Did a little research...

Ok, so the contenders for new family tent are...

The Eureka Copper Canyon 10

This tent has a few things going for it, with the Amazon price right around $160 shipped it's certainly a pretty good price. Then there's the fact that I've already got a Eureka tent that I've been happy with for years, so I'm familiar with the brand. This tent's also got a nice full mesh ceiling underneath that rain fly, so it ventilates really well and has the potential to be a nice star-gazing tent on warmer nights when there's no threat of rain. The design of this tent, with closer to vertical walls, really appeals to me because I should be more comfortable standing in it, but how much time does one really need to stand in the tent? I just think I would feel less claustrophobic in it. It's also freestanding, which is nice if the soil's particularly hard and not easy to set a stake in, or even at the other end of the spectrum with the soil being too loose to hold a stake at all. This one's at the top of my list.

Next there's one from Wal Mart that Melanie and I both agree seems to be a good deal, the Ozark Trail Family Dome 16'x9.5':

A couple major pluses for this tent are price and size. Wal Mart sells this tent for $78, which is ridiculously low, but the quality of some of the parts seem to be in question, and they're also out of stock at the moment, so we may not even be able to get one. Reviews seems to be mostly positive, and having a tent this large seems like it'd be a good thing. It's also appealing because my sons can be a bit rough on stuff, and with the low investment cost it wouldn't be too great a pain if the kids caused a tear or something like that. I wouldn't feel bad repairing it with some duct tape. Among the many reviews I read of this tent was a common complaint that it wasn't really waterproofed well and leaked, but that was remedied with liberal amounts of spray waterproofer, so that's not a really big deal either. My concern with weather handling on this tent are with the slanted windows, and the fly not extending over them. It looks to be a place that would just trap water. I will say that the color of this tent is kind of appealing to me, and while that might sound superficial, I don't want to be the one campsite at the campground that looks like it was decorated by a night club designer.

There's another tent at Wal Mart I'm liking, the Coleman Weathermaster:

This tent has the large space that Melanie wants. It's also got a nice mesh ceiling in the center section, which could be nice for stargazing. At $90 on clearance right now, it falls in nicely between the Ozark and the Eureka price-wise. I find it kinda drab looking. I also have a couple concerns about it not being freestanding, but few of these large family tents are. It looks like it should handle a rainstorm better than the Ozark Trail tent above. Like the Ozark, this one may be hard to find soon, so we'll see about that after the tax refund comes in the next month or two.

Sure, there's plenty of super-fancy family tents out there, but on the budget I'm dealing with they're simply out of the question. I also have to say that unless we were going camping every other weekend, I just can't see the justification in spending over $500 on a tent. Part of the appeal of taking the family camping is keeping costs under control, even if it's not the primary concern. Primarily, I want to get my wife, sons and I outdoors and actively enjoying nature a bit more, but the fact that a campsite is way less expensive than a hotel or motel also makes camping that much more attractive. Of course one of the other things that makes camping appealing is being right there at the place where you want to do the activities you want. A short walk to the lake to fish, or to the trailhead for a hike, sure seems better than loading up the car and finding a parking space. So what I guess I'm saying here is that it may look like I'm really cheaping out on tents here, with all these incredible products from companies like The North Face, Sierra Designs, MSR, Bibler and others, but if this family activity doesn't really pan out to be something we do more than once or twice a year I just can't justify that kind of financial commitment.

Anyways, I guess it's all going to come down to what's available once the money's available...