What's not to love about camping? Blech!

My family and I are tent campers and by tent campers I mean fair weather tent campers.  The week before we get any sudden urges to go work ourselves to the bone for the love of our kids, I start studying the weather network like my life depends on it.  And technically my life does depend on it because tent camping....well it's a lot of work!

This past weekend was one of those rare fair weather weekends that don't come around so often in my neck of the woods.  Three days of pure uninterrupted sunshine in the great outdoors.  What could be better than that!  Oh I know....staying home with my feet up doing nothing more than watching re-runs of Reba and House Hunters and using both hands to shove my face full of delicious, bad for you but oh so yummy I'm going to eat it anyway, food.  Ahhh, well at least I still got to do the last part except only with one hand I might add because I needed the other hand to swat away oh about FIFTY MILLION MOSQUITOES!!! 

It was sometime between the eleventh trip to the outhouse and the game of connect the mosquito bite dots all over my body that I realized that I'm not a fair weather tent camper at all.  In fact I'm pretty sure I'm a no time camper.   Of course in all fairness if I had a 30 foot long trailer complete with a full size tub and a massage chair I might most definitely change my mind. However the verdict is still out on that one and probably will be for quite some time to come.

There is one part of camping I do enjoy though and that's the organizing for it of course.  Listen I'm an addict, I'll organize just about anything :)  I get to line my totes all up so beautifully and then organize to my heart's content.  Anytime I get to fondle my totes is a good day :)  After that it all comes down to the clipboard and the checklist.  It's so much fun to check things off and pretend that the world will deconstruct if I don't get this just exactly right.  I should probably get a life I know.  Anyway should you be a much braver soul than me here are a few camping tips I'm happy to share.

1.  Forget packing lightly.  If you suspect you'll need something (particularly long pants and long socks to ward off those pesky mosquitoes) you probably will.  Pack it up!

2.  Forget packing anything healthy though because you'll only come home with it all again.  Apparently marshmallows are an essential part of the camping food pyramid and make a complete and nutritious meal.  Or so say my kids.

3.  Bring earplugs.  This is especially important when you discover that your son's air mattress is the LOUDEST thing on earth every time he rolls over.  And over and then over again.

Who says I don't inform, who says?

After all that work and exhaustion, I'm happy to say we did survive the weekend and I'm pretty sure my kids had a great time.  BUT the camping trip we had planned for this upcoming weekend?  Totally cancelled.  Now don't get me wrong, I love my kids, just not that much. :)

Are there any other fools folks out there that are still tent camping these days or are you a trailer/camper type of family?

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