Backyard camping

Elsa has been asking about camping for maybe a year now, so when Joel read to her about the "Great American Camp Out" in her Ranger Rick magazine, her reaction (a very emotional expression that THIS was IT!  It was time, FINALLY!) convinced us that we should give her the as much of a backyard camping experience as we could muster at this point.  It went really well!

We made a "campfire" in our grill:

We set up our play house "tent" in the very back or the yard, and Tabitha took it upon herself to inspect and guard it from any unwanted visitors:

Only Joel and Elsa actually slept out; Nora was happy to have a special night to sleep with mommy inside. She enjoyed helped them set up for their adventure and made sure Elsa had all the necessary items (pooh-bear, a big pile of books, flashlights and lantern, snacks, etc.):

They loved counting the stars as night fell, but interest in the stars was soon lost to the fun of roasting marshmallows:

This was their first experience with s'mores.  Once they understood why we called them s'mores they giggled like crazy every time they asked for "s'more, please!"

Elsa said she and daddy stayed up "past midnight" reading by flashlight.  She was so happy to try camping finally, even our makeshift-back-yard version!