Backyard Camping

So, Mark and the big kids camped in the backyard last night.

It's of those summer bucket list things they have been clamoring to do for months, we scheduled it and rescheduled it (rain and work and things kept getting in the way) but had no idea how it would go or even if they would survive all night or if this was going to be the most annoying night of our summer.

But... it was awesome.

(Disclaimer: my experience of backyard camping does not involve actually sleeping in the tent with them. So take my "awesome" with that in mind.)

After dinner last night, we busted out the tent for the first time in years and put it up out behind the pool deck.

We blew up air mattresses and brought them out there. We built a fire pit to have a campfire. (Note: everywhere I just said we you should replace it with Mark but you knew that already, right?)

The kids had never seen a tent before, I don't think. (We have only been camping once since Nathan was born, and we definitely didn't take him.) They were enamored. Once the tent was up, I don't think they stopped grinning til they were asleep.

Since we had no illusions of getting them to go to bed in a tent when it was still light out, we killed some time watching Daniel Tiger (the one where they camp in the backyard, of course, which is where our darling children got the idea in the first place) and then when Charlotte was tucked in, Nathan and Anneliese got to go night swimming and you would think they were swimming with the moon itself in the pool, they were so excited. Exclaiming over everything.

"Mommy said we could stay up SO late, like 8:50 or 9!"

"That campfire smells so good like deeelicious!"

"This is the best day of summer! Swimming twice and book club and camping and OOOOOHHHHH LOOK MOMMY THE POOL IS GLOWING!"

Ha. Yes, sweet children, we do have a pool light. Which apparently you have never been privy to before.

And then when it was dark we made s'mores. Which I don't think Anneliese really liked but she sure tried to like them. (What you can't see in the picture below is that her "special camping" PJs are a pair of Lightning McQueen boys briefs and a hand-me-down Yale shirt.)

And then I retreated to bask in the air conditioning and keep an ear out for Charlotte while Mark and the kids climbed into the tent on one of the hottest muggiest nights in months, and (kind of) slept. I don't think they slept well, and they definitely all collapsed on the couch when they came inside in the morning, but it was enough of a success that we will brave "real" camping in the mountains in a few weeks.

So. Backyard camping. It makes you high on summer and high on your family. RECOMMEND.