They did it!

It's not their first tent, you know. We've had a few, but over the years they've been wind blown, ripped up, worn and tattered - so, the boys have been begging for one lately. Yesterday, you would have thought I was nuts if you were following me around. Driving from Walmart, to Dick's, to Lowe's, Big Lots, Ace Hardware and, finally, Aubuchon's, left me worn right out. Seriously, I told them at Lowe's, while we were getting out of the car that if THEY didn't have any there, we were not going anywhere else.

I am SO not disciplined with myself or my mouth. We did go other places. Hey, we had to drive by them anyway, kind of, well...not really, but we did.



So, the boys set up the tent all by themselves after dinner last night. They piled in the blankets and pillows shortly after {because, NO, we do not own sleeping bags}. I could hear them giggling and screaming, riding their bikes in the dark out in the back yard, running around and then back into the tent throughout the hours before midnight.

It slowly became quieter and quieter each time I put my ear to the window. I told them that I wouldn't go to bed until I knew they were all asleep. I headed up stairs when my middle one was the last to drift off. Quietly hollering out to him, he confirming that all were out except him. I went up to bed. It wasn't until well after 2 a.m. before my own eyes would close, just to be sure that he fell asleep, too. It was easier than I thought it would be, all the way around. I made the doggy girl stay out with them through the night, just in case they had need for a good, trusty, guard dog :)



Much after 9 a.m. this morning, I peeked out at the tent and saw it's walls shifting a little. They were up and all three, plus one {their buddy from next door stayed the night, too} made it all night in that tent. AMAZED. Our neighbor was surprised, too, that his grandson didn't go back at some point in the dark - but he didn't.



YAY, boys! They did better than I did when I was their age. I had a tent and loved spending time in it, but I recall my girlfriend and I trying to sleep in it through the night one night. All I really remember is feeling like it was VERY late and the both of us heading into our own homes, ready for our own beds.