Camping and Dancing Ladies

Our first family camping trip. You were keen on the idea: playing in a tent, going exploring, and, more than anything, getting your first taste of nirvana in the form of a marshmallow.

Overall, it was going really well. You loved cuddling up in your sleeping bag in the tent and reading books; you liked hanging out with the big girls (Sam, Ciara, and Lily); and, as night fell, and the fire was lit, you REALLY liked your marshmallow!

One little oversight on our part: we forgot to explicitly state that camping means that you sleep overnight in your tent. As we wrapped up the nighttime routine and tried to settle down to go to bed, you lost it. Really lost it, repeating an endless mantra -- at top volume -- "I want to go home." You thought we were just having some fun and then were going to go home. Totally unprepared for a night in a tent, you were just not having it.

You finally calmed down with the idea of cuddling up by the fire in your sleeping bag. So that's what we did. You curled up first on your daddy's lap and then on mine -- the only kid still awake with the adults. After chatting for a while, you finally relaxed and just watched the fire which, you decided, was "a dancing lady."

Soothed, and exhausted, we went to bed where you fell asleep peacefully with the flashlight still in your hand.