My children and I have just returned from two nights of camping and I must say that no matter how much 'stuff' we take, it's never quite enough--except for lighter fluid--we had plenty of lighter fluid. It's a good thing, too, because I had to stand over the fire and revive it with a squirt of fluid about every 40 seconds. Eventually, we had a roaring fire (well roaring may not be the appropriate terminology) but it was enough to roast marshmallows over.
Speaking of marshmallows...this was an introduction to camping for my friend and two of her children, who have NEVER had s'mores or even roasted marshmallows! These delicacies were such a hit that not only were they dessert Thursday night but they were breakfast Friday morning. Two bags of marshmallows and 12 Hersey bars were gone less than 18 hours into the trip.
Tent life was a different story. My daughter, Morgan, painstakingly guarded the tent against anyone entering with dirty feet or, more importantly, stepping across her air mattress, much to her chagrin. You see, this is an impossible feat with a three-year-old in the picture, especially if that three-year-old knows the teenager disapproves of dirt! By the time we packed up our tent at the end of our stay, we were sleeping in sand, candy wrappers, spilled soda, wet blankets, rabbit food (that's a story for another time), and a set of lost keys. It might be funny the first time the vehicle alarm goes off and nobody can find the keys to turn it off, but by the fourth time I believe neighboring campers were conspiring to have our noisy group removed from the premises. So, needless to say, we were a little relieved when the drunken brawl across the way broke out and secured the 'Most Obnoxious Campers' award, making our stint with the title a short one.
Although the weather was not always cooperative, our last few days have definitely been adventurous. It was interesting to see people experience sleeping in a tent and roasting over a fire for the first time. This weekend was also a learning experience for me, too. Time without the fella's made me appreciate my husband even more. I've never had to bother with getting a fire going or packing up the tent. I guess I've taken my hubby for granted when it comes to the grunt work of outdoor living!
About 20 minutes into sleep on the first night, I awoke to a flat air mattress. I tossed and turned, arranged pillow and blanket, all to no avail. I would have been more comfortable sleeping on the hood of the truck and, believe me, that crossed my mind quite a few times. The following night, I gave ample warning that when the mattress went flat, I was blowing it back up. I was afraid that the pump would wake everyone up but I think by that time we were so exhausted that a bear could have run through our tent and they would have slept through it. Actually, when we woke up on Saturday it looked as though a herd of elephants did trample through. Anyway, I ended up blowing it up four times during the night.
Now, I close, hearing the beckoning calls of my soft, warm critter-free bed. My only hope for the weekend is that we didn't turn my friend off from camping forever!
Oh, yeah--the book fair rocks!
Speaking of marshmallows...this was an introduction to camping for my friend and two of her children, who have NEVER had s'mores or even roasted marshmallows! These delicacies were such a hit that not only were they dessert Thursday night but they were breakfast Friday morning. Two bags of marshmallows and 12 Hersey bars were gone less than 18 hours into the trip.
Tent life was a different story. My daughter, Morgan, painstakingly guarded the tent against anyone entering with dirty feet or, more importantly, stepping across her air mattress, much to her chagrin. You see, this is an impossible feat with a three-year-old in the picture, especially if that three-year-old knows the teenager disapproves of dirt! By the time we packed up our tent at the end of our stay, we were sleeping in sand, candy wrappers, spilled soda, wet blankets, rabbit food (that's a story for another time), and a set of lost keys. It might be funny the first time the vehicle alarm goes off and nobody can find the keys to turn it off, but by the fourth time I believe neighboring campers were conspiring to have our noisy group removed from the premises. So, needless to say, we were a little relieved when the drunken brawl across the way broke out and secured the 'Most Obnoxious Campers' award, making our stint with the title a short one.
Although the weather was not always cooperative, our last few days have definitely been adventurous. It was interesting to see people experience sleeping in a tent and roasting over a fire for the first time. This weekend was also a learning experience for me, too. Time without the fella's made me appreciate my husband even more. I've never had to bother with getting a fire going or packing up the tent. I guess I've taken my hubby for granted when it comes to the grunt work of outdoor living!
About 20 minutes into sleep on the first night, I awoke to a flat air mattress. I tossed and turned, arranged pillow and blanket, all to no avail. I would have been more comfortable sleeping on the hood of the truck and, believe me, that crossed my mind quite a few times. The following night, I gave ample warning that when the mattress went flat, I was blowing it back up. I was afraid that the pump would wake everyone up but I think by that time we were so exhausted that a bear could have run through our tent and they would have slept through it. Actually, when we woke up on Saturday it looked as though a herd of elephants did trample through. Anyway, I ended up blowing it up four times during the night.
Now, I close, hearing the beckoning calls of my soft, warm critter-free bed. My only hope for the weekend is that we didn't turn my friend off from camping forever!
Oh, yeah--the book fair rocks!
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