When we were at the lake last weekend, Ava asked about the tent campers. She thought camping sounded like a good time, so we packed up the girls, two coolers and a tent and headed to the nearby park on Saturday.
Bryan had quite a bit of help pitching the tent.
After we set up camp, we headed down to the beach.
Tom, who was biking around the lake Saturday afternoon, joined us that evening.
We roasted hot dogs for dinner, and Ava made S’mores for dessert.
That’s pretty much where the sweetness ends…
By 10:30 that night, we realized that it was going to be quite a challenge to get everyone to sleep in an 7 x 8 foot enclosure. Olivia will only sleep in her crib (see the very rare exception in the post below), and she has to be laid down awake for the most part. Even a couple late-night stroller rides couldn’t cajole her into relaxing.
And Ava, who never sleeps regardless of the circumstances, was equally challenging. I finally threatened to pull the plug on the trip and take everyone back to our house. Surprisingly, Ava—who was the champion of the entire trip—wailed, “I want to go home!”
So, in the complete darkness, we packed up the campsite, put out the fire and drove home. I realized it took longer to get ready for the trip than it actually lasted.
And, despite going to bed around midnight, both girls were wide awake at 6:45 the next morning.
It’s a charmed life we lead.
Smith Family Weblog 
Posted by Double L on June 1, 2009 at 3:28 pm
It sounds like the perfect camping trip to me. All the fun of the beach and a cook-out without having to sleep on hard ground or having to use vaulted toilets.
Posted by Nicky on June 2, 2009 at 8:12 am
We took Colin camping last year, around his 1-year birthday. We actually brought the pack-n-play and set it up in the tent. Colin slept, but it was very crowded for Patrick and I that night. We haven’t tried camping yet this summer, but the pack-n-play is not a good option 🙂 Sorry to hear things didn’t go so well, maybe next year!