Slurping Up the Dregs of Summer

This is where we have been and what we have been doing all week. Sand, cold lake water, freezie pops in day-glo colors, towering pines, mid-afternoon champagne, and evening canoe rides. It was utterly perfect. So perfect we even contemplated how we could just take out a second or third mortgage on our home, then we could apply for all the credit cards we could get our hands on, and finally, when the money ran out, beg the owners of Ludlow's Island to let us stay a little longer if we help out with chores around the island like raking the sand and cleaning the boats...but then we sobered up and realized Beeper had to start kindergarten tomorrow and the cat would starve to death if we did not come back at some point. So, here we are--back in the city. Until next year.

House Camping

This is a little something we did around here a couple of weeks ago: house camping.

It came about because:

1. We love to camp
2. We did not get out camping nearly enough this summer
3. Beeper wanted to go camping but the nights round these here parts in Minnesota in October were a little chilly for camping with the kiddies.

Solution: Camp out in your very own house, of course.

This is how we did it:We made our traditional camping food out on the grill (hotdogs, potato chips, skewered veggies, etc) and ate these on the porch, seated on the floor, by lantern light.
We put up the little hiking tent in the 3-season porch and outfitted it with therma-rests and sleeping bags. We lit a fire in the fireplace and roasted some marshmallows and made s'mores. Then, we went outside and looked at the stars for a bit while we ate our s'mores.

Voila! No hassle, no fuss, minimal mess, and lots 'o instant camping fun in the comfort and safety of your own home. And what's even better: you don't even have to mess with going to the bathroom in the woods.

Beeper loved the tent and we had to keep it up for an extra day so he could continue to play in it--Fort Beeper: Command Central for all Superhero Action Figures and Plastic Dinosaurs.