The Camping Trip that Wasn't

We thought it would be great fun to take the girls up to Table Rock to stay in one of those little humble state park cabins for the weekend. We called to make reservations and unfortunately, they were all booked up for several months...go figure.

Then Will suggested we try someplace closer to home and just stay in our tent. We pulled our camping gear down from the attic and set the tent up in the den. I was a little hesitant about all four of us sleeping in a 2-man tent, but, why not? What is the worst thing that could happen? We just might not get any sleep for a night.

We decided on Dreher Island and I called Friday morning to reserve a camp site. After four (yes 4!) dropped calls, I finally was able to speak to someone who could help us. But when she asked me for my credit card, I suddenly couldn't find my wallet. I was still in my nightgown, curlers in my hair, frantically running around the house and out to my car while holding a wailing Caroline looking for my wallet. (I find myself continuously looking for the hidden camera that must be following me around now that I have two children. I mean really, we'd make a great reality show right now). I finally asked her if I could just call her back. As soon as I hung up the phone I realized THIS TRIP IS NOT MEANT TO BE.

I called Will to tell him what had happened and that I thought it was a sign that we weren't suppose to go. We both agreed that it would probably be best to have a test run in our backyard anyways because I had a feeling somebody might panic when the sun went down and she was expected to sleep in the tent.

All I can say is THANK GOODNESS I FOLLOWED MY INTUITION!

This is the story our very first family camping trip. ;)

All started out well! She kept telling us how she was camping and going to sleep in a tent!

Not quite sure what to think, but things are still looking optimistic...

We grilled up some steaks and enjoyed a picnic dinner outside.

After dinner, we thought we'd try sitting in the tent before we changed into our pj's and pulled out the sleeping bags.

We were good for about 3 minutes, but once it was totally dark outside, she began to get nervous. She kept looking out of the tent windows and started saying, "Daddy, I tait see me house, Daddy!"

This kept on for a couple of minutes more until it resulted in a full blown freak out!

Just look at that face! It looks like we had our very own Blair Witch Project right here in the back yard.

Now what kind of mother would continue to take pictures?? I know, I'm horrible! Bless her heart, it was so funny I almost wet my pants. Needless to say, this concluded our first attempt to camp out.