Camping in the Snow

This one is for my teacher.

I'm watching this cool movie called "The Last Unicorn." It's about this unicorn that wonders if she's the only unicorn in the world.

But I really wanted to talk about that we went camping in our motor home. It was in the mountains and there was snow there and everything was muddy. It was so fun because Quinton and Preston were there and we played all night. I got a little dirty cause I had to slide down a steep hill, but I didn't get as dirty as Preston did. He got way muddy.

It was kind of cold though and I had to change my socks. The coolest part was this teeny little waterfall I found. It was just a big rock with water coming out of it. Also there was a big old square of quicksand. I didn't go by it, but even if I accidentally fell in I would be able to get out ok because Bear Grylls taught me how to get out.

We had a big fire and stayed up way late to talk about SpongeBob and tell scary stories. Then we went to bed and listened to songs and told stories and played fun imagination games. It was definitely a good camping trip!

Drowning Worms

This one is for Grace. She helps me a lot at church whenever I need help.

We went fishing in this really big pond to go fishing. There was these good guys there that had a big fish. We went fishing and dadda put this worm on the hook. I was kind of sad for that worm because it was going to drown so we took one last picture of it before we casted it in.

Then we went swimming with Dadda. We jumped in just like Bear Grylls does. It was so deep but we were tough. There was tons of fishes in that water but we didn't catch any.

McDonalds: Where Everybody Knows Your Name

This one is for Bear Grylls. I'm watching him on the Discovery Channel and he's in the jungles of Costa Rica. All the trees look the same there and it's very easy to get lost. Once even a Costa Rica guy got lost for two days until they rescued him.

There is this commercial with a sun that runs on the excercise thing and the sun says "I'm going to go work my abs." I wonder what working your abs means. But you know what's wierd? I went on the other channel and that same commercial was on! Can a commercial be on two channels at the same time?

We were watching Spongebob and it was funny because Mr. Crabs told them to learn everybody's name in the restaurant. That's like on cookin' where the people know everybody that comes into the restaurant. I wonder if the people at McDonalds know our names.

[Dad's Note: 'Cookin' is Bridger's term describing any show on Food Network. We recently watched an episode of Drive-Ins, Diners, and Dives featuring a diner where everybod knows your name.]

School Reading Contest

My school is doing this reading contest where the winner gets to fly in a hot air balloon with their teacher. Oh I want to go on that hot air balloon! A hot air balloon has this basket on it and a balloon's on a basket and you're in the basket and you go up in the air.

If I could take whoever I want up there with me I'd definately take Tiff and Tammy and my whole family. And Nigel Marven, Bear Grylls, Jack Hanna, some dinosaurs, and Alison Krauss. Oh, and Stein the dolphin without teeth. We'd have to take a big tank of saltwater up there for Stein, though. I'd also find a really good entimologist to take up there with me.

I will read 20 minutes a day so I can win. I hope I win because that would be so fun!

[Dad's Note: Bridger's school is holding a read-a-thon fundraiser. Bridger's goal is to read 20 minutes per day for the next two weeks. Students may ask people to sponsor them by making a donation of any amount as he reads. The student in each class who meets his/her reading goals and brings in the most donations for reaching their goal receives a ride in a hot air balloon.

If you see Bridger regularly and would like to sponsor him, you can make a cash or check donation in person. Anybody else in the world who would like to make a donation can do so by clicking the PayPal box in the sidebar of this blog. Those of you who live outside the U.S. may choose to donate using your national currency via PayPal.

I really don't like the idea of soliciting funds- especially from friends and family. So please understand that there are no expectations here. Bridger thought his blog would be a good way to get the word out (ever the little marketing exec) and we figured we'd throw it out there for anybody who would like to donate.

Bridger really wants to win a hot air balloon ride, and if he can earn it I think it will be really good for him. So sponsor him if you'd like- and only if you'd like- and watch for daily updates on his reading status.]

Skull Valley Adventure

This one is for dadda.

We went to Skull Valley on an adventure day after the other day. We hiked sooo high up. Here is some pictures of our adventure. It's called Skull Valley because when the cowboys came here they found styrachosaurus skulls. We climbed up that rock just like Bear Grylls.

You can see our car way down there. That's how high we were.

Expedition: Borneo

[Dad's Note: Some of my favorite posts are when Bridger "liveblogs" an event such as a TV show, giving me a running commentary with entertaining side notes. Bridger dictated the following to me over the phone while I was at work tonight.]

We watched 5 shows of Man vs. Wild today. How cool is that? Now there is this show we are watching called Exdepition Borneo. I don't know what Borneo means. That's just what it's called. Borneo is part of Asia. It's about scientists that go to Borneo on an adventure. One scientist is looking for insects and the other ones are looking for other kinds of animals. One scientist was looking for scorpions and he found a really dangerous one. Another one found a centipede. A big centipede would be called a millipede. A millipede is ten pounds.

The show doesn't say how those scientists got to Borneo. The channel didn't show that. They are just there when the show starts. Now there's commercials. It's Sprint. Oh great, another Sprint commercial. It looks like Sprint is a phone where you can insert any song you like. Hah! A dinosaur just ran across the screen!

Show's back on now. They left their camp and they're driving in their car. I'm trying to look what things they have in their camp but it doesn't show their camp too much. Look, now it's showing all these village kids in the camp. I think those kids are watching the camp while the scientists are gone. I hope this show comes on again so I can watch it again with dadda.

Monday Mailbag: Two Babies in One Belly

Ammon said...
I heard you guys had lots of fun Sat. night. I wish I could have been there to play, too. Someday you'll have to come down here and see the dinosaur track museum and we can play in my backyard and catch lizards.

BRIDGER RESPONDS: Yeah, why did you not come? I can't wait to come catch lizards at your house. I need another lizard because one of my lizards died. Maybe when your boy babies come out of your momma's belly. How can you have two babies in your belly at the same time? That's bizarre!

I was thinking you should name your other boy baby Carlos, but then I thought maybe it would be good to name one Bear Grylls and one Nigel Marven. Those are some great names. Here is a picture of that girl who'se your momma that has those two babies in her belly.

[Dad's Note: Bridger recently discovered the word 'bizarre.' Now everything is just bizarre.]

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.]

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.

Party Night with Man vs. Wild

This one is for Jane again. She's a true friend. She came to my house to play with her little sister Tex. She even brought me a little something.

There was 2 Man vs. Wilds on tonight! And on Sunday there will be 7 of them. Do you think I can stay up that long? I can definately stay up that long.

In the first one tonight he went to the Rocky Mountains. There was a bear following him- a bear following Bear- hah! He really needed a haircut, really. His hair was so long that he didn't even look like Bear. He stayed lost for 4 days and he stayed up all night. He got so tired that he started feeling really bad. Finally he found a road and was saved. That was the first one.

Then, Bear almost got bit by a shark because there was tons of sharks in that water where he went on a Pacific island. He was on a dangerous beach that went all the way to where the sharks are. He made a boat and went in the water and that's when the tiger shark almost bit him. He climbed up a tree to get a coconut and when he slid down his hands were burning. Finally he found a boat.

I want to be like Bear when I grow up, but I'd rather not eat snakes or elephant poop. I would also not like to eat worms- how gross is that? But I would like to hike in the jungle and get water from hanging tenticles and explore caves with dadda. Those would be great adventures.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Last night I looked up at the stars and saw a little twinkling light and it was moving. I think it was Santa's sleigh. He used a key since we don't have a chimney. When people don't have chimneys, Santa gets the keys from mommas and daddas.

Santa came to us! He brought me a robo-reptile and a really cool show called Walking with Dinosaurs that's so cool. It's about this guy that finds all sorts of dinosaurs like one that had three long claws. He looks and sounds like Bear on Man vs. Wild but he's not Bear. His name is Nigel.

Santa works for Jesus and Christmas is all about Jesus. Thank you Santa and thank you Jesus.

The Definition of Tough

This one is for Sami. Sami, you haven't written on your blog for a long time. It makes me wonder how you're doing.

This is a picture of Bear on Man vs. Wild eating a snake.

I'm a tough kid. When I fall down or smash my finger I don't even cry. Tough is when you hike up mountains and go on adventures and climb up rocks. Do you know who some tough guys are? Jack Hanna, Bear on Man vs. Wild, Jesus, soldiers, my uncle T. Even my dadda is tough, but I'm much tougher than him. But dinosaurs are the toughest of all. You don't get tougher than a dinosaur.

A velociraptor is tough because of his speed and his foot claw. A carnotaurus is tough because of his sharp teeth and his powerful legs. An ankylosaurus is tough because of his armor. If a meateater scrapes ankylosaurus, he just whips his club tail at it and knocks that meateater right over.

Rudolph the Red Nose Quetzlcoatlus

This one is for Shalaya.

Tonight is party night and I'm really busy watching Man vs. Wild. Here is a picture of Rudolph the Red Nose Quetzlcoatlus. He would be great for Santa's sleigh!

My New Favorite Show

This one is for Jack Hanna



You know what show I love so much? It's on the Discovery Channel. I forgot what it's called, but it's a man that gets lost on purpose and he has to find his way out. He hikes and climbs mountains and walks on volcanoes. There was one where he was in a cave and he finds some tentacles on the ceiling and he squeezes them to get water. They were just hanging from the sky and they had water in them. You need water to live. When you drink it you get more healthy.

Did you know there is nuts in the jungle that make fire? Yep. You crack them and put them on a stick and light a fire on them. That way you have light when you go in caves.

I like that show because it learns me a lot of things, like how to hike over lava and not get killed. If you're hiking in a lava field, if you step down and your boot melts, then it's too hot to walk on. Lava is hot, and if you fall in it you'll turn into bones.

[Dad's Note: Bridger is talking about Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel. Above is a clip we found of one of the episodes. Good stuff.]