A Bad Snow Day!

Teddy: We now get beary excited when we hear "SNOW!" Spaulding: The word makes Mommy and Daddy groan, but we like it! Teddy: Which reminds me of something Daddy said that I don't understand yet! Spaulding: Which? He says so many things we don't understand. Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Teddy: He said that once peoples, who have always hated snow as adults, turn 50 years old... Spaulding: Can you imagine being 50?! Teddy (shaking his head in awe also): ...that you can't even see snow as pretty on the gorund! Spaulding: Wow! I guess that shows how old 50 is! Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Teddy: Mommy still thinks snow is pretty when it first falls, and she doesn't like snow?! Spaulding: We'll have to see if she hates it even falling in two years! :::::::::::::::::Both nod their heads like researchers investigating a theory:::::::::::::::: Teddy: BUT... Spaulding: ...especially, after having sooooooo much fun with our Beary Buddies at BabyBear's house... Teddy: We LOVE snow! Spaulding: And a couple of nights ago, we got so beary excited to find out that we would get a "small q-mow-lay-shun" over night! Teddy: Mommy told us that because it was so beary cold out that the snow might not be any good?! Spaulding: Yeah, we were corn-fused too! How can snow not be GOOD?! Teddy: We also thought we knew what "cold" was before we went out to play in the snow! Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: At least Mommy got my sweater almost done, but done enough to tuck in that piece of yarn and wear it! Teddy: I thought it was beary handsome on you and couldn't figure out what else she would do with it. Spaulding: Now that I have my two color border around my V-neck and my border around my sleeves, I can't wait to show Petey, the Pigeon, and Sammy, the Squirrel how well it looks now! Teddy: We have to get back to our story to s'plain why you want to do that! Spaulding: Oh, yeah! Well, since it did snow, even though it was less then two inches deep... Teddy: ...after all, two inches is beary deep if you are less then two feet tall! ::::::::::::::::::Both nod their heads in agreement::::::::::::::::::: Spaulding: ...we got our whole stuffed animal family dressed up in our magical snow suits... Teddy: Can't get our beans wet! And, even for those in our family without beans, well, it's just beary hard for stuffies to get dry once they are wet! Spaulding: Lady and Valentine have become quite good at making magical stuffy clothes, haven't they?! Teddy (fearing that Mommy might get upset if he didn't add this): Yes, beary good, BUT we are still lucky to have a Mommy who keeps us dressed well in peoples clothes too! ::::::::Both timidly look up at Mommy, who quietly "s'plains" that she does understand the limitations of being a "peoples" and is happy to provide Valentine and Lady all the sewing notions they need to make their own magical stuffies clothes. The two smile contently and continue:::::::::: Spaulding: It takes quite a while to get ready to go out when it's snowy! Teddy: I like Mommy's rule--"You must stay outside, at least, as long as it took to get ready to go outside!" Spaulding: She says that was her Mommy's rule too! Teddy: And now it's Lady's and your rule for your kids! Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: And the rest of us too! Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Teddy: It was still snowing when we first went out! Spaulding: We could still catch the flakes on our noses but they were much smaller then other snows we have enjoyed! Teddy: And COLD! It was soooooooooooooo cold... Spaulding: How Cold Was IT? Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Teddy: It was sooooooooooo cold, that our fur froze together wherever our body bends all the time! Both: Kehehehe...Wait! It wasn't funny! ::::::::::::::Realizing they both said it at the exact same time...:::::::::::::::::::::::: Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: We could make angels and butterflies in the snow, but we couldn't make snowballs!!! Teddy: When we finally came home, Mommy did s'plain that was what she meant about it not being good snow! She says the colder it gets, the finer the snowflakes and the drier the snowflakes. Spaulding: Even snow needs wet to be good to use! Teddy: I was feeling a bit corn-fused! Spaulding (with a little shyness): By any chance, did you run out of stuff to do with the snow before the time was up on how long we had to be outside?! Teddy (shocked and pleased that his brother had asked): Yes! You too?! Spaulding: There wasn't enough snow for peoples to make big piles of it for us to use as sledding mountains, so I really didn't know what else to do after we filled our backyard with snow angels and snow butterflies! I was 'bout to ask you for ideas, before I saw Sammy, the Squirrel hopping along our fence! Teddy: I was so surprised to see him. I thought he hibernated for the winter! Spaulding: He does hibernate for the winter, but not like grizzly or brown bears do! Teddy: Shouldn't we hibernate for the winter too, since we ARE bears?! Spaulding: Mommy says we DO hibernate for the winter, but, since we have a nice warm home and always have enough to eat, we don't have to do it as much as the huuuuuuuuuge growling bears do! Teddy: Ohhhhhhhh, so we kinda hibernate like Sammy. If it's really yucky outside, we sleep all day and all night, but, if there is a nice enough day out, we can go out and play too! Spaulding: Well, usually Sammy comes out to hunt for nuts that he buried, but since he got help from all of us, he has more then enough nuts for the winter, so he CAN play occasionally! Teddy: I asked him what brought him over to our place. He said that he comes over occasionally to see if we're out playing. Spaulding: He also knows we like snow, so comes over more often if it snows out! Teddy: He now wants to know if we can stop off and get him on our way over to Beary Buddies' houses to play in the snow! Spaulding: Did you know that he was a'scared to ask, thinking he wasn't wanted because he's not a stuffy? Teddy: I wonder how many of our Beary Buddies have squirrels and pigeons friends also! Spaulding: We should ask some time! Since many of our Beary Buddies live in the suburbs,... Teddy: ...and others live down and under... Spaulding: ...I bet they have different kind of animal friends then we have! Teddy: Do you think any of them have skunks for friends?! Spaulding: Now THAT's a friend you don't want to ever upset! Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Teddy: I can't wait for our Beary Buddies to meet Sammy and Petey and their families! Spaulding: Petey came by just in time! Can you imagine his whole family fitting into our helioplaneship boxcar?! Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Teddy: I'm glad they can fly, because they couldn't all fit...even magically! Spaulding: BUT, I'm also glad they figured out how to invite us all over to their houses! Teddy: We all couldn't fit in any singular home they have, so I'm glad it was all right with Lady too that the kids could go over to Sammy's house, the gal's all had a sewing...uh, hmmmmmm, a "crocheting bee?!" :::::::::::::::Both look at Mommy to see if they used the right word. Since there was no particular "right" word, it was fine that they invent a new phrase that fit. They were now please to have invented a new phrase!:::::::::::: Spaulding: We should s'plain better! Teddy: You're right! When Petey, the Pigeon flew overhead and saw us out talking with Sammy, he flew down and invited us over for a game of poker! Spaulding: We're good at playing poker, but this would be the first time we played anywhere but Atlantic City, where we always win! Teddy: But, we both think Ding and Dee are too young to play poker, and Valentine and Lady don't like playing poker at all! Spaulding: Axlerod likes to play occasionally, but wasn't really in the mood that day! Teddy: We can't all fit into one pigeon nest, or even into Sammy's bigger nest! Spaulding: Petey already knew this before inviting us though and asked if the kids might prefer to go over to Sammy's nest, where all the kids of the pigeons and squirrels were having a Need-to-Be-Kids-and Get-Rowdy Party. Teddy: Not only did the kids want to go, I did too...until I remembered POKER! Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: AND, Petey's wife, Petra, is having her hatchlings this Spring, so they needed to make their own nest before the eggs come. Teddy: They already have their own nest, but since it's winter and they have no babies yet, they live in his big brother's nest to keep warm and to share in food gathering duties. Spaulding: Lady and Valentine wanted to do something nice for Petey and Petra. Teddy: Many of the female squirrels and pigeons wanted to also, since the couple is always doing nice things for everyone! Spaulding: The gals all got together in Sammy's younger brother's nest, where Samantha, Sammy's wife, hosted a crochet bee to help make Petey and Petra's nest nice and warm and big enough for a couple of squab to hang out with their parents. Teddy: I didn't know, until we got home, that Valentine and Lady got a flight home from Paula and Mary to ask Mommy for some supplies to help out! Mommy let them raid her leftover yarn supply and borrow all of her hooks! Spaulding: Did you see that nest when it was done?! Teddy: We spent the day in Paulie's and Paula's nest,... Spaulding: ...Petey's big brother and sister-in-law's nest... Teddy: ...so we know how nice their twig nests can be, even if it was a bit noisy from the cars and trucks driving over that higway bridge, but Petey and Petra's nest--holy schmoley!!!! Spaulding: Of course, it was our first time to see a crocheted pigeon's nest, but I was beary surprised to find out that it was the first one any of the pigeons ever saw! Teddy: I didn't know the gals had watch Mommy crocheting so closely! Spaulding: They didn't--too much! They just borrowed her books on how to crochet and imp-pro-vised! Teddy: Beary good imp-pro-vis-ors! :::::::::::::::::::Both nod solemnly in agreement:::::::::::::::::::: Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: Playing poker with a few squirrels and pigeons was beary interesting too! Teddy: There were so many different rules to remember! Spaulding: When we told Mommy about the different rules, she told us that most homes have different rules and once you get into different species, it was bound to make it difficult to remember all the different rules. Teddy: With squirrels, an ace is only a low card. With pigeons it's a wild card! Spaulding: And then squirrels add Old Maid cards as wild cards, and pigeons use Old Maid cards as their main cards to play poker, but add those aces! Teddy: I could never remember if the deer cards or the racoon cards were kings! Spaulding: I'm still not sure if we won or lost! Teddy: Well, was your pile of sunflower seeds bigger or smaller then when we started? Spaulding: Smaller, but my pile of peanuts was bigger! Teddy: Oh, no, I forgot about the peanuts! I ate mine! Were they chips?! Spaulding: NO!!!! Potato chips were chips, but chips were snacks, not money! ::::::::::::::::::::Both heads swirl with overload of too much stuff they needed to remember, and they swoon, as if about to faint. Mommy centers them a little, by quietly asking if they had fun.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Teddy (with a big smile): Boy, oh, boy, did we have fun! It's been so long since we sat down and had fun. All summer and autumn and then all winter so far, we've been driving here and there, doing stuff! Spaulding: To sit and play with friends was sooooooooo much fun! Like the olden days, when Mommy kept giving us gambling money before she went to bed!!! Teddy: Still--we so love having fun with our Beary Buddies too! I'd hate to have to give that up! ::::::::::::Mommy quietly reminds them that they can do both. Axlerod has great magical time thingy powers, so, no matter what they choose to do, they can always catch up on sleep afterwards. They smile contently.:::::::::: Spaulding: AXLEROD! We forgot to tell what Axlerod did yesterday! Teddy (hitting his head lightly): Ohhhhhhhhh, I forgot! Petey's family is big... Spaulding: ...as is Sammy's family.... Teddy: Although they have tough lives, sometimes pigeons and squirrels live to be old and gray... Spaulding (with a sly grin): most pigeons around here are always gray! Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Teddy: Anyway--Axlerod hung out in Sammy's big brother's nest... Spaulding: ...squirrels have bigger nests then pigeon's nests... Teddy: ... with the older pigeons and squirrels and made plans on how to make our neighborhood better for stuffies and live animals of all kinds! Spaulding: They had some beary good ideas, but, since none of us have the vote, we can't make them legal by peoples' standards! Teddy: Still, traveling in twos, at the least, is a good idea. That way, if one is eating pizza crust in the street, the other can watch out for cars! Spaulding: That's true! I just hope they remember and actually share the pizza crust! Teddy: Mommy said she'll let us know if she notices any differences. Spaulding: Hmmmmmmmm, hope that works out. Mommy spends so much time in her own little world, she might not notice! Both: Keheh--ut-oh! :::::::::::::::::::::::::They suddenly remember who is typing for them and fear that they might have accidentally hurt her feelings. Slowly and bravely, they turn around to check out Mommy's face, only to see her cracking up laughing:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Mommy (still laughing): You two are so funny! And observant too! Both: Keheheheheheh-ut! Ummmmmmm! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Again they look up at Mommy.:::::::::::::::::::::::::: Teddy: Ummmmmmmmm, what's ob-serve-vent?! :::::::::::::::::::::Mommy s'plains.:::::::::::::::::::: Both: Kehehehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: Well, although it was fairly warm in our friend's homes, they still weren't heated. Teddy: They're all used to living in the cold, but we aren't! Spaulding: No bears are or our relatives wouldn't hibernate in the winter! Teddy: Finally it was time to come home. Spaulding: There was so little snow, that it's gone already... Teddy: ...but it wasn't a good snow, so it was all right that it only lasted a day! Spaulding: We still had a fun snow day, even if we didn't play in the snow for long! ::::::::::::::::Both nod in happy agreement::::::::::::::::: Teddy: But, we needed to catch up on our sleep, and now it's dinner time on the next day! Spaulding: Teddy is helping Daddy cook dinner tonight! Teddy: No, Daddy is helping me cook, but we have to go finish up! Spaulding: Soooooooo, until next time...