The Bears' Travelogue: Bearis, France

I'm behind on my blogging. (I know, what else is new.) Before I attack the 19,268 pictures that my husband took on our recent trip to Williamsburg, VA to pull out a handful for posting, I thought I'd better finish up the exotic vacation for the bears.

Their last leg of the trip was a visit to Bearis, France. You know, where the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower are.  Yes, Bearis.

After a short four-hour flight from Cairo, the bears thought they'd get a good night's sleep in the 4-Star hotel on the back of J's door. Sightseeing takes a lot out of you!

The next morning their room service breakfast was a lovely French pastry--a bear claw, of course. (Well, it's actually American, but it was too appropriate not to use!)

Rested and full, the bears went out to see the sites. The taxi driver took them straight to the Eiffel Tower. Sadly, this was the only picture that came out as the photographer kept putting his paw in front of the lens.

The bears are back and chat late into the night about their experiences abroad. Since returning home, they have been available to help J with his homeschooling. Recently they participated in a Civil War battle reenactment. Perhaps they'll oblige us with another performance that could be photographed and used on the blog.

You've never seen a Civil War reenactment until you've seen one put on by small bears!

The Bears' Travelogue: Egypt

The bears are off on another adventure--Egypt this time. Our guest columnist will be USA the bear.

The Bears Explore Egypt
by USA the Bear of Homeschooling "J"

Hi. My name is USA. I am the spokesbear for this part of our trip.

Here's a letter I wrote to my family back home:

Dear Mama and Papa Bear,

Guess where we are now? EGYPT!

Yesterday, we dove in the Nile River. You should have seen Classy swimming away from that crocodile! Today we saw the pyramids. A camel was spitting at Osito, but it missed. For lunch we had Basboosa to eat. Basboosa is semolina cake with honey and lemon and it tasted yummy!

Sand keeps getting in my eyes. Maybe I should wear a ghoutra and 'iqal like my friends.

Our next stop is Bearis, France.

Write you soon,

USA

Osito and Sunny posed in front of the pyramids:

Wallace and Sizzle really wanted to ride the camel. Osito warned them about the camel's bad behavior:

Cheery and Ty 2K taking advantage of good headwear. The fabric is called a ghoutra, and the circlet to hold it on is called an 'iqal.

Our final destination is Bearis, France.  Then we'll be home!

The Bears' Travelogue: Mt. Ev-bear-est

Normally I write the posts that appear on this blog. Today I asked J if he'd like to provide the captions for the photos and he jumped at the opportunity. It's short and sweet, but then, so is he.

The Bears Climb Mount Ev-bear-est
by J of Homeschooling "J"

Apparently a bear is going somewhere. (Hence the name on the suitcase.)

Why, they're traveling on an airplane! (Their names are at the end of the post.)

Flight attendant Valentina is telling everyone to buckle up here.

They are at Mt. Ev-bear-est! They need proper gear. (Goggles and...)

(... air tanks.)

Now, let's hope they make it...

Order of Bears in airplane shot

Bears (L to R, T to B): Mr., Ariel (AIR-ee-ull), Frankenteddy (FRAIN-kin-teh-dee), Glory, B. B. Bear, USA, Ty 2K (TIE TOO-kay), Osito (oe-SEE-toe), Clubby II, Classy, Pappa (PAY-puh-pah), Hero, Erin (AIR-inn), Peace, Fuzz, The Beginning, Halo, PeaceBear (The Peace part is the symbol), 1997 Holiday Teddy, Valentina (val-in-TEEN-uh), Valentino, Kicks, Cheery, Curly, Sizzle, Kissy, Mrs., 2004 Signature Bear, Halo II, Spangle, 1999 Signature Bear, Britannia, Wallace, Princess, Milennium, Bearon.

Bears, and Bears, and Bears! Oh My!

Sometime back in May J discovered that a couple of his bears sort of looked alike. This caught his interest. Then, while we were in Cape Cod at a thrift shop, he spotted ANOTHER bear with the same features. This one had a tag on it. It said "Ty." A collection was born.

We told him no more than 20 bears of all types in his entire room. He quickly downsized his NON-Ty bears so that he could add to his original 3. Thanks to yard sales (or maybe not "thanks?"), he met his 20 Ty bear quota. Then he decided to go through the other stuffed animals in his room and really cut their numbers to the bone. He asked if he could trade those in for another 20 Ty bears. In a moment of, I don't know, insanity I guess, I said yes. He is now running at 36 Ty bears.

These bears have featured heavily in many vignettes and activities. We have an "ourson du jour" that accompanies J throughout his daily routine. We have bears traveling around the house in the middle of the night (with Mama's help) determined to become nocturnal and party a lot. They have even come to bear as behavior modification aides.

The other day J was in his room for quite a while. He was dressed, of course (?), as a . . . cowboy and had done some bear-wrangling. In a very orderly way they were lined up waiting for something:

Cowboy J seemed to be providing something to the individuals in the crowd:

A penny! Each bear was carefully balancing a shiny penny on his or her leg. But what for?

Why, it's a sun bath! For one cent admission (notice the one in the "toll booth"), each bear gained entrance into the closet where, apparently, sun bathing was going on.

Here you see Frankenteddy (who, by the way, is the new Favicon for J's blog) about to enter. Beyond, the previous customers were finishing up.

Looks like they're bearly done. Perhaps Frankenteddy should wait a bit.

You just never know what the imagination of a 9yo will produce.

(For longtime followers of Homeschooling J, I have sad news.  The longsuffering sidekick, Teddy, didn't make the cut.  Mama rescued him and is storing him away.  She couldn't bear to see him rejected.)

Snow, Snow, Snow

It's really to be expected. We live "Up North." We're used to it. AND, there's one little boy who knows how to make the most of it!

The following pictures are from the FIRST of three snowstorms we are to get this week. This storm piled 14 1/2 inches on top of what was left from the last storm a couple of weeks ago. The day after these pictures (today), we got another six inches. The weathermen have forecasted more in the next day or two.

(Aunt E, J has a snowball stored in the freezer for you.)

Here's our roof with lovely hats on the dormers. (I have a dream that, one day, our shutters will be put back on our house. Our painter is a little slow about these things.)


The boy gives you an idea of the front yard depth. That's a "yard" stick. Get it?

Here are the snowballs for Aunt E.

The boy decided that he'd go for a swim! Actually, he was attempting to create a tunnel . . . with his head. That proved to be rather cold for his face, he discovered.

Daddy came to the rescue with a red face mask/hat thingy. That's the best I can do for a name. Floridians do not know the various names for snow equipment.

It worked! The tunnel was dug and the face was not cold--mostly.

As a finale to the outdoor time, Daddy decided to chuck J into the snow. I was able to get action pics so you could experience the free fall with J. (If the following does not load for you, click on the link at the bottom of the page to go to the hosting site.)

CLICK HERE to go to the host site (Photobucket) to view the slide show.

Our version of a "snow day"

A couple of weeks ago winter truly arrived in our neck of the woods. In fact, there was so much snow that we declared a "snow day." In regular school settings that means the kids stay home. What about homeschoolers? They're already home! So, what we did was put aside all the book-learnin' and took care of the homestead.

At the beginning of October, L had a delivery of wood made. The giant pile in the backyard needed to be stacked on our porch, but L ended up working 80 hour weeks for six weeks as he was trying to beat the weather and the holiday rush for his customers. The giant pile stayed a giant pile. Then it began to snow.

J is 8yo now. He's a big boy. It was time for him to earn his keep around here! He suited up and turned into "Logger Boy."

Since there was snow (see all the snow?), he was able to use an old sled as his delivery wagon. Upon arrival at the woodpile he carefully positioned the sled and loaded on the logs:

With his sled full, he placed the rope around his waist and headed for the porch:

Mush! Mush!

Picking up speed at the halfway mark:

The Wood Express has arrived.

Now the "Heaving o' the Logs" phase begins. Logger Boy shows expert technique. He says it's all in the hips, especially the Betbo muscles. (Click HERE if you don't know what and where your betbo muscles are.)

It was inevitable. With the feel of the snow and the cold and the wood, the transformation was complete. Logger Boy has become a man of the woods, filled with the heady exhilaration that comes with doing the manly work of providing for the homestead. You can see it in his face.

With that load delivered, Logger Boy heads back to the woodpile.

After two trips, he decided it was time for a break. So, he sat in the snow, prepared a large, fresh snowball, and had a snack.