Okay, I'm all caught up now, and this is my first "real-time" entry:

We have our tents set up in my parent's yard, trying to get our camping gear all together, in preparation for a camping trip. The kids begged for us to sleep in the tents last night, so we agreed. After reading 8 chapters of The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, and a cup of hot cocoa, we all settled into our sleeping bags.

Pretty soon, Daniel has to go potty. Katie was going to take him into the trailer, but he stood in the door of the tent and "watered the grass" (boys ) So, everybody settles back down, and goes to sleep. Then I wake up to Daniel and Katie, again, up to the bathroom. (Too much hot cocoa before bed!) I also notice that it's awfully chilly.

Pretty soon, Katie has to go to the bathroom. I told her to check the clock while she's in the trailer, so I have some idea how much longer this night is going to last... 2 am... sigh. At this point, Daniel has said "IT'S COLD, I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP OUT HERE ANYMORE!" So, Katie is zipping her sleeping bag together with Daniel's, and she snuggles him in, with her, which will help them keep warm. So, I'm WIDE AWAKE... I came in the house to find hats. Unfortunately, they are all packed away. So, in a moment of desperation, I grabbed four pair of David & Daniel's pajama pants, tied the legs together in a knot, and went out and stuck them on the kids heads, telling them "a hat will help keep you warm." David figures out pretty quick what I've done, and tosses his "hat" but the others are all asleep. They'll hate me in the morning.

I lay there freezing for another hour or so (realize that I'm sleeping layered in silky long johns & sweats, tucked inside a sleeping bag that is rated for 40 degrees) Oh, and the one thing I've failed to mention, is that living in the mountains in Virginia, there is no such thing as a flat spot, so my parent's yard is very sloped, and our tent is set up on a hill. Mike figured it would be okay, since our heads were higher than our feet. NOT! My back and neck are aching from the constant battle to keep from sliding down the hill. I've finally decided that I have a nice warm trailer 30 feet away. So, now I'm inside, wrapped in my comforter, sipping a cup of tea, with the heat on, while my family is sleeping out in the cold. (Oh, by they way, the official weather channel temperature for our location is 42 degrees right now.) Of course,our bed is buried with all the junk that was in the closet in front of the camping gear, so I can't sleep on the bed, so I'll "rough it" on the sofa the rest of the night!