Our thought was simple. What can we do this summer for little money that would allow us to spend time connecting with our kids and the outdoors? Where can we take them that they will create lasting memories, ones that they will look back on fondly for years to come?
So, last February, I posed the question to Adrian, "What do you think about trying to camp at least one weekend a month for the entire summer?" As a once avid camper, it was easy to persuade him to start pulling out our old camping stuff to evaluate what items we would need to buy before starting our challenge.
Armed with a list of things to acquire over the next few months and some ideas for where we wanted to camp, we began the planning process. The month of April would kick off our summer, but more as a test run than anything; Adrian and I planned to go with our friends for just an overnight camping sesh at Carlsbad State Beach here in San Diego. That left May, June, July and August to plan for.
When all was said and done, we bought the following to prepare us for camping with the kids:
- This camping stove from Big 5
- A two-room tent to have plenty of space for the boys and our pup
- Two battery-powered lanterns
- Two headlamps for the boys
- A camping collapsable trash can
- Two Costco air mattresses
- Three Costco plastic tubs for food items and a dedicated "camping stuff" box
- Two cast-iron skillets, one small + one large
- A tea kettle
- LOTS of paper goods
- Dollar store tablecloths
- A wagon from Costco
We also scrounged up around the house:
- Extra pieces of synthetic grass that were never installed in our yard
- A propane tank
- Quite a few beach chairs
- Our ice chests
- Some random shepherd's hooks for the lanterns that were in our yard
- A coated cable dog leash for Bella
- Our pop-up tent
- Umbrella
Our campsite looked like this:
Now for the hard part: narrowing down our list of places to camp. We ended up deciding on the Sequoia National Forest for May, Big Sur for June and Yosemite Valley for August. July ended up falling through after a friend bailed and we lost our camping spot. Regardless, we still felt like we did our pact justice!
We meal planned using Pinterest, though our favorite things to eat were chili dogs, skillet cinnamon rolls, bacon and eggs, burgers, and of course, lots of s'mores! While we didn't necessarily meet our goal of having an inexpensive summer, we sure met our goal for making memories.
I'll do a full review of each campsite and experience next!
Have you tackled camping with kids? What are your favorite meals and places to go?
