It was definitely camping.
It wasn't much of a "trip"...
Last year for Christmas, we got a lot of camping supplies since we moved from NYC and could finally go camping again. Jonathon is a big camper, so we were excited to try it all out this summer. Unfortunately, this summer has been insanely busy, and we never got a chance to get away for the weekend. We were also nervous about how the boys would respond to the new situation. They are creatures of habit, and we knew it could be a major fight.
We decided that since school is about to start, and summer is quickly fading, we had better do something soon. We told the boys that we would go camping in our backyard on Friday night. We talked it up all week in hopes that they would be excited.
They were definitely excited!
They were excited throughout the barbecued hot dog picnic.
They were excited finding sticks to roast s'mores.
They were excited while making an ooey, gooey mess with their marshmallows.
They were even excited while setting up the tent.
That is when it all started to go downhill...
Both Andrew and Christian were freaked out to get into their sleeping bags. They love to play with them, but the thought of sleeping in them threw them both into a tizzy. So much so that Andrew kicked his all the way to the bottom of the tent and refused to even sleep near it. Then Christian got really antsy and kept complaining about wanting to go sleep in his bed. We got some good quotes out of the kid:
"I can't sleep here. It is a weird texture. The texture of my bed is different, so my body is telling me that this is the wrong place to sleep."
"I only try new things when they are super-duper cool, and camping is NOT super-duper cool!"
After about an hour of fighting him to calm down and go to bed, he finally dozed off. Andrew fell asleep pretty easily, but at about 2:30 AM, he woke up and started walking around. He played with his flashlight, talked to Jonathon, and did everything but lay down. Finally, Jonathon got him back to sleep, but not before I thought (and said aloud), "Is this really worth it?"
When morning finally came, the boys were happy as clams. They claimed they LOVED camping and wanted to do it again tonight. Grumpy mommy with an aching back and only two hours of sleep said, "No Way... well at least not for a while." I am glad that they survived the night in the tent and were able to have a positive experience in the end.
Maybe we will have to try it for real in the near future, but only if I can find a nice air mattress. :)
Making S'mores
4 comments:
You have a way of putting things that makes it fun to read. Besides the fact that the quotes from a certain little boy make me laugh. Talking about the texture?
we went "camping" as well Friday night at my parents house. THe idea was to sleep under the stars on the trampoline. Jared refused, so we set up the tent for him and Nora. Nora decided to sleep on the tramp...in the middle of the night. We also learned that tramp sleeping is for the young...not the young at heart. At about 1 the wind picked up to the point that Jared though his tent was falling in on him. Needless to say the night was AWESOME!
Ahhh Memories!
Next time I want an air Mattress as well!
We've been taking Carston camping since he was an infant. But one thing we've learned is that camping is more comfortable with blankets than with sleeping bags (for us, not just the kids). So we actually camp with blankets, and that way the boys feel more "at home" in the tent. Also, until they're the age of 2+ we have them sleep in a Pack n Play, that way even if they wake up in the middle of the night, they can't go anywhere. It's great. You should try it again (perhaps with an air mattress).
Okay I read this to my roommates and we all laughed. You have the cutest family. I love reading about all your adventures. :)
Post a Comment