset with animals that when placed on certain spots in the barn or attached silo, made their sounds; for example, the pig would go "oink oink" when set in the pig pen.

My barn toy!

The predecessor to this toy was one of my favorites to play with when I was preschooler! Back then, though, the barn was smaller and didn't make any noises. It also came with wooden people and a plastic tractor. Sometimes I'd stretch out the cow's legs, have him fly through the air, and call him "Supercow"! I love playing with people and took them on all kinds of adventures, just like you enjoyed playing wiht your action figures.

Probably because you didn't grow up on a farm, after a while the barn toy wasn't as exciting as the firehouse or other playsets you had. But sometimes we would take it out and with other farm toys we had set up a small farm with animals. We used a small foldable doll house as the farmer's house!

Remember your hospital room playset?

Do you remember your Playmobil hospital room set? It was a collection of cool stuff a patient might have if in a hospital rom - a bed, a food tray, an IV, and so on.

The hospital room set ended up in a tote of your "doctor toys," which included a doctor's kit and a doctor's costume. But we typically used it when playing with your firemen toys - the girl who was a patient somehow lost her hair so she always was someone injured in a fire and put into the ambulances! We also used the IV stand and blood bag to treat the "injured" at the fire.

You've never had to stay a night in the hospital! You've gone to the emergency room a couple of times, for a broken arm and for an asthma attack but you always were released within a couple of hours. You're a very lucky boy - by the time I was your age, I'd been in the hospital two or three times for multiple day stays each time!

Your fave Star Trek character: Chekov

When you were a preschooler, your favorite "Star Trek" character was Ensign Chekov. You often asked to watch "Chekov episodes" on our "Star Trek" DVDs, and liked to play with that action figure - or when we didn't have that action figure, you'd just pretend another one was Chekov!

Did you know that Chekov wasn't in the first season of "Star Trek"? His character joined the crew in the second season, and he's not in every episode of the second and third seasons. He's not in any of the cartoons but is in all of the movies.

I'm not sure why you liked Chekov so much. I suspect it's because he was the youngest of the Enterprise crew and a bit boyish compared to the rest, so you probably related most to him.

Here's a website page about Chekov!

Do you remember 'Bob the Builder'?

When you were a preschooler, one of your favorite shows to watch was "Bob the Builder" on Sprout and PBS. The claymation program featured trucks and construction equipment that talked and had personalities like people.

I once got you a dump truck for a sand toy, and it came with a person who sat in the drivers seat. You called the person "Bob the Builder"!

You may also recall there was a Bob the Builder ride at the Toys 'R Us in Lancaster, Calif., that you sometimes got to ride when we went to the store. Usually you were too excited about playing with your new toy to want to go on the ride when we left the store, though!

Remember Ventura beach playground?

Four years ago today we went to the beach in Ventura!

We spent much of the time enjoying the playground, which had ocean-themed play equipment. For example, the slide looked like a waterfall, and an obstacle course had nets like what fishermen would use.

The stop at the beach was just part of our day in Ventura. We also went to the Scottish festival at the county fairgrounds!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure at the beach playground!

Recall your Bucky action figure?

Do you remember your Bucky superhero action figure? Of all the superhero action figures you had, it was one of your favorites to play with when a preschooler.

Bucky started out as Captain Amrica's sidekick in the 1940s Marvel comics. Later he came back from the dead as the Winter Soldier and then even became Captain America when Steve Rogers, the man who was Captian America, was presumed dead.

I'm not certain why you liked Bucky so much. I suppose it might be because he appeared younger and was more boy-like than the other superstrong, manly superhero action figures we had, and so perhaps you identified more with him.

I still have your Bucky action figure in one of the totes, by the way!

To be happier, don't judge others

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.

One of the most common bad habits people have is judging others. We form opinions about them based on their accent, we pick friends based on their clothing, we make fun of people because of their political and religious beliefs.

Yet, each of us is imperfect ourselves. So in judging others, we place ourselves upon a false, higher plane and demonstrate our vanity. To someone else, though, our accent is odd, our clothes not as good, and our political and religious beliefs laughable. We probably don’t appreciate their opinion about us, so just as no one else has the right to judge us, so we shouldn’t judge others.

Judging others really only creates negativity in the world. By inferring that we are better, we arrange the landscape so that others are inferior. This only leads to others feeling hurt and ultimately to conflict as they lash back in disagreement or to reassert their equality. It causes others who consider themselves superior to assert that belief over others through oppression.

When we judge others, we ultimately judge ourselves. Through our judgment, we objectify them and in doing so objectify ourselves. The judge always is the opposite of the judged. Each of us must ask ourselves: If you do not want others to objectify you, why would you objectify yourself?

This doesn’t mean that we don’t set standards to live by. But we set them for ourselves not for others. We judge our decisions and actions – not the decisions and actions of others – against the bar of those standards. So, give yourself this challenge today: Can you live up to the standard of not judging others?

If you can, you may find yourself happier.

The History of the Miami Dolphins

1973 Larry Csonka football card.

This past weekend you told me that your favorite football team was the Miami Dolphins. I found that amazing because my favorite team when I was your age was the Miami Dolphins, too!

That year the Miami Dolphins went undefeated. They're the only team that has won every single game in a season. A few teams have come close, but no one has matched it. Their quarterback was Bob Greise, their running back was Larry Csonka, and their coach was Don Shula.

The Miami Dolphins started playing football in 1966 in the American Football League. Their colors are aqua and orange.

They went to the Super Bowl three years in a row - 1971, 1972 and 1973 - and won the last two of those. With Dan Marino as quarterback, they went back to the Super Bowl in 1982 and 1985 but lost each time. My favorite years of the Dolphins were those in the warly 1970s, though, and after they started getting different players and losing during the late 1970s, I wasn't much into them.

Do you remember baking cookies?

Do you remember all of the cookies we baked when living in the green house in Lancaster?

We used to make sugar cookies from scratch. You would help me roll out the dough, press the cookie cutter into the dough, sprinkle flour around the dough so it would roll and cut easily, and then putting sprinkles on the frosted cookies after they came out of the oven!

For each season, we made different kinds of cookies. I always like to make cookies for fall/football opener, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter.

All of your clothes, your hair, your face, and your hands would be absolutely covered in flour and frosting and sprinkles when we were all done, so I always had you take a bath afterward! Then when you got all clean, you'd get to enjoyed the warm, freshly frosted and decorated cookies!

Our day at the Mall of America

I had so much fun with your yesterday, Kieran!

We spent the day at the Mall of America, and here is a rundown of all that we did:
>>Lunch at Johnny Rockets, where you showed me your cool new NFL sticker book.
>>Camp Ice Age, where we played carnival games, watched a cartoon, and met Sid the Sloth
>>Lego store, where we bought a new Chima lego set
>>Searched for football stickers and cards; we found some football and baseball cards at one store
>>A&W malts; we enjoyed them while playing with the football cards int he food court

Here are a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Honor Your Ancestors

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.

There’s an old saying from the East to “Honor your ancestors.” It’s good advice, and one that few people follow today. After all, our heritage – who our ancestors our and where they come from –tells us much about who we are today.

Quite literally, if not for our ancestors, we would not be here today. Biologically speaking, we owe them our lives. Further, where they settled and worked determined where we grew up and in what economic class and with what religious beliefs. Think deeply about the kind of person you are and the values you hold dear…they most likely match those of your ancestors.

Of course, if you’re angry about your current condition, you might very well blame our ancestors for it. Maybe it is because of them that you grew up in poverty or suffered great tragedies. But perhaps they were victims themselves. That does not excuse them from their actions, but it may explain why they made the choices they did. In any case, we are captains of our own fate. Each of us can decide how we will navigate the landscape we find ourselves in.

And where our ancestors are concerned, we are more alike than different. Our drives and interests, whether inherited genetically or taught to us in the culture of family, probably are very similar to your parents, aunts and uncles, great-grandparents and even great-great-great grandparents. Like our country, we may not always agree with everyone in it or every decision that our government makes, but we still are proud of our nation and its achievements through history. So it should be with family.

How can we go about honoring our ancestors? One way is to learn about their lives through genealogy. Many of them faced incredible hardships yet persevered to achieve what they did. Another way is to think about who you are and how you became that person through your ancestors. Often we’re not “just like dad” but also “just like grandma” and “just like “great-grandpa” and even “just like “great-great-grandma.” Finally, honor your ancestors by always doing the best you can, by making your family name one that is recognized, whether it be for its altruism, its discoveries, or its building of a community. Make your descendants proud of who their ancestors are!

 

You can learn about many of your ancestors at a special website I have built for you, Kieran's Family Tree.

Do you remember your knights set?

Do you recall your Playmobil knights set? I got them for you at Christmas 2011, and we had a ball playing with them each time you visited though spring 2012.

The set consisted of three knights, a cannon, and a horse, as well as assorted shields, swords, banners, and helmets. We often played got out our other knight figures and a huge castle playset for "big battles."

I always said the banner they carried was "the Flag of King Kieran" and had them storm the castle "in the name of King Kieran!"

I still have the knight figures, but I think the cannon is gone. I'm not sure about the banners/shields and swords, though...

Always be transparent with others

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.

Being human, all of us make mistakes; all of us are morally imperfect. Still, we don’t like to admit our errors and faults to others, preferring to present a picture of ourselves as a good person. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to present ourselves that way, of course – that is, until we use deceit to convince others that we’re indeed a perfect person.

Rather, we always should practice transparency by being open and accountable about our past and our decisions. That doesn’t mean we have to tell everyone up front about our mistakes and poor choices. But it does require us to be honest with ourselves and with others when confronted about that past.

We can practice transparency by explaining why we made the decision we did and admitting that it was the wrong decision. This approach means we’re not defending our errors but accepting responsibility for them.

Another way to practice transparency is to not blame others for our mistakes. Each of us make our own choices, and another person’s poor decision doesn’t justify our own bad call.

Acting with transparency builds trust. It demonstrates to others that we are personally accountable and that our intention is to be a moral person. By lying, however, you only reinforce what your past bad decision suggests: That you are an immoral person merely interested in yourself.

Recall your Buzz Lightyear blaster toy?

Do you remember your Buzz Lightyear blaster toy? It was modeled on the blasters used on the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland (The ride usually was our first stop during any Disneyland visit we made!).

You had a couple of different blasters. One was a large one the size of a phaser. Sometimes we'd pretend to be Starfleet officers on a derelict ship and would carry the blaster and a phaser to fend off monsters and evil aliens. I still have the blaster in a tote!

The other blaster was a small one that was part of a keychain. We had a couple of those - one broke and so we replaced it. You always liked to carry it around when at Disney; one time you dropped it in the water at the Storybook Land ride, and a Disney worker fished it out for you!

We bought both (er, all three?) blasters at the Star Command store at the end of the Buzz Lightyear ride!

To feel good, always eat healthy

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.

You’ve heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” It’s definitely true! To function properly, every cell in our body depends upon nutrients we eat or imbibe. Feed the body the wrong nutrients, and those cells soon don’t function very well.

Poor diet contributes to loss of energy, mood shifts, whether or not you get sick a lot, obesity, organ failure and even disease. Often this takes several months or even years to occur. But it ultimately does.

Unfortunately, we often crave foods that aren’t so good for us. So people go on crash diets and fad exercise programs. A few actually stick with it and lose weight. Studies show, though, that once a dieters reaches their weight goal, they quickly gain back their weight.

The best thing you can do is not to diet but to change what you eat. By eating healthy – which usually means cutting out the junk food, processed foods, and and foods heavy with corn syrup and replacing it with lots of fresh, whole fruits and vegetables – your body begins working like it should. Accompany this with regular exercise, and you have a winning combination!

Character breakfasts at Disneyland

Character breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe

During our visits to Disneyland, one of the events I always enjoyed splurging on were character breakfasts. Usually we ate breakfast at our off-Disney hotel, but sometimes when the rain was falling or we had a rare cold day, I'd take us to a character breakfast.

One that we went to a couple of times was in Downtown Disney at the Grand Californian Hotel's Storyteller's Cafe. You could buy ala carte or off the buffet.

Lots of the furry Disney animals would be there - Chip and Dale, the bears from the recent Bear movie, and sometimes the gorillas from "Tarzan." You always like the big bears when they came in!

Another character breakfast we did was at the Plaza Inn in Disneyland. They usually had Winnie the Pooh chracters, though sometimes other ones would appear. Captain Hook sometimes did, and he always creeped you out (So much that you wouldn't go to eat there anymore!).

Looking forward to your driver's ed days

Late last week I edited a parents' guide to teaching one's teen how to drive a car and started thinking about the years ahead when you'll get your driver's license. That's a few years off - about eight years -but you've already lived nearly seven years and that has gone by in a flash!

I look forward to being able to each you how to drive, and to seeing that excited, joyous look on your face when you finally receive your license! And then, of course, there's that moment when you get your first car! I can vividly recall each of those moments in my life!

I must admit that there's a little trepedation about you driving - it's a lot more complicated than it looks (at first anyways), and teens tend to get in more accidents (including more fatal ones) than other drivers. Still, I'm confident that with enough practice hours on the road, you'll do fine!

My email/letter to you for Sept. 28, 2013

Here is my email/letter that I sent Sept. 28, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I’m doing fine, though I miss you like crazy! I sure wish we could get together this weekend. The good news is that we will be getting together next weekend – either Friday, Oct. 4 or Saturday, Oct. 5.

Are you enjoying first grade? I bet you are. You always have been very curious about the world and are very intelligent, so I’m sure you enjoy school. What are you learning about in reading, math and music class (That was three questions in one, wasn’t it?). My favorite classes in school were reading and social studies. I liked reading stories and learning about different places in the world. Interestingly, that’s what I do for a living today – I read and edit other people’s stories and write about neat places that I hike.

September is almost over, and that means we’re into football season! Have you watched many of the NFL games on TV? They last a long time, don’t they? I usually read a book during commercials and between plays because the games last so long! Unfortunately, my favorite teams, the Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers, are not doing so well so far – they each have 1-2 records, meaning they won a game but lost two. But the games they lost were very close.

My old high school’s football team has been having a really good season, though – they’ve won six straight games, and no one has scored any points against them. That’s unheard of! Does your school have a high school football team? If they do, have you gone to their games yet? I always enjoyed going to high school football and basketball games with my father when I was your age.

Halloween will be here in just four or so weeks! What kind of costume do you want to wear this year for Halloween?

Do you remember all of the Halloween costumes you've worn through the years? I've made a list of them for you:

 >2007 (8 months old) - Pumpkin

 >2008 (1 year old) - Elmo

 >2009 (2 years old) - Doctor

 >2010 (3 years old) - Luke Skywalker

 >2011 (4 years old) - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

 >2012 (5 years old) - Fireman

 >2013 (6 years old) - ?

Sometimes you wore different costumes in a year as we attended different Halloween celebrations during October. What's listed above is what you wore on Halloween itself while going trick or treating.

I’m sure where we’ll meet next weekend – either at the family center on Friday or somewhere else on Saturday. If we can meet on Saturday and the weather is good, we’ll go to Como Park Zoo like you had asked.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much. You have a great week at school, and I’ll see you in just a few days!

Love,

Dad

No. 1 songs on your birthdays

Have you wondered what was the No. 1 song when you were born? How about on each of your birthdays? Well here's the list!

>>2007 - "Irreplacable" (Beyonce)
>>2008 - "Low" (Flo Rida)
>>2009 - "Crack a Bottle" (Eminem)
>>2010 - "Tik Tok" (Kesha)
>>2011 - "Black and Yellow" (Wiz Khalifa)
>>2012 - "Stronger" (Kelly Clarkson)
>>2013 - "Thrift Shop" (Macklemore)

The No. 1 song when I was born was "Turn, Turn, Turn" (Byrds) and the No. 1 album was "Rubber Soul" (Beatles).

The list comes from the Billboard Top 100.

Recall your space shuttle plush toy?

Do you remember your space shuttle plush toy? I got it for you when you were an infant, and it ended up in your tote of space toys, so you still played with it when a preschooler.

When pressed, it made the sound of an engine starting up, as if the space shuttle were revving up to take off. I don't remember exactly where I got it, but I believe it was at an airport.

I always liked getting you space toys because as a kid I loved all things that had to to do with space (In fact, I still do!). I hoped to share that love with you via some of the toys I purchased.

Believe it or not, I think I still have that plush toy in a tote!

Collecting Topps pro football cards

One of my favorite things to collect when I was in first grade were football cards!

That year, the Miami Dolphins were the best team in the NFL, and along with the Packers my favorite team. So I always wanted to get Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers players whenever I bought football cards. My favorite football card was of Dolphins player Nick Buoniconti!

I started buying football cards for you the year before you went into first grade. They were the Topps cards with New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez on the package.

The current football cards I'm purchasing for you also are from Topps but have Adrian Peterson on the package. You told me Saturday that you wanted to collect cards from California teams! I hope you get lots of them in your packages!

Recall Johnny Rockets in Santa Clarita?

Johnny Rockets in Santa Clarita, Calif.

After enjoying Johnny Rockets with you on Saturday at the Mall of America, I began to think about all of the times we've been to one. I think the one you probably remember most is in Santa Clarita, Calif., though we've both been to the one in Rancho Mirage, Calif., too.

The Santa Clarita restaurant was near the Borders bookstore in the Valencia Town Center. We'd go there every couple of months to enjoy a hamburger, fries and a malt.

You always liked that they made a smiling face with the ketchup in a little cardboard container. Sometimes the staff also would break out into song and a small dance when certain songs came on; the one that I remember that the Santa Clarita staff did that to was Donna Summer's "Last Dance."

Hiking Rainbow Basin in 2009

Four years ago today we hiked through Rainbow National Natural Landmark near Barstow, Calif.

I remember the trip being a long drive for you - we probably spent an hour and 15 minutes in the Jeep before arriving. But arrive we did - and what an impressive site!

Wind and rain over a virtually plant-less terrain carved Rainbow Basin's mudstone and other sediment layers into a variety of odd and fantastic shapes. It's a little known national park unit.

I also remember that you brought your little yellow sand shovels along. Perhaps because I had brought a geological hammer, you felt like you should have some tools as well!

Here are a collection of pictures from our adventure!