Camping

Today we had our first camp out! Emily couldn't stop talking about going camping since this morning, "Daddy, this is how you go camping: FIRST you put the tent up, THEN you eat dinner - you know, hot dogs, NEXT you eat marshmallows. THEN you go to sleep!" So I finally had a good excuse to go to REI and buy a tent!

Once the girls and I returned from our tent buying mission, we cooked corndogs and green beans, then we gathered all the requisite equipment for a good campnight - sleeping bag, pillows, stuffed animal, sparkle boots, scarf, and water bottle.

As soon as we got outside with our corndogs and beans around 7:00pm, she wanted to know where we could build the fire. As I thought about lighting up the grill, I explained to her that SF doesn't want people to make fires in their backyards.

While Emily ate her corndog on the steps, I set up the tent. She was amazed at how it transformed from a bag of material to a giant orange and silver tent complete with windows and zippers!

We quickly went inside (much to the chagrin of the mosquitos) and energetically finished the corndogs. She couldn't stop bopping around asking about every zipper, every pocket, and every bit of material. So much fun!

We made it to 8:00pm. She's now sleeping cozily in her bed.

The good news is that it took me only 3 minutes to take down and pack up the tent. Nice work, REI. :)