Backyard Camp Out. The Great American Campout 2012

A few week back we ran to REI to get Elliott some summer shoes. We ended up taking over their garage sale rack and buying up a few pairs of Keens for a steal. On the way out a grabbed a few flyers for area events. As I was going through them , I came across the flyer for The Great American Backyard Campout. I looked it over and then forgot about it until a few days before the event. I ran it by Scott and we decided to go for it. It was a good activity since we have three extra kids with us in the evenings, and what child does not like playing in a tent?

I did not go big on this event and it was far from the real deal. We set up the tent and the kids grabbed their favorite blankets, animals, books and games. While Scott and I grilled up some hot dogs and prepared dinner this kids all played and ran in and out of the tent about 65 million times. Since we were in the backyard, we did not have a real camp fire and resorted to using the grill. No one seemed to mind and those grilled dogs tasted so good for some reason. After dinner we of course planned to have s'mores. About two marshmallows in the propane ran out and the kids ended up just eating uncooked s'mores. Major bummer.

Scott left to take the other kids back home and I settled in for a very uncomfortable nights sleep. I always knew our yard was lumpy, but sleeping on it gave lump a whole new meaning. We do not have air mattresses, so we slept on a few folded blankets right on the ground. My already sore body was hurting by the time morning came, not to mention the headache that crept up overnight! 

 Thankfully the kids had a wonderful nights sleep and I believe are looking forward to a real camping adventure sooner than later! It was a great way to practice setting everything up and helps me know what we need to purchase before we go. If you are looking or something fun to do this summer with out spending any money- try a backyard campout. You don't even need to have a fancy tent- you could easily make your own! Here is a whole bunch of ideas I found on Pinterest.