Backyard Campout

The weather last weekend was so beautiful: breezy, warm, sunny...perfect springtime weather.

Except it's January!

That just really bugs me! I live in middle Georgia, where it's nice and wintery for about four weeks and then it's summer all year long. Ugh.

But we decided to make the most of it. Our best friend and fellow camping/hiking enthusiast was in town. Now, this friend is single and childless. So he has all the coolest camping gear and loads of free time to backpack awesome parks in North Georgia (Nah, I'm not jealous in the slightest...)

He set up his hammock and let the older boys play in it. Jack loved it. He's my little chillaxer. He loves to just lay and watch.

After a while, we decided that we were going to camp out that night. I called in to work the next morning. (I love my job and my boss. Such an awesome place! Want to spend the evening and morning with friends and family? Absolutely! See you Monday! Love that.) Our friend showed the boys how to pitch a tent. He has a super lightweight backpacking tent. Very cool. My oldest son is a Tiger Cub right now, so he found this very interesting.

We then set up our big huge recreational tent, and filled it with our "camping gear," which consisted of every pillow and comforter we could find in the house.

Nice set-up, huh?

We got a fire going in our fire pit, using a magnesium fire starter keychain and a cotton ball. That's right. We're ligit! It was a lot of fun. 

Julian started the fire. Jack helped getting going. Good job, boys.

Chipper bringing us some firewood, after he's done playing with it of course.

Watching Harley jump on the trampoline. Such a silly dog.

Ollie hung out, too. He had a blast but was so ready for bed.

Climbing trees with Julian.

We roasted hot dogs for dinner and marshmallows for dessert. The baby went to bed in the house, and the boys went to sleep in the tent fairly quickly after a fun day of backyard exploring and "camping."

The rest of the night was spent lounging by the fire and just hanging out. My husband, our best friend, and me. Such a wonderful night!

Everyone slept well. At one point Jack got up to pee. I watched him as he snuck over to a tree, eyes shooting around the backyard darkness fearfully, then he hustled back into the safety of the tent next to me and his glow stick nightlight.

This was so much fun. A great way to spend time together without spending any money. And a great way to seize the day, which normally would've been a cold, soggy winter's day.