Camp Out

So Lisa has made me a contributor to this blog. I think that is code for, "If you want this blog updated, do it yourself." So here goes...

Isabella has had this fascination of sorts with camping and sleeping bags. Who knows where she got it since we're not an outdoorsy type of family. On their last trip out to Colorado, Lisa's folks brought the tent Lisa used in college that they had been storing at their house. It has been set up in the basement for a while, and I told Isabella that we could sleep in it one night. Indoors, in the basement, running water, climate controlled, etc.

Labor day weekend rolled around so I decided Sunday night would be a good night since I didn't have to go to work the next day. Isabella got Lisa's sleeping bag and I got several blankets from throughout the house (mostly for padding). We brushed our teeth, grabbed the flashlight, picked out a book, got her Bible, and headed downstairs. Lisa took these pictures of the camp out.

We closed up the tent and turned on the flashlight and made shadow puppets. Then I decided it was time for bed. I had stalled long enough, but it was about 8:30. Late for her bedtime, but early for mine. Just part of this project I guess. We read her book and her Bible with the flashlight, I prayed, and then we laid down to sleep.

Isabella heard EVERY little noise in the basement: The water running down the pipes, Lisa walking upstairs, the creaking of the joists. She would shoot up from her sleeping bag and pillow and ask, "What was that!?" I'd explain what is was and she'd lay back down.

We had finally settled down, and I thought we were on our way to sleep until I hear, very sweetly I might add, "Dad, this is really cozy, but I was wondering, can we sleep in our own bed?"

Music to the ears of someone who's back was preemptively already starting to hurt, knowing what it would feel like in the morning after laying on the basement floor. But also a little bummed. And maybe even a little annoyed at the work it took to get this project off the ground - all for nothing.

So, we grabbed our pillows and headed upstairs. I tucked her in to her bed for the night. It was still early enough for Lisa and I to watch a movie before we went to sleep. I guess my little city girl isn't as cut out for "camping" as we thought - which is quite alright with this suburban dweller.