Our Backyard Staycation With #NaturesSleep #Sponsored

***Disclosure: As a Nature's Sleep Ambassador, I receive product samples to facilitate reviews. All opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***

Okay, so I have to admit it....I am not a big fan of camping. Actually, I kind of hate it. Don't get me wrong, I love the outdoors, going fishing and hiking, and relaxing by a nice bonfire. I just don't like sleeping outdoors, having to pee in bushes, and I HATE bugs. (Yes, I meant to use big letters there. That's how much I dislike being around bugs.) 

So my idea of camping involves a cabin or hotel room with air conditioning, a fully functional kitchen or room service, working plumbing, and free wifi, with outdoor activities to be enjoyed during the day. Yes, this aversion to camping makes me sound like a total and complete snob, but my allergies during peak camping season basically make me miserable, and my misery would ruin everyone else's fun. 

Of course the rest of my family loves the idea of camping, and now that Sophie and Xander aren't little babies, we are trying to give them that experience right in our own backyard. We have a fire pit for roasting S'mores, a playground for them to play on, a grill for "camp foods", and right down the road is a fantastic park with waterfalls for nature walks. So really, backyard camping makes the perfect "staycation", and everyone ends up happy. They can sleep outside in the tent with Daddy, and I can hang out for a bit and retreat back indoors when the sneezes come on or I start becoming a all-you-can-eat banquet for mosquitos. 

To celebrate Father's Day, we decided to give Sophie and Xander their first backyard campout with Daddy. We started off by playing on the playground a bit, and then Sophie wanted her guitar to play some music for everyone. She showed us her rendition of my Bruno's "Runaway Baby", and it was absolutely adorable. Hey, camping is no fun without music, right? 

We also brought some books out for storytime in the tent, which the kids really loved. We chose books with nature or adventure themes to get the kids in the mood for camping. This totally, totally backfired, by the way. One book was about spiders, and had some pretty amazing, close-up photos of various arachnids. Well,  in the middle of the night, Xander had a nightmare that spiders were all over him and we had to bring him inside. I guess that's another reason that camping in the backyard is super-convenient, especially with such young kiddos.

Now I have to be honest. One of the other reasons I don't like camping is because sleeping on hard surfaces is almost impossible for me. Even an air-mattress won't give me a comfortable night's rest. The kids wanted to sleep in their sleeping bags, but Dan used our twin-sized Nature's Sleep Memory Foam Mattress Topper. It's got all the memory foam comfort we're spoiled by indoors, but in a super-portable form. It can be rolled up and stored with all your camping gear quite easily. I lounged around a bit on it while I was hanging out in the tent, and I have to say, it's quite comfy! If my allergies and fear of creepy-crawlies weren't an issue, I would totally take a nice, long nap on it. 

As it started to get dark, the kids expressed a bit of fear. After all, they had never been camping before, and the darkness in the yard and outdoor night sounds were a bit spooky to them. Luckily, they have a VERY cool Grandpa who came to the rescue by dropping off a ton of glow sticks! The kids had fun "decorating" the tent with them. As you can see, they make a wonderful, instant night-light for younger kids who are afraid of things that go bump in the night. 

Our first "camping trip" was a whole lot of fun. We listened to loads of music, danced around the fire pit, grilled some burgers and hot dogs, and even roasted some S'mores. The kids had a blast, and they seemed really excited to spend some special time with their Daddy. I have a feeling we will be doing a lot more backyard camping this summer! My family can sleep outside, and I will have the best of both worlds: outdoor fun and then the creature comforts of the house when it gets to be too much for my poor sinuses. 

If you'd like to have your own camping adventures this summer, I have some great news for you! Now through June 30th, you can enjoy a whopping 40% off ALL Nature's Sleep Mattress Toppers! These make amazing camp beds, and can be used indoors on your own mattress during the colder months.

Just use the code: TOPPER at checkout! 

If you'd like to learn more about memory foam or gel mattresses and how they're not all created equal, there are some great Nature's Sleep twitter chats you can attend. Oh, I should also mention that there are some amazing prizes awarded, too! 

These twitter chats happen the FIRST and THIRD Tuesday of every month at 1:00PM EST. The next chats are on the following dates:

June 24th-Glamping with Nature's Sleep 
July 1st-Ice Cream Pinterest Contest 

To participate, be sure to follow the following twitter accounts:  @makobimedia @naturessleep and @makobiscribe

Then follow along using the #NaturesSleep hashtag. 

***Twitter Chat Tip*** If you find it difficult to keep up with the action, try using a service like Twubs that will make tracking the hashtag easier. You can even slow the conversation and follow at a more human pace.
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