“Let’s go camping everyone,
It will be fun and hip!”
So we all loaded up
in the van for a trip.
She packed the cooler,
We had our swimsuits on.
She packed the marshmallows,
but the sleeping bags were gone.
“No matter!” she said,
“It’s warm out there,
We’ll be fine tonight!
Who gives a care?”
But when the swimming was done
And the night did fall,
The sweatshirts we brought,
Weren’t warm at all.
She put us in the van
And we snuggled up tight,
Wrapped closely together
in her flannel that night.
We shivered and shook
We tossed and turned
And when morning did come,
A lesson was learned.
Camping can be great
You might have a thoughtful mom,
But it’s never okay
When the sleeping bags are gone.
Don’t make the same mistake my Mom made. Your child might grow up to blog about you.
Gear Central has sponsored this post and is a one-stop shopping search engine for all your outdoor recreation and fitness needs that carries everything from yoga pants and Merrel Shoes to Klean Kanteen water bottles and is giving one of you lucky readers an REI Kindercone sleeping bag worth 60 bucks.
To enter the giveaway take a look at the Gear Central website and leave a camping memory comment to enter.
*restricted to American and Canadian resident readers only
Erin says
The sleeping bag I had covered, it was the tent that I forgot on my very 1st camping trip, which happend in college!
BJ_Mama says
How ironic is this? My last post was about our camping trip!?!?! It was meant to be!
http://forwhatitsworth-ornot.blogspot.com/2010/08/rain-rain-go-away-camping-edition.html
Jen says
To me, the only good sleeping bags are the ones that stay in the store while I sleep in a nice and comfy hotel bed.
Liza says
Even WITH sleeping bags camping can’t beat a night in a hotel!
Senior year of college my friend and I took a road trip up the west coast. One night we parked in a campground and slept in the car. It was FREEZING and it SUCKED.
Kayla says
We grew up camping and loved every minute of it! That is, if you don’t count the miserably hot days and Mom slapping your hand every time you tried to get in the ice chest for a cool drink :)
June Freaking Cleaver says
On an extended family camping trip, a skunk wandered onto our campsite. Family members raced for cover. My mom and uncle stood on top of the picnic table…wherein she promptly began peeing.
I’m talkin’ my mom, not the skunk.
Jennifer says
The camping trip I remember the best was the Easter I had chicken pox and we all went camping and my Aunts brought all of my cousins so we could all have it at once and get over it. Flash forward thirty years and now we don’t want our kids to get chicken pox at all.
Erin says
One year, my brother, our dog and I went camping in early November (in Delaware). We HAD sleeping bags but it was so cold that the dog had to sleep on us to keep us warm!!! We froze that weekend but sure do have a story to tell.
-E
Amethyst Moon says
Cute poem!!
Lindsey says
On my first camping trip, my mom packed everything but the lantern. The biggest problem, however, was that she didn’t seal the tent seams. That night, there was a terrible thunderstorm and our tent proved to be less-than-waterproof. Oops!
During our most recent camping trip, at a Scout camp, we had a black bear wandering through our campsite each night. Even better, we were in old-fashioned military/scout tents with untieable flaps on either end. Midnight snack, anyone?
Tanya says
I have taken many fun camping trips with Girl Scouts as a kid and yet I never took my own family camping. Hmm.. could it be I now appreciate a lovely hotel? :)
WebSavvyMom says
–>Went camping with an ex-boyfriend in college near a river. It rained so hard that the mosquitoes were even hiding in our tent. We left hours later and got a hotel room.
AZLB says
first time camping in europe. The guide book had tent rental price…so we showed up with no tent. That was the price to rent a tent space. Spent the night sleeping outside while all the locals stared at the crazy American’s sleeping without an RV or Tent. The next morning they all offered us food..must of thought we were in bad shape!
Kmama says
That was the cutest poem!
A camping memory. Hmm. Well, I don’t really “camp”. I’m spoiled like that. But I did go to summer camp, and well, I totally cut up my foot with a HUGE splinter after running across the cabin floor. That seriously hindered my fun factor for a few days, as they had to cut it out.
Jannica says
I have a similar camping trip, sans sleeping bags. I went camping as an adult with my mom, step-dad, and niece in Florida. We got more than halfway to the campground and my mom asks stepdad where the sleeping bags are, because she didn’t remember seeing them. Stepdad responds “I thought Celina packed them(my 8 year old niece). Celina responds “I am 8, why would I pack sleeping bags?”
Thankfully it was Florida and summer, so we did without them…however our camping trip was cut short that night when a pack of raccoons raided our campsite screeching and banging things around. We freaked out and drove home at 130am…guess we weren’t cut out for camping after all!
Jannica says
Oh…another one, I almost forgot…this one is gross…when I was 6 I went camping with, Summer, my BKF(best kindergarten friend, also known as blog author for Le Musings of Moi) on the Deschutes River in OR, and well…lets just say the goulash was too spicy for my tummy…I threw up in her beautiful hair…and my mom had to wash her hair out in the river in the middle of the night. I still feel bad about that one, she has the most gorgeous hair, and always did!
stephanie says
oh camping…
well, there was the time my 8 month old wouldn’t sleep and cried ALL. NIGHT. LONG. and then it rained all the next day.
that was the last time we went. but we totally need this new sleeping bag to make the next trip completely awesome! :)
K Odell says
That’s why I found a very warm boyfriend who puts out more heat than a radiator!
Fire Wife Katie says
Cute! I haven’t dared take the kids camping yet, but I want to!
Camping – I remember laying under a quaking aspen grove in the afternoon, the gentle breeze through the small leaves providing the sound effects for the dappled light dancing on my upturned cheeks and eyelids. Pure heaven! And the smell — you just can’t get that fresh air smell any other way!!
Christina says
I’ve been camping 1 time and it was only a few years ago. Our friends who are huge campers invited us. They brought everything even tents. The tent for us some how did not have polls. So we had to sleep in our van. Wow! What a memory!
Kimmy says
LMAO!!! That’s great….and so true! We actually went camping one Memorial day weekend and it was nice and sunny where were lived but once we got to the mountains, it started to rain. RAIN??!! We couldn’t believe it. We had our regular sleeping bags but nothing that handled the below 40 degree weather. BRRRRR….and in the morning, my daughter had the sniffles and sneezes. Needless to say, we went home a day early. Since then, we’ve bought sleeping bags that can handle 30 degrees!! Lesson learned here too!
Wendy says
There’s always some sort of adventure when camping! My new favorite “camping” memory is from this weekend. We were actually at church camp and stayed in a cabin, not a tent, but we did have sleeping bags. I just got the photos on my blog a few minutes ago: http://mtdaileys.blogspot.com. Both of my girls had a great time and it was Jessie’s first time camping, not bad for an almost 3 month old.
I’ve been camping when it’s so cold the dogs snuggle up to you for warmth and when it’s so hot you WISH you had forgotten the sleeping bags. I’m looking forward to many more camping adventures with my kids!
MommyLisa says
Our crew goes camping with a minimum of three little kids and 7 adults every summer! Last year we could have used a camping shower – the place had ONE shower for the whole campground. YIKES!
Jessica says
Not being much of an outdorrsy person, that website is slightly overwhelming for me.
The first, and only time, my hubby and I went campling, we went home at 2am because it was cold.
Cori says
Yuck, I hate camping – to me camping would be staying at a motel 6 lol!
But I did go on a 10mile hike through the mountain with a pack, tent and everything and lived to tell about it – we’ll just say I haven’t done it again! Been there done that!!
I prefer to be lounging in some of the yoga pants they sell through their store!!
corisbigmouth@gmail.com
Bladerunner says
Well, there was the time that I went to KOA with a group of friends. I’d been snacking on cold hot dogs, waiting for the campfire to heat up. Normally not too big a deal. Only these were kosher hot dogs…
I spent the entire night in the bathroom. Thank gosh it was at a KOA and I didn’t have to find clean non-poison-ivy leaves to wipe my butt all night!
Another time I borrowed sleeping bags so there’d be enough room in the house for sleeping fairly comfortably. Turns out the sleeping bags we borrowed gave us scabies…
We tossed out the sleeping bags and haven’t bought new ones since.
So, I guess I’m saying I could use both a new sleeping bag and some positive camping memories, please.
Amo says
They have so many great brands on their website!
My camping memory is not so good. This was before I found out I had celiac disease. I went camping with my boyfriend and some friends and I decided to have two beers, which I normally didn’t do. Well, beer is filled with gluten and I got so sick with no bathroom in sight! I begged my boyfriend to drive me back home, but he refused. I was so sick!! Finally, I convinced a friend of mine to drive me back into town at 3 am! It was awful! Hopefully, if I win the sleeping bag, my family and I can make better camping memories!!
Summer says
NO WAY!!! Jannica, I totally forgot about that!!! Oh my gosh, sooooo funny!
thepsychobabble says
My parents never took me camping. True story. ’tis sad.
But my most memorable camping trip involved the husband and then-6-months-pregnant-I and our then-two-years-old daughter camping/4wheeling with our Jeep buddy. In a tent. On the ground. But we were barely able to afford a tent, and only had one sleeping bag. So Jeep buddy said he’d lend us sleeping bags and blankets. Except he thought that my husband had put them in our Jeep. And husband thought Jeep buddy had put them in HIS Jeep. And it turned out no one had put them anywhere.
So we had one sleeping bag and three baby blankets. And it was chilly. And hard. More so for the husband, because the 2yr old and 6mo pregnant lady shared the sleeping bag, while he made do with the 3 baby blankets.
Our daughter STILL talks about that camping trip though:)
Foursons says
We camped right underneath some railroad tracks in which trains rumbled through all.night.long.
angie says
What a great giveaway. As I’ve learned, a family can never have enough camping supplies, and a sleeping bag IS a must. :)
Angela says
One time I went camping, and I swear a bear was outside my tent. I am sure it was a racoon , but at 1am it sounded like a bear. I sat in my tent crying until 4:30am when I heard my friend get up to go to work. Then I booked it to my car! I was so done with camping!
Grimmgirl says
That gear central site is neat — wish I had that babe’s abs! My 7 year old son and I went camping for the first time with the cub scouts last October. It got down to 30 degrees at night, but my little guy was a real trooper. The big mistake we made was having the blankets ON TOP of us, instead of putting them IN the sleeping bag with us. The blankets sucked all the moisture out off the sides of the tent and were wet in the morning. We could really use one of those cool-looking kindercone bags!
CM says
My post for today was about camping with my kiddos! Our challenge was trying to find enough things to do with a 2 and 4 year old.
Lourie says
My idea of camping is a cabin with indoor plumbing, a/c or heat as needed and a bed. My husband’s idea is the tent and sleeping bag. We have a tent and 4 sleeping bags, but our family has grown. We need another one!
J.D. Meier says
At least you got to snuggle — remember the scene from Without a Paddle?
I’m always surprised how such a warm sunny day can turn into such a chilly, unforgiving night … like it seeps on through, sweatshirts and all.
Christy says
I love camping! When i was a teenager, the girls in my neighborhood camped overnight each summer. One of the girls lived on a farm, and we’d camp back in the fields next to a pond in the true roughing it style! No potty or anything! My husband grew up camping at campgrounds…he won’t go anywhere w/o a shower. I’ve adjusted, but the thing I miss most is complete peace and quiet…and the super bright stars…and, actually a lot of things.
Rachel @ Its a Hero says
We went camping this weekend… it was cozy… you know, just us and 700 other people!?!? We slept in the car because it was so loud. Not a normal sized car. A 2-door 1998 Honda Civic. I never want to sleep in a car again!
Kari Bell says
the only camping i do is an annual trip to our friends’ cabin at hood canal and that’s only because they have a cabin to retreat to! but now that i have kids i feel obligated to camp more.
PamJ says
Ooooo a sleeping bag like that would come in SO handy. We just came back from a few days camping and OH MY it was COLD at night. I was in the van with kid #1 & kid #3, waking up every hour or so to start it up and heat us up and dh stayed and cuddled with kid#2 in the tent. BRRRRR…
Young Wife says
The first time I went camping was in Girl Scouts. It was lots of fun, except for the sleeping on the ground part.
Nanette says
I remember the time we went camping and met a nearby camper who kept yelling, “Come ‘ere, damnit!” Turned out he was calling his cat…named Damnit. Heh.
Melissa {adventuroo} says
Oooh I love camping! My worst camping memory was my first time camping– I was in college and we had postponed it again and again. We finally said we would do it the next weekend NO MATTER WHAT. Well, it was cold as hell and ended up being -10 F with the windchill. THAT sucked.
Bree says
My favorite camping memory was when we were in Yellowstone and a mother and calf moose decided to park it right.across.the.street.
My parents wouldn’t let me out of the camper while she was there and so we played card games…I was 7. That is a form of torture!
Amyb says
The one and only time I ever went camping was a trip I will never forget. We went to the grand canyon. On the way there I got deathly ill. I started throwing up non stop. Then I would feel better. Then I would throw up. This was along a very dark road driving there where it was cold a …well cold. My GF tells me to try Ginger..GROSS. …did not work but was awful. I took enough Dramamine to stop the world from spinning…but not my stomach.
Not being a poor sport and waste the money already paid… the next day I rode a mule for 8 hrs in the heat where I felt like I needed to be tied on the mule. Come to find out I have altitude sickness and needed IV treatments.
So I want to win the sleeping back so I camp at a place that is at sea level..deal?
kakaty says
First and last camping trip: Packed in a “6 person tent” with my now husband and 2 others. Canoe trip in the rain – we paddled our hearts out, got back to camp first, threw our drenched gear in the car and cut out 2 days early. I’m not much of a camper. But…my daughter wants to camp out in our backyard. That I think I can handle.
Brian H says
I used to camp alot….it always seemed to rain, but a good sleeping bag will always keep you warm.
Cindy says
When I was little we used our sleeping bags more for sleepovers than camping. Once, when I had a friend over, I gave her my dad’s nasty brown and red sleeping bag and I took the fluffy Care Bear one for myself. My mom gave me a spankin’ in front of my friend and I had to switch her. Sleeping bags have scarred me for life, but maybe this beautiful one could have a powerful positive influence on me!