Carly and Chase Get Married

We packed ourselves up in the Bear Family Camry and headed down to California for Brother Bears sisters wedding. Brother Bear had baseball practice on Wednesday evening so after Brother was showered and smelling pretty and the car loaded up we headed out. We drove for about 2 1/2 hrs and stayed at a hotel so we wouldn't have to get up so early the next morning. On Thursday we got up had a good breakfast at the hotel. Got the family truckster loaded up and hit the Starbucks across the street (which was packed) and we were on our way. Brother and Sister traveled pretty well in the car together. Sister talked most of the way down. We stopped twice which I thought with the two kids was pretty good. Once for gas and lunch and the other time at a rest stop where Brother and Papa played catch and Sister ran through the grass. Finally we made it to our hotel! After we checked in, we visited with Gramma and Granddad for ahwile. It was so nice of Carly to invite them to the wedding. Then it was off to Carly's house. It was fun to see all of the Bennetts (Gradpa, Granny, Aunt Stacey, Peter, Uncle David, Aunt Nicole, Gigi, Granny's sister Jann, and of course the bride and groom. We were missing Uncle Paul and Reuben though. Brother Bear and his cousin Peter had a good time playing legos together. Sister Bear and Gigi are at the age where they just played around each other. Good thing they both had an Elmo toy or there could have been trouble. Friday we went out to a park for awhile so the kids could run around and play. The weather was so nice!!!! Papa Bear wanted to hit up In-n-Out for lunch. After that it was back to the hotel for a little swimming. The pool was a little too cold but the hot tub was a good size. Peter came over to swim and hang out with Cade while Stacey attended to wedding duties with Carly. We had a yummy italian dinner that night. I had the biggest piece of lasagna I've ever seen. Then it was back to Carly and Chases house for awhile. Stacey taught us an Indiana card game(which now that I'm not tired, I think I understand). The morning of the wedding Papa and Brother went bowling with Chase, Grandpa, David and Peter. I stayed back at the hotel with Gramma and Granddad. Sister was in dire need of a nap. She napped from 9:45am until 1:45pm. When the ready rolled around she was ready to go. She was quite the little party girl out there dancing at the reception. Thanks to Gramma and Granddad who took the little bears back to the hotel with them. Brother and I stayed til the end of the reception and then went to the hotel with Chase and Carly and some of their friends. While we were at the hotel the Phoenix Suns came walking through the lobby. We saw Shaq, who is a very tall man! I managed to take a picture, however the one posted is compliments of Nicole. The next morning we all went back to Carly and Chases hotel and had brunch before everyone left. As we were sitting at the table, Shaq comes out of the elevator into the restaurant area. A few other players did as well. Later Shaq came back upstairs from where the team was eating and went into the gift shop. Brother was pretty excited to see him. After brunch it was time to hit the road and head home. We made pretty good time. David, Nicole and Gigi were headed up our way to visit some friends so Nicole and I texted each other for about 2 hours. It helped pass the time. Sister was actually pretty quiet this time in the car. Brother watched movies and read a few books, so all was calm in the backseat. It was nice to all get together for Carly's wedding. She was a beautiful bride as you can see from the pictures.

A Bear Family Update

Since I haven't done much posting lately, I thought I would do a quick little update of the Bear Family.
Brother Bear:
Just finished playing flag football. Games were on the weekend and the best part no practice! Only bummer was it was awfully cold at 9am. Now we are gearing up for baseball season. Practice started on two weeks ago. Brother Bear wants to play catcher again this year. He is pretty good, especially for his size. He is doing GREAT in school! Loves to read, especially Magic Tree House books. He had a good time helping his dad out this year during basketball season. Brother Bear would pass out the towels to the players as they came to the bench. The guys on the team are really great to him too!
Sister Bear:
This one is quite the little chatter box. She talks non-stop all day long! She is putting more and more words together. She loves to pretend she is on the phone talking to Elmo or Big Bird. If you tell her it's time to go, she thinks we are going to the mall. Our mall has a little kid play area in it, so my friend and I will take a lap or two around the mall and then let the girls play. Sister Bear is starting to want to do things all on her own now. She wants to get in her car seat by herself, take her clothes off by herself. She likes to help me unload the dishwasher. Good thing I got those Correll dishes a few years ago!

Zoey:
Well, let me tell you a puppy is much harder than a toddler!!! Zoey is getting big. She is a sweet dog. It only took 3 nights for her to stop crying at night and to sleep until 7:30. She likes to chase after Brother and Sister Bear in the backyard when they play soccer. Luckily we haven't had too many accidents in the house.

First Haircut

Well, I caved and gave Sister Bear her first haircut the other day. I had been wanting to wait before I cut her hair. Hoping that when she had a haircut she could have a cute little girl hairstyle. She has very fine hair and it has some funny curls in the back. One side was way longer than the other and the sides stuck out like wings. One time when her hair was all wild and crazy, Papa Bear said she looked like Ace Ventura. So, I got out the scissors and stuck her on the bathroom counter. She sat very nice for me and brushed her teeth with her elmo toothbrush.

What Month Is It?

Is it March or is it December? I think the weather is a little confused. This is what we woke up to today. It snowed yesterday off and on but it never stuck. Today it snowed until about 11:30 and then the sun came out and most of it melted. Now as I write this it is snowing again. I am ready to be done using the wood stove....my walls and blinds in the family room need a good scrubbing. Later in the week it is supposed to be 57 and sunny! Funny when that seems hot. They said on the weather channel the other day that this winter Seattle has had more snow than Denver.

Our New Addition

The Bear Family has a new member! Meet Zoey. She came to live with us today. Zoey is almost 8 weeks old. She is an English Cocker Spaniel. Her dad and sister live up the street from us. The puppies were born right after Christmas. They were so tiny, I could fit one in the palm of my hand. Brother Bear is beyond excited!!!!! He is currently laying by Zoey as she sleeps. Sister Bear doesn't really care except when Brother tells her to get away. So far she has only stuck her hand in the water dish once. Let's see how long it takes for her to eat some dog food.

The other dog in the picture with Zoey is her sister Lucy.

Brother Bear is 9

I can't believe that Brother Bear is 9!!!!! Where has the time gone. We didn't have a digital camera before he was 4. So I have posted pictures from his 4,5,6, 7 and 8th birthdays. For his 9th birthday we took him and a friend to the movies and out to Red Robin. Gramma and Granddad are here visiting and they stayed at home with Sister Bear. To top the day off we had cupcakes and Brother had his friend spend the night.

Happy Birthday Papa Bear

Happy Birthday Papa Bear!!!!! Today, the big bear is celebrating his birthday on a bus with the basketball team. I have been trying to age him. I keep telling people he is going to be 37. He so politely pointed out that if he is going to be 37 than I am going to be 39, and that is not true! So, I make sure that I remember that he is going to be 36. Since Papa Bear was going to be out of town for his big day, we made cupcakes yesterday and took them over to his office after Brother Bear got out of school.
A slide show in honor of Papa Bear!! Happy birthday, we love you!

So Long 2008!

Adios, Sayonara, Au Revoir, Ciao, Zai Jian, Tot ziens, Ha det bra, Yasou, Shalom, and Goodbye 2008!


(I googled how to say goodbye in other languages and wiki How provided me with a lovely list. We have Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Chinese/Mandarin, Greek, Norweigh, Hebrew and of course English. I didn't list the proper order though of how I placed them.)

Well, it is time to close the doors on another year. 2008 was an uneventful year in the way of big, monumental events, which was good. 2008 was a year filled with much health(except for the part where we all got the flu) and happiness in the Bear family home. We are thankful for our family and friends and wish you much happiness in 2009! So....hasta la vista!!!!

Snow Days

Well, Brother started Christmas Break a little early. We have snow and ice which makes getting to school tricky for some. Sister Bear loves the snow and constantly tells you she wants to go outside, especially when she sees her brother out playing. It snowed yesterday afternoon and it took Papa Bear almost two hours to get home from work, normally its about 25 minutes. Today we ventured out to the store to get some groceries just in case it stays pretty icy. The temperature never got above freezing today and it is supposed to snow again. We've had a fire going constantly which keeps our family room nice and toasty.

M & M Throwing

For fun we sit around after dinner and throw m & m's at Sister Bear in her high-chair. We had a bowl of m & m's on the table and Papa Bear started throwing them at her. She would just laugh and laugh. I had to shorten the video in order for it to fit on here. The full video is just too funny.

Lights!!!!!

We have Christmas lights on our house!!!!!! I am so very excited!!!! I've always loved Christmas lights. When I was younger we used to always drive around and look at the lights. I still do it with my family when we go back to California to visit over the holidays. This is the first time Papa Bear has put lights up on our house. When we lived in California he got out of doing it by saying that it wasn't our house (we rented) so he didn't want to put lights up. Then we moved and got our own house but we were gone a lot the first two years over the holidays and then when we were home, just didn't get around to it. So the other day Papa Bear had a day off and he said we could go see what lights they had left and he'd put them up. I was giddy!!! Off to Lowe's we went for the 50% off of all holiday decorations. Let's just say there wasn't much left to pick from. Across the street we went to Home Depot. Side note: it has gotten a little chilly here. Sister Bear and I are fascinated with the Weather Channel. She loves to watch the maps and I love seeing what the temperature is. Must come from all those years in California without seasons. According to the weather I have set for Brother Bears school it was 45 degrees with a feels like temperature of 38 and it was raining sideways. But there was my Papa Bear out there on the ladder hanging up the lights for me. Since he hung the lights up with pelting sideways rain, I think that asking him to paint the bedroom for me now might be pushing it a little bit.

Chocolate Hands

We had a Christmas party on Sunday evening and pulled out the chocolate fondue fountain. Well, there was a lot of chocolate leftover, so I dipped a bunch of items and put them in the refrigerator overnight. The next day I let Sister Bear sit in her high-chair and have a chocolate covered graham cracker. She really liked it but not the mess on her hands.....which she proceeded to wipe on her face.

Elf Dances

I tried to get the dances all on one post, but I couldn't get them to work that way. We've got the Disco, Charleston and Country Elf Dances.

Disco Elf

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Charleston Dance

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