Sunday, August 1, 2010

Big night


Last night the kids slept in a tent for the first time.  At the end of August we are camping in Acadia National Park for a week and seeing that this is the first time the kids will be camping, we decided we needed a few test runs. 

They did great.  Just the two of them slept in the tent together because it was our tent before we had children and is too small for 4, tight for 3.  And well, neither of us were all that excited about squeezing in there.  Matt and the dog slept on the porch to be close by.

The kids got ready for bed in the house, we read stories together in the tent, tucked them in, and then did chores while they fell asleep.  I was expecting giggling and horsing around and/or some "mom, I am scared" but there was none of that.  Tristan fell asleep almost immediately, Abigail took a bit longer but with no problems.  I think it helps that they share a room and sleep next to each other every night.  There was no novelty in snuggling next to each other. 

I loved watching Tristan's eyes as we were reading stories and it was getting darker outside.  He just kept looking from side to side like he wasn't quite expecting the darkness.  We kept the rain fly off until after they fell asleep so they could see the stars.  Matt had also lit the tikki torches on the back porch and put on the uplight in the yard so they could see the familiar surroundings even though it was dark.

There was a 2 am wet bed that we had to clean up and then I (lucky me!) spent the rest of the night in the tent with them but they went right back to sleep.  It is 7:23 am and they are still sleeping!  That doesn't always happen even when they sleep in their own bed.

First test?  Success!

peace

2 comments:

Riggs said...

Woohoo! No boogieman or racoon attacks on the first night camping! All good.

Sara said...

Actually, we have been hearing reports of rabid coyotes in the area which is one reason Matt and the dog slept on the porch. Country life is grand!
peace