Camp Out

This Idaho weather has got us all going cabin crazy at our house. So to save my sanity, the kids and I hosted a camp out for some of Brother's friends. Even though the actual event was only a few hours long, we spent a few days preparing for it.

First we set up our little two person tent. Talk about an instant fort that is pretty durable. Not like the blanket hideouts where the kids can hardly play because you're too busy refereeing the slouching blankets. They're a great investment. I picked mine up at a garage sale for a dollar or two.

Next I converted two inexpensive polar fleece blankets into sleeping bags. I folded them in half, pinned some elastic in place, and started sewing 4 inches down the side and across the bottom. The elastic allows you to keep them rolled up like real sleeping bags. They were simple and the kids love them. Put them in your tent and you've got enough static electricity to start your own fire or create a hilarious Sissy porcupine. We spent one afternoon inside the tent reading books.What camp out is complete without a campfire? We cut up some wrapping paper tubes for the logs. I hot glued 3 together to make a tee pee. A simple orange flame "crown" with red tissue paper stuck inside rounded out the effect. And since we finished off a lot of wrapping paper over the holidays, we cut up some more to fashion some rudimentary binoculars. We printed up some camping bingo cards here.

Our camp out was a huge hit. The kids loved "rock climbing" on the furniture and roasting marshmallows, singing and listening to stories around the camp fire. We had a little "kiddie pool" lake set up for them to go magnetic fishing. They ate popcorn and trail mix for a snack while we played bingo.Talk about some happy campers!