It's been almost two years since I have been camping...and I love camping, so why the absence of a good camp excursion in my life? Well, it all has to do with the addition of a certain little fellow who came into my life two years ago.
Ever since my son was born my husband and I just could not fathom giving up a single night of sleep that had the potential of being almost solid (it took our son forever to sleep through the night...wait he still doesn't!). So, the idea of trying to get our child to sleep outdoors for any extended period of time, and thus losing more sleep in the process, just didn't appeal to us. So, we opted for long day hikes instead of overnight trips.
OK, so fast forward to right now. It's May, and almost Memorial Day Weekend, which in my book is the unofficial official start to summer, and that hint of summer has made my mind all bonkers thinking about the good'ol days when the stars were my night lights and a camp fire was all I needed to make my morning cup of tea.
Fortunately, just as I was biting my nails to nubs trying to decide whether or not to schedule a camping trip for this summer, a book arrived in the mail that put all my parental worries at ease. Shambahla Publications sent me Helen Olsson's The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids.
I read Olsson's book, and it was like she was reading my mind! The book's design is clean with a retro-hip flair. Olsson breaks down the whole process of camping from start to finish. Including information and checklists to consider before scheduling, in preparation for and while on the camping trip. She even has a quick reference "park ranger" character who intervenes throughout the book with useful tips and tricks to consider. My favorite feature of the book are the checklists. Olsson includes checklists for what to pack, gear to bring, and the most useful of all a complete first aid kit checklist. I appreciate the wit she delivers along with her wisdom of how to successfully and easily travel to the woods with kids. She put my worries at ease, and I am now in the process of planning that long awaited camping trip.
In celebration of my taking the first steps to get back into the groove of camping I have two copies of Helen Olsson's book, The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids to giveaway to two lucky readers!
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Our family loves to hike and bike in the summer.
ReplyDeleteLike you, hubby and I haven't been camping since before our son was born maybe reading this will inspire us to give it a try! :-) Thanks for the chance, Julia
I would love a chance for a copy! Like you, I to put off camping for awhile and we finally went last year. Most of the trip went well until my youngster decided to take it upon himself to go the playground. The worst 5 minutes of my life! Wishing you a much better experience!
ReplyDeleteI understand your worries about camping. In fact, my little one was easier to camp with as a baby vs. her run around wild and be sassy 2 year old years now. I would LOVE this book! We are planning a camping trip in July, so this would be perfect!
ReplyDeleteLindsay @
PeaceloveandHomesteading.blogspot.com
We are being crazy and going on a 8 night camping trip with our 3 kids. Not sure what we are thinking!!! We love geocaching too.
ReplyDeletechipdip2010(at)hotmail(dot)com
I used to go camping every year since I was a baby but when I got pregnant we didn't go and haven't been back. We are planning a trip to go camping with our family which includes a newborn, a 3 year old and two older boys. I have no idea how to prepare for it! I'd love to win a copy. :)
ReplyDeletetotshop728 at yahoo dot com
Oh man... what timing! our little guy his 3.5 this summer, and daddy would LOVE to take him camping. As the master-planner of the family, this makes me a bit... shall we say... nervous? A book to encourage my creativity would be AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteSomething I like to do outdoors during the summer. COOK! We've really taken to grilling and what-not recently.
Thanks for the change to win! Christina @ http://www.dandelionsonthewall.com
One thing our family LOVES to do outdoors is PLAY. Pure and simple! We are huge fans of bug spray, sunscreen and un-electric PLAY! My children are 9,8 and 13 months and we do all we can to stay connected with our kids playing sports, going camping to the beach and more! This sounds like a great book!!!
ReplyDeleteWith my husband's love for hiking, camping and spending time in nature, there would be no way to stop it after our first son was born. So when he was only 3 months old, we took him for a week-long camping trip to Death Valley. My worry was just like yours that he would not sleep through the night, which he was doing until basically he was 15mo, but he did sleep well during our camping trip. We took our son to Montana to visit his auntie and he did great too. So spending time outdoors is in his blood. I am pregnant with our second baby and already planning a trip to Redwoods or Yosemite after his is born :)
ReplyDeleteWould love to have a copy of this book. Looks like a great book.
Your Neighbor :)