Practice Makes Perfect

Camping last year was a disaster.  My two-year-old, Brady, kept everyone up all night long crying. I'm not sure if he was scared, or cold, or just anxious because it was a new experience. It was miserable. We suffered through the first night thinking he would be tired enough the next night to just sleep. Nope. The screaming started in again, so I started up the car engine at midnight and drove all the way home. Camden was pretty confused when he woke up the next morning to find mom and Brady gone. I headed back up the mountain to pick up Matt and Camden after a much better night's sleep at home.

Brady, the screamer.

I want to have an adventurous, outdoorsy family, but being in nature isn't very natural for me. We decided to go camping again, and I was quite nervous we'd have a repeat of last time.

Hike to a nearby waterfall. 

 I spent a lot of time planning and preparing our trip to prevent another nightmare. 

We spent many Friday nights "camping" in the living room. That way when the time came to really camp, Brady was already comfortable sleeping in a sleeping bag and tent. Our plan to "practice" worked really well, and we were able to have a relaxed weekend away from the world camping.

We headed up the mountain after my husband was done working on Friday. I was worried about losing daylight before we could get everything set up, so we picked up a pizza at one of the last stops before the campground. Once we got to camp, dinner was already ready, and we didn't have to worry about starting a fire, cooking over a fire, and keeping kids safe with a fire while also trying to get camp set up.

The cardboard pizza box also makes great kindling for when you do decide to start that fire. 

We packed these bug containers, and they got plenty of use! All electronics were left at home, except phones. But, the phones were mostly turned off and useless without service anyway. 

I brought a handful of toys to play with, but they honestly didn't get much use. Camden found this giant pinecone at the beginning of our hike to the waterfall, and carried it for the remainder of the hike.  

The very best thing I packed were our books! In a two night camping trip, we were able to read Frindle, Polar Bears Past Bedtime (Magic Treehouse Series), and The Circus Ship. I should have brought more picture books because The Circus Ship got read quite a few times. I was also able to read The Read-Aloud Family by myself.