I'M NERVOUS *and* Excited...WE'RE DOING IT!! 💪

🎉 🎊 ALL MY FAVORITE LINKS YOU'RE ASKING ME FOR 🎉 🎊

[rachelhorton]

Take a tarp and paracord so you can keep you cooking and eating area dry. Hang the tarp above the picnic table area. Also put tarps beneath your tents to keep the dampness from coming into the tent. Don’t be afraid, no one will go hungry and you will have a wonderful time! You can do this mama!

[RaychM-vqou]

Did anyone else want to go fly out and help her!?!
As a single mom who goes camping with my kids, let me tell you.... You got this Momma!!

[treesawlimbnahbirch]

I recommend setting up tents in your yard before trip, also good to have extra tent stakes. Having a first aide kit is most important. Aloe for burns. Soap for poison ivy.

[amym.]

Highly recommend buying camping cots vs air mattresses. They don’t deflate in the middle of the night. Extremely proud of you for being brave and taking your kiddos camping. You’ve got this! Here’s to fun adventures.

[lorenstribling]

Bless your heart! No matter how this turns out your kids will remember it for the rest of their lives. Have a wonderful birthday. I turned 70 earlier this month so I will live vicariously thru you. 😊

[lisarossnagel]

We.learned that an 8 owrson tent is really a 4 person tent, once you get all your stuff and air matresses in it.

[dharmaslife]

A lot of camp stoves are designed to hook up to the little green 1 gallon propane bottles… Another option, is to spend about 20 bucks on a hose that converts the connections so that you can connect to the #20 barbecue size bottles.

[laureemarshall]

Jamerrill you will have a fantastic time! I’m 60 and have camped as a kid and with all my kids. Just don’t overthink things. Camping is a time for family. Just remember a couple things, always put food and garbage away. Have a first aid kit on hand, a carpet outside each tent is a must. And a clothes line and pins to hang towels and wet clothes on. Good luck. Remember breath and just go with the flow!🏕️🇨🇦

[pennyberckhemer]

Not a necessity, but when we used to camp, we had a little door mat at the tent opening and a small broom and dustpan to help clean out the tent.

[joannakoler]

How exciting!! I can't wait to see all the tips and tricks you will have to share.

[coastalfarmhouse]

To make camping super easy, I always get a site with water and electric to tent camp. I use an electric skillet only (not griddle -The skillet has tall sides) and plan my menu around what I can cook with that. Also food prep your meals so you aren’t cooking all day. Like I will make a pot of chili at home, put it in bags or tupperware and refrigerate it. Then at camp, I dump it into the electric skillet to reheat. Done! I make hot dogs, quesadillas, pancakes, eggs, hamburgers, etc with electric skillet. Works well.

[racheldebasitis]

I really like how you're approaching this - keeping it simple so you have fun, as well as your kids. I hope it's everything you want it to be!

[kristyclay]

Not trying to tell you what to do. These are only a few suggestions. Get a tarp to setup each tent on. This will save the floor of your tent and hopefully keep roots etc. from puncturing your air mattresses. Also, this time of year, I would get a battery operated fan for each tent to stir some air and keep it from being so hot. If you take meats in the cooler, be careful, as the ice melts, your meat can get soggy. I learned this the hard way on my first camping trip. For example, a pack of hamburger, leave in the packaging from the G. Store then wrap in Reynolds wrap and finally place in Ziplock bags. This will keep your meats SAFE not soggy from water that has seeped in. Finally, take a rake to go over site where you will be pitching tents to get it as smooth as possible. Hope this helps and your trip goes SMOOTHLY and you ALL have a GREAT time! YOU CAN DO THIS !

[pennywillis]

🇦🇺I was a foster parent for 20 years and would take them camping. Have the first nights food made and just heat it up. We had a 8 man tent for us and a army bunk beds for the littles. We had 3 x 5 man tents. Choose tents that can be popped up easily. Extra tarps for under and over the tent in case of rain. We had a large tarp for the common area. Always have extra ropes for tents plus rope for a washing line. Each child had a backpack with their clothing items, torches, head lamps books etc.

We cooked over a campfire. We used an old pressure cooker without the jiggler for the main meal- cheesy meatballs in tomato soup, with toast. You will not want to cook after setting up camp.

We had bags for everything, on the inside write in permanent marker what should be inside.

cooking bag- kettle, pressure cooker, frying pan, toasting rack. Fire starters, lighters, waterproof matches.

Cleaning- tea towels, dishwashing liquid, scrubbers, sponges, washing line for washing, pegs, hand shovel and broom, rubbish bags, large washing basin,

Bathroom bag- toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair bands, feminine hygiene, small black rubbish bags, emergency toilet with Rubbish bags.

First aid bag, wound care items, medication, bandages, sling, vomit bags, tweezers etc

Tent bag- hammer, extra metal pegs, extra rope, knife, air pump (with car plug-in), air mattress patches, extra poles.

[dmr]

Many may have suggested this already, but be sure to get an air pump for those mattresses.
Board games, card games, or musical instruments for evening entertainment. A camp shovel to trench rain water away from you tents. Large water jugs, the collapsible ones are great. A portable clothes line. Fire starters and lighters, lots of towels.
Don't know how long your trip will be for, but what a great way to start. Wish you well!!!

[loribrocato]

So fun!!!😊. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.". Hope y'all have the best time and great weather.

[kathylund]

I grew up tent camping! Best memories ever!!!
1.) take more flashlights than you think you’ll need. And batteries. The tent lights are great, but trips to the bathroom, or even trips to each others’ tents, will need flashlights.
2.) Take blankets. The mattresses are great (do they self inflate?), but cold seeps through from underneath at night. It also gets colder at night than you might think. Also warm Jammie’s.
3.) It’s always nice to have more room in a tent than less. Baggage, clothes, personal care items.
4.) Be sure your camp site will allow multiple tents. Some limit the number, or might make you take extras down during the day.
5.) Camp chairs! Lots of them. The picnic table is not good for extended relaxation.
6.) Sandwiches and cold cereal are great for your first few outings, until you get a feel for how it all works for you. Prep as many meals ahead as you can. I can see how Sharp Shopper will be a huge blessing as you prep! 😉
7.) since you said you’d have electricity, take an extension cord. Maybe you can use a crock pot for dinner. Camp beans and roasted weiners make a fun camping meal!
8.) Lots of wet wipes! 😉
9.) A metal whistle! My folks always brought one. Train the kids to always respond to the whistle. If you are missing one during nose count, use it! If you need the kids to come back to camp, use it! Surprisingly helpful. Might even invest in ones for the Littles, if they get lost.
10.) HAVE FUN! Our camping trips when I was small were very rustic. No flushing toilets, no electricity. By the time I was grown with my own kids, I’d perfected our three week camping trips quite a bit, with a full fledged kitchen, pantry, etc.

GREAT MEMORIES WERE MADE! Praying the same for your family…Relax and have fun. Make notes each trip for the next one. 😃

🙏🙏🙏

[bonfer]

How wonderful and brave. You are being a shining hero to your children.❤ I admire your 'spunk'.❤ God bless y'all- have a fun time!

[marthaely]

I bought a 4 person tent for my adult son who is autistic. He lives in a supported living home and beautiful yard areas. There is a small hill with a level top. My friends who know camping told me to put plastic painting floor protectors, then a tarp on top of that, then pitch the tent. Buy dog tie downs for tent stakes. To keep the inside clean, buy cheap indoor outdoor carpet for tent floor. And I put a welcome mat in front of the entrance. It is so pretty in that little campground. His housemates family bought a porch type swing that's out there, we put a shepards crook with petunias and a solar light chandelier. It's so beautiful! And a picnic table and lots of chairs.
Those dog tie downs work great, here in my area of Ohio, we had several tornadoes last week, with week long power outages, etc. My son's tent is still standing! The sun shade needs adjusting, but the tent is still tied down.

[pamsmith]

This is such a great idea! Your children will always remember this. God bless you and your family!