Camping Inside

We had planned to hike this afternoon with our friends, but the sky threatened thunderstorms.  So we made lemonade out of lemons and camped inside!

The boys tent

The girls tent

The sleeping lasted about 5 minutes.  They're currently trying to "shoot some deers for dinner" with Dex's ray gun.

Cooking while camping

I promised last year that I would provide a follow-up post on my camping gear list on how to feed your family while living in the woods for a few days without having to eat hot dogs for every meal.  Food cooked over a campfire after you've been outside all day is some of the best tasting food in the world!

For those of you who are completely new to camping (it's okay if you are!  welcome!), there are usually a few things you can expect if you're paying for a campsite at a car camping campground.  There is usually a camp store where you can buy ice to replenish the supply in your cooler.  You will also be able to buy firewood at this store; most campgrounds actually require you to buy it there instead of hauling it in - if you haul it in from another location it could have non-native bugs in it that could contaminate the local woods.  You will be given a firepit at your campground, usually with a grill grating. 

You will also have access to a cold water spigot where you can wash your dishes, but it's not the same as a sink.  If you need hot water, you're going to have to boil it.  There's no drying rack to stick the clean dishes.  My goal is always to create as few dishes as possible.  I always try and prep as much as I can ahead of time, and pack things in disposable containers so I don't have to scrub pots.  I prefer bagging food in ziplocks instead of tupperware where possible so I can just throw the bag away.

Before leaving home, I like to cook our food, wrap it in foil and freeze it.  Or, if it's a whole casserole, cook it in one of those disposable aluminum tins and cover it with foil.  When we're ready to leave, I pack it (still frozen) in our cooler along with some ice and the other items I'd like to keep cool.

Once at the campsite, build a fire and then put down the grate and throw the foil-wrapped goods over the top.  Turn them every once in a while to ensure even heating, and after about 20-30 minutes the food will be nice and warm and (hopefully!) not too burned.  If it does burn a little on the outside, that's okay, the rest of it usually tastes even better.  Check the food on occasion by opening a little corner of the foil.  You can just cover it back up and throw it back on if it's still cold.  I'd recommend getting a nice pot grabber or grill tongs so you don't burn yourself.

Some of our favorites have been lasagna and twice baked potatoes.  Twice baked potatoes are awesome for breakfast too.  Also awesome for breakfast are cinnamon rolls.  While I haven't tried it (yet!) I'm guessing baked oatmeal would be delicious.  These are all items I would make ahead of time and freeze.

You can also prep some foil packets ahead of time that shouldn't be frozen, just kept cool.  These would be ideal for the first night, because you do probably want the lasagna etc to be defrosted by the time you cook it.  You can cut some veggies like squash, zucchini, or broccoli, top it with fish or chicken, add a little italian dressing to the top, or sliced lemons and some seasoning.  I have added raw potatoes to these packets, and had a hard time getting them to cook through.  I think if I'd cooked them ahead of time it would work well.  Rice cooked ahead of time freezes well, and can be easily reheated in a foil packet.  If you're making the twice baked potatoes, I like to round out the meal with some steamed broccoli in a foil packet.  Just add the broccoli, a little water and some salt and the broccoli steams nicely in the packet.

So far I've only done the foil-wrapped method because cleanup couldn't be easier, and there is a lot of variety with this method.  You can also bring a cast iron dutch oven or skillet and cook all kinds of things in it.  The cast iron is thick enough that it can go directly in the fire on that handy grate they've given you.  I haven't tried it, but am hoping to venture into this world this season.  I may buy this book just to help get me started, but I'm pretty sure it's as simple as buying a cast iron griddle and throwing some steaks on it, or chicken and peppers and onions for fajitas.  This is a lot less messy than bringing a grill with you.

For lunch we usually just do sandwiches.  Remember that you don't need to refrigerate many cheeses.  Buy the Cabot sharp hunter's cheese and it's fine in the woods for a few days.  It gets a little greasy on the outside, but is safe to eat.  Bagels pack well (no smushed bread), and so do apples.

May the odds of you eating healthy, interesting, delicious food while camping be ever in your favor!

Frankie's Art These Days

Frankie loves to do art.  Always has, and I hope always will.  Here's an update since last year!
I loved the way this project from school that they did for Valentine's Day turned out.

I love...

Mermaids

Penguins

Underwater

Valentine's Day!

Frankie's been very into patterns recently.  I'm not quite sure what all the thinking is behind this one, but there are lots of number 3s, several 1, 2, 3s, 2 tulips of the same color, and a shaded (or not!) circle.

This is one of my favorites.  There have been a lot of cowboys drawn recently, with fringe.  This big cowboy has a hat on, is standing next to a tree, and there is a smaller cowboy riding a horse in the back.  The best part is the white paper that she cut into fringe and taped on to the big cowboy's pants.

She has some of these little notebooks and likes to draw miniature scenes in them that all tie together.  This is a princess standing in between two castles.

This underwater scene was done while she and Dex were waiting patiently for me to finish with the H&R Block man

This was a cowboy she envisioned and then spent about an hour making by herself.  I love that she can work on big projects like this now all by herself!

I'm sure most of this is made possible by her sweet teachers at preschool who are constantly coming up with new crafts and encouraging her art.  This was one of our favorite units and art projects of the year so far:

They took a trip around the world in January, "visiting" many countries and learning all about them.  We all learned so much that month!

The trip started in Atlanta on the Marta - "Frankie wants to go with er Mommy, Daddy, and Dexter to Ohio to visit her Nonnie.  If it's summertime, she will go swimming.  If it's wintertime, she will play inside."

Egypt - "I want to have a ride on a camel because I want to see if it's bumpy.  I'd see pyramids and see people making chairs."

India - "I'd like to ride in a howdah on an elephant, and look at the fancy clothes."

China - (Junk Boat) - "I would like to go to the dragon festival"  (There are 4 doggies in the boat.)

Mexico - "I'd like to go the pyramids, and also eat the candy skulls at the Halloween party"

Holland - "I would like to go see the rainbow colored tulips and the blue butterflies with purple polka dots."

Space - "I want to go really close to a star and see how big it is."

At the end of the book is a little passport with stamps for all the countries they went to.

Yoga

Aunt Masha sent this yoga video and yoga mats to the kids for Christmas. They're a big hit! Friends up North who are looking for cold weather activities, this is a great one!


Take this one, Momma!

Frankie the Photographer

We got Frankie a used Canon powershot for her birthday. She has gone hog wild taking pictures. Seriously, it's been so fun. She's actually pretty good! I love seeing life from her perspective. Check out her handiwork:

Uncle Matthew, Aunt Grace, and Momma at Chuck E Cheese on Frankie's birthday

There are a LOT of pictures of the boy. Usually doing something like this.

Sometimes with his cheeser grin



She's really proud of this one.  "It looks like the sun is above the bird, Momma!"

more photo bombs

our fridge

love the perspective on this one

This one reminds me of a certain awkward dog we all know and love...

Frankie's 5th Birthday Party

My baby girl is turning 5! Her actual birthday is Sunday, but we had her "friends" party today at 2 Crafty Chicks, a local art studio that has art classes for kids and also hosts birthday parties. We had a blast!


Since I didn't have to clean my house, I had time to make this cake (and for the record, my house is still rather messy, but that cake was way fun to make!). Vanilla with Strawberry frosting, just what the birthday girl ordered.


I got Frankie a new dress for her party. She was soooo excited about this. I love that she loves fancy party dresses. It was an easy way for me to help her feel special about her special day.

Blooper reel: this one says so much about life in our house.



Setting up, waiting for our friends to arrive



Chris and I actually got to relax and enjoy the party!

The girls worked on mermaid paintings

The boys worked on pirate's treasure chests (Frankie invited all the girls in her class, plus Lawson, well, because he's Lawson)

Happy Birthday to you!

Everyone helped blow out the candles!



The party was so well organized!  They moved the kids swiftly through art time and then kept setting out new manipulatives on these little tables.




The completed mermaid

The boys finish their treasure chests

Happy Birthday, Frankie!