Camping with Toddlers - Part 2

The camping fun continues. At this point in the day, we are getting a little tired of the whining and dissatisfaction of the children. They aren't enjoying it quite as much as we'd hoped. In all fairness to poor little Bea, she developed a very runny nose that morning and it was obvious she was getting a cold. I know she didn't feel great. That was her problem. I actually think she would have had a blast had it not been for her stuffy little head. Still, there was fun to be had and they weren't going to ruin the trip with grumpiness. So I pulled out all the entertainment cards I had to offer.

Haynes and I decided to go on a bear hunt. We made sure to take his binoculars, just in case one was far off.

Brandon got started cooking supper in our new cooking pot. We LOVED this! It was definitely worth buying for our trip. In my excitement about the trip, I went internet hunting for some good campfire food recipes. We combined a few of the recipes and made some adaptations and came up with something that sounded good. To me, cooking over a campfire is such a satisfying feat. It worked great and it was so much fun.

 

Adding a touch of red wine... Aren't we fancy?

While dinner was cooking, I gathered up the leaves we found on our leaf hunt. I think they were all pretty.

Before we left, I grabbed one of Haynes' Highlights magazines from our cabinet. At camp, I opened it up and it just so happened to have a leaf hunt article in it! What luck. So Haynes and I read about the different leaves and compared ours with the pictures. Thanks for the magazine subscription Trish! It always has something entertaining for Haynes to do.

Then, Haynes got creative with the pine needles and started sweeping up the campsite. It was all fun until he started using it as a weapon. BOYS!  

Here's our stew just a simmering. This just makes me happy.

It wouldn't be right for me to leave out such an important part of our camping experience. I will call this particular part of my post POTTY TRAINING TODDLERS in the GREAT OUTDOORS! Oh my heavens, how entertaining this was! After spending the better part of a year potty training with Haynes (a very tough year mind you), and Brookelynn showing major interest in the sport, I couldn't let one weekend outdoors ruin our progress by reverting back to diapers. Sooo..... we took our little travel potty and set up a make shift potty training area. Complete with lysol wipes, baby wipes and toilet paper. It worked great and the kids really got a kick out of going potty outside. I will say, it was really quite an odd sight.

 

Finally, the stew was ready! We all were ready for something hot. I had forgotten to bring two of the ingredients I needed but it still tasted quite good.

 

After supper, we climbed in the tent about an hour before bedtime (because I knew it would take that long to settle them down). We played in the dark tent with our new flashlights and glow sticks from the dollar bins at Target. This was really fun. Armed with warm, fuzzy footie pajamas, cheap flashlights, glow sticks, glow wands, and glow necklaces, those kids partied 'til the sun went down. Our tent looked like a disco ball.

 

Then it was time to be quiet. We have a book that projects pictures up on the wall if you shine the flashlight on it just right. This was the best camping book ever. It worked perfect on the walls of the tent. See?

After one more story on the kindle about another camping trip, Haynes and Brookelynn were finally settled and snuggled in their sleeping bags and warm blankets. I kissed them goodnight and climbed out of the tent. They were quiet in no time. Brandon and I had plenty of time by the fire, just the two of us. We discussed the events of the day and what we could have done to make it better. There are some more camping things we would like to buy. A bigger tent for one. But I think the day went about as good as it's gonna go with toddlers on a camping trip. It wasn't so bad. Just different than a camping trip with just the two of us. And we decided we would have to go camping with just us one day soon... so we could sit by the fire and do NOTHING else.

Day 2

In the morning, it was COLD!!!! The temperatures were in the high 40's and it was foggy and damp. Brandon and I woke up before the kids amazingly and we got out of the tent to get that campfire going pronto! We had time for a morning cup of coffee before the babies started to stir.

Brookelynn and Haynes looking a little rough after their first night of camping.

 

I climbed back in the tent and bundled them up as best as I could. I had forgotten to bring Haynes' heavy coat (horrible mother). I layered him with everything he had and sent them both out into the cold foggy morning. With nothing warm to feed them, I grabbed the only banana I brought, stuck it on the hot dog skewer and warmed it up before I gave it to them. They thought it was good. 

 

Fog is clearing up...

 

Brookelynn throwing leaves into a little drainage creek and calling them "pish."


Eventually we gave up on cooking breakfast on the fire since it never warmed up. Good thing we brought a propane burner just in case. Breakfast was still a success. Bacon and eggs and coffee. 

We decided after cleaning up breakfast that we had had enough experience with camping with toddlers and we packed up and headed home. All in all, it was a good trip. I'm glad we did it.