Camping out, and other new experiences

Shopping on saturday we put Louka in the child seat of the shopping trolley for the first time. She wasn't at all sure she wanted to get in, but once seated and strapped she gave up the struggle and decided to make the most of it.

Saturday night we practiced camping out in the safe environment of my parents' back yard. We arrived mid-afternoon and set up the tent, built a fire and invited mum and dad to partake in our barbecue. They kindly provided the gas light and a salad, while Graham cooked sausages, onions and pineapple. (Louka ate carrot and apple purée from a jar.)

Then came the real test ― sleeping in the tent. We put our sleeping bags on either side and made a soft spot for Louka in the middle. We carefully laid her down in her place, then settled into our sleeping bags. Just when we'd got to sleep, Louka woke. It seemed cold, and she wanted mummy, so I took her into my sleeping bag. It was pretty cosy in there together! but we slept pretty well.

When the morning light woke us, we made a cup of tea in the "camp kitchen", and ate the muesli bars we'd brought. (Louka had carrot and apple purée again.) Then mum and dad provided a second breakfast of croissants and coffee ☺.

After all that food, we needed to go for a walk, so we set out along the Terry's Creek walk. It goes as far as Brown's Waterhole, but we didn't get that far: two and a quarter hours seemed enough to work off the breakfast and get us ready for a nice cup of tea.