WE GOT A CAMPSITE
If you live in the Lower Mainland you know how difficult it can be now to get a camping site. Last year was horrible. This year was still a challenge but we managed to get a campsite. So, our hopes to try tenting again weren’t dashed. Last year Jason and our older two went tenting for the first time. This year we booked one more night after being up early and having 3 people on two different computers attempting to get sites for the date we hoped for. It worked. We weren’t picky about which site, we just wanted to get the same campground again at Cultus Lake as we really liked the location.
HELPING OUT AND HAVING FUN
The girls being a year older meant they could help a bit more with the setup of the camp. I decided to stay home with our youngest. We do not own a large enough tent just yet for all 5 of us. I also feared a crying baby in the middle of the night waking up the whole campground. So Orie and I stayed home.
Thankfully they all worked together and manged to get things sorted. Get the tent set up. Wipe down the picnic table and benches and get dinner made. It’s really nice to know that as the girls get older they can be a huge help with trips like this.
Now, Aunty and Uncle also managed to book a site in the same campground and they brought the boat with them. This meant some fun out on the water and inspired an evening dip. The girls also got to try fishing, witch is something they have been wanting to do for a long time. They didn’t catch anything but they had fun.
DAY TRIPS TO VISIT
While Orie and I may not have been up to staying the night. Maybe next year we’ll be able to get a big enough tent for everyone. We did drive out for two day trip visits. The first day was a bit of a mess. Orie was not impressed the drive there and back. We were not able to find parking so I wasn’t able to join everyone for going on the boat. It was just one thing after another. I ended up leaving the boat launch with Orie, I was in tears, but she finally fell asleep in the car for a little nap. Once she woke, I got her in the stroller and started dinner knowing Jason and the girls would be back soon.
The next day was much better. I wasn’t planning to head out after the not so grand day before, but I was sent a photo of Evie saying she missed us. I loaded Orie up and hoped she would nap on the way there as I was able to coordinate leaving with her morning nap time. She was asleep within minutes of hitting the road. Game changer! This set us up for a much better day. We figured out where to park and were able to join everyone on the boat when we got there. It was so nice to just put around on the lake and visit everyone. We stayed for most of the day, helping with meals again. Leaving late in the evening because of traffic, but Orie went to sleep again in the car. I was able to get her in bed without any problems either.
BRING ON CAMPING NEXT YEAR
We are definitely hopeful to find a 8-10 person tend to fit our whole family next year. The cabin style tent is what has been highly recommended to us because aparently many have a divider you can set up so it’s like having two rooms. Put the baby in a pack-n-play on one side and everyone else on the other so that the baby can go down for the night first.
If you have any other suggestions for camping with young kids please send them my way.
Camping is a wonderful way to make life long memories. So glad we ventured out with the kids when they were little. Definitely having a tent large enough for everyone & all the things kids require is a HUGE help. Bigger is better. I find Canadian Tire always has the best selection.
Will have to check out Canadian Tire for something bigger soon!