Camping Wish List

This is the final post about camping. I have many items that I'd love for our outdoor adventures. There are so many things that I'd like to purchase.

Kitchen:

A kitchen box would be ideal and may help with preventing forgotten necessities

Of course, I'll need kitchen utensils to fill the box

Then there's the necessities for campfire.

Lighting is essential at night and sometimes in the early morning. Since space is limited, I love these multi-functional options.

Most of all, I want a wonderful place to sleep. I really want a trailer to have a comfortable bed and a place to store all of our camping essentials. The trailer will also be nice in the change that there is rain.

My husband and I have NO experience pulling a trailer. The tent trailer is a perfect smaller option and it folds down.

Camping recap

I thought I was prepared for everything on this camping trip. Well, I was wrong. I know it's inevitable that something will be forgotten, I feel like the stuff we forgot wasn't a big deal but certainly would have made life easier.

1. Broom to sweep out tent
   
2. Carpet squares to keep the dirt out of the tent
   
3. Dish towels
   
4. Dish soap
   
5. Water jug for washing water
   
6. Water cooler for drinking water
   
7. Tarp for under the tent
   
8. Mesh bag to dry dishes
   
9. Metal spoons for cooking and serving
   
10. Camping plates and silverware (we ran out of paper plates) 
    

Camping DIY

I'm kind of crazy. I prefer to make things instead of buying them. There are certain things that I just know that I can make better.

Denim Covers for long forks

Kitchen box

Dish and silverware holder, currently in progress

Kitchen Sink

Raingutter Regatta

Last month's pack meeting was an awards ceremony for all of the achievements earned at day camp. The next few pack meetings will be more fun. We are doing the raingutter regatta this month and a bike rodeo in September. We chose September for the bike rodeo since it's a great time to remember bike rules as the boys head back to school. I was thrilled for the opportunity to coordinate a raingutter regatta since I've never done one before.

I immediately took to pinterest. I loved the idea of the pool noodle boats. I figure it's an inexpensive option. We have hundreds of Popsicle sticks to use as the mast. We decided that small fun foam sheets would work great as the sail.

We have a regatta track already from a previous event.

I cut pool noodles into 4 inch lengths.

I then cut them in half.

They scouts will have two options of how to build their boats. I'm curious to see which they choose.

 

Camping Necessities

I spent a lot of time before our trip to research camping supplies. Thankfully, the kids and my husband went to scout camp a few weeks prior. We had a lot of stuff that was needed for both trips.

Lighting is a must. I found little flashlights and headlamps for $1 at Wal-Mart. I had a small lantern that I bought for a winter storm. I added a carabiner to the handle for use as a light in the tent. The black flashlight is dual purpose. It is a flashlight and also a portable cell phone charger. I bought glow sticks at the dollar store and they were a failure. Next time, I'll spend a little more and buy them at a different store.

Our campground had a huge bear proof dumpster. It was up at the entry to the site but well worth keeping the trash away. We generated a lot of garbage so we needed a trash can close by. I saw on pinterest to buy a collapsible laundry hamper. I used clips to hold the bag in place. It folds down to about a 6 inch circle and you can store the bags within.

We had three different ways to start fire. Flint and steel. Matches. Lighter. No, we didn't use flint and steel but it was there in case of emergency. The matches were in the orange waterproof container. We used the matches to start our fires. The lighter came in handy when it came to the camp stove.

I used an old baby wipes container for the first aid kit. I made sure it was well stocked since the nearest hospital was over an hour away. There was gauze, alcohol wipes, bandaids, cotton swabs, saline tubes, gloves, tape, ibuprofen, allergy pills, anti itch cream, antibiotic gel, scissors, hand sanitizer, wooden tongue depressor, and disposable ice pack.

My favorite item was my pink tackle box. It held all of the little items that I felt were needed. I'm crazy about making sure that everything was organized. The items are as follows:

• hamper
• trash bags
• needlenose pliers
• scissors
• batteries
• paracord
• flashlights
• headlamp
• survival whistle
• matches
• lighter
• hand sanitizer
• pens
• sharpie
• bug spray
• lip balm
• toothpaste
• clips
• rubber bands
• pocket knife
• small sewing kit (yes, I used it. My friends tent got a hole on the first day)

Family Pictures preview

Each summer, we do family pictures. We only have the kids once a year and family photos is a necessity. We've had a variety of people take our pictures in years past. It's never really been a good experience. My best friend is a photographer so I decided to ask her to take our pictures this year. She has a great relationship with my husband and kids. I figured that if anyone could really capture my family, it would be her. I think pictures this year were a huge success. You can check out her facebook page here.