BREAKING IN THE NEW TENT

Well, we are in Kansas. Weather radio going off again. Bad weather again. It is OPPRESSIVE outside. We've run the air conditioner all day today.

We are going to the carp tournament in 2 weeks and are camping out at the lake. Bought a new tent. A big tent. As Daniel calls it, our 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo with an upstairs. Nae and Daniel set up the tent yesterday. We spent the night in the new tent-- Nae, Grace and moi. We had 2 cots, a rollaway bed, that round outdoor couch that will sleep 2, a single blow-up mattress and Daniel wanted to put the love seat in there, but Nae drew the line on that one. Daniel was trying to figure out how to get a porta potty hooked to the sewer system. We still had room for stuff. We are gooooood.

We took the rain top off the side Grace and I were on so we could see the stars because, as everybody knows, there are no stars in Birmingham. It was good and cool last night. Admired the stars until we conked out. Not supposed to rain at all.

YEAH RIGHT. About 2:30 this morning the sky fell in and POURED water on me and Grace. Nae left her side of the rain top on, guess she's seen the stars before. I'm dead asleep and can't figure out why I'm all of a sudden drowning and then I hear Grace say "is that on my face." I'm yelling RAIN. Nae gets up, races outside the tent barefoot and has to run from the back to the front of the tent several times to get the rain cover on. And THEN it started lightning. My eyes are still trying to focus what with being sound asleep and now drenched and I'm still trying to find my shoes which, by the way, had migrated to underneath Grace's cot. And then Grace realizes it is raining on her and turns on her flashlight/spotlight IN MY FACE, blinding me, because she is trying to round us all up and is hunting Renae, because she doesn't think it possible that Renae could have already gotten up and out of the tent and she could obviously see me since she has me all lit up. After Nae got the rain top on the tent it started lightning and by this time Daniel is on the back porch making sure these three old ladies are okay and since we are all soaked to the bone and there is lightning it didn't take us long to realize we needed to go inside the house.

Yep, I think we are ready to go camping next weekend. Can't wait to see what we can do with a camp stove.