unsummer in Summerland: do's and don'ts of camping

If Simon was writing this post of do's and don'ts it would be simple: don't go camping. like ever. ever. ever. end of post. But since it was my idea that it would be so fun to camp with the kids and sleep in a tent, I have to elaborate a bit more on the camping experience. So here goes:

#1 Don't expect that it will be sunny.
This one caught me off guard. Middle of August in Summerland in the Okanagan. It is like perpetually 30 degrees there and the week that we are going the forecast called for rain and thunderstorms. Really? Seriously?

#2 Do pack everything you need, everything you think you will need and everything you probably won't need but if you don't pack it you will wish you had.

#3. Do camp with friends.

This is really the only reason why I wanted to even attempt camping because my two closest friends were camping too with their kids. I don’t know why anyone would want to camp without moral support.

#4. Don’t pintrest fancy camping meals. Do keep it simple.

This made supper so easy. I had pre-cut the sausages and broccoli for one meal and just added it to some mac and cheese. The next dinner I had frozen meat sauce made and just added it to spaghetti. However because of the campfire ban, I didn't get to make real s'mores. We tried to make them on the BBQ but that was a bit of a fail.

#5 Do pack air mattresses.

They are more comfortable to sleep on and they double as trampolines for the kids to play on.

#6  Don’t forget your toddler needs a mattress too.

Halfway on the drive we realize we didn’t pack Natallie’s camping mat. Simon said it would be fine and she could just sleep with him on his mattress. This led to him waking him in the crack between the two mattresses every morning. Kudos to any parents who share a bed on a nightly basis, I don’t know how you do it.

#7 Do camp beside beautiful lakes.

Usually I sleep with Noah’s white noise machine of the ocean in the background but it was so refreshing to have “real” white noise of the water and crickets. And with the lake steps away from our campsite, it was a great place to bathe the kids after supper, especially when Noah scrubs his face and hair with his peanut butter sandwich.

#8 Don’t expect to sleep.

 I love my children but I do not love them enough to want to sleep inches away from them in a confined space.  Very hard to ignore your toddler when she keeps poking you at 11:00pm telling you that in case you didn’t notice she is not sleepy and very awake. Also very hard to just close your eyes and ignore the baby that is standing up in the playpen at 5:20am. 

#9 Do rent a boat.

Thanks to Rachael & Lance for making reservations for a luxury pontoon boat.  The kids loved it, the adults all loved it, the guys even got to do some tow-skimboarding. Later in the afternoon, we did have to call it quits earlier than we wanted because it started to pour.  

#10 Do seek refuge when its pouring.

Our previous plan was to go to some wineries that afternoon but not the best rainy day activity so we took the kids swimming at the community center instead. The kids loved the slides and we loved the hot tub and a warm shower.

#11 Do plan for “tree mail”

Kristin had a great idea to make gift bags for all the kids with little trinkets inside. The kids got to open their “tree mail” every night after supper. The glo sticks were a big hit.

#12 Do pack a play pen.

A play pen is essential for a mobile baby. The only two places we could keep Noah out of trouble was the playpen and the cab of the truck.

#13 Do visit random tourist destinations

Did you know there is a kangaroo farm in Kelowna? Who knew? It was a huge hit with the kids. A baby kangaroo is still super cute and cuddly even if it was raining a bit.

#14 Do take your toddler star-gazing.

It was 11:00pm and Natallie wasn’t asleep anyways so we went to the lake and looked for constellations. The good thing about the day being rainy was that the sky was so clear at night. 

#15 Don’t stay too long

Our camping trip was combined with a trip to visit Grandma & Grandpa so we only had to endure 2 nights of Natallie staying up way too late and Noah waking up way too early.

#16 Do recuperate at Grandma’s

It was so nice to have a roof, warm beds, a place to do laundry, tractors, ATVs and baby kittens. Although the rain was disappointing, it was wet enough that we made a campfire just so I could roast 2 marshmallows and show Natallie what a real s’more tastes like.

#17 Do forget how much effort it took so you might do it again.

#18 Do look for good deals for hotels next time.