So we survived our camping trip. On the way home on Sunday I called my mom. My exact words were, “Mom thanks so much for making camping so much fun when I was a kid and I’m sorry I didn’t help more.”
My childhood camping memories are filled with fun times and great food. Little did I realize then that my parents camped on our vacations through Europe because they didn’t have a lot of money. This was when my dad was still enlisted and my mom didn’t work. And I had no idea about how much work it is for the mom. That is until now.
Ashley and I are big into planning everything – Ashley a little more so than I am. We basically were driving Amanda crazy the week before we went camping. She finally told us to just give her a list of what she was supposed to bring. Ashley and I went shopping for all the food the weekend before and even made spaghetti sauce (with the help of my mom) and froze it.
We originally were going to go down to Big Sur on Thursday afternoon and come home on Sunday. That was before I realized that Liam started school so early. So the Bridges’ and De Noyer’s went down Friday afternoon. We followed after Liam got out of school at 2:30. Oh, and we took my dad’s pick-up to have more room and still couldn’t fit two boxes of stuff, which Amanda was nice enough to carry down for us. I think all the moms were glad we cut it short by one night.
After trying to figure out the best configuration of tents and cars to keep the toddlers from escaping easily, we finally set down to preparing dinner. The first night was pretty simple – hotdogs, chili, and sun chips. The kids loved cooking the hotdogs over the fire. Liam cooked Brianna’s, since he doesn’t eat them. I made him a grilled cheese sandwich. So after about an hour of cooking and eating it was time to clean up. We were trying to be environmental kind and didn’t use paper plates or disposable silverware - which means that we had to clean dishes a lot. The first night that took forever because we were trying to heat water on the camp stove to do the dishes. We FINALLY got smart and put the pot of water on the fire and it heated up so much faster. We actually learned quite a few lessons.
The kids loved having s’mores that night and the next. We actually had to buy more s’more fixin’s at the little store because we were all eating so many of them. But let’s be honest – isn’t that the best part of camping. S’mores just don’t taste the same at any other time.
The first night was horrible. Poor Noah got sick and was up all night crying and miserable. Joaquin finally packed him up and took him home around midnight. So Greg was the only man in camp. He was great though. Not one complaint out of him. Amanda was smart and brought her pack and play for Des. We didn’t think about it. Brianna got to have her first out of crib sleeping experience on an air mattress covered with sleeping bags. Basically Liam and I slept on one air mattress and Greg and Brianna slept on the other one that was right next to it. Greg discovered that Brianna moves around in her sleep just as much as her brother. And of course the kids didn’t go to sleep easily. Liam didn’t like all the noise and Brianna didn’t know what to do with all the space she had. We tagged teamed laying down with them and actually ended up going to bed pretty early.
So it seemed to take forever to have meals and clean up. The next morning we had pancakes. That was an experience. After what seemed like an hour we had fed the kids, because I could only make three pancakes at a time and the side closest to the middle of the pan would sort of burn while the outside didn’t really cook all the way. So it took some getting use to. Amanda got smart and started another pot to cook them in and took over cooking so I could eat. We finally told Greg and everyone else, if they wanted more pancakes they had to make their own.
We did have a lot of fun on Saturday. Greg stayed at camp, while the moms and kids headed over to a neighboring camp ground that had a playground area that the dads had discovered the day before. The kids had a great time and the little girls held their own with all the bigger kids on the playground. Then we went back to camp had a lunch of sandwiches (yeah no cooking – except Liam’s grilled cheese) and chips. After lunch everyone changed into swimwear and went down to the river to have water play. I stayed back at camp which overlooked the river, so I got some good pictures of everyone having a good time. Brianna didn’t want anything to do with the water, which was very cold. Liam loved playing with the water guns but didn’t really like getting in the river either. Des and Kylie had a great time in the water.
We had the spaghetti sauce and pasta with garlic bread for dinner that night. It was perfect because it was filling and there’s something about being outside all day that really works up an appetite. Again cleaning all the dishes was a pain. The one good thing about all the fun the kids had that day was that they were exhausted – the little girls didn’t nap either. So all the kids went to bed pretty easily that night. We adults got to stay up and talk and have more S’mores. That was the best night but we were all pretty exhausted too. In fact at dinner that night, Amanda and I were discussing how much more fun camping was before we had kids.
Oh and Amanda came prepared. She had little jingle bell bracelets that we put around the little girls ankles just in case they strayed too far. Kylie and Liam got whistles with the rule that they were only to be used in case of emergency. Amanda also brought glow sticks for the big kids for both nights. Liam slept with his each night tightly grasped in both hands.
Sunday morning our kids were up first. Greg and I weren’t quite ready to get out of bed, so Liam and Brianna put on a song and dance show for us on the “stage” - the area of the tent at the foot of the ‘beds’ and in front of the changing room area. They were too funny and I think all our laughter woke up Kylie. It was about 6:45 when we got out of the tent and fed the kids breakfast.
Then we started packing up, which seemed to take longer than set up – mostly because we were all doing it at the same time and having to watch the kids, which wasn’t exactly easy. But we didn’t lose any of them. After Greg got the tent packed up, I discovered a cool looking bug on our tarp, so I called the kids over to take a look. It was the first bug we actually encountered, which is weird because I thought we’d be surrounded by them.
And just for the record, everyone gave me a bad time about bringing so much stuff, but we used everything except the space heater. And when we packed up, it all fit in the truck because a lot of the stuff was food that we ate up during the weekend.
My favorite part was when Greg was talking to Liam and saying (not a direct quote), “You had a lot of fun didn’t you? Mommy put a lot of work into this trip, so you should give her a big hug and kiss and a big thank you.” Liam then proceeded to give me the biggest thank you I’ve ever received and a huge hug and kiss. It made all the work worth it in that split second. The aching back was forgotten, the nasty dishes forgotten, the cold, uncomfortable, sleepless night forgotten and I basked in the glow of my childhood memories that I had just recreated in my son. And isn’t that why we enter into this crazy thing called parenthood. For all the pain, worry, stress, etc. those fleeting moments of pure joy that your child gets to experience make it all worthwhile.
Greg was all ready to make this a family tradition. I’m all for that as long as we don’t have to do it again for at least a year. I need time to recover.
There is one little tip I’d like to leave you with – Don’t take toddlers camping. Take babies that can’t yet move on their own or kids that are old enough to come back when you call them. If you must bring a toddler, I’d suggest tying them up to a rope between two trees. This may sound cruel, but trust me it will save your sanity. : )
P.S. When I picked up Liam from Porter Youth Center on Monday, his teacher told me he couldn’t stop talking about his camping trip and how much fun he had.
My childhood camping memories are filled with fun times and great food. Little did I realize then that my parents camped on our vacations through Europe because they didn’t have a lot of money. This was when my dad was still enlisted and my mom didn’t work. And I had no idea about how much work it is for the mom. That is until now.
Ashley and I are big into planning everything – Ashley a little more so than I am. We basically were driving Amanda crazy the week before we went camping. She finally told us to just give her a list of what she was supposed to bring. Ashley and I went shopping for all the food the weekend before and even made spaghetti sauce (with the help of my mom) and froze it.
We originally were going to go down to Big Sur on Thursday afternoon and come home on Sunday. That was before I realized that Liam started school so early. So the Bridges’ and De Noyer’s went down Friday afternoon. We followed after Liam got out of school at 2:30. Oh, and we took my dad’s pick-up to have more room and still couldn’t fit two boxes of stuff, which Amanda was nice enough to carry down for us. I think all the moms were glad we cut it short by one night.
After trying to figure out the best configuration of tents and cars to keep the toddlers from escaping easily, we finally set down to preparing dinner. The first night was pretty simple – hotdogs, chili, and sun chips. The kids loved cooking the hotdogs over the fire. Liam cooked Brianna’s, since he doesn’t eat them. I made him a grilled cheese sandwich. So after about an hour of cooking and eating it was time to clean up. We were trying to be environmental kind and didn’t use paper plates or disposable silverware - which means that we had to clean dishes a lot. The first night that took forever because we were trying to heat water on the camp stove to do the dishes. We FINALLY got smart and put the pot of water on the fire and it heated up so much faster. We actually learned quite a few lessons.
The kids loved having s’mores that night and the next. We actually had to buy more s’more fixin’s at the little store because we were all eating so many of them. But let’s be honest – isn’t that the best part of camping. S’mores just don’t taste the same at any other time.
The first night was horrible. Poor Noah got sick and was up all night crying and miserable. Joaquin finally packed him up and took him home around midnight. So Greg was the only man in camp. He was great though. Not one complaint out of him. Amanda was smart and brought her pack and play for Des. We didn’t think about it. Brianna got to have her first out of crib sleeping experience on an air mattress covered with sleeping bags. Basically Liam and I slept on one air mattress and Greg and Brianna slept on the other one that was right next to it. Greg discovered that Brianna moves around in her sleep just as much as her brother. And of course the kids didn’t go to sleep easily. Liam didn’t like all the noise and Brianna didn’t know what to do with all the space she had. We tagged teamed laying down with them and actually ended up going to bed pretty early.
So it seemed to take forever to have meals and clean up. The next morning we had pancakes. That was an experience. After what seemed like an hour we had fed the kids, because I could only make three pancakes at a time and the side closest to the middle of the pan would sort of burn while the outside didn’t really cook all the way. So it took some getting use to. Amanda got smart and started another pot to cook them in and took over cooking so I could eat. We finally told Greg and everyone else, if they wanted more pancakes they had to make their own.
We did have a lot of fun on Saturday. Greg stayed at camp, while the moms and kids headed over to a neighboring camp ground that had a playground area that the dads had discovered the day before. The kids had a great time and the little girls held their own with all the bigger kids on the playground. Then we went back to camp had a lunch of sandwiches (yeah no cooking – except Liam’s grilled cheese) and chips. After lunch everyone changed into swimwear and went down to the river to have water play. I stayed back at camp which overlooked the river, so I got some good pictures of everyone having a good time. Brianna didn’t want anything to do with the water, which was very cold. Liam loved playing with the water guns but didn’t really like getting in the river either. Des and Kylie had a great time in the water.
We had the spaghetti sauce and pasta with garlic bread for dinner that night. It was perfect because it was filling and there’s something about being outside all day that really works up an appetite. Again cleaning all the dishes was a pain. The one good thing about all the fun the kids had that day was that they were exhausted – the little girls didn’t nap either. So all the kids went to bed pretty easily that night. We adults got to stay up and talk and have more S’mores. That was the best night but we were all pretty exhausted too. In fact at dinner that night, Amanda and I were discussing how much more fun camping was before we had kids.
Oh and Amanda came prepared. She had little jingle bell bracelets that we put around the little girls ankles just in case they strayed too far. Kylie and Liam got whistles with the rule that they were only to be used in case of emergency. Amanda also brought glow sticks for the big kids for both nights. Liam slept with his each night tightly grasped in both hands.
Sunday morning our kids were up first. Greg and I weren’t quite ready to get out of bed, so Liam and Brianna put on a song and dance show for us on the “stage” - the area of the tent at the foot of the ‘beds’ and in front of the changing room area. They were too funny and I think all our laughter woke up Kylie. It was about 6:45 when we got out of the tent and fed the kids breakfast.
Then we started packing up, which seemed to take longer than set up – mostly because we were all doing it at the same time and having to watch the kids, which wasn’t exactly easy. But we didn’t lose any of them. After Greg got the tent packed up, I discovered a cool looking bug on our tarp, so I called the kids over to take a look. It was the first bug we actually encountered, which is weird because I thought we’d be surrounded by them.
And just for the record, everyone gave me a bad time about bringing so much stuff, but we used everything except the space heater. And when we packed up, it all fit in the truck because a lot of the stuff was food that we ate up during the weekend.
My favorite part was when Greg was talking to Liam and saying (not a direct quote), “You had a lot of fun didn’t you? Mommy put a lot of work into this trip, so you should give her a big hug and kiss and a big thank you.” Liam then proceeded to give me the biggest thank you I’ve ever received and a huge hug and kiss. It made all the work worth it in that split second. The aching back was forgotten, the nasty dishes forgotten, the cold, uncomfortable, sleepless night forgotten and I basked in the glow of my childhood memories that I had just recreated in my son. And isn’t that why we enter into this crazy thing called parenthood. For all the pain, worry, stress, etc. those fleeting moments of pure joy that your child gets to experience make it all worthwhile.
Greg was all ready to make this a family tradition. I’m all for that as long as we don’t have to do it again for at least a year. I need time to recover.
There is one little tip I’d like to leave you with – Don’t take toddlers camping. Take babies that can’t yet move on their own or kids that are old enough to come back when you call them. If you must bring a toddler, I’d suggest tying them up to a rope between two trees. This may sound cruel, but trust me it will save your sanity. : )
P.S. When I picked up Liam from Porter Youth Center on Monday, his teacher told me he couldn’t stop talking about his camping trip and how much fun he had.
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