Campin'

We are now, officially, a camping family!

Not that we weren't before. When Jeff and I were first married, we drove all the way up the central coast and slept in the back of his truck until we got to San Francisco, where we stayed in a cheap hotel that seemed very luxurious at the time. (Heck, it had MTV!)

Later, we became tent campers. That was fine, until we had the girls. Tent camping with kids...a whole new experience.

As you know, kids need stuff. Care Bear bandaids. Cozy Wozies (the girls' special blankets.) Instant Oatmeal and TWO different kinds of cereal. Games. Extra clothes for the mud and the spills. The list goes on.

Lately, Jeff has been going camping and off-roading with his dad's jeep club. Everyone wants me to join them, and they make me feel very welcome. (Just sleep in our trailer...there's plenty of room!) And I'm imagining my kids and me and all of our stuff.

I'm a nester. I like my home. I like my things. I love to travel, but I really need a home base.

So Jeff and I decided to dive head first into the world of trailer ownership.

We're in love with it already!

Last week, we took our first camping trip to Julian. We had a blast, cooking chicken on the grill, making smores and brown bears, playing Barbie Uno and Go Fish. We went on a hike (if you can call it that with two five-year-olds and the pugs!), drove to the lake, and went into Julian for the malt shop and pie!

There is a picture of me at about four years old. I'm camping with my family, and I have messy hair, a dirty face (from playing) and I'm wearing a blue sweatshirt with the word "Foxy" in patchwork letters across the front. (It was the '70's!) I look so content! Some of my favorite memories are of going camping at our property in Bridgeport, playing card games at the little table in our trailer, telling stories around the campfire, and floating in a tube down the river that ran through our camp. I'm so excited that the girls will have similar memories!

Next stop: Camping at the beach near Ventura. Jeff is already polishing his body board! We'll keep ya' posted.