the highs and lows of camping with dc's

[oregonianabroad]

High points:

Excitement
Running around in fresh air
Sense of accomplishment on erecting tent!
Cooking outdoors
Seeing animals and nature
Baby lambs
bed socks

Low points:
Waking up freezing in the middle of the night needing a wee & having to trek across a field to go to the loo
trying to get back into sleeping bag after middle of night wee
lambs bleating
being awakened by dc at ungodly hour of the morning
dc waking the rest of the campsite
trying to get water to boil for a cup of coffee at ungodly hour of the morning in gale force winds
trying to get tent down in gale force winds

You do realise that all of the cold/wet/gales issues could be solved by camping in Europe - then there would be no downsides!

oh except the Euro

The kbears feel your pain, which is why we just spent a week in Cornwall on the most idyllic site in a log cabin!!

It would be expensive in high season but at Easter it was £250 for the week. We've paid that for a couple of weeks camping in August in New Forest/Weymouth and froze our arses off and held on to our marriage by a thread.

Log cabin = warm at night, happy kids running round in wilderness, happy parents (cold beer, warm room) and happy DH (bit of telly!).

I can link if you like, it was blissful. Best site we've ever been south of Glencoe!

Don't say that we are just about to do our first camping trip so are concentrating on the high points!

More high points to add:

playing card games with the dses in the tent
going on a midnight adventure (a late-evening drive designed to lull dses to sleep)
smug feeling of superiority while putting all the useful tips gleaned from MN into use (especially the ones about sleeping/layering under bedding and glow sticks)

low point:
the realisation that I could have had not one but two full weeks in a cottage/ log cabin for what we spent on equipment.

on the other hand, the highs outweighed the lows and we will definitely be going again!

I'd love to see your link, kbear, but it's probably a bit far for us as we live oop north.

my fave moment of camping (this easter)by myself with 2dc

dc1 "mum can we play scrabble?"
me "yes"
dc1 "what now?this minute"
me "yes"
dc1 "wow"

kind of puts into perspective that at home you always find little jobs that need doing whereas i took them away camping to be able to give them my attention-it was a great feeling(am i sad?)

oh and putting the tent up by myself(with a little help from dc1)

roll on next half term

Kbear I would love that link

Highs

Lots of freedom
new friends
swimming
swimming
more swimming

lows
being sick from in the luton all over the lower decks.....
sick all over a three man tent at midnight and in her ds hair...

highs

learning how to get ride of the smell of sick

ruthern valley