Camping as a Family Tips and Lessons Learned Part 1

We love to be outside.  Whether swimming in the summer, biking throughout the year, or sitting around the fire in the fall, we love the bonding the outside provides our family.  As a Type A momma, I love how it forces me to forget about the mounds of dishes and laundry that require my attention and the pages of emails that beg my reply.  I can focus on my kiddos and husband.  SO it isn’t a surprise that we have taken to camping so much.

Let me give you some background.  Before we were married, we attended a Gary Smalley marriage conference with several friends from college.  It was a fabulous conference and we learned a lot for our upcoming marriage.  One thing that stuck with me was a comment that Mr. Smalley said about family activities, specifically camping.  He expressed the need for families to create memories.  What better way than going camping?  And not because of the amazing beauty of creation or the time sitting around the camp fire sharing dreams and ambitions.  No.  Go camping because of the disasters.  (Yes, you read that correctly….go camping because of all that goes wrong.)

Sounds like a pretty weird reason to go camping but it hit a chord with me.  He went on to explain that it is through surviving the disasters that a family becomes a family.  It is in those rained out camping trips that the best stories are created to be shared around the dinner table for years to come.  It is the failures and successes that makes your family unique.  The uniqueness creates the bond. 

So, even before we were married and had any kiddos, I developed a desire to camp as a family.  After several trial runs in the front yard, we decided it was something that we would invest in because it fit our family goals.

I need to pause for a moment and state that while we have done the tent camping, we now have a trailer.  Some of you would state that this is not camping.  Touché.  I am fine with that.  But let me explain why we purchased a used trailer.

A trailer meant I could relax. 

With Bubs and Little Man’s ADHD, at this stage of life, there was no way we could remain sane laying like hotdogs in a tent. While a trailer for me felt like I was “breaking the camping rules” I had to give myself grace to understand that we needed to do what was best for our family.  A trailer with specific places for each child to sleep was what we needed.  Nothing fancy.  I could care less on the decor.  We just wanted something clean with sleeping arrangements that would work for our kiddos.

And I think God agreed because we were led to an under-priced, older camper that has been perfect.  No, we do not have a huge toy hauler as imaged above.  But it would be cool if we did!

This week I am going to share tips that we have learned along the way. I hope that you will share your tips with me too!  Click to Read Part 2