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Camping Stories - Part 1

I went camping this Memorial Day weekend. It was...it happened. 

The first night was wonderful. I slept in a hammock underneath of Peter and above James, Will (church friend), Mark, and Jade. Me and Peter share a tarp, James and Will shared a tarp, and Mark and Jade shared a tarp. We had tarps because rain. Darren was off to the side without anyone above or underneath of him. Kole was slept above Luke, Gabe (not completely sure why we brought him camping, but whatever), Mimi (Will's sister), Tate (Jade's brother), and Todd. They each got their own individual tarps. 

The tarp me and Peter shared had holes in it. Not small holes, but large holes. I'm not completely sure why he decided that it was a good idea to use that one. Almost everyone else's tarps were fine, James and Will's was a little small, but they decided that it was fine. 

That night we stayed up till 1 in the morning, partying. Darren went to sleep early with Zane, because they brought a baby camping and he was exhausted. We had glow sticks and an insane amount of sugar, so we were all hyped up. Imagine sixty or more children running around in the dead of night, the only thing that tells you that they are there is random flashes of colorful light and shrieking. After a late night round of duck, duck, goose, we went to the campfire to eat marshmallows and hot-dogs. 

At around 1, our parents agreed that we needed sleep. They sent us to get ready for bed and to find whatever tent/hammock we were going to sleep in. My stepfather tried to convince me not to sleep in my hammock that night, because rain, but I'm no coward. Luke was a coward. He slept in the tent that night. Mara took Zane from Darren without waking either of them up. She and Luke left to find the tent. 

After brushing my teeth, braiding my hair, and getting dressed in my kangaroo pajamas, I climbed into my hammock, using Will's face as a stepladder. Mimi handed me my sleeping bag, pillow, and Teddy(my stuffed bear whom I love). I struggled to get into the sleeping bag, because I was high up and didn't have much room to move. I successfully got myself comfortable. Peter nearly gave me a heart attack when he climbed into his hammock, weighing my hammock down a ton. Tate handed Will Peter's stuff, Will handed me Peter's stuff, and I handed Peter Peter's stuff. He threw the stuff back down to be so he could get comfortable more easily. 

Finally we all got settled, without waking Darren up. He's a very heavy sleeper. Very good for pranks. We all went to sleep to sound of Darren's snores and Zane's angry cries. Zane is a very loud crier. 

I woke up at around 5 in the morning. At first, I was confused as to why I was awake at that moment. Then I realized it was raining. I hid in my sleeping bag and tried to go back to sleep when I realized Teddy was hanging from a small pouch on the side of the hammock. I grabbed her and pulled her into my sleeping bag with me. Not to soon after, the tarp me and Peter shared fell. It was still up, but one of the bungee cords securing it had snapped. It poured a bunch of water onto James and Will, who were still asleep. I held an arm out, holding the tarp out to help shield me and  Peter from the rain. Peter was getting soaked because of the poor condition of our tarp. He got so soaked that he started dripping on me. 

At around 7, the others awoke and the rain stopped. We all slowly got up, struggling to wake up. Me, Peter, Will, and James were all soaked to the bone, some more then others. We had to dump Darren out of his hammock to wake him up.

That's pretty much the end of that story. I hope this gave you joy, because it sure gave my stepdad joy. He told me that I should've accepted his offer to sleep in the tent, but I actually enjoyed this and have absolutely no regrets. Except maybe that tarp...

~Ara~