more about the camping trip. because i know you care.

As I mentioned, we are going camping.  It's pretty much giving me major amounts of stress, not for any particular reason or set of reasons, but just because.  Just because I'm awesome.  Heh.

My phone was dinging off the hook with text messages about the BIG! CAMPING! TRIP! the other day.  A lot of it was funny, except for this:  everybody has to plan an activity or game for the Short People Collective.

Wha?

In the first place, NEVER BEEN CAMPING BEFORE.  In the second place, PLAY GAMES? WHILE CAMPING?  Who does this?  Don't the short people just run amok and climb trees and start fires and stub their toes and stuff and then pass out at the end of the day?

Apparently not.

So I consulted the googles, because that's just What You Do when you're clueless.  Thank God for the googles, and for the gazillions of people who know things about what to do with short people for fun when you're clueless and camping.

A scavenger hunt, that's what you do.  Heather from the Creative Homemaker Blog posted her ideas, and I totally used her intellectual property.  But I did make my own sheet.  Honest.

Here's a printable scavenger hunt, just for you.  Check it out.

i'm outta here.

Just wanted to pop in to let you know I'm guest posting at Hip Homeschool Moms today.

I know I just heard somebody ask me why I'm posting over there.

*sigh*

Because I'm a hip homeschool mom, that's why, even in the summer.

we are going camping

Some of my pals take their short people on a humongo group camping trip every summer.  I think they're insane.  There's something like nine BILLION children and 5 parents.  Who does that?

Nine billion is an estimate.  Also estimated is the number of parents.  

But still.

Every year, they say, "Oh, you should go! It's SO! MUCH! FUN!"  And every year, I look at them with the "you're on crack" face and say no.  Except this year?  I succumbed to the peer pressure.  And the short people pressure, too, because most of them are old enough to promise me shiny baubles and unlimited vats of hot coffee.

You should understand something before I go any further:  Nothing about camping appeals to me.  Not a thing.  Sleeping on the ground?   NO.  Hiking?  NO.  Bugs?  Not so much.  S'mores?  I can make s'mores at home, thankyouverymuch.  Add to that, the Other People's Children Element.  Yes, I like my friends, and I mostly like their kids. (And don't look like that. You know you mostly like other people's kids, too.)  Also?  I turn into an evil, murderous crabbyface when I pack the minicoopervan for a trip.  It is NOT PRETTY.  

I called my girl Heather, who is The Boss of Things for the trip, and she told me ninety-eleven thousand things to pack.  I must have sounded a little bit hesitant, because she said, "Don't worry.  It's so fun."  I started to stammer something, and without missing a beat, she finished, "Everybody cries at least twice when we're camping."

Thank you for that RINGING ENDORSEMENT.  I feel so much better.

Because I didn't actually feel much better, I turned to the effbooks.  going camping for the first time. what should i pack? and don't let me down, people, i'm counting on you.  They are some helpful people, those effbook types.  Here's the recommended packing list from the effbooks. 

• bug spray. extra socks, shoes
• an RV
• wipes
• toilet paper, binoculars (so I can watch the short people hike?)
• a broom, blankets, anti-depressant/anti-anxiety meds (check and check)
• first aid kit, tylenol, soap and shampoo
• the phone number of a hotel (it's in my phone)
• air mattress, battery powered fan
• flashlights, lanterns, benadryl, burn cream
• a crisco can so that we can go potty during the night
• bug spray, towels and twizzlers
• tabasco sauce, matches, ziplock bags
• camera, sketchbook, hatchet, spade, extra-medium sense of adventure, extra-large helping of patience, a dash of silence

So this is what I'm packing.  Plus some food, and a big cooler and bathing suits, and a clothes line, and the short people.  Oh, and knitting, and a chair, and my pillow, and...