Wistful things that we love about camping........

[FourLittleDucks]

About to go camping with 3 daughters next week. The baby doesn't sleep well and rain is forecast everyday, but for some reason DH and I are VERY excited ! So thought I'd start a thread where we can all share the things we love about camping........

I'll start the list !

I love :

The feeling of being outdoors
Being dirty and not minding
Not caring what clothes you wear, just as long as you're warm.
Seeing the girls asleep in their bags
The simple task of boiling the kettle on the stove making the cup of tea taste SO good
The sound of rain (from the inside)
Cosiness
Feeling close together as a family and knowing that as you breathe, your children are making happy memories !
A freedom - me and my tent could go ANYWHERE !

I like the thought of not having to do anything you don't want to.

Absence of TV, computers, etc.

Playing silly board games.

No TV!
Long afternoons sat in the sun reading the paper
It's so cheap it practically pays for itself

Oh, and a warm shower on a cold morning

Campfire food,
lazing on duvets and cushions oudoors with a good magazine,
going for walks in the woods,
watching your children experience life without 'toys' (ooh the joy of seeing one's first frog!)
not caring that it's 6am when you wake up!

My favourite thing is when the kids get out of bed in the morning, put their wellies on with their PJs and go outside and carry on playing where they left off the night before...

Also love the lack of routine, snuggling up together in a big pile of airbeds and sleeping bags, cooking and eating outside and all going to bed at the same time

Cloud watching
Star gazing
Getting up at 5.50 and reading my book outside the tent in total silence with a mug of hot chocolate, a big blanket, a slight breeze, the sun starting to warm the air and all the promise and anticipation of another wonderful day.

Sitting outside at night drinking a glass of wine with candles burning

I don't really belong on this thread - I only do it For The Children.

So I suppose for me it's seeing the dc getting utterly filthy every day, running around barefoot in the rain and mud, going to sleep all clean from the shower, then putting the same filthy clothes on again the folowing mornng and getting filthy all over again.

And when dh and I are about to go to sleep ourselves, we unzip the dcs' compartment, creep in to give them each a kiss and disentangle them and reinsert them in their bags. A very sweet moment.

As for the camping itself

Oh all of the above...

I just love the old fashioned pleaseures. having time to talk to each other properly instead of rushing off to piano or football or riding lessons. The kids playing properly (ie with each other rather than with a games console!). Having teh time to read my book/paper in peace as there is nowhere more pressing to be. The smell of sausages cooking. Snuggling down in your sleeping bag with only a thin canvas between you and the sky....

Of course tomorrow night when I am shivering and soaked in my tent I might struggle to remember all these things!

The dc's having complete freedom to play out and get dirty.
It only takes me 5 mins to clean the tent
Again no computers , tvs, ds etc
And esp that late night wine , hot choc sat with the kids , friends around a fire.

But still hoping this will be the summer we are blessed with good weather