So, I think I made a Big Mistake.
In a moment of extreme non-lucidity, I randomly suggested for God only knows what reason that the girls and I have a backyard campout.
Let me qualify that statement so the import is apparent: I’ve never camped out before in a tent except for one time in the British Lakes District with an ex boyfriend, and he set up the tent (for that matter, he carried the tent in his backpack). And there were regular bathrooms and hot water that cost a pound for not quite enough time.
Of course, my camping excursion with the kids will have hot water and showers–just inside the house, where there will also be a hot breakfast and most likely many evening snacks.
But still…outdoors. Tent. Two squealing little girls. Tent.
About that tent…got it in a garage sale on a total whim recently. Clearly, that was my first mistake.
The truth?
I’m looking forward to our backyard adventure. Hopefully I’ll come out of it relatively unscathed. Minimal sore back, not too many allergies, only one or two bug bites….and a ton of fabulous mommy-daughters memories!
Maybe not such a Big Mistake after all …
Got any backyard campout experiences to share? Tips?
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Awww, fun!! I used to LOVE camping out with my fam in the backyard or for reals at a camping ground. So how did it turn out?
Backyard camp outs were the norm when I was a kid.
Setting the stage: Five girls, two parents, three bedrooms. Each with of us (The Girls) with multiple friends who liked to sleep over at our house. Why? I have no CLUE!
Solution: Each spring a tent went up in our backyard, and it stayed up through the summer months. It solved the over-crowding issue with the bedrooms. But, we still had only one bathroom. I have tons of fun, fond memories of those times.
Um the last time I tented was during a preteens’ Survivor games weekend about 4 yrs ago. all the tents were close enough to a house we could use the bathroom. The events were held in the great outdoors next to the sea.
I wrangled an outdoor extension cord and ran it into my tent where I had a lamp, a tv and a portable dvd player.
my tent also had two air mattresses stacked ( a must for grownups)and a bed tray used for ahem, a bedside table.
I know how to backyard tent! lol
Julie, you’re a good mom.
The things we do in support of our kids.
As a former GS for 9 years, an GS leader and a BS leader, and married to a man who has bought a 2 room tent and sleeping bags, I have to say this: Good luck. The last time I went camping was between Orlando and Daytona Beach with the BS. I confiscated a mattress to sleep on from a nearby cabin, and stayed awake most of the night swatting mosquitos with several other parents whilst the bull alligator bellowed nearby, the raccoons tried to steal anything shiny, the bears rattled in the bush near us (there were a LOT of paw prints the next morning) and I encountered snipe hunters. (You know, snipe hunting. Except this was two parents who were not married to each other getting rough and nasty in the woods. Thank goodness I was the one that found them and not one of the boys who would probably have been scarred for life.)
I would actually love to camp but not in my garden now that I am in the UK. We have way too many foxes here. Plus my actual grass area is very tiny and half is covered by where the dogs go potty.
We are thinking about going down near Corfe castle near Swanage, or maybe in the Peak or Lake district. But it will have to be warmer for me to go. A LOT warmer. And we have to bring the dogs and Octavius (my chameleon) with us.
Nothing will compare to my first summer as a canoe instructor. It was a day camp but one night we stayed over. It is held in Tomoka State Park where we go crabbing for blue crabs for dinner and share the site with bobcats, bears, possum, coons, gators, snakes, squitos, skunks and anything and everything else creepy crawly that you can imagine in a swamp in Florida. They asigned one adult per tent of 2-4 girls. Well my tent was full of about 9 year olds. Which was ok but they were afraid of one corner where there was hole in the tent so I slept there. About 3 in the morning I woke them screaming after a racoon had stuck its hand in the hole and yanked my hair and would not let go for about 2 minutes. The only reason it let go was because someone hit it on the outside of the tent. Didn’t hurt it but it did let go. Yeah. Fun. I won’t go into the dynamics but there were some wet sleeping bags. And I had a bruise from the yank. Those suckers are STRONG! Course it didn’t help that I had put them to sleep with ghost stories of local scary things. HAHA. I guess I shouldn’t laugh since I probably traumatized those poor girls the rest of their lives with my screams. lol
LOL. Moral of the story: Never, NEVER sleep by the hole in the tent.
Watch out for the scorpions!
heheheh…
That makes me think of your old driveway! YIKES!
We camped out in the backyard once. And the only one who actually made it through the night was my husband. My daughter and I both woke up in the middle of the night and went into the house to bed. But it was still a lot of fun. We roasted marshmallows and sang and all the normal stuff you do.
If it’s a used tent… pray it doesn’t rain… rake the ‘site’, put down a waterproof barrier the size of the ten floor…, use foam mattress pads.. check the flashlight’s batteries or just put in new ones… leave a night light on at the back door for those bathroom runs… bug spray will be needed… do not eat inside the tent… crumbs equals some sort of critters visiting…
Wait until the tent is completely dry from any moisture to take down & put away… Have fun telling stories… have a ‘campfire’ and make s’mores.
Have fun… and do it more than once…
Love it!!! I’m crossing my fingers on the rain thing. It’s not supposed to….but you never know!
I used to be a girl scout and loved camping. Now–not so much. One night on the ground in a tent would equal three months of back pain and I’m too old for that. I’m giving you all sort of huge AWESOME points for doing this. If it was me, however, I’d have taken them to a tea palor then for a mani/pedi–a very girly day with lots of food and pampering. But that’s because I suffer from BFC Syndrome (Big Fat Chicken). You go, girl! You rock!
Ditto on the girl scout and camping past, Jacquie. I loved it! Now, roughing it is having only one pillow beneath my head. I’ve become a big weenie with the whole tent camping thing. So Julie earns major Cool Mom points for the backyard excursion.
I’ve done the mani/pedi things too many times…it’s lost its oomph, LOL. Was a girl scout for only about 3 minutes. My 10yo is a GS and LOVEs it!
Sadly that’s exactly where I am. Used to love camping and now– not so much for the ground sleeping. But Girl Scout camp was so awesome!
Sorry, I can’t help either. We just returned from a six week trip to FL and SC. We travel in a 31 foot 5th wheel so we had hot and cold water, indoor plumbing, TV, and internet most of the time.
I keep telling my DH we need one of those! I think that would be a BLAST
Ummm….no. I think you are on your own with this one, JK. But how fun!
Oh, come on ……..
I’m the last person to ask for camping advice. Considering the coyote howls out my window last night, I’m not going to try it in my neighborhood. But I do think this earns you the Awesome Mom award. It’s a great thing to do with the girls! What an adventure! I can try to send the coyotes if you want extra excitement.
Um, no. But thanks for offering!