Lessons in Camping

I have just returned from a Moms Camping trip.  6 moms.  Out in nature.  Setting up our tents and cooking over an open fire.  Enjoying a beer while we tell stories about our youth and make fun of our husbands.  Oh, and try to keep track of the 13 kids we brought with us.

Actually, even with 13 kids running, eating, climbing and yelling (lots of yelling!) the trip was quite fun.  And educational.  Now that I have successfully completed my second camping trip, I thought I would share some of my expert knowledge with you. 

(Warning to men: just skip #3)

1) Camping with 19 people isn't nearly as awful as it sounds.  Especially after a couple of beers.

2) Your little boy will no longer want a kiss for his boo-boo when he gets hurt playing football. 

3) If you get your period while camping, it will be the heaviest period you've had in the past year.

4) Kids can play in the sand for hours.  And hours.

5) There will be no left over donuts.

6)  There will be left over carrots.

7) Even though 13 kids spent the evening running without abandon while yelling, screaming and shrieking, it will be after they are sound asleep in bed that the park ranger shows up and asks the moms, still sitting around the campfire, to "take it down a notch."

8) If you are completely prepared for and expecting it to rain, it will not.

9) Surprisingly, if it's made over a fire, kids will eat it without complaint.

10) After camping with someone you have just met, you will have completely forgotten that you didn't know her as of three days ago.

11) This magical machine will be painstakingly slow as it brews coffee...but the coffee will totally be worth the wait!

12) While walking through a Wisconsin State Park, it is obvious that it is not only legal, but required to have alcohol in plain view.

13) The lady at the nature center knows a lot about snakes, but very little about entertaining children.

14) It takes approximately 24 hours for a group of 13 kids to find their groove.
 
15) Racoons, after opening your cooler and taking out a package of hotdogs, will spit them on the ground once realizing they are not kosher.

With these few tips, you are now ready to take 18 friends, ranging in age from 4 to 42, into the woods for a successful camping experience.  Good luck!