Jungle Trekking

[Dad's note: Bridger is currently trekking through the swamps of Florida hunting for dinosaur treasure and will not be able to post for the next few days. As Bridger says "There is not a lot of 'puters in the jungle." Bridger will return Friday, Feb 2 to report on his adventure.]

Croc Hunter Clues

This one is for Gammy.

I'm thinking about the Crocodile Hunter today. I drawed this picture of him with a snake. It's a marsh viper. I also drawed a picture for his little girl, Bindi, but dadda didn't scan that yet.

I found a Crocodile Hunter clue today! That was so cool. Then you know what? I met a girl from Australia today. I had that clue in my pocket so I showed her the clue. It has a picture of the Crocodile Hunter with a crocodile. Australia is a cool place because it has a lot of things like iraconji. Those are very, very dangerous jellyfish. People from Australia talk kind of like people from England.

[Dad's Note: The clue Bridger refers to is one of many small pieces of paper he's found that will lead him to dinosaur treasure. A few years ago, Bridger became convinced that dinosaurs must have left treasure behind when they disappeared. Since then, he'll find a "clue" every once in a while. Amazingly, these clues just happen to turn up in very convenient places at just the right times. Interesting.]

Wednesdays with West: My Frog Book

This one is for Uncle Tyler.

This is my froggy book that uncle Tyler made for me. It is a cool book. It's made out of paper. Tyler made it his selp. It has lots of froggies in it and I love it.

Welcome to Bug Park!

This one is for my sneaker spider. I can't wait until he wakes up.

I want to tell you about my new bug park that Santa brought me for Christmas. It is so cool! It has a 'puter for him and a fish 'quarium and even a teacups ride. The Teacups is my favorite ride at Disneyland so I'm glad the sneaker spider has a teacups ride.

When he wakes up I will set him free in there. It has a lid that goes on there so no bugs could get out, but they can play and be happy in the bug park.

Monday Mailbag: England, Dreams, and the Pledge

Marcia from England said...
Bridger, I do go on adventures, but England is a very small island. Maybe one day you will come here on an adventure!

BRIDGER RESPONDS: Does England have fun stuff there? I would go on an adventure anywhere that is fun. I watched a show about England called Robin Hood. I learned from my round map that England is a country in Europe. It is very far away from Utah- even farther than Texas. But momma says I can't go to England if I don't clean my room.

[Dad's Note: He'll have to do a lot more than clean his room to afford a trip to England. "Round map" = "globe."]

Tiff said...
Bridger, that's not a nice dream at all. But you know it's just a dream so you don't have to worry about it. I see in that picture that you have the sleeping essentials; a t-rex and a bag of Fruity Dino-Bites!

BRIDGER RESPONDS: Tiff, I hate having bad dreams. That's why I stay up as late as I can. Like I just watched Lilo & Stitch. Now I'm watching the Grinch Stole Christmas. Then I'll watch Jack Hanna's Animal Bloopers. Then when I'm done watching shows I say a special prayer to not have bad dreams. Then momma and dadda tell me happy things to think about, like dinosaurs, animals, Jesus, special stuff and everybody that's good guys. Even stone fish make me happy. Even sea snakes. All that stuff makes me happy.

[Dad's Note: And he wonders why he crashes every Wednesday after school!]

Steph said...
I listened to you recite the Pledge on the radio this morning. The man said that Bridger, the Dinosuar Boy, was going to give the Pledge. You did a great job. I am so proud of you for knowing the Pledge and for loving your country and the soldiers that protect us.

BRIDGER RESPONDS: We said the Pledge Allegiance the other night at Brandan's graduation. There was a guy in scout clothes and he brought the flag. Everybody standed up and we put our hands on our heart and said the Pledge. I'm going to be in scouts when I grow up. Dadda goes to scouts. They wear these clothes that's kind of like Crocodile Hunter clothes. Scouts is where you learn to make fire. But I already know how to make fire. You rub sticks together like the giraffe does on Madagascar. It takes a long, long time.

[Dad's Note: Bridger is talking about his cousin Brandan's Eagle Scout court of honor. Speaking of the Pledge, I will be posting an audio clip of his radio appearance sometime in the next couple days. Stay tuned!]

Ode to the Crocodile Hunter

This one is for the Crocodile Hunter.

Tonight we are watching lots of shows about the Crocodile Hunter. He is a totally tough guy. He just picks up snakes and he isn't even afraid of them. We watched a show of his very last adventure before he died. He discovered a stone fish. That's the most dangerous fish in the ocean. Then they catched crocodiles. First they put a rope on their mouth, then they all hop on top of the crocodile.

Then they went on the boat to find a box jellyfish. That's a very dangerous fish that shoots it's tentacles at you lightning fast. You'll be dead in 5 minutes.

Sting rays aren't mean creatures. I touched lots of them and they are very nice. It was just an accident that one poked the Crocodile Hunter in the heart.

I'm sad that the Crocodile Hunter died. Not kind of sad. Way sad. I wish I could meet the Crocodile Hunter. I want dadda to take me on an adventure with him. Maybe after the resurrection. That way you can get bit by something and it won't hurt. I love the Crocodile Hunter. When I watch his last adventure I don't even laugh at the funny parts because it's special.

Heavenly Father, please bless the Crocodile Hunter. Help him to help the animals and dinosaurs in the stars. Please bless his kids and his little boy that's cute like Coulter. Amen.

Momma Isn't So Boring Any More

This one is for Momma.

Do you know what's cool? Momma used to be really boring but now she's becoming more fun. But dadda is still a little bit funner than momma. But sometimes I can't believe dadda when he tells me things because he teases so much. Momma never teases. Like dadda told me that when you give blood, they put a needle in your arm and the blood comes in a bag. I thought he was teasing and I told him that was a bunch of bullcrap and I could see right through it. But then momma told me that dadda was telling the truth.

My Mind is on Sharks

This one is for Shalaya, who has three A's in her name. She gave me a dinosaur at school today. It was an ankylosaurus.

My mind has been turning to sharks. I think about them in my mind. Me and dadda played sharks today. I had a thresher shark. Do you know how you can tell what kind of shark you have? It says on the bottom of them. Dadda was playing with a Chinese shark, because it said 'China' on the bottom.

This is a picture of an angel shark. They hide under the sand and wait for prey. When they see prey they pop up and eat it.

Do you know how to make a shark not fierce? You turn them over on their belly and then they're nice. SeaWorld people go in boats and catch them, then turn them over so they aren't fierce. Then they get this needle and give them shots in their belly. The Discovery Channel learned me that.

Cold-Blooded Dimetrodon Monster from D.I.

This one is for Mrs. Quist. She's my good teacher.

This is a picture of my new cold-blooded dimetrodon monster that I got from the D.I. He is very hungry so he's finishing my dinner. Do you know why I got to buy that dimetrodon? Because I got my report card today and I'm doing good in school. Momma said I can go to my favorite store and she'll buy me whatever treat I want. I told her "I pick it, you buy it."

My favorite stores are D.I. and Wal-Mart. I wanted to go to D.I. because sometimes things at Wal-Mart are too much moneys. Plus, Wal-Mart has a lot of girly stuff. At D.I. nothing is too much moneys. I still love Wal-Mart, but Wal-Mart did not have a cold-blooded dimetrodon. Also we found a Power Ranger book and a Jack Hanna show! You can't get Jack Hanna show's at Wal-Mart. Dadda doesn't like Power Rangers because he thinks they're goofy. I only like them because they have Dino Thunder.

Wednesdays with West: I Want to Play Tee Ball

This one is for Mater.

When it's spring I want to do that thing like Bridger did when he hit the ball with that bat and catch the ball with a glove. I think that will be fun because I'm a great thrower and catcher. Me and dadda throw the ball to each other all the time. When Bridger played that game he just cried every time when he went. I won't cry because I'm a tough kid.

Observations on Raptor Feeding Habits

This one is for Silas. I keep forgetting to buy a dinosaur to give him.

I was watching my dad eat some Fruity Dino Bites and I saw that people do not eat like raptors. Raptors get food in their mouth, then they hold their head up and bounce a little bit, then swallow. I know that because I'm the dinosaur boy. Do you know something funny the deinonychus raptor does? He eats rocks. The rocks help him smash up the food he eats. Then when it's almost sunset, he throws the rocks up! Can you believe that?

A Trip to the Golden Corral

This one is for Grammy Darla because she telled me about black-eyed peas one time ago.

Dadda tried to get me to eat a black-eyed pea today at the Golden Corral. I told him I was so not going to eat that black eyed pea. He said he would eat a mushroom if I ate a black-eyed pea. I told him I didn't want him to eat a mushroom because some are poison and I don't know where Golden Corral gets their mushrooms. But it's ok because there's no way I'm trying that black-eyed pea anyway. Maybe if it was made out of peanut butter and the brown thing in the middle was chocolate.

Dadda likes those black-eyed peas. He feels like they taste good to him. He eats huge piles of them. Dadda eats a lot of stuff that I don't like- like catfish, salad, vegetables. I do like calamari chickies, but there was no way I'm trying a black-eyed pea. Dadda said he'd give me a chocolate ball if I tried one. But me and West just stealed some his chocolate balls when he wasn't looking.

[Dad's Note: Calamari chickies is our little way of tricking Bridger into eating something other than chicken nuggets (chickies). He has no idea he's really eating squid (and frankly, we'd be in real trouble if he did). Now, if we could just find some kind of healthy food we could disguise as spaghettios...]

Never Hike Alone -or- How to Avoid Cutting Your Arm Off

This one is for A.J.

On Man vs. Wild, Bear was in Mohab and he told this story about a guy who was hiking in the desert and got his arm stuck behind a rock, so he had to cut his own arm off with a knife. I would never want to do that. The problem was that he went hiking alone. You NEVER do that. Whenever I hike into the desert or the jungle I take Weston with me. Like when I went looking for dinosaur bones in the mountains I took Simmy and my new cousin A.J. Some people think that Bear is alone on Man vs. Wild, but he really isn't alone- he has a camera man with him.

I'm tough enough to go into a dark cave alone by myself, but I always take somebody with me because I really wouldn't like to cut off my own arm.

[Dad's Note: Bridger is refering to Aron Ralston, a solo climber who was forced to sever his arm with a pen knife after being pinned by a boulder in Blue John Canyon, not too far from one of Bridger's favorite adventure destinations, Moab (or Mohab, as Bridger puts it). Bridger and his trusty hiking buddies- Weston (3), Simmy (4), and A.J. (2)- are never out of our sight, though they sometimes think they are. So he probably won't need to saw his arm off any time soon.]

Dromaeosaur and Hadrosaur: Great Ideas for a Radio Show

This one is for West.

I liked being on the radio on the Dob Bonsberry show. The next time I'm on the radio I would like to tell about dinosaurs. Like I would talk about the dromaeosaur and the hadrosaur. A dromaeosaur is a raptor that runs and jumps and slashes at his prey. They had feathers like a bird but they couldn't fly. The hadrosaur is a duck-billed dinosaur that is very nice. He ate plants, but not black-eyed peas. I don't even think black-eyed peas were invented yet.

Giving Blood and the Texas Horned Lizard

This one is for Jack Hanna.

This is a picture of a Texas horned lizard. They shoot blood out of their eyeballs to distract their prey. I readed all about that in a chart in my library book. I'm worried about that lizard because if he shoots too much blood he will die. You need blood to live, so I hope he doesn't shoot too much.

I'm glad some people like Tammy and Tiff give their blood to others because it helps people who need blood. Like when I almost died I almost needed blood. They just kept poking me and poking me with needles and it hurt. So I don't want to give blood when I grow up because I don't even want to think about how it hurts. I think I will help people in other ways, like visit them in the hospital or bring them a special toy.

If somebody needs blood or they'll die, dadda can give them some blood for me because we have the same kind. You got to be careful when you give blood because you can't give too much or you'll die, because you won't have enough for yourself. Dadda says your body makes more blood, but I don't know about that.

A Terrible Dream

This one is for McCall.

I had a terrible dream last night. I had new toes that were different than my real toes. Then I got all new toys from Santa and one of the toys was a real live giraffe. But then a person that is bad threw something at his eye and broke it. Then the giraffe's eyeball fell right out of his head. That's not nice at all. I love dinosaurs, but that doesn't mean I can't love giraffes too.

Wednesdays with West: Auto Anatomy

This one is for Whitty.

We went to a place with lots of cars today and we got in those cars. My favorite one was the red one and Bridger like the blue one. I love our car. It is warm inside and it is cool. Cars work cause of they engine. Not they steering wheel or they numbers. They engine has pixons in it- like the Pixon Cup in Cars. That's what makes a car work. The steering wheel makes the car turn and the numbers make it fast. Cars is the coolest things in the whole white world!

[Dad's Note: Weston's "theirs" sound like "theys." The way he dictated this post, I had to write it like it sounded. Those of you familiar with his voice would probably agree that it's much more "West" written this way.]

Bridger's Radio Appearance Tomorrow

I'm going to be on the radio tomorrow! I'm going to say the Pledge Allegiance. It's a very special thing you say that means you love America. I love America so much- the highest number ever. America is a special place. We are free in this country and we can go to church wherever we want. And we have these guys called soldiers that protect America from bad guys.

When we see the flag we put our hand on our heart and say the Pledge Allegiance. We put our hand on our heart because it is very special to us. I love America.

[Dad's Note: 7:10 AM (MST), 570 KNRS, Salt Lake City. Non-locals (and my analytics tools tell me there are a whole lot of you) can listen in at knrs.com.]

Special Announcement: The Dinosaur Boy on the Radio

[Dad's Note: Tomorrow morning, Bridger will recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the Bob Lonsberry show on KNRS 570 AM, Salt Lake City.

Each morning, the Lonsberry show broadcasts the Pledge at 7:10 AM. It is recited by a different person each day, and it's Bridger's honor to recite it tomorrow. If you get a chance, please listen in!]

Monday Mailbag: Black Eyed Peas, Needles, and the British

Grammy Darla said...
Happy New Year Bridger boy! Here in Texas, they eat black eyed peas for good luck. They are peas who got punched in the eyes, and they taste like it too.

BRIDGER RESPONDS: Do they have eyeballs in them? If they do I would never like to eat them. I don't eat peas because they are green food, and I don't eat green food. Dadda tries to make me eat broccoli. He says it's what dinosaurs eat, but I know dinosaurs didn't eat broccoli. I never saw that in any of my books, so I can see right through that.

Tiff said...
Bridger, that's a cool coloring book! I'm sure Jack Hanna would love to answer your questions. You know what? I bet when you are a man and can go on adventures like Jack Hanna and Bear you won't be scared of needles. I like to give blood and I don't think it's scary. Plus you get treats when you're all done and sometimes you get a shirt :)

BRIDGER RESPONDS: Dadda is a man and he's scared of needles. He passes out when he gets poked with needles. Do they give dinosaur treats when you give blood? Dadda says he doesn't know if they give dinosaur treats or not, and that makes me think he really hasn't gived blood. If he really gived blood he would know something like that.

Marcia from England said...
Bridger, I live in the UK and I found your blog while helping my son research for a paper about reptiles. I am sorry you lost your aunt. You are a very thoughtful child. Thank you for your daily thoughts.

BRIDGER RESPONDS: England?! Bear Grylls is from England and so is Nigel Marven! That's why they talk like that. Do you ever go on adventures?

A Jack Hanna Coloring Book

Do you know somethinge else cool I got for Christmas? A Jack Hanna activity book that has stickers in it. You find the place in the forest where the animals live and you put the stickers on there. I have some questions about that book- like where some animals are supposed to go. I think I'll call Jack Hanna tomorrow and talk to him about this.

Do you know what I've been thinking? That Jack Hanna is like Bear Grylls. They both go on adventures all the time. That's what I want to do when I am a man. But do you know what I don't want to do when I am a man? Give blood, because I don't like needles one bit. I don't even want to think about that.

Watching Old Dinosaur Films and Remembering Loved Ones

This one is for Jesus.

I'm in the middle of watching a really neat dinosaur show right now but I'll stop it to do just a little blog.

Tonight I'm thinking about all the people I know that died. There's Patty, Duke, the Crocodile Hunter, old Granny in Texas, Destiny. Lots of people are up there with them, like Jesus and even Ella. Ella will be there until she is born. Patty is probably taking care of her. That's what I think.

Well, I better get back to my show.

[Dad's Note: Bridger's show is an old educational video about dinosaurs from 1973 that he bought at D.I. for $1. He's seen it a million times but he's still watching it at the edge of his seat.]

Reflections on Patty's Funeral

This one is for Patty because she went to Jesus.

This is a picture of me and my cousin Kelsey. I think I'm going to marry her.

I was sad today at Patty's funeral. I had tears running down my eyes because I was sad. I know she is with Jesus but I miss her and that makes me sad. Granny was sad too. She just gave Patty kisses and kisses. That was really sweet of her.

I was watching Patty and do you know what I said to her? I said it really quiet so nobody else could hear. I said "Goodbye, Pat. I love you." Then they closed her box.

When we went to the cemetery there was lots of snow. They put her box on this thing and some people put flowers on her box. I put a special dinosaur on there for Patty.

Patty Went to Jesus

[Dad's Note: We lost a very dear member our extended family this week. Bridger has been coming to terms with her loss, and these are the thoughts he's been piecing together. They are honest and come straight from his heart, but may cause confusion for his younger readers.]

My aunt Patty went to Jesus the morning last yesterday. She was broken and they couldn't fix her, so she died. I am sad but I know that she's okay now because she's with Jesus and he'll take really good care of her. I love Pat because she is sweet and I love to give her hugs. Sometimes she talks kind of funny but that's just because she is very special. Granny loves her so much too.

When you die your spirit goes to Jesus and your body goes in a little box. Your spirit looks like your body but it doesn't have any problems with it. Like Patty's spirit isn't special any more. The Crocodile Hunter's spirit doesn't have a poke in his heart, and my dadda's spirit isn't fat.

We saw Patty's body. I touched it and it didn't move. Her body doesn't look so old anymore. She was old, but she was young before that, and now she doesn't look so old. She was just resting in that box. I just hugged her picture. I'm going to miss Patty.

[Patty suffered from congenital brain damage. In our family we referred to her as the most special of all.]

Wednesdays with West: Lightning McQueen Cartridge At Last!

I'm just hanging out with Momma tonight. That means I'm staying up all night.

Do you know what Santa brought me? My Lightning McQueen cardridge!! It is really cool. There is games on it where you get a lot of tokens and if you get a lot of tokens you can go to Radiator Springs. That's a town. You race in this game. You push all of the buttons- but not the turn-off one, cause that will turn off the 'puter. Sometimes you need to turn off your 'puter so it can rest.

[Dad's Note: Check out the picture below- the Wednesday night brick wall- when the school schedule catches up with Bridger for the week. Since Weston was having to fill in for him so much on Wednesdays, we decided to make it a regular feature.]

Train of Thought: Careers to Wal-Mart to Raptor Attacks

This one is for Mrs. Quist. She was happy to see me today.

Momma works but she doesn't get any money for it. Dadda gets paid to play on his 'puter at work. He goes to work all day and plays on his 'puter and the guys that live at his work pay him money. He isn't a doctor or a dentist. He's just a regular guy. Momma doesn't get money for playing on her 'puter because she's not at the right work. She cleans our house and just pays our bills so we can keep our house.

I think it would be cooler if my dad worked at Wal-Mart and he took me with him to work there. I could play with toys while he works. He could be a night worker so we could stay up late like raptors. A raptor walks around all night looking for sleeping dinosaurs. When he finds one he be's really quiet to not wake up that sleeping dinosaur. Then he attacks.

New Years Monday Mailbag

Grammy said...
Bridger, No Way! Santa brought you a Roboreptile? You are so lucky! I read that he has biomorphic movement and stereo sonic sensors! And he can whip his tail and jump??? I can't even do that! I think you are 164 lucky!!!
Merry Christmas!

BRIDGER RESPONDS: That's true, Grammy! Me and Kaden are going to have a battle. He has a 'mote control spider and I'll have my robo-reptile. The battle will be in January. Or maybe after August. My robo-reptile will fight his spider and win because mine has biomorphic movement.

Grammy also said...
I read that parasaurolophus means Similiar Crested Lizard, and that his crest could be six feet long! How did he keep from falling over backwards? You look just like a paleontologist in your picture, and Weston looks like your assistant. Oh Yeah..

BRIDGER RESPONDS: He didn't fall over backwards because of how strong his body is. His body is strong enough to hold the crest up. The crest looks like a horn but it's not really a horn. But they use their crest like a horn to make sounds to warn other dinosaurs like if they saw a metriacanthosaur.

Ammon said...
Merry Christmas, Bridger. I hope Santa brings you exactly what you asked for, and what your sneaker spider asked for. I can't believe you don't like Pedra. Oh, well. Ella is cute, too.

BRIDGER RESPONDS: Ammon, Santa did come to the sneaker spider! He brought him a bug park. It even has a teacups ride in it that looks like a little miracle-round. When the sneaker spider wakes up I will set him free inside there. I don't not like Pedra, it's just that I like Ella better. Maybe we could have Pedra be her middle name- Ella Pedra- that sounds good.

[Dad's Note: "miracle-round" = "merry go-round." Pictures of the sneaker spider's bug park coming soon!]