The Day We Went Driveway Camping

My girls have been begging all summer to go camping.  They loving sleeping in a tent and enjoying the great outdoors.  They also love their great-uncle’s trailer and always ask if we could camp in that sometime.  During our Utah visits it seems like there is never enough time to do everything we would like to do.  So this summer, we decided that by simplifying the concept of camping, we could make it happen.

Uncle Russell went out of town for work which left my 90 year old grandma home alone.  We used that as our excuse to descend upon her and give her “The Hansen Experience.”  We picked her up and went out to eat at a fine establishment – it wasn’t fancy but it included a fish sandwich combo for grandma and a play land for the girls, so everyone was happy.  They were so happy we stayed for almost 2 hours and had some ice cream just to complete the experience.  

Then we headed back to great-grandma’s house for some driveway camping fun.  The girls played with all the gadgets in the trailer, including grandma’s cane.

Next, there was a fun game of Trouble, which great-grandma concluded with a decisive victory. I still can’t keep up with her and she is 90 years old. 

 

The girls loved getting ready for bed in the “camping” bathroom and took turns playing Katelyn’s DSi in the Master bedroom. 

They decided they would sleep on the big bed and I could take the couch bed.  Eventually they went to sleep and I enjoyed a peaceful night of reading but the funniest part of the night was yet to come.

Brooke woke up about 1:00 a.m. crying so I quickly grabbed her and put her in bed with me so she wouldn’t wake up Katelyn.  Then at 3:00 a.m. I heard Katelyn wake up and start moving around.  This is what happened next:

Katelyn: [the sound of frantic patting all over the bed followed by a terrified gasp] “Mom!  Brooke’s gone!”

Ashley: [one of those mom moments where you have to decide if you should do the right thing, or the funny thing.  I was afraid she would have a heart-attack if  pretended Brooke was missing, so I said] “She’s down here with me honey.”

Katelyn: “Oh,  ok” [snoring starts instantly]

That was enough action to wake Brooke up and then she proceeded to talk about our trip to Lagoon for about an hour. 

We were a little sleepy the next day but the girls didn’t seem to notice - they were too busy enjoying breakfast in the trailer.  Katelyn said it was the “best camping trip ever!”  Brooke kept telling us “I love the trailer!”  They are already planning their camping trip for next summer.  I see a tradition in the making.  Imagine how much fun they will have if we actually go camping.