04x08 - The Bike Path / The Neighborhood Picnic / Cleaning Out the Basement

[bunniefuu]

[Music]

it had been a day of preparations

katie learned that unsticking plastic

wrap from the roll can be a hard thing

to do

or be discovered that instead of

bringing a fridge with you an ice pack

is easier to carry

and they both found out that even though

lunch foods don't weigh much

when you put them together in a backpack

they can be heavy

there was a great deal of excitement the

whole family was going for a ride

on the bike path once everybody had on

their helmets

katie climbed up on the back of dad's

bike and orbee climbed up on the back of

mum's

katie and orbee didn't want to ride

their own bikes today because

the trip would be up the hillside forest

and down into the valley

and that would be too long to make sure

everybody was there dad called out names

like a roll call

which was a little silly because katie

was right behind him and orbee was right

behind mom

but off they went dad brought his camera

along because

they were sure to see some interesting

things in the forest

orbee wondered if they would find a

flying saucer

nestled in the trees katie wondered if

they would see a baby deer

sleeping under a branch dad wondered if

he could find a perfect place for a

family picture

and mom just wanted to be in the

luscious green forest

[Music]

as the family traveled along the bike

path they didn't quite see a little

rabbit that came out to look at the

forest visitors

and when orbee was looking up in the

trees for a spacecraft

he missed a toad that hopped across the

bike path

but when they rode up the hilly path

they all saw hundreds of green trees

about halfway up a great big hill dad

stopped and pulled

over he told them that mom needed a

break

but mom suspected that it really was dad

who needed the break

and as they sat under a ceiling of green

leaves dad whispered

that they were actually in nature's

house

and therefore had to show good manners

orbee wondered what good manners they

needed to use that explained that

nature liked things quiet nature like

people to leave things where she put

them

katie asked if nature liked anything

else

mom told her that most of all nature

wanted them to

feel how special its home could be and

to be welcome in it

orbee burbled that the forest made him

feel like running and touching things

like trees and flowers

dad smiled there was no harm in doing

that

as long as it was done carefully with

that orbeez

up and ran through the tall grass

katie found a fat tree and threw her

arms around it

dad told her that when a tree trunk was

fed it meant the tree was old

orbee climbed up two or three branches

and scanned the forest

for spacecraft he didn't see any

katie didn't see any forest creatures

until she stood

very still hugging the tree

then she saw a little squirrel in the

very same tree

it was looking down at her she was sure

he loved the tree too because

he seemed to be smiling at her orbee saw

some birds lift off from the top of the

trees and

fly to another

dad mentioned that maybe there were

hundreds of living creatures watching

them at that very

moment

[Music]

katie and orbee looked around they could

only see the squirrel and the birds

and then katie saw something move in the

bushes

a little bit far away and she whispered

to mom and dad

when dad looked it ran away it was

orangy red

and had a bushy tail dad told them

it was a fox everyone was delighted

then dad said that mom looked rested

enough and it was time to go on

mom kissed the head's cheek and told him

that the only person he was fooling was

himself

at the top of the hill the whole family

looked out over a

beautiful view of the valley the leaves

blew in the wind as the sunlight

sparkled off them

katie was sure the valley was the

perfect place for wild animals

and as they moved on they remembered to

be

very quiet

as they swept down into the valley dad

saw an unbelievable thing and stopped

his bite

katie climbed off as she heard dad ask

if anyone knew if there was a circus in

town

orbee cartwheeled off mom's bike to see

what katie and dad were looking at

in a patch of forest there was a knoll

which means a little mound covered in

grass it was pretty but

what was beside it was astonishing it

was

an elephant an actual

huge elephant standing ever so still

bad signaled to them to follow him and

slowly and quietly they all

sneaked closer and closer the elephant

had a huge head

and a round back he even had a tiny tail

and it was the tail

that gave the elephant away they had

started laughing

and when katie realized what it was she

started laughing too

and so did orbee and mom as they came up

behind them

it wasn't a real elephant it was a huge

rock

growing out of the ground that really

looked like once

in a flash orbee was up on the top of it

burbling that he was riding an elephant

and

then katie climbed up too and dad

realized he'd found exactly what he was

looking for

the elephant rock was a perfect place

for a picture

[Music]

mom katie and orbee waited on the rock

while dad set the camera's timer

he placed it on a low branch of a nearby

tree and leapt up onto the elephant's

back

just as the camera clicked and took

their picture

they had a lunch on the elephant rock

and played a while before heading for

home

orbee never did see a spacecraft and

katie never saw a baby deer

but when the photos were developed i

have to tell you

that one picture actually showed a

curious deer

peeking out from a bush there was also a

very shiny thing sparkling in the corner

mom and dad thought it was probably the

sunshine

glistening through the leaves but orbee

was pretty convinced that it was

a spacecraft whatever it was the whole

family

had the most perfect day on the forest

bike path

and i hope that one day you and your

family will get a chance to try out a

bike path near you

if you do watch carefully you might just

find a rock shaped like an elephant

or some other wild animal then maybe

you can take a family picture just like

katie and orbee

did you know did you know did you know

did you know there are

all sorts of different beds people sleep

on

there's even a bed that is hung between

two trees

it's called a hammock people sleep in

all kinds of beds

but everybody sounds pretty much the

same when they snore

[Music]

[Music]

it had been a busy day katie discovered

that when you're preparing for a picnic

it's hard to remember all the things you

need or we found out that when you bring

up games from the basement

it's important to decide how many you

can carry before you climb the stairs

there was great excitement at their

house this was the day of the

neighborhood picnic micah was visiting

and would come to the picnic as their

guest

all the plans for the picnic were kept

very very secret

no one knew what food the others were

bringing to it

the children in each family had to make

a picnic dish all by themselves

well parents could help of course there

were giggles and whispers

all week the whole neighborhood was

excited

katie and orbee with micah's help made

jelly dessert squares

mom made the jelly then katie orbee and

micah cut it into squares with their

plastic knives

[Music]

some of the squares weren't exactly

straight especially orbeez and

he was a little worried the katie told

him that the picnic was

all about having fun nobody would care

if any of the squares were a little

crooked

micah put his arm on orbee's shoulder

and told him he liked orbeez square's

best

morby smiled he felt much better

the three friends put the jelly dessert

and the spoons and paper bowls and

napkins in the basket

after their sunscreen rub down they were

all ready

micah and katie lugged the picnic basket

to the park orbee carried the umbrella

and mom and dad carried all the things

that they would need for their game

the playground was decorated with

ribbons and balloons

each family had a space for their game

now you had to play each game at least

once when the games were all finished

the whole neighborhood would have a

picnic clutch together

most of katie and orbeez friends were

there early in the morning setting up

their areas

the friends raced from one area to

another to see what game there would be

at the picnic

yi ping's family had set up a face

painting studio

you could be made up to look like a

chinese dragon or anything else that

you'd want

and these family organized a beanbag

toss through the mouth of a great big

clown face

tom had a tickle tunnel everybody had to

crawl through it

if he could reach you he'd tickle you

[Music]

katie and orbeez family set up a

fortune-telling game

mom dressed up as a gypsy and she would

tell everybody's fortune

dad dressed up with a great big mustache

and would lift everybody up in the air

to guess their weight

mrs perette had a spin painting game

you could drop some paint on a piece of

white cardboard

and she'd spin it around the paint would

make some lovely patterns on the paper

and you could take them home

bryn and phoebe's dad was a photographer

and he would take pictures of everybody

with their friends

he had a whole bunch of costumes for the

friends to dress up in for the pictures

it was clear to everybody that the

picnic was going to be a great deal of

fun

you could see the games but the food was

kept a secret

no one knew what anyone else had

prepared

when mrs peret rang the bell the picnic

officially began katie and orbee looked

at each other and just didn't know where

to start

with all kinds of hoops and hollers the

kids raced to the game

yi ping was the first through the tickle

tunnel

and her lap made everyone else start

laughing

andy had his face painted like a fierce

dragon and

it made him feel very brave and strong

[Music]

katie thought he looked excellent

brynn found out that she was going to

become a very important person

and do something amazing with the rest

of her life

phoebe fooled dad by weighing five

pounds more than he thought

micah dressed up as a jazzy drummer in a

speckled jacket and

was the first one to have his silly

picture taken

katie did the very first spin painting

of all

it was absolutely beautiful

and orbee threw three bean bags through

the clown's mouth

[Music]

as soon as one friend finished something

they would tell the others how much fun

they had

and race off to try another i think

everyone parents included

had a terrific morning it had been a few

hours but it seemed like minutes

when the lunch bell finally rang

it was time to bring your lunch to the

table

everybody hurried over to their picnic

baskets to uncover their food

katie very carefully carried the big

container of jelly squares

micah brought the spoons and orbee

carried the bulls and napkins

as it happened all the friends

approached the table

at the same time and placed their picnic

treats on it with great delight

as the friends looked around from one

dish to the other

there was silence and then in the second

there was a roar of laughter

the parents and tom hurried over to see

what was so funny

on the picnic table in various bowls and

in

several different colors and shapes were

all

kinds of jelly desserts and nothing else

with no no sandwiches or hot dogs no

fruit

or vegetables or cookies or cakes just

jelly desserts

you can hear the laughter in the next

neighborhood there was so much

dad picked up a bowl and a spoon and

looked at all the jelly

he told the friends it was a good thing

that they all loved jelly dessert

and with that suddenly bowls and spoons

disappeared

as everyone helped themselves

[Music]

at the end of the day the neighbors all

agreed that it had been one of the best

neighborhood picnics ever

it would be called the jelly year

so they would remember it

and i hope if you ever have a

neighborhood picnic

you'll remember the jelly year

and have as much fun as katie and orbee

did

i just know you will because

you are a terrifically fun person

to be with

did you know did you know did you know

did you know that learning about your

family tree

can be loads of fun that's called

genealogy

that means finding out all about your

parents

and their parents and their parents and

their parents and

their parents and their parents