We're going on a bear hunt...

This picture has a story, and it also necessitates an explanation..  especially if you look at that expression on Ashley's face...

Here it is:

Grammy (my mom) has shared a book with the grand kids since they were very small.  It is their favorite!  The way that the story has evolved over the years has been due to two factors: 1) the ages of her grandchildren and 2) the gender of her grandchildren.

She started out with a streak of girls.  Four girls to be exact.  Then, four boys quickly followed.  The reading of "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" went from sitting on grammy's lap, and making the sounds as they pretended to walk through mud, tall grass, water, etc., to going throughout the house acting the book out.  Grammy would even hide a stuffed bear in the basement to be the bear when they got to the cave.  Then the boys got bigger, and guns were added to the arsenal of playthings that the toy room holds.

Then the boys learned the art of the gun fight.

Then they boys learned the awesomeness of the hunt.

"We're Going on a Bear Hunt:" changed for the better, if you ask me.

The other day, one of the days that Ashley was lucky enough to spend the day at Grammy's (and with 3 of her male cousins at that), she learned to enjoy "Bear Hunt" in this new fashion.

Mom told me that Ashley would wear her dress-up, carry her baby on one hip, and hold her gun in the other hand.  My kind of gal...

Grammy hides the bear somewhere in the house, and then yells (but she really can't yell, so I don't know what to call it...) "Hey!!  I just heard a bear growl!!!  I think it's downstairs (or upstairs)...  you guys have gotta go and get it!"

Then, the massive number of little ones come running from their waiting places, guns in hand, off to hunt that bear.  They whisper for only a few minutes, then you hear the excitement, gunshot sound effects follow, and a few minutes later, someone emerges with the fresh kill on their shoulder, with cousins in tow.

They love it.

I loved it so much, that after my triumphant trip to Harmon's, we went to Dilly Dally's (a dollar store) and bought enough dollar guns to arm our whole family.  Peyton even got a knife with her pistol, very useful if we needed to (pretended to) skin the bear.

That night, we played the new version of "Bear Hunt".  It then turned into hunting each other, thanks to Merrill.. then went back to hunting the bear.  We had to have one more hunt after prayers, but before bed.

It is quite the good time..  but even more important, we are making some awesome memories!