Camping in the Living Room

Jackson went to Mother's Day Out yesterday, and the day's theme was Camping Out. There was a large tent set up in the classroom, full of books so the kids could go inside and read. We came home from MDO and pulled the IKEA igloo tent out of basement storage. It is now the main fixture in our living room.

This morning, Jackson and I hung out in the igloo.

The light from our front windows struck the side of the igloo and was perfect for some silhouette photos.

But these are my favorite photos of all:

I love this last one because it so perfectly captures my son at this point in his life. He so completely adores guns. Yes, I know. It isn't quite P.C., is it? But it is what it is. At first, I tried to deter his gun  love by calling guns something else like rockets or fire. But that didn't work. Then I wouldn't let him have anything that remotely resembled a gun. Uh, nice try. The boy will make a gun out of anything: fingers, carrot sticks, and he even built his own rudimentary gun from Legos about two weeks ago. (I was both proud of his building and imagination skills, and horrified at his deep-seated desire for guns.) So now the rule is that he can't shoot guns at people, even the guns he makes by extending his pointer finger. Today, I asked him to show me how he shoots a gun. He wrapped the fingers of one hand around the fist of the other, pointed his index fingers, and started making "pshew" sounds. This photo shows the result. His eyes are all shifty (because he's in battle, you know), his mouth is in mid-pshew, and his fingers gun is a blur of action. This, my friends, is life with a boy. Sweet and terrifying at the exact same time. Oh, how I love my son!