Adventures in Camping with Baby: Planning for a Rainy Day

Planning. That is something that I love to start doing, but I never finish. I love to jot down all sorts of thoughts regarding what we should have on each trip, but it never seems to turn out that well. So, instead, I have developed a pretty extensive list that will pretty much cover everything. Of course, then I have to follow that list.

Oh, how I try to be disciplined. I try to go through each item and check them off, one by one. But, I don't and I end up scrambling around, seeing things out of the corner of my eye and making a "mental note" (hah!) that I simply must grab that. The worst is when I am running out to the truck, carrying a bunch of miscellaneous items, just as the garage door closes behind me with a very clear finality -- WHOOMP. My packing habits are, to say the least, stressful. And, each time I swear that next time will be better.

But, we've always survived...even if Darin and I disagreed as to how many clothes I would really *need* for a trip:

(And, just for the record, it turned out that NO I didn't need that many clothes)

Now that we have Kyra in tow, things are a little different. I desperately try to keep my head in the game and concentrate on everything she could possibly need/want over the course of three days/two nights. I spend so much time worrying that she has everything she needs, that I forget about us. But, as I've said, we're still getting into this. We're still working on how to babyproof the Lance camper, all the while getting Kyra used to the idea of actually touching the grass (as well as other parts of the natural world).

Can you see her conundrum in this picture? She wanted that lion, but she definitely DID NOT want to risk touching the grass. (Actually, as of today, Kyra loves to not only sit in the grass, but she will sometimes rub her face in it. Woo-hoo! There is hope for this little Spykerbaby!)