Every Little Thing

I am excited by the littlest things as I prepare for our first family camping trip.  

Teeny beading baggies filled with 1 fry pan-worth of bacon grease.  Awesome flapjacks and eggs, here we come!

Nature "I Spy" cards, and a Hide-A-Bee!  The boys are already playing Hide A Bee at home...how much cuter in a campsite?!

First of all, I've been mentally preparing now for weeks: just thinking about tents and s'mores and hikes and bikes; exploring Saranac Lake's awesome website of area attractions and hikes to make a Huntress-friendly list; Pinning all sorts of camping-with-preschoolers tips, games and camp crafts.   

Then, as we delved into our pre-kid camping supplies, we have made too many trips to WalMart and Amazon Prime--but of course, we're preparing not only for this camping trip, but for many camping adventures to come, right?!

Last summer, we did a couple of nights of "practice camping" in our back woods (because I realized that I wasn't up for a 24-hour gear overhaul between a separate family trip and heading to the Tent).  We made a campsite and fire circle out there, and had a delightful couple of days, which were also low-stress because it didn't matter that most things we "forgot" and just went inside for.  

So this year, instead of 24 hours, I've stretched this process out over 3 or 4 weeks.  And along with my extreme mental excitement, I've experienced this oxymoronic mental sluggishness.  The symptoms mostly consist of procrastination, which drives me either to my latest good book or, more often, to the internet for some more mindless Facebooking (or kid-craft inspiration).  

Pretty sure it will be good for me to have a four-day Facebook Fast. 

And now, it really is TIME to pack up some food or something!  Tomorrow's the big day!  Happy trails to you and yours!