The Bear Attacks of 2009, An All Too Personal Story: Part 2

Sleep did not come easily. With every movement of a tree limb or sound of the night my heart jumped from my chest and it took a good twenty minutes to get my breathing to return to normal. Seth crashed hard with the total exhaustion of the long day and the adrenaline rush. Jason also was alert to movement outside the tent so neither of us was the least bit surprised at just how fast he moved when we heard Keith say, "It's back!"

Shocked and dismayed at just after five in the morning, I crawled carefully out of the tent to see a bear once again under our food pack in the trees. Crazier still - it was a different bear! I put my head in Jason's shoulder and wept. Then the pregnant woman in me had to do what all pregnant women must do when they are scared out of their whits - I had to use the latrine.

That would be Harry the Bear (Seth named both of the bears Harry) under what remains of our food pack. We had strung it ten to twelve feet in the air between two trees. My husband said that he actually saw the bear stand and pull it down breaking tree limbs in the process so he could reach in and help himself to seconds. That brown bear was HUGE!

I pulled myself together and Crystal and I watched as our husbands once again created a barrier of safety between us and the bear. We are talking twenty to thirty feet for us and about fifteen for them. They would bang the pots and pans and make sure the bear knew that we were there. However, this bear had found the goods and was not interested in going anywhere. He thundered down to the lake a few steps away for a drink after getting a mouth full of Kool-Aid and various drink mixes that totally turned his tongue red and certainly burned his mouth. We actually had to laugh and the comic relief felt good.

The bear finished a few more bites of our wonderful, scrumptious, well-packed and prepared food and then lowered his enormous body to the ground and started to fall asleep. No kidding. We realized then that this bear was really NOT going to leave. It was time to, "fish or cut bait," as they say.

Our last family photo in the BWCA, for this trip anyway. Seth was sound asleep in the tent. (Yes, it was cold. I had on long johns and my snow hat! Oh, did I mention that we had NO food to eat. I was hungry!)

We packed up the tents, minus the one my beautiful brave child was still sound asleep in, and cleared camp to the point of the boats being ready to launch. Still the bear stayed put. Letting the bear sleep while keeping us from breakfast (our stomachs were growling at this point) didn't sit well with any of us, especially my husband. He charged the bear a few times hollering and banging pans only to have the bear "bluff" charge him back.

Friends a "bluff" charge is one scary move. You do not know that it is a bluff until the bear backs up. I saw that bear charge my husband and my uterus seized in a clear first contraction. NOT good at 19 weeks of pregnancy I might add. Crystal got me to sit down and drink some water which resolved the contraction issue, but there was still a mad bear in my camp site!

I was told later that my husband had charged the bear many other times when I was not able to see it happen and even pelted him with rocks in the middle of the night. (Now I know why we heard vicious growling!) It's a good thing that our baby is in the womb to stay for much longer given the enormity of the situation. I don't even want to think what would have happened if my husband or anyone else had been hurt. This pregnant lady can paddle but I cannot carry my husbands lifeless body down to a canoe. Crystal and I had to make plans of how we would make it back with Seth alone to get help two hours away. NOT fun thoughts my friends.

Our group photo with Seth still in the tent. Needless to say we decided NOT to invite Harry #2 to be in the photo. He was content to snore under the food bag he was now claiming and protecting as his own!

We woke Seth and left my friends. There was nothing more for us to do. The bear had been there with no intent to leave for about three hours. Close to two hours later, an hour of that paddling, we reached the Tofte Ranger Station and reported our incident. They were not surprised and told us then that there had already been three other bears in that area in the past week. (Might have been nice to know BEFORE we left!) They told us they would get a ranger in there to clean up the mess and if they found something salvageable they would send it our way.

We hope they find something as we lost $150 of food and a lot more money than that in camping gear. So much for our "bear" necessities!

Here is a quick video I took to give you a view of the camp site and the bear. This is our camp in the morning: after we moved our tents as far as water would allow from the bear in the night! I will never forget the sounds of his Darth Vader breathing, ever. It will be in my nightmares for weeks to come too...

Total Immersion

You have heard of French or Spanish Immersion schools. Well, we have just opened the doors to Potty Training Immersion School! All are NOT welcome. Seth is our only current student and I expect to keep it that way for a long time. As a mother and teacher I can only handle so much!

I explained to him yesterday that we are throwing out the diapers unless we are sleeping (bed messes are not worth it and dry nights take awhile so why push?!). He was adamant that didn't sound like a good idea but I pushed and he is now going with the flow. Well for the most part. It is sometimes flowing down his leg and not into the potty.

We hope that Potty Training Immersion School will force Seth over the edge of earning stickers to finding self fulfillment in using the potty. Will this be a success?! I am sure you will hear more but first semester evaluations will be due in two weeks according to dad. Then I will let you know if you yourself should open a Potty Training Immersion School.

Our basic curriculum consists of wearing underwear and sitting on the potty every hour to hour and a half to "try" to use it properly. When he feels the need he is to tell mom and we will run to the potty. We are also learning how to pull down and up our pants and underwear without the assistance of others. Key to this process is also positive reinforcement through stickers and continued earning toys until the semester ends. At that time we hope to put a large toy up for grabs and end the whole potty training school with a graduation party!

As this is a school open to new ideas and the thoughts of others, your input would be greatly appreciated. Until then enjoy some laughs as you watch the video...

Playground Memories

Ahh, how playgrounds have changed. If you can laugh at these then we are of the same generation!

More Fun in the Snow

So here is an example of some toddler fun in the snow:

So much for clean sidewalks...

Seth wielding "his" shovel.

Tate (day care child) checking the snow texture in his new puppy suit.

Seth working a pile of snow off the driveway with Dad's shovel this time.

Tate got some snow gear but it still missing boots so we creatively covered his shoes with big sport socks to keep the snow out.

I Drive A Skid Steer

Seth and the Gus Gang cousins in the tractor at the farm.

Seth has loved Skid Steers since long before he could say the words. In fact I think we have lived in the Year of the Skid Steer at the J mom house. Seth's dreams of driving a skid steer came true while we were in NE for the holidays. His Uncle and Aunt own a large farm and Seth's cousin B took him out for a ride in the skid loader.

Seth and B getting into the Skid Loader.

Seth learning how to drive the skid loader - he actually got the move the boom up and down all by himself. It helped that he was sitting next to the lever of course.




Seth was so thrilled to be in the Skid Loader.



But of course why just drive around when you can go get a load? I wish you could see all the video of the load but it just can't fit here.

Seth also got to play in some more equipment. I think he was pinching himself the whole time wondering if it was really true...

Seth "driving" the combine. He believes he drove Frank from the movie Cars and who could tell him otherwise?!

Here is Seth climbing out of another tractor - I lost track how many he played in. Like I said, they have a large farm!

Thanks for making Seth's dreams come true Gus Gang!

Silly Seth is at it Again

I have had a rough couple of days with Seth. We seem to be at a crossroads of determining who is truly in charge in our house: Seth or mom. As I struggle to be more patient and kind and Seth struggles to win battle after battle, I have to also stop and recognize the silly moments of a growing child.


Here we are eating breakfast for supper. Seth no longer likes to eat the eggs but loves to have peanut butter toast instead. What a mess!



On Sunday's Seth comes to first service "big church" with us and then goes down to his own classroom for Sunday School. Near the end of first service he was getting out of hand and when he started to be loud about it I took him out. As we exited the doors he said, "I want to go home". I told him that we would wait for dad and then it would be time to go to Sunday School. Of course just then another fellow walked out behind us and went out the doors leaving the building as well. Seth says all matter of fact, "He gets to go home!"

You can't help but laugh, even if sometime it is through the tears...

Tossing the Leaves

The weather has warmed enough that playing outside in the leaves is full of fun. Tate (our day care boy) also joined in the tossing of the leaves this week.

Where oh where oh where is Seth?

Seth trying to pick the leaves off of Tate.

A good body slam into the leaf pile is always fun!

The Body Slam

We had some friends over recently and their pre-teen son taught Seth how to body slam. It has become a new favorite activity in our home. As you will see in the video Seth appears ready for the ring!



We always get great laughs from this. Though I think Jason sometimes gets a gut ache from getting bounced on too : )

Tips for Tots Tuesday: Clean Up Take 2

Cleaning up can be a breeze when you have someone to help...




As you can see I try to get everyone involved in keeping order in our home. Before you call someone about current child labor laws, Seth happened to ask to vacuum one morning and I let him. He can't quite control the vacuum well enough to do it on his own, but our space is big enough that he can at least start to get the hang of it. I will not deny him the chance to help clean, especially when he asks to help and then tells me, "cleaning is fun, mom!"


Aside from vacuuming Seth also likes to help with the dusting; he has his own dry dust cloth and he wipes the shelving around all of his toys. He also likes to have a couple of paper towels and my scrub brush to work on the bathroom floor while I scrub my bathroom tub/shower. He loves my Swiffer, which we use on the kitchen floor. All in all, there are a number of things he can help with or do to keep preoccupied while I get the dirty deed done! If you have not involved your toddler in cleaning you really ought to give it a try.

Having your children involved in every aspect of life in the home is a fun way to teach them about responsibility and respect for our things. Seth knows that we have to take care of our things if we want to continue to enjoy playing with them. Keeping a clean home allows us to enjoy it, and each other more!

Though it seems odd to bring up cleaning again (see previous Tips for Tots) this time I would love to hear your feedback on how you keep your home, or things in it, in order. We have to help each other out on this kind of stuff. Please leave a comment so we can all learn from one another!

The Shortest Camping Trip In Johnson History

Seth putting in some tent stakes on our semi-modern camp site. That means they put you on a sand base which is really not all that user friendly if you camp much. We will now have sand in our tent until Kingdom come!

The boys preparing a fire for breakfast. Seth wanted to help a bit too much at times.

Did you know that female mosquitoes are the ones responsible for all the pain we Minnesotans suffer each year? Being a female myself I understand this could be stupid to share - but those are some mad girls out at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park! We arrived in time for supper, though I think the mosquitoes ate more than I did. Even with pants and long sleeves my whole family has plenty of nasty bites. Of course I was wearing sandals and really paid the price. I tried to count them and lost track around 40 and that was on one foot by the way. (Since our return nothing short of ice packs every couple of hours has allowed me to walk around without severe pain!)

Enough about the mosquitoes, they may have ruined my trip but there was some fun to be had, well before the rain came that is. Yeah, this was one camping adventure we hope not to repeat. After the first blood bath of those aforementioned bugs we set up our tent for protection. As night came we expected sleep to come alongside it, but no luck this time. Seth finally closed his eyes just before 11 pm and then awoke in the night around 3 am to spend the rest of the morning in and out of sleep between my sleeping bag and his. At 6 am I was so frustrated and overtired that Jason took Seth to the car for safety. (I was in that state of motherhood where you start to understand why some animals eat their young - I was ready to lash out like a you know what kind of bug and be relentless about it!)

So where was the fun to be had in all this? That was our pancake breakfast over a fire (oops, forgot the propane). The syrup was everywhere and only seemed to call the bugs in, but then to our relief the bugs flew for this hills...as the rain started to pour down. We tried to keep ourselves preoccupied in the tent, but camping with a two year old is much different than our former camping days. Jason and I would have loved to curl up together and read a book or take a nap and enjoy the sound of the rain in the trees, but Seth was ready to see the world and could not be held down. (Lack of sleep makes our child crazy, not tired!) So it was decision time - do we stay or do we go?

We had booked two nights, but it was time to go and no two ways about it. We tore down camp in the pouring rain and drove our soaked little bodies two hours home to recuperate and scratch our wounds. It was for certain the shortest camping trip in Johnson history! We were in camp for less than 24 hours - yikes!

Playing in the Rain

As if the torrential downpour was not enough, Jason and Seth got out the hose and went nuts on each other. What laughter, that is until it was time to come in and put on dry clothes!

(Don't forget to press stop on the Music player at right before you start the video or you will have two sounds bites one over the other.)

Embarrassing...maybe a litte.

I am not a person who is easily embarrassed. A mild flush to the face now and then when I am put on the spot, but overall I brush off embarrassing moments as though a mosquito landed on my arm. Having a two year old this is a good thing. You know that phrase, "kids say the darnedest things"? Well, it's true. They lead a black and white life and say it how it is.

Case in point. Last week we are shopping in the produce section of Cub Foods and I see display of peanuts and ask Seth if he would like some. His response, "Yeah PENIS!" (My son is two and his enunciation leaves something to be desired at times like this.) This of course was said at the top of his lungs with excitement. The produce man stocking strawberries let out a chuckle and I smiled and shrugged with that, you know kids look on my face. The rest of the trip was pretty much uneventful. I wasn't hurt in the least and laughed heartily about it with my husband later that evening.

Here's Seth eating peanuts with Dad in his pajamas!



Then today, things were a bit different. We were in Super Target and I had that feeling that things just couldn't wait. I needed to get to the bathroom. We parked our cart near the checkouts and walked in to the end handicap stall for a little extra wiggle room. What does my son do? Opens the door for all to see me on the throne! Well, that was great. Of course I wiggled over and shut it telling my beloved son that it was rude and he needed to come stand by mom.

Why is it that children have to make proclamations to the world, not just short, quiet announcements? My son now shares with the whole restroom full of people that mom made a poop. Better yet, he shouts out, "Great poop Mom!" How encouraging, huh? I am glad that my teachings have caught on so well.

This experience happened behind closed doors, well with only other women in close proximity. I am sure that someone in a stall was holding in a gut wrenching laugh until we left the restroom. I know I have when overhearing similar situations happen to other mothers!

It was not the end of the world, but I certainly felt embarrassed. It was like this wake up call that using a restroom with my son will only get worse. He might start telling people that mom gives out M&M's for poops in the potty too...

A "Long Time" at the Park

Seth loves the park, especially when we can go for a "long time." A "long time" to Seth really just means that he gets a say in when we leave. Sometimes it's an hour and other days its thirty minutes. I wish I knew what was going on in his head!

We have been spending every waking minute outside it seems. It's time to start wearing the sunscreen and sun hats if you haven't started already! The rain slowed us down for one day, but then it was back out again. Here are the latest pictures from our outdoor adventures to the park.

Breakfast of Champions

Seth likes to eat cereal for breakfast. Lately is has been a choice between Kix and Rice Krispies, but today there was a box of Wheaties in the cupboard that Dad must have opened. Seth was sure that was what he wanted today. He enjoyed four bowls of them with raisins too. "Yum!" he declared. I couldn't help but grab the camera when he started to say the word, "Wheaties" though. It's just too cute!




Seth knows that you can see the pictures right away on the screen of the computer so he keeps saying, "around, around" in the video.

This is an April Fools Day joke right?

Snow on March 31st and into April 1st is a cruel joke! I realize I live in MN and these things happen. I remember snow on my sisters Birthday in April too, but this is getting a bit ridiculous. On Sunday I wore a sweatshirt - no coat or winter accessories. We played outside on the grass. Yes it was wet and muddy but there was grass none the less and only a scant pile of snow in a sunless corner of the yard. The view from my window today is eight inches of snow! The wet heavy kind that sticks to everything. It is truly beautiful...when it happens in December!

Seth of course is not bothered by this surprise of snow. He loves to shovel! We got home from driving the perilous road conditions to his Two Year Well Check-up and he wants to play outside. I'm thinking, you're crazy! (He certainly gets that side from his dad not his mom, I am very sane!) But he is adamant and we go for it. I bundle him up in his snowsuit, a hat, mittens, rain boots (refused the snow boots) and a scarf and we open up the garage to find our shovels. It was really coming down but Seth held his ground and we were outside for quite some time. Well, take a look for yourself...





PS - Seth's well check went really well. He weighed 27.6 lbs and is now standing 2 ft 9 in tall. What a little person huh? We still have a cardiology appointment for a follow up on his VSD in November but we are hopeful that he will come out with no problems.

Happy Easter!

To have a birthday party and Easter all celebrated within a few days is a bit overwhelming. Seth has so many new toys to play with and then the Easter Bunny ("Eas Bun" as Seth refers to him in the video) came and laid about 50 eggs all over the house. (We would have hoped for him to lay eggs outside but with the new snow falling on top of yesterday's snow fall it just wouldn't do.) Finding eggs is a great time waster for anyone wondering. It took Seth almost an hour to find and open all the eggs. Of course some were filled and some were not so he had to shake and open them all too. We didn't have a basket big enough so the dump truck filled in for awhile. What fun...




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Happy Birthday TWO You!

Seth turned TWO today! The time went by way faster than we could have ever expected. To think that is was now TWO years ago that we brought home a six pound little boy after spending eight months pregnant and a week in the NICU. Life sure can change in the blink of an eye, Seth is our living proof of that.

We started an animal collection for him for his birthday, as we feel we live in a zoo anyway. (The picture below shows his excitement at receiving a hippo - no he can't sleep with this one either!) He loves the animals but even more, his new dump truck from dad. Dad didn't even have to go all out on the wrapping job, the toy is enough to speak for itself. Take a look at the video...









Zoom, zoom...

"Ring Around the Rosies"

I hate, I mean abhor, going in circles so that last thing on earth I planned to teach my child was "Ring Around the Rosies." Does that sound cruel? Not when you feel like throwing up just at the site of it! But the day came where Seth learned it. In the most unusual of ways too. The little girl I care for on Thursdays and Fridays taught him. Of course I joined in to help sing once it was obvious that Seth was enjoying it, but I didn't watch for long. To prove it happened though, I did get it on the video camera. Don't get dizzy watching though - I refuse to take responsibility for your weak stomach!

Puddle Jumping

Spring has most certainly NOT arrived in Minnesota. We usually get more snow in March, but that is not stopping Seth and I from being outside as much as possible this week. Wednesday was puddle jumping day. We have a terrible low spot in our sidewalk to the garage/shed that fills with all the melting snow. It's annoying to everyone but Seth who loves to wear his purple rain boots indoors and out. Here is some footage of his loving the puddles.



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Cub Food's Adventure

Monday was a Seth and Mommy Spring Break Day. We had no ECFE, no reason to wake up early and every reason to do something fun! The morning was sleep in, watch Veggie Tales and play time. After a non-nap, from too much sleeping in, we needed an adventure. With the weather taking a turn for the 30's we decided to get out our new Burley. (Well, new to us anyway. A great craigslist.com purchase.) The Burley has a stroller attachment so we got Seth buckled in and walked to Cub foods, less than two miles round trip which is not too bad for a first time out. At the grocery store Seth wanted to walk with me so we pushed the Burley around and filled it up with our groceries. When it came time to check out it was dawning on me that we might have bought a bit more than we should have to walk back home. While loading the Burley up with bags it became all too apparent! I had to get Seth buckled in on one side with groceries at his feet and side as well as having the entire back storage area filled. Six bags total and a toddler. It was quite the sight! In fact without Seth in it is wanted to tip over from the weight of it all. Seth did great, though he was a bit squished by the three boxes of cereal we purchased. Too many good deals at Cub Foods today! The fresh air did us good and when we got home to unload Seth was not interested, he just wanted to play. After taking this video and finally convincing him I needed to get the cold stuff in the fridge we went for another walk and then played in the driveway. Altogether we enjoyed the sun for over two hours. We can't wait for some more of this weather!