Our New Puzzle

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.  Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! Oh. Wait! Frankie lives with us, too. He's our cousin, you know.

We got a present from Nana Elizabeth. It's a puzzle. It's a puzzle about O Canada. We take out all the puzzle pieces and then put them together so we can see our home and native land. Puzzles are fun. We start with British Columbia. I know where British Columbia is. It's the first one on the left.

Look! Look at Chance! He's so newborn he doesn't know how to play with a puzzle. He's trying to eat Quebec! "My son! You can't eat Quebec! Quebec is not one of the four food groups! Put that down this instant!" Chance really is a handful. Frankie knows how to play with puzzles. He doesn't try to eat the provinces. Frankie's four. He's very smart.

We love our new puzzle. Grandpa James helps us write a thank-you note to Nana Elizabeth for the O Canada puzzle. Won't she be surprised when she opens the letter and sees pictures of us playing with it, too. We love Nana Elizabeth lots and lots and lots!

Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! Grandpa James says, "Where's Frankie? Where's my Knight of Knewfoundland and my Lord of Labrador?" We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Learn about O Canada. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play puzzles with us! We can have a puzzle party with hummus and pretzels and apple juice, too! Okay! Over and out!"

Sleepytown Here We Come!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. He says he is so old he remembers the first sunrise. He must be 20! That's old.  Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. I think it was an angel who put Chance there. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? It was a rainy day Chance and me played inside. We made a fort under the kitchen table with some blankets. We made mushroom soup for lunch. Chance and me help stir. I'm the MiniSTIR of Stirring. Chance is the deputy Mini-STIR. James ate lunch under the table with us. It's fun to eat in the fort. For dessert we ate gummy worms. Chance doesn't have any teeth 'cuz he's a newborn cubby. He just drinks condensed owls' milk out of his bottle. I got to drink apple juice from the McCain's Junior Juice box. I l-o-v-e apple juice. It's yummy and that's one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. Then  we painted pictures of ourselves. I painted one of us in Lake Erie at Pelee Island. We go there on the big boat, you know. James says it's the southernmost part of O Canada.

We get pretty tired at the end of the day. I know 'cuz Chance gets cranky and makes little squawky noises. James says, "I see my handsome bear cubs are ready for a trip to Sleepytown!" He's right, you know. After we splash in the bathtub, James uses the big towel to dry us off. We don't wear jammies, we get to go to Sleepytown bear naked. That's a pun. I know what a pun is.

Then we say our prayers.  I want God to look after all my friends and buddies from Newfoundland to British Columbia. I ask Him to look after all our friends and buddies in the Knighted States, too. I'm glad I'm not God. He's got a big job 'cuz my friends are a handful!  I thank God for all the good food in the Canada Food Guide except broccolis and sauerkrauts. They're nasty and we shouldn't have to eat nasty food. I ask God to feed all those poor starving children in Belgium. Then I say, 'Amen.' Amen is God's code for over and out.

James tucks us into bed.  He reads us our bedtime story. He can read real good. Our story is Snow Treasure. It's very exciting. It is about very brave boys and girls who live in O Norway. That's pretty far from our house and it's not part of O Canada.

 Chance is asleep already. I'm very sleepy. My eyes won't stay open anymore. James tickles our ears and kisses our noses. He whispers, "Good night, my handsome bear cubs. Sleep tight, my Sons of Windsor. Don't let the bedbugs bite, my Princes of Ontario.  This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Good night and bon soir, good citizens.  Over and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

Christmas Eve, the Time Out Chair and the Lympic Torch

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He forgets where he puts his keys. He's really old, too. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark. I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what? I'm not supposed to have anything to drink when I'm on the computer. It's a rule. I'm only supposed to drink out of my sippy cup with Spiderman on it. That's another rule. I forgot. I spilled my apple juice all over the computer. It wouldn't work anymore. I had to sit on the Time Out Chair and think about what I did. I don't like to think. It's hard work! I feel bad and I'm sorry. What if Santa takes me off his list? Oh! No! James sat me on his lap. We had a little talk. I promised to be remember better. He tickled my ears and my tummy and made me laugh right out loud. He kissed my nose.  James forgave me. I'm glad. He's a pretty good buddy.

Know what else? We saw the Lympic Torch. It came right past our house! It's big! The Lympic Torch is going to Sarnia next and then to London. We go to London on the train. I love VIA Rail. The Lympic Torch is going to Vancouver for the Lympic Games. We could go there and the train would take us.

Chance and me put another sticker on the calendar. When we wake up tomorrow it will be Christmas! I can hardly wait! This is Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Merry Christmas, everybody! Merry, merry Christmas! Over and out!"

Picking Up Trash & Potato Salad

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy,  James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark. He must be 20 years old!  I look after him. I'm five, you know. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby I found on our doorstep one morning. He's a wee little thing and I look after him, too.

Look at me! I'm picking up trash and putting it in the bin. That's what good citizens do. Chance and  James help, too. Good citizens get to eat Smarties and wallermelons. They're yummy and that's one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. Then we write about what we did so you can see it, too.

Know what? We had a big storm last night. The wind knocked down trees and smashed up cars. Wow! Know what? We're having potato salad for lunch. My buddy Jay made it. I l-o-v-e potato salad. I know what goes in potato salad--potatoes and salads! I bet I could cook potato salad all by myself. Maybe I could add some Smarties and some apple juice. Yeah. I bet that would taste really yummy!

Chance is too little to eat potato salad. I wonder if he could drink some out of his bottle. Know what? Chance has to wear a diaper cuz he's a newborn cubby. When he poos he makes little squawky noises. That means he's unhappy. When we change his diaper he's really stinky! I don't need a diaper. I know how to use the washroom all by myself. Chance makes squeaky noises when he's happy. I'm gonna go find him and holler, "Who's a handsome bear cub? Where is the Son of Windsor? Where is my Prince of Ontario?" Then I will tickle his ears, kiss his nose and make him laugh right out loud! Okay! This is Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Pick up trash. Good citizens get to eat potato salad. Okay!  Over and out!

Riding on the Jiimaan

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live with my buddy James on Sparkle Road. I look after him and keep him out of trouble.

Know what? We went to Pelee Island. The boat is really big. It has a name. The boat's name is Jiimaan. There are lots of ladders on the boat. I could be a sailor, you know. I would be a good sailor because I already know how to climb. It's fun to be way up high and see everyone.

Michelle and Deb are nice ladies. They sell juice boxes. I got apple juice. Apple juice is yummy. Yummy is one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. There is a Canada flag on the boat. Know what? I have a Canada flag on my bicycle, too.

Oh! Wait! I can see the island. Land ahoy, citizens! I better get down from here and get ready to explore. I hope there are lions on Pelee Island. I would like to go on a lion hunt. I wanna catch a big 'ole lion. We could be friends. We could eat porridge and gummy worms for breakfast. I would share. Yeah. That's what I will do when I catch me a lion. Okay. I gotta go. I have to get in the car and fasten my seat belt!  This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens! Come hunt lions with me on Pelee Island! Over and out!"