My kids had a great time when we went camping at Sweetwater Creek two weekends ago. They wanted to do it again, but I had a busy week and no time to get a site and pack everything up again. So I decided to make the most of the weekend and do a backyard camp-out instead. Why sleep inside when you could sleep outside?
My husband had a beautiful patio put in last year. It has a firepit that we have gotten our money’s worth out of for sure. It’s a big hit with the neighborhood kids who are always up for some s’more making. With a tent set up just off the patio and a fire going in the firepit, we had all we needed for some fun family time. This is the stuff happy childhood memories are made of, and it didn’t cost anything more than the marshmallows.
The kids and I and one of our dogs slept in the tent while my husband slept in the house. The husband loves the comforts of his own bed. Well, we were all snoozing away peacefully when, at 5 a.m., I was awoken by the sound of the sprinkler coming on at the top of our yard. I had one thought: “Oh shit.” I had just a few minutes before we would all be soaked. The sprinklers weren’t supposed to come on Saturday morning. Later my husband told me the landscapers had messed with them. Anyway, I had left the rain fly off the tent because I wanted to get a good breeze blowing through. There was a sprinkler head about a foot away from the tent and it was going to come on any minute. Well, it was pitch black and I couldn’t find the zipper to get out of the tent. Once I managed to get out, I went into a pitch black basement looking for the tent bag and the rain fly. Then I ran back out and tried to get the rain fly on. I should have moved the kids out of the tent first, but I was half asleep and not thinking clearly. The rain fly was halfway on when the sprinkler blasted me on the outside of the tent and the kids on the inside. Oh, the weeping and gnashing of teeth, my poor tired children awoken by a blast of cold water!
I managed to get us all inside and into dry jammies and warm beds. Now THAT is the stuff memories are made of…”Hey mom, do you remember that time we were camping in the back yard and the sprinklers came on?”
Simple Southern 