Fred & Ted Go Camping

Have you ever read the book Fred & Ted Go Camping, by Peter Eastman? It's Ty's favorite! Fred packs a lot. Ted packs a little. Fred has a hard time putting up his tent, Ted has an easy time. You get the idea. Ty could "read" it to you, if you'd like. Actually, he just recites it (technicality). He got it for Christmas from Nana, who thought it would help him learn opposites.

Last weekend, Fred & Ted DID go camping! With Daddy & Granddad. For the 3 days leading up to the big trip, we had to refer to Zoe as Fred and Ty as Ted. They thought it was hysterical. I, however, kept getting confused as to who was who. Not to worry, they always corrected me.

I'd post amazing pictures of the grand event, but well, Shane was in charge of the camera. He doesn't blog. He doesn't scrapbook. His pictures don't actually tell the story of a camping trip. However, the weekend before they packed up and headed to the campsite, Fred & Ted helped Daddy set up the tent in the basement. And I, being the photo addict that I am, took pictures of the test run!

The weather couldn't have been more perfect.

Once they got up there, Fred, Ted, Daddy & Granddad set up camp and went for a hike. Dinner was Hot Dogs with Mac & Cheese. PERFECT for the kids. As the sun went down, there was enough of a chill in the air that a campfire was a must. Then, of course, there were s'mores.

Not to worry, I had a sympathy s'more here at home with the help of the microwave.

Around 9:45p, Daddy, Fred & Ted settled into their (11' x 11') tent (that sleeps 7 & you can actually stand up in, by the way) and within 2 minutes, Fred & Ted were fast asleep. (In case you're curious, Granddad's VW Eurovan is a camping model, so the back seat folds into a flat comfy bed...so he slept there. Smart man.)

Can I just add a little tidbit about the (ridiculously) large tent? Well...I'm going to anyway! Shane went with Ty & Zoe to Sports Authority one night to buy Ty a New York Yankees hat and they came home with a tent. Does anyone else see the issue with that? That's sort of like me going to the mall to buy the babies onesies and coming home with a new Coach purse! Even if it was on an incredible sale (which the tent was) I'm sure I'd have a whole lot of explaining to do.

No later than 6:15a, the kiddos were rearing to start day 2 of the camping trip. Granddad cooked up killer "Egg-in-the-hole" for breakfast. Ty STILL asks me to cook it every morning. And, I'm sorry to say, despite the fact that I grew up eating this wonderful camping delicacy, I haven't the faintest clue how to cook it. (Little help here Mom or Dad?)

Later, the campers hiked some more (really it was more of a "playing around" than a formal hike, according to the official hike planner) and even found time to ride bikes. At some point that morning, Ty found a large feather (duck maybe). He stuffed it in his pocket and Shane thought it was hysterical, hence the reason it is majority of the pictures.

I'm assuming it was sometime during this "playing around" that both Zoe & Ty acquired a few "friends". (Shiver.) Friends of the not so fun to find on your kids during a bath kind. (Shutter.) Friends that skeeve moms out. (Gag.) Friends that could cause serious illness if they burrowed their way into Fred & Ted's flesh. (Thank you, Lord, they didn't.) Yes, ticks. I'm itching just writing about them. Eck. They give me the Heebee Geebee's. I pulled 2 off Ty & 1 out of Zoe's hair.

After breaking down camp, putting out the fire, cleaning up, & packing up the van, the campers were back home by 11a. Did I mention that the campsite was only 8 minutes down the road?