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| Backyard Camping Tops for Kiddos! |
Yesterday I realized we’d yet to make a decent camping stint
in this summer of ours. Shame on me and
our frenetic summer lifestyle.
It’ll happen.... Patience little-people of mine.
So, to compensate, amid shrieks of delight, we dragged out
the Big-Old Family Presto One Minute Marriage-Saver Tent (see previous blog)
and, WAH-BANG!, one minute later, that baby was up and towering over the
petunias right, smack, in the middle of our backyard.
Almost immediately, my girls began the supply runs. Back and
forth to the house. Piles and piles and loads of THINGS that were clearly VITAL
for a sleepover that night were stuffed, crammed, tossed into the tent.
Upon entering, once they’d “organized Mommy!” and I got the
call for the grand tour, ‘twas as if I’d – blink, blink! – entered a Genie’s
Bottle. There, along with the camping lantern and head lamp, was every single
pink and purple pillow from their bunks, a full picture-book library complete
with shelving for their evening reading pleasure, 200,000 stuffed animals
(including some of the ones I’d weeded out last week and hid under the ping
pong table… grrrr…) shoes for every occasion, the kitchen sink, a full sized
replica of our fireplace and a pet elephant. Well, maybe not the last three –
but the quantity of items tucked inside the mega tent was, well, mega!
Amazing.
As the sun finally went down around 8-ish, and we were
finally able to tuck our little pack-rats and outdoor adventurers into their
cozy, jammed nest, zipping up their sleeping bags, and turning virtually every
outdoor light on full blast (sorry cat-lady neighbor!), we told them NOT scary
stories and zipped their tent flaps up to bed. Little screen open on one side
to let the stars through “and see the outside, Mommy!” They felt comfy, happy,
complete with every single item from the house squished inside their space. A
security blanket of sorts, I suppose.
And then, Zzzzzzzzzzzzz……
Nope.
By 9pm, both girls had moved inside. “The ground is all
lumpy and uncomfortable and ….and……”
No worries. We quickly tucked their fuzzy, tired little
heads into their INSIDE nests (which were a little denuded but we do own an
amazing amount of cr#* so there seemed barely a dent missing) and realized,
later, that, amidst the massive relocation of both camping and other vital items
like pencil sharpeners and hairdryers, we’d forgotten the sleeping mats.
So, tomorrow, yes tomorrow, we will see if we can make it the
whole night or at least to 10pm this time with a little help from their squishy,
little sleeping mats… Or, heck, who are we fooling, we might as well break out
the Queen Sized Auto-Inflatable Ultra Air Mattress. When in Rome… or, ahem, the
Backyard…
Namaste & Three Cheers & Happy Camping! -A
