When you have made reservations to camp at one of your local state parks and the weather forecast comes in saying 70% chance of rain one day and 80% chance of rain the next, you panic.
Then you get creative. You’ve promised your kids that you are going to camp this weekend. You must not let the young ones down.
First you need to set up a tent in the attic. Make sure your kids bring up everything they own to put in said tent:
Get the obligatory happy camper shot before things begin to fall apart:
Then you proceed to make hoboes* the way you would for cooking over an open fire. Turn on your oven to 375 and pop those packets in there for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile gather all other things needed to consume said hoboes in the attic: plates, forks, cups with ice, drinks. When the hoboes are done, stack them precariously on top of that whole pile of paper products. Make sure one of the packets opens just enough to spill the meat juice down the front of your sweatshirt. Proceed up two flights of stairs.
Eat the hoboes. Wait for the children to not really eat theirs. Finish off theirs. Then break out the s’more supplies.
At this point you should need no explanation. Any self-respecting camper knows what to do next. Even non-self-respecting campers know what to do here:
You should also already know what to do here:
When indoor camping, it is just as important, if not more so, to be on the lookout for signs of wildlife. If you aren’t careful, these critters will eat all your popcorn when you aren’t looking. They will then throw up on the trail (ie: your stairs).
The next morning, look out your window and thank your lucky stars you made the decision to stay home because of the rain. Because it would be so miserable to be out there on a day like this:
And that’s all there is to it! For more tips on how to have the best vacation ever, go Google somebody else. We obviously don’t know.
PS: The weather forecast for today is now only 40% instead of the predicted 80%. I don’t know – it looks pretty sunny to me. Looks nice enough to go camping.
(Though all this may be true, our kids really are having a great time in the attic and Craig is making good progress on his paper. I have yet to do anything productive today. I will do that soon.)
Half-Pint House 
*Hoboes – An easy to make camp-style dinner. Our version is made out of ground beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, and a whole lot of Riley’s seasoning.
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Can’t stop laughing!
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Funny!
That’s one rockin’ attic! I just cleaned our our tiny attic under the eaves to make more room for storage.
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I love your green shoes — where’d you find those?
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nice, love the smores by candle-light
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I’m sure you created a memory. 🙂
Love the popcorn puke on the trail… he didn’t get wrapped up in the tent, did he?
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No, we still have three cats in this house who are very very much still alive.
Sigh.
I mean, of course that’s a good thing. Of course!
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When your girls are all grown-up and come home with their families to visit you, they’ll be telling their kids this story and laughing together. These are the things memories are made of.
BTW, I give you the “Punter of the Year Award” for a stepping back and punting when you thought it was going to rain. Very imaginative — love the tent.
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Oh my goodness, you are SO creative. And the fact that you have an attic empty enough to camp out in makes you a domestic goddess, in my opinion. You win Mom of the Year!
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Oh. My. Word. Lindsey Kate, your comment made me actually laugh out loud. I have NEVER been accused of domestic goddessness. Not once.
And, ahem, all one’s normal attic clutter resides in our yucky basement. *giggle*
One day we hope to get the attic finished into a great big bedroom for two girls and another full bathroom (we currently have one full bathroom and one tiny half-bath downstairs, emphasis on tiny).
Some day…hopefully while the girls are still living with us.
And Nanci – all the kuddos go to Craig, who made the call to not camp in what is now absolute perfect camping weather, but also because he set the tent up upstairs and today he set the other tent up in the non-rainy backyard so the girls had two campsites.
Also so the two of us could get some writing done today. *grin*
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