Miles was very excited to join us on the trip. A pout-y face Maximus had to stay home. Camping's not for cats.
The drive out there had hillsides covered with bluebonnets! This one was right outside our tent door.
Unfortunately Miles didn't enjoy the experience at all. Poor Miles.
Due to state park rules, dogs have to stay on a leash. Miles isn't used to this restriction and got himself tangled quite a few times.
Jeremiah built us a little fire.
And then he cooked us breakfast this morning! Yummy!
While he cooked breakfast I decided to make myself useful. I have many skills, but rolling up sleeping bags is not one of them. Turns out, if you can't roll up a sleeping bag you can't roll up a tent either. The above picture was my best effort :)
Here is Jeremiah's version. Oops!
Good for y'all! Michael and I used to camp all of the time and have some great memories of doing so. Our fave thing to do was to pick up chicken fried rice at Wan Fu on our way out of town and use that for our first night's meal (since setup is such a big task)! We also always kept a ready to go box in the garage, too, that had utensils, cooking tools, waterproof matches, foil, oil, paper towels, dish soap, etc. in the garage. All we had to do was put our non refrigerated foods in, add or update supplies and that part was ready to go. Favorite discoveries after all those years: 1) You can buy dish soap pads that eliminate the need to take a messy bottle of soap for washing your dishes; 2) Baby powder is a necessary staple for the camping supply box if you don't like to be sticky and sweaty from the humidity when you sleep (just sprinkle it everywhere!!!) ; 3) You can buy a tent fan, but they aren't that great. Get a site with electricity and bring an extension cord and small fan. You'll sleep so much better!; 4)Once you have your baby, take a a hammock with you and set it up between two trees (great place to nurse an infant and take naps....helpful if you camp with a Mexican friend who knows how to rig the cord to swing yourself!) ; 5) Aluminum cots with springs and mattresses (the old fashioned fold up kind) are a much better investment than an air mattress or even cots (your kids will pop the air mattress EVERY single time you camp. Ask any parent who camps!!!); 6) David Somerville has a great camping checklist and I bet he'd email a copy of it to you ; 7) Put the pack and play IN the tent so that the baby is contained during the night; 8) The DeLongs always camp with a welcome mat, but we always set up a tarp that extends out in front of the tent for shoes and wiping your feet; 9) Take a broom and dustpan for your tent; 10) small fold up cots are great for kids to sleep on; 11) Always check your boots in the morning if you've left them out on the front porch of your tent. There might be a big old bullfrog in there if you stick your feet in!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Stacy! Those are great tips, especially all the ones about babies/kids. We definitely need tips like that because although we would want to, I don't know the first thing about camping with a baby! LOVE the hammock idea!
ReplyDeleteOne more.......... Kleenex Splash and Go wipes (hard to find) are fantastic for tent bathing:) They don't leave you sticky and they smell awesome! Wipes in general should be kept by the door for wiping feet before they make their way into the tent (because kids will step and climb all over your bedding as they're jumping on your air mattress/TRAMPOLINE!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd Michael's #1 tip: ARRIVE AT YOUR CAMPSITE BEFORE DARK! If you don't, then you might as well go to a hotel to eliminate all the stress and fussing that results from trying to set up a tent in the dark:)
Looks like you all had a good time! I bet Easter Sunrise was just beautiful - waking up in God's creation! Let us know if Miles wants to come hang out with Boudreaux next time you all go camping :)
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