We did it.
We spent a night in the tent.
Our own tent.
Our friends the Bawdens talked us in to camping this year on our annual trip to Bear Lake. After our last camping adventure (which was also the Sutherlands' first camping adventure), we decided we were up for the challenge of facing the great outdoors again.
And we even bought our own gear.
Last summer, when we went on the ward campout, the Bawdens let us borrow everything we needed. I mean, everything. The tent, the sleeping bags, the air mattresses. It was so incredibly kind of them.
There was just one thing that was a little off.
As we set up the tent, I noticed a bit of a smell. But no biggie. I figured it would probably go away once we unzipped the windows and let in a little air.
But it didn't. Instead, it clung to the tent and everything that was in it — including its inhabitants. When we got home, our bags smelled like the smell, our clothes smelled like the smell, our toothbrushes smelled like the smell.
Again, no biggie. We washed the bags and the clothes and ourselves. We threw the toothbrushes away.
But I didn't want to give the tent back to the Bawdens smelling the way it did. (And I certaintly didn't want them to think that we were the cause of the smell.) So when we got back home, I set the tent up again and let it air out for another day.
When I returned it to Brett and Janeen, I thanked them profusely for their kindness and they asked how everything went.
"All of the gear was great...there was just one small thing. Uh, it kinda had a smell. I tried to air it out and everything, but it still smells a bit unpleasant."
They both looked at me and laughed.
"We tried to air it out before we gave it to you," Brett said. "When we got it out of the garage, we opened it up to make sure everything was in there before we gave it to you. Everything was in there — plus something extra."
[Long pause.]
"A dirty diaper."
"It had been in there for a year since we last used the tent."
"Two years," Janeen corrected. "It's been two years since we last the used the tent."
"Sorry about the smell," Brett said.
--
Smells aside, we figured with Curtis in Scouts and Tate soon to be, it was probably time to have our own camping gear.
And what better place to debut that gear than Bear Lake?
Eating dinner by the fire.
Playing cornhole.
Roasting marshmallows.
And, most importantly, debuting the new floppy hat I bought at the Army Navy surplus store. I'm so outdoorsy.
Unfortunately, the evening wind turned into morning rain. But after breakfast, the skies cleared up long enough for to get on the water.
Between bouts of rain and lots of lightning and thunder, the kids had some fun floating on the lake.
And the grownups did some kayaking.
The Bawdens were a little better at sea navigation than we were. But they didn't have to pull a Curtis behind them.
We built some sandcastles and one sand mermaid.
However, despite our best efforts to wish it away, the rain just wouldn't leave. So we decided to pack up early and head back home.
But not before getting a raspberry shake on the way out of town.
We spent the night in our own tent.
And survived.
And even had a good time doing it.
We're officially camping people.
