By now, everyone should know about the upsides of bringing a "kid's tent" for a play area. But when is the time right for kids to sleep the whole night in their own tent?

Like many families with super little ones, we like to pack along a small ground tent for the kids to play in during the day. I've secretly been hanging onto the hope that the kids will get this bright idea and go, "We want to camp in here tonight!" But get this - my plan is to say no way. Use it as leverage, and dangle it out in front of them a bit. "Finish your vegetables, then we'll think about letting you two camp in your own tent someday." Yes, I'm playing with fire here. But I want them to want it so bad that their hopes will be sky high. Because, truthfully, I want them to feel so elated and stoked when it finally happens that no bump or noise or coyote howl in the night can possibly spook them back into bed with me. I'm terrible, I know.

Well. Gee. It hasn't worked like that. Go figure. So far it's never occurred to them to want to camp in their own kids-only tent. This isn't going the way I want it to go. Hmph. Should I be surprised? That's practically the pure definition of fatherhood . . .

Boil down the miracle of rainbows to their physical properties and you learn they're just a trick of refracting light. Yet they're still amazing to spot and behold. Tell me, who's backseat full-o-kids hasn't lit up with racket at the sight of a rainbow after a storm?

Since rainbows are nothing more than just bending light, you just need the right circumstances and you can see a rainbow almost anywhere. It doesn't always have to be after a storm.  Example? Squirt your garden hose into the air at different angles and you'll get a rainbow eventually.

Now turn your attention to the waterfalls of Yosemite Valley. At night, during certain full moon cycles of late spring and early summer, the sunlight reflecting off of the surface of the moon is not only enough, but also . . .

Some guys would trade their right arm for a track day in a Koenigsegg, or a garage large enough for one each: a beautiful Aston Martin Rapide, a classic Porche 911, a Mercedes McLaren Roadster, and maybe a Ferrari 599 just to round things out. Seein's how we're dabbling in the not-gonna-happen.

The GoCrib just might make the perfect travel crib for camping, road trips, or weekends at the cabin
The GoCrib - oh, sweet GoCrib, where were you when I needed you?  It packs down into a backpack and weighs a total of 11 lbs.  (Travel Lite Crib?  Yeah, that weighs 20 lbs and takes up more space than a set of golf clubs when it's packed). I love the idea that you just pump it up with the supplied air pump.  It wins points for simplicity.  It's often that the simplest design is the best. I also highly approve of the small pack size.

The big question mark about taking your children on a first camping trip is probably, "will she be able to sleep out there?" Fears about nighttime tears loom over parents, causing some to avoid backcountry traveling as a family for the first year or more of their child's life.

Well, fellow adventurers and worrier-moms, time to confront these fears of the dark. There are a few ways to prepare for the nighttime hours ahead of you as a camping family. Here are 4 top strategies we use for sleep success with our daughter, Chloe, in a tent.

Funky Snowman poem by Calef Brown, Polka-bats and Octopus Slacks

If you're the sort who's not fond of phrases like "happy holidays," prepare for your blood to boil.

Here's a winter greeting in our house these days: KICK IT, FUNKY SNOWMAN!

Old memories of adventure travel in Mexico emerge during a bedtime story with Chloe.  It's no lie.

Another gem from the annals of daily fatherhood - where we get surprised and enlightened at the smallest comment from our offspring who, despite our trying, have learned to read and think.  Enjoy this one.