Great American Backyard Campout

(Um, that's what it's called, Jellybean Mama! he he)

So I wasn't sure how into this we were going to get.  I still hadn't actually, you know, FOUND the tent in all the crap in the basement.  I still hadn't actually, you know ORDERED the anti-mosquito stuff I saw in an expensive catalog.  I wasn't planning to, you know SLEEP OUTSIDE WITH A TWO YEAR OLD.  Right?

Or was I?  Because you know, I was actually looking forward to this.

I used to camp all the time.  With a dog.  We camped in the cold (okay, so one night we slept in the car with the heater on), in storms (okay one night we slept in the car since I thought the rubber tires would protect us from lightning).

But a toddler?

MY toddler?

My toddler whose favorite things are (1) yelling "no", (2) yelling "mine", (3) throwing herself to the floor in a fit, and (4) NOT SLEEPING? 

Well, hell, what's the difference between not sleeping inside and not sleeping outside?

So the day of, I located the tent, dragged it out, and waited until she was napping to put it up.

And I will admit taking a very LONG moment to soak up the atmosphere from this spot right here.  Breeze, sun, tent.  It really does make everything right with the world.

With the tent hidden from view by the back door blinds, we ran to the grocery for cookout stuff, and then back at home I unveiled The Tent.

Which, if you come by, has to be called a "tunnel", just so you know.

She loved it.  She laughed when she saw it.  Out loud.  Then she called it a tunnel.  I tried talking about "the tent" but got "TUNNEL" yelled in my face, so we didn't call it anything after that.

Tent Self-Portrait!

Oh, I so regret showing her how to zip/unzip the door

Grandparents and family friends came so she got to show them.

We ate meat, a rare occurence around here.

Mmmm, cheddarwurst boiled in Honey Nut Brown Ale then grilled.

Despite Deep Woods OFF, we still got mosquito bites.  By then she was ready to call it a night - inside.

But not before posing/mugging on the sleeping bag.

So we got all the fun and benefits of a campout - good friends, good food, adult beverages - but then we got to sleep in comfy beds indoors.

Hey, we're doing this in stages, leave me alone :)