It's May Long Weekend and I'm NOT camping

It's May long weekend; the unofficial start of camping season in British Columbia. Given that our family purchased a truck and trailer in the past couple of months there is a general assumption that tonight, we are sitting around a campfire enjoying our new digs.

In truth, I'm sitting on my beautiful deck, enjoying a fantastic view and a glass of wine.

💕Seriously, I LOVE it here! 💕 #sunset #myview #loganlake #LLCountryHouse

A photo posted by Amber Smith (@mommastuffblog) on May 16, 2015 at 8:21pm PDT

And I couldn't be happier.

May long weekend inevitably brings with it, extra excessive drinking and rowdiness, horrible traffic and quite frankly far too many people for my liking. Plus we're still waiting on our 'trailer lesson' from our fabulous friends, whom I'm confident will ensure that we don't break anything critical.

We will certainly have mishaps and a steep learning curve as we begin our adventures, but today, this weekend, its not the time.

Do you long weekend camp? Or do you avoid it like the plague?
I'm curious if we're the only ones who'd rather wait for the yahoos to vacate before the adventures begin.

Camping Overview...sadly not demonstrated via Instagram

After spending a week camping with my family, I feel grateful. Not for the amenities of home, but for home itself. Thankful that in our life we have the luxury of worrying about the little things, secure in the fact that our home is always waiting for us.

That being said, camping was good.

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It was wet and mornings started with a 5am wake up call from Simba.

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On Monday morning Simba and I saw a goose wandering around with an arrow stuck through it. He seemed to have one friend, or mate, that stayed close throughout the day. The SPCA came by the campground but the scared little guy continually scooted away and ultimately evaded capture.

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Aside from the adjacent Vedder River, one of my favourite features of the campground is that it connects to the municipal trail system, which connects to the dyke system, which leads to the front entrance of the campground. It's an leisurely way to enjoy a 45 minute stroll with my boys. We sing songs, tell stories, eat snacks and generally enjoy each other's company. Truly its lovely, for the most part.

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Sometimes we detour a short ways from the campground and stop to look at the horses and donkey in a local field. If Simba had his way, we would spend hours each and every day watching the animals.

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We don't watch animals all day, however we do spend hours in the playground; the swings are always a favourite.

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And, what would camping be without a campfire? We had campfires at least once a day (I LOVE morning fires) and we went through oodles of wood.  Interestingly, Bolt talked non-stop about s'mores but only ate a grand total of four and was otherwise disinterested in the fire, whereas Simba loved both making and watching the fires and ate no s'mores at all.

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Camping, or perhaps I should say glamping (at my sister-in-laws trailer) was time well spent with the family. I enjoyed listening to my boys giggle, laugh, run and play, though I will also admit that I enjoyed my brand new phone and data package (as if you couldn't guess).

Does your family camp?
Do you tent or trailer?
Do you travel the 'world' or you frequent the familiar?
What's your must-bring item for the kids?

FYI - apparently you CAN'T just embed your Instagram photos which is frustrating me to no end...so please do click through to the pictures so you can see all the fun we had!

Campfires, Marshmallows and Memories

Although we've been back home for a week, and I was so ready to be in my own home, my own bathroom and my own bed, it doesn't mean I didn't love every moment of my vacation.

Although I loved every giggle, smile and moment I shared with my baby boys, perhaps my favourite moments were sitting around the campfire with the hubs.  Given the time of year, the campground was near deserted and we had a chance to be together, just the two of us, without the distractions of life, in particular the electronic distractions.

I was digging the old school campfire recipes, over the week I made both chocolate chip bananas and stuffed apples in the fire and of course we had to indulge in some s'mores. Since we didn't have any gluten-free graham crackers on hand, I improvised and used gluten-free Kinnitoos (mmm mmm good) to make my s'mores.  They were a bit on the sweet side, but there's something about the crunch that really makes it; these were much more delicious than my usual method of simply stuffing the chocolate inside the roasted marshmallow.

Long before the hubs and I were married, we camped.  And when we camped, we always ate s'mores.  So having these nostalgia filled moments with him simply reminds me that even though we now go by the names mom and dad, not everything has changed.

Do you have a special ritual that reminds you of your life before children?

On camping, needs and wants

Each September, since before the boy was born, the hubs and I go on a 'camping' vacation to my sister-in-laws trailer, which is equipped with all the necessities and many luxuries including a full canopy cover and both an indoor and an outdoor TV.

Although in the past its always been dreary and wet, this year we have been blessed with an Indian Summer and bountiful sunshine.  So much that by the late afternoon the boy isn't interested in playing in the park, he'd rather sit in the air conditioned trailer and relax with his new friend 'Diego'.

The few other kids around the trailer park are constantly asking if the boy can come and play, but given that the boy is much younger than these kids, generally dislikes playing with other kids and doesn't particularly like people in his personal space this seemed a bit surprising.  That is until my mother-in-law pointed out the obvious.  These kids aged anywhere from five to thirteen don't want to play with my two and a half year old son, they want to play with the toys he brings to the park.

One little boy remarked 'wow, he has a lot of toys' when he brought a bucket, a shovel and 3 cars to the park.  This made me wonder how few toys this little five year old actually had.  But when his eight year old sister explained to me that you can get money for returning pop bottles and cans and that their family was collecting all the cans they could because money was tight, I felt bad about taking the toys away from them when we left the park.

Situations like this leave me sad and a little confused; I'm sad because I wish that all children could live a life without struggle, where all their needs are easily met.  I want my children to have everything they need and some of the things they want, but without the sense of entitlement that often accompanies affluence.  That being said, I grew up poor and I truly believe that I am better off because of it; that I understand the value of money, the cost of food and the difference between what I want and need. All things I want for my children.

So I'm left wondering, how exactly do we walk the line between desire and survival, effectively teaching our children to value what they have and to work for what they want?

Camping with an 18 month old

Every year we take a week off in September to spend some time at my sister-in-law's trailer for a little rest and relaxation out in nature.  The campground is virtually deserted, except for friendly fisherman, since all the kids are back to school.  We've been lucky with the weather in the past, but this week there's been rain, and not just a little bit.  That being said we've definitely embraced the dry moments; the boy LOVES the playground at the campsite.

We had to run off to Zellers to buy the boy his first pair of rubber boots on Monday morning and I can't get over how cute they are.

With no big kids around, the boy can do whatever he wants and has spent oodles of time tossing fists full of rocks onto the slide; it amazes me just how long he has found this game is entertaining.

He also loves spending time in with what we have affectionately dubbed the 'redneck exersaucer'.  Seriously, who doesn't love a happily contained toddler?

And personally, I just can't get enough of the belly laughter and pure joy that family time on the teeter totter elicits from the boy.