Kid's Sleeping Bags

We ordered the girls their own sleeping bags this week. We primarily wanted something warm and relatively cheap. We ended up going with the Eureka Lady Bug Sleeping Bag for both of them. We also looked at the Eureka Lightning Bug. We chose the Lady Bug over the Lightning Bug because it's rated down to 30 degrees, whereas the Lightning Bug is only 45 degrees. Since 40 degree nights (or colder) are not at all unheard of up here, even in the summer, we figured we needed the extra warmth. Also, the Lightning Bug would have only saved us $4, which wasn't worth it. The reviews hint that there may be problems with how the bag holds up. I'll have to check back in after we use them a while, but frankly, at $30, I wouldn't mind buying a new one in a year or two anyway. Compared to what mine and Josh's bags are worth, these are a steal and I don't expect them to last forever.
So the bags came today and I got them out to look them over. The specs from the box:

• Length: 66"
• Width: 26" chest/ 18" feet
• Carry Weight: 2lbs 8oz (I double checked this on my baby scale...exactly right, includes the stuff sack the bag comes with)
• Fill: ThermaShield (polyester)
• Cover and Liner Fabric: 68D 190T polyester taffeta
• Zipper: 2 way (will unzip from the neck or the feet)

Another thing I read in a review was that when the hood is cinched down, the cord could get wrapped around the child's neck. This is definitely concerning, but I'm not sure of a way to definitely remedy it without losing the ability to cinch down the hood (which is important in cold weather to keep their head warm). I'm thinking of a way I could modify it to get the cord out of the way, but leave it usable---maybe a patch of velcro added to the underside of the bag and the end of the cord so it's not just lose, or maybe running elastic cord through there would cut down on the excess that was sticking out when the hood is cinched. At two and a half pounds, it's also definitely NOT light. But again, we're only car camping at this point in time. If we got serious about doing a lot of backpacking, I would probably go look for light weight down bags for them (and probably also pay dearly for the added benefit).

For reference, this is the bag I have (I don't think they make it anymore, I got it about 8 years ago), which I like because I can just pack the part I need for the weather I'll be in. Josh has something similar to this (that's not the exact one, his is even older and definitely not on the market anymore). When Sedona was just over a year old, we were camping in November and we used a down jacket as a sleeping bag for her....works great for itty-bitties. I can't remember specifically now, but I want to say we put Sierra (in a regular sleeping bag) between Josh and I (so our down bags were on either side of her). Also important to put a decent cold weather hat on them when it's really cold and there's no sleeping bag hood for them.

If you're interested in the Lady Bug or Lightening Bug but don't like the purple/pink combination, there are also more boyish versions available...they're called the Grasshopper (green, same as the Lady Bug) and the Minnow (yellow, same as the Lightening Bug).

Should the blog disclosure police get after me.....Eureka has no idea who I am and I was not provided a single thing for writing about this. Purchased the bags with my own money and thought I'd share the information ;-) All links to Amazon from this blog are now affiliate links and will provide me with a small commission if you make any purchases through them.

Fun Filled Weekend!

It's been a fun-filled weekend around here!! First of all, in gardening news, all but 2 of the potatoes we planted have now sprouted and are growing like crazy! It seriously looks like they're growing 2 or 3 inches a day. Friday evening, Sierra and I did some weeding--we just tilled under this patch of ground a few weeks ago and some grass is trying to grow back.


Then, on Saturday we headed out for a short camping trip at a local state park. We decided the kids might get a kick out of geo-caching, so we looked up a few that were hidden in the park. Saturday afternoon, we set out to look for the first one:

Sierra and Sedona had no problem taking off down the trail

Turns out Sedona's a tree-hugger:

She made it about 3/4 mile before she decided it was time to take a break:

Our first find!!

Back at camp, we started a small fire for a good ol' fashioned "weenie roast"

After polishing off a whole hot-dog, Sierra started asking for candy, but momma assured her something better was on the menu. Wonder what it could be....

A girl's first s'more:

Also yummy for the toddler-set:

"Ooh! This has more sugar than ice cream!"

Sierra wanted to try roasting some marshmallows on her own (she wouldn't eat them though, preferred cold, not melty marshmallows---what's up with that?!?)

We walked around more after dinner. Visited a small playground and the fishing pier. Nighttime did not go well. I honestly can't remember the last time I camped in such a heavily traveled location and the ground was more like concrete than dirt from having the same spot camped on so many times. The sleeping pads that are just fine with a little forest floor under them were pretty worthless in this situation. Josh and I didn't sleep more than 30 minutes straight before we'd wake up in pain....it was worse than newborn baby nights as far as restfulness. I'm definitely inclined to stick to less traveled spots.

This morning, we went looking for another cache. Sedona decided to ride right away this time (we set her down to walk and she pointed to the pack and said, "up-pa" which means "up, please").

After a bit of circular wandering, we finally found the right location and daddy spotted the cache.

This time we had brought a few trinkets to leave so we could take something. Sierra dug through and found a card game to take.
After the morning hunt, we loaded up and headed home. All in all a good time, though the crowds reminded me of why I always enjoyed backpacking more than car camping.