Saturday, August 6, 2011

Brian and I had the chance to take our boys out on their first overnighter this weekend.  It's kind of hard to imagine that we have waited over a year to bring our pups into this part of our world, but, well, sometimes life happens, right?

We went out to Esmeralda Basin over by Cle Elum on a trail we hadn't seen before.  We opted for something shorter, just one night, so that we wouldn't be stuck in the middle of nowhere with our crazy mutts if we needed to escape.  The trail was lovely, especially as the sun started to set....

We grabbed a couple of packs for the boys so they could carry all their own gear, and we were pleasantly surprised that they didn't seem to notice or care that they were wearing them.

The wildflowers along the trail were absolutely wonderful and they were everywhere.

The tent was a big topic over the weekend.  We just weren't sure how the boys were going to react to it, let alone how they were going to sleep in it with us.  Would their nails destroy it?  Would there be enough room?  There was no way to know unless we tried and forged ahead.  The tent in question:

Here's the thing:  I love this tent.  This tent and I have history.  10 years ago, I was living in Ohio when this tent first came on the market.  I fell in love with it and coveted it from afar. At the time, I was sharing a house with a couple of my girlfriends and I'm sure they got to spend a fair amount of time listening to me extoll about the brimming qualities of this silly thing that I couldn't afford.  One day, I came home form work, and this tent, this "big ticket item" that I was saving up my spare change for was set up just like this, in all its glory in the middle of our dining room.  I was heartbroken.  Obviously, I had rambled on too much about this tent, and one of my housemates, Erin had gone out and gotten it for herself.  There aren't words for how much I deflated.

Then, Erin came bounding down the hall to tell me that she had indeed purchased the tent...for me.  Whoa.  But then again, that's Erin's heart.  That's how she sees things.  So, for me, being inside of this tent is like being surrounded in love.

Of course, it's a 2-person backpacking tent.  Built for 2 people...barely.

Add to the mix: two 60+ lb labradoodle pups, and it takes the idea of "being surrounded in love" to a whole new level.

 So, these pictures aren't the best, but honestly, there wasn't even room for me to get the big girl camera out of its case in there.

Because Daijo chose to sleep snuggled up against my side, it left even less room for Brian.  You can see Venn's chosen spot for the evening.  Movement wasn't exactly easy.  But the cuddling with all of us was so worth it.  Other than the farting and snoring, both boys behaved beautifully all night.  We were amazed.  If we're willing to be in the close quarters, it looks like this tent might actually be able to handle a few more rounds with us :)