Camping 101

The very first thing I do when the first summer camping trip is suggested is take a deep breath. Don't get me wrong...I love camping! Afterall, we went camping for our honeymoon. That's what you do for your honeymoon when you are still practically kids and there is no real bank account in place yet!
We continued to camp (in a tent)with babies and toddlers, and more babies, and more toddlers. I consider that if we are not professional campers, we are at the very least professionals at camping with small children!

We have all the gear. You can sleep a small village in our tent. But, somewhere along the lines, after our third baby we decided that it would be a little more comfortable to sleep off the ground with a little bit of heat, so we bought our tent trailer. After a few comfortable years of camping with our trailer, we now need our tent along again anyway! Several of us now fight over who will sleep in the tent. This is just fine with me...you won't find me in the tent again. Been there, done that!

Anyway! After the initial deep breath, I begin with my list of food. It's not a grocery list, but a list with what we will eat each day. Snacks included. "Adult drinks" included! Then I start putting it all in a big container. The kids pack a small backpack of clothes, and it's the one time I don't double check what they bring, because it really doesn't matter when you are camping. Of course for us there are ALOT of extras...diapers, wipes, blankies, bibs, sippy cups, stroller, playpen and so on. For us, this is all standard anyway, so it doesn't take much thought anymore!

Dad packs the truck, hooks up the trailer. Pulls the trailer. Finds the campground, books the campground. Dad does most of the work for camping trips. Afterall he is the wood finder, the wood chopper, the fire starter, the water finder, water hooker-upper, the fixer of all things broken. Heck, I still don't even know how to turn on the heat in the trailer, and he doesn't even get to sleep in there anymore!

And yet, he still suggests the camping trips year after year, and I'm still the one taking the deep breath. Go figure.

Thanks Babe. We love you for it!