Rumble. Rumble. Snap! Snap! Snap!

The house we live in has an unfinished basement which is currently sprinkled with legos and other odds and ends. Very rarely I let my kids build forts down there and sleep down there. Last time they built a fort they used every chair in the house.

"This won't do," I thought, "Next time I'll bring the tent out for them."

I shouldn't have done that. If you don't know my kids, they are loud and you can feel them in the air before they arrive. You can feel a low rumble in the distance getting closer. . . closer. . . closer!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They totally thrashed our tent! It had lasted us a good 8 years without a problem. Then snap, snap, snap went the poles while they were doing unthinkable things to it. I feel sorry for anything that is left alone in their care. That poor tent. I can envision a comic strip. Tent vs. Tumbleweeds?

I suppose it was time to get a new tent. It was only a four man tent. How many people do we have in our family again? Oh, yeah, seven. I guess we couldn't really all fit in it anyway.

I have a problem with throwing things out when they are broken though. Especially things I've bought with my money. I just emailed ALPS Mountaineering to see what they would charge me for some replacement poles. We'll see. Probably too much.