Camp Out

Last week Quinton and I were talking about the next time I spent the night, what we would do. He can be random at times and apparently he was thinking about me sleeping over from earlier in the year. We finalized our plan to have a "Camp Out" themed evening. This included setting up his fold out Incredibles tent in the living room, lying out his bug sleeping bag (thanks Aunt Jodi) while watching a movie, and of course making s'mores. I figured this is what we would do in September while his parents were on a trip, but a last minute one night trip to Chicago made this all come true this weekend!

Q was so excited, from the time I arrived Sunday morning. He was such a good boy and was on his best behavior all day, not wanting to risk having his special night taken away (he knows I stick to my guns). We went all out that evening. First we roasted hot dogs over the open flame of the gas stove. Yes, we actually did this. Kind of crazy, but lots of fun. You may be wondering what we used for sticks . . . well I found some 16" skewers under the sink that I soaked in water for 30-45 minutes before using them. It was perfect. Q wasn't too close to the fire, but was able to reach and cook not only his own hot dog, but mine as well. Along with our hot dogs we had strawberries, green beans and the ever so easy camp side dish of chips! The only thing missing was the smell of burning wood and the bugs. Pretty sure I actually enjoyed not having to contend with either of those things.


After dinner, we ventured to the park a couple blocks from the house so the kids could get some fresh air (perfect temp) and run off some energy. I hate to report that Sloan ended up getting her first bloody nose. She lost her footing on the mulch and as she tried to regain her footing she tripped over my shoe. She did a face plant right on the sidewalk. It sounded and looked worse than it was. Her nose didn't start to bleed until after she stopped crying (maybe lasted a minute). You could hardly see the red mark on her forehead as I put her to bed and by morning no evidence of a fall was visible. Although I wouldn't be surprised if her nose was still sore. Poor baby.

Once we got home, I put Sloan to bed, so Q and I could start the fun. Q brought his tent up form down stairs while I grabbed his pillow and sleeping bag. We got it all set up in the living room before we made s'mores. Q had even more fun roasting the marshmallows than the hot dogs earlier in the night. Maybe it was a anticipation of the sweet gooey fluff in his mouth. Who knows?! Q made my marshmallows as well as him own (2 each, one for the s'more and the other to eat). We ate at the table to keep the carpet and furniture from getting sticky. For a child who hate to have his hands sticky and stuff all over his face he managed to keep his discomfort under control. I had warned him before hand he was going to get extremely messy and sticky and that it wouldn't do any good to wash up until he was finished eating.


To end the evening we watched the movie Lion King while Q laid in his tent. It was probably not the best move for me to bring considering he gets emotional when bad/sad things happen in movies. He was so tired that when Mufasa died at the beginning of the movie, he could not let it go. Q cried off and on throughout the whole movie. Don't get me wrong he'd laugh at the funny parts, but would ultimately end up crying again. Needless to say, we did not finish the movie. He crashed upstairs in his room almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Quinton and I had a great night. We just might have to do this again next time mom and dad are gone :)