I'm soooo excited because next weekend I'll be surrounded by oodles of family for CAMPING FUN!! The girls have never been camping before-- thanks to Mr. WhiMSy love's dislike of any sort of outdoor or nature experience. {Boo. Hiss.} So I will be a brave single parent that weekend & try my hardest to give them the WHOLE experience. I secretly hope the hubby will be lured in by all the CAMPY goodness & decide to pitch a happy tent after all. I want to create lovely memories for our girls. Because, it's all about the memories, ya know? I can't wait! Wheeeeee!I'd love to hear any CAMPING tips, tricks or secrets you have. Anything from packing for the trip to your favorite s'mores recipe... & everything in-between!
♥
S'mores with a mini Reese's peanut butter cup instead of straight up chocolate. Need I say more?
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun! Can't wait to see what tips you get. We might start by trying to camp in our good ole backyard first.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a wee little child we used to go camping in New Hampshire every summer. My brother and I BEGGED my dad to bring 'steak-on-a-stick' for dinner. He would thinly slice steak (I have no idea what kind!) and stick it in a ziplock in our favorite marinade (substitute with your favorite) and when it finally came to cook dinner one of the nights we would thread all of the meat on some wooden skewers and he would lay them on a grate in the fire. It was always our favorite! That and of course watching my mom make toast on a roaring campfire at 7 in the morning!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what kind of weather you have this summer, but it gets cold at night here in PA. If you are using air mattresses, make sure you have something over the mattress to keep the cold mattress air away from you. We put a wool blanket and sheet on ours. A mattress pad would work also.
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip! The girls will have wonderful memories!
Lots of ziploc bags to keep things dry if it rains! Also, my dad makes "Hobo dinner" or "dinner in a can" you can find a recipe here: http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/camping-recipes/hobo-dinner-can.htm
ReplyDeleteOh, and mountain pies are a must!!!
You are so so right about having those precious memories. I was brought up spending our summer holidays and weekends at our mum and dads caravan, surrounded by family and friends, and boy, did me and my brothers love it! Definitely, definitely some of my most fondest childhood memories. Hope you and your girls have a GREAT time!!
ReplyDeleteWe used to do grilled cheese on the grill!!! My uncle had this thing that resembled a tennis racket (but square) and they would cook them over the fire- holy camping goodness! But most of the time, it was smores for every meal. :) HAHA!!
ReplyDeleteI did EXACTLY that last summer and I'm doing it again on the weekend of the 22nd! My husband also hates camping, so I took the boys and pitched a tent and all.
ReplyDeleteEveryone was so loud all night by the campfire that my boys had a hard time going to sleep, so they were up until almost midnight. They played in the dark at a nearby playground. So, I'd say bring lots of lights. Maybe a battery operated lantern or 3.
Have fun!!!
Oh... and if you can get mountain pie irons.... they are AWESOME. I need to blog about those someday soon!
ReplyDeleteRemember the tarp in case it rains, the can opener, the corkscrew in case you're lucky enough for someone to bring wine, and the matches in case the lighter doesn't work. It's also sometimes nice to bring a bag of mulch to spread on trafficked areas -- less dust! Have the best time!
ReplyDeleteInstead of regular smores, put the marshmallows in between 2 keebler fudge stripe cookies. Super Yummy! No more regular smores for us.
ReplyDeletei say dark chocolate for the smores and extra batteries for the flashlights...could also cut out cardboard covers for the flashlights with shapes for playing in the tent at night. it ALWYAS ALWAYS ALWAYS WITHOUT EXCEPTION rained when we went camping so I don't have that great of memories of it...leaky tents, you know.
ReplyDeleteOne of my MOPS mommy friends, Amy, emailed me this GREAT idea:
ReplyDelete"go to the dollar store and buy the glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces. It is great so that you can see your kids at night...and better yet when they go to bed because it is a bit less scary for them as they have a little bit of light"
when we went camping with my sister she brought one of those shower bags, hung it from the tree, and placed a large bowl underneath, and placed a soap in a nylon stocking and hung that from the tree also, so we could wash our hands.
ReplyDeleteAn old door mat/ rug/ old towel to put on the ground in front of the door to the tent works great to help keep dirt out.
ReplyDeleteHere are my two favorite camping recipes. The first is banana boats. Take one banana and peel back one piece of the peel but don't completely remove it. Cut out 1/4 wedge from the banana and fill with chocolate chips and marshmallows. Replace the peel. Wrap tightly in foil and place in the fire pit for 2-3 minutes to melt the chocolate and marshmallows.
ReplyDeleteThe second one is orange cupcakes. Make one box white cake mix according to package directions. Cut off the top third of an orange and scoop out the pulp, leaving the white rind. Fill halfway with cake mix. Wrap tightly in foil with the opening up and nestle into the fire. Cook 10-15 minutes(? sorry can't remember exactly how long), until cup cakes are done. If you wrap them with the opening up at the top, it makes it easier to check to see if they are fully cooked. You can also do this with muffin mix for breakfast. Have fun and hope you stay dry!
Late to the party but can't resist sharing our camping advice! We adore camping! We make pizza on the fire... we use pita bread for breakfast pizza crust-make on the last day and use up all the leftovers as toppings... or we make reg. pizza on premade crusts... It tastes heavenly over a campfire. Toast is just the best over a fire too-either cooked on a grate or thread bread onto a hotdog fork. I ALWAYS take one good kitchen knife. When my kiddos were little I gave them each a shoebox of goodies to play with at a picnic table while the grown-ups set up camp-that was a pure lifesaver!! Now they are big (8/10) and they help! we always choose an electric site and always bring a fan for inside the tent. Aside for keeping things cool it is great at providing a buffer for things that go bump in the night-be it noisy campers or critters or storms. We like a small rug outside the tent door and another just inside the tent door. We keep a couple board games in our camping gear that we don't play at home-in case of rain. No matter what the weather is supposed to be-bring raingear, sweatshirts, socks, 2 pairs of jeans... Learned that the hard way and had to go buy clothes one camping trip! If it'll be chilly-bring a knit cap to sleep in and you'll stay warm and toasty at night!!
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