Camping with little ones

In June, Ben and I took the kids camping for the first time. We've done cabin/yurt camping since the kids were little, but this was the first time at in actual campground, inside a tent.. all together. I was really nervous for the sleeping part. Our kids don't share a room and Maddie is used to sleeping in the total dark. That ended up being the easiest part of the whole trip! I think the kids were so tired after all the activities, that when it came time to sleep, they both crashed regardless of who was in the room.

The part that I was not expecting was how much work it took to prep, cook, and clean up from the meals. I did a lot of work beforehand measuring ingredients, chopping things, etc. but it was still quite a bit of work. Ben thinks my meals were ambitious for camping, but I'm not sure what I would have done differently. We decided it's best for us to camp with friends at this point to keep our kids entertained and to split up the cooking!

I found a great blog off pinterest with detailed packing lists. I went off of her lists for the majority of the packing. I'm happy to report that there wasn't anything we missed (besides diaper cream) while on the road.

In addition to the lists on the other blog, I also packed a bunch of fun toys for the kids. Here's what I brought:

 glow sticks- we never actually made it to see the night sky, but the kids still like playing with these at dusk. 

Water guns/balloons- the campground we stayed at had a water spigot, so we did some cool off water fights. 

Scavenger hunt - I found a printable bingo chart off of pinterest. The kids loved exploring and collecting. 

Puffy paint for rocks - we didn't end up doing this, but for older kids, I would totally recommend this activity. When I was growing up, painting rocks was by far my favorite thing to do!

Balls- lots of places to play catch and toss

Sand toys- Our campground had a beach that was walkable, so sand shovels and buckets were a must!

Chalk - the camp road was not busy at all, so the kids would draw while we were trying to get dinner ready. 

Binoculars - I bought these off amazon and they are great! Fun for playing i-spy

                                            

For food these were are meals: 

Breakfast 

Cocoa 

Muffins http://allrecipes.com/recipe/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/

bacon

Pancakes and sausage http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/classic-buttermilk-pancakes.aspx

Cereal/oatmeal

Bagels

Lunch

Chips, sandwiches /wraps, carrots , fruit 

Quesadillas

Mac & cheese  

Dinner

Tacos 

Hot dogs corn on cob 

Pizza (pizza was probably our most ambitious meal. We took the dutch oven and cooked it over the fire. It actually turned out!) 

Snacks

Popcorn

Energy balls http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/

Trail mix 

Applesauce cups

Freeze milk and water bottles to save room in the ice chest

Cheerios

Fruit leathers

Bars

Dried fruit

Campfire cones. We did this instead of smores. Colter doesn't like the mess of smores, so we gave him his uncooked and he LOVED it. http://www.cometogetherkids.com/2012/05/campfire-cones.html?m=1

So yes, camping was fun. .. especially for our 4 year old. I would totally take him again.. with friends  :) 

Richmond Beach Saltwater Park

Richmond Beach Saltwater Park is probably my favorite waterfront view. I love starting out at the top of the hill and taking in the vastness of the sound. As you make your way down the hill, there are several different small parking lots depending on what activities you want to partake in. There is a a beautiful flat grassy area at the top that would be great for a scenic picnic. Another parking lot near the top can be used to access the playground, which is right in the middle of the hill (you can also park in the bottom lot to access the playground as well).

On our trips to the beach, we usually park all the way at the bottom. There is a bridge that takes you over top the train tracks, which is thrilling for any age. Once across the bridge, the beach is just a short distance. I appreciate that this beach has a ramp, rather than a bunch of stairs like many other nearby beaches.

                      

There is a large covered picnic area, as well as bathrooms right on the beach. My kids like digging in the sandy area close to the picnic area. The actual beach is fairly rocky and a great spot for low tide exploration.

Visit Richmond Beach today! You'll be back again..