our pop-up adventure

We recently purchased a new toy:

And decided to take it for a test run this past weekend.

Here's the inside before we put all our stuff in it:

the left side (where the kids sleep)

the right side (where we sleep)

my "kitchen" in the middle 

Friday night - our first night out.  And yes, this look on my face is one of forced joy.  Let's just say it wasn't the ideal first night... 

The campground we wanted was first come, first serve and we couldn't leave until after Chad's football practice, so by the time we got there it was full.  After driving around forever to a few other campgrounds, we finally found a spot (a spot out in the open, with no trees, but oh well... at least we had a spot).  We only had a tiny bit of sunlight left by the time we got there.  We got the camper set up, the electricity hooked up and then realized that this particular campground didn't have water hookups.  I wasn't expecting that at all, so Chad drove back into town to buy some water.  When he returned, Odie (yes, we brought our dog) desperately needed a walk, so Chad took him out.

Meanwhile, back in the camper, it was getting very cold.  Fortunately, we had a space heater in there so we plugged it in to warm things up.  And since it was too cold to sit outside by a fire, I decided to pop the kids some popcorn and put in a movie to settle them down a little before bed.  But when I plugged in the TV (at the same time the microwave was popping the popcorn - DUMB MOVE), all of the electricity shut off.  Even the heater.  And all the lights, making it pitch black.  My kids don't like pitch black.  So, once we all found each other (which wasn't too hard... I just followed the sounds of their crying), we huddled together in the darkness, trying to stay warm and waited for Daddy, who had the flashlight.  When Chad returned, he looked all around trying to figure out how to get the electricity back on, but couldn't find a thing in the dark.  But we did have an extension cord that we were able to run from the heater to the electric hookup outside so we could at least have some heat.  

So, although you can't tell from the above photo, thanks to the camera flash, we're sitting in darkness (except for the little glow from the flashlight) and I'm worried about the success of this camping trip (and our food in the fridge - which was now in a cooler) if we can't get the electricity back on.

Oh, and just a little side note... if you're ever out camping with your kids and you have to walk a distance to get to the bathrooms, don't put footy jammies on them until after they go to the bathroom.  Let's just say that shoes don't really fit over most footy jammies and it's also really hard to keep unzipped footy jammies from touching the bathroom floor while they're using the toilet.  Just sayin'.

Fortunately, in the morning, Chad figured out how to get our electricity back up and running.  Which made the rest of the camping trip SO much more enjoyable!  

Would you ever be able to tell from all my griping that we used to tent camp quite often?  And we actually worked for a whole summer at a camp where we took high school freshmen on rafting/camping trips (with NO bathrooms or electricity) every week?  Guess I've just gotten spoiled in my old age.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a nice campfire,

made a "garden" in a cup,

played with Odie,

 cooked our own hotdogs over the fire,

played some soccer,

played at the campground park,

enjoyed a warming and comforting dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese,

had good conversations around the fire,

and finally settled in our cozy little camper for a peaceful night of slumber.

(pay no attention to Tate's pink sleeping bag... it's really his sister's).

Sunday morning, we loaded up and headed back home (a whole 8 minutes away).

And Odie had fun being king of the backseat.

So over all, I'd say this camping trip was very successful.  Even after our first night of chaos, it ended up being just what our family needed.  Just a chance to be together, away from everything else for a few days, was heavenly.