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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A Craigslist Tent

Before the counselor and I had kids, we did our fair share of camping.  
Since I just keep having babies around here, I don’t do much camping anymore, but Derek loves to camp with the older boys up to the mountains.  All these years, he’s used the same tent.
The tent we used.
The tent built for two.
But now that Chandler and Payson are the height of small adults, we set out to get a new tent.
As a girl who’s never shopped tents, I had no idea how expensive they were.
Hundreds of dollars.
We hoped to find one used, but the counselor wanted a few specific things in his new tent.
Since he’s 6’5, he wanted something tall.
He wanted the tent to be divided into two rooms.
He wanted it easy to assemble.
That’s what he found on craigslist.
After weeks of searching, he found a grandpa in East Mesa with a Coleman tent, used only once, for $40.00.
My husband, with the patience of Job,

setting up his new tent while 5 kids jumping around with excitement, using the tent poles as sword, stepping on it with wet dirty feet,
rolling on it and chasing one another right over it and then losing interest all together.
Payson spying on the neighbors.
Mayer squirting the dog with the hose.
Reef playing in his toy pool.
Eden watching Reef.
Eventually, he and Chandler set it up.
Never once did he loose his cool.

8 comments:

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  2. That looks like a awsome tent! And the price you paid is great. We have a two room tent too and love it. So much space and our head and feet don't touch the sides. *hahaah*

    I love the last picture he looks rather overwhelmed!

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  3. Awesome find! My family had a Coleman tent too. They last forever. When my kids were about the age of yours we started going camping every summer. It was the only way we could afford a vacation. My babies are now in their 40s with kids of their own . My daughter however wanted that tent when her father was moving away. Now they use it and have for many yrs. Its a bit worn and needs repair but I love that my grandchild now has memories of that same old tent. :)

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  4. cute! what a great family you have! Camping and all that goes into a tent set up/take down is so much work!

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  5. Haha I love how goofy my brother looks in that last pic ;-P What an amazing find! Derek is such a great hubby and father. Love you guys!

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  6. I have to show my husband this post. He was camping up in the Payson area last weekend and it was raining and cold. He could not wait to come home & get in a real bed, and now is determined to get a motorhome :-). I love how your posts really show and "feel" the closeness of your family, and the life you have with them. Nice!!

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  7. You have a really lovely family! And I LOVE your kids' names!

    Camping? Not so much my thing. In fact, I did the tent thing once and that was more than enough for me! I think my husband would sell his soul for me to camp, but it ain't happenin' in this lifetime! :)

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  8. Glad to see the tent setting up was a success.

    I'm so not a camper. The one and only time I attempted it was a disaster. I mild hike in the woods is enough for me.

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