First Official Camping Trip and Groupon

My husband and I used to go camping quite a bit all those years before we had kids.  Workload and monetary reasons we sold our camper when our oldest was about 3.  Since then, we have had two more kids (boys to be more precise) and have only talked about going camping again.  We decided to take the plunge and purchase a pop up camper.  Our reasoning was simple - we could pull the popup with our minivan, store it in our garage, and decide if we would actually use it before investing too much of our hard earned cash into something bigger.  Plus we are hoping to create many family memories!  The first trip was not too bad if you ask me - only downfall was our youngest is still a bit too young to stay put at the campsite and it rained on day we were leaving.  Riley enjoyed some fishing time with daddy and the boys enjoyed some snuggling nap time with mommy.  We ate s'mores and roasted marshmellows, cooked hot dogs on the fire pit, and sat around the fire just chillin' as a family.  Family bonding is important to me and camping was a perfect family activity for us.  The kids went two whole days without an electronic device (aka television) and did not complain about it once!  They played in the dirt and helped daddy collect firewood.  We did take a stomp rocket with us - basically a foam "rocket" that set on a hose and you stomp on the large plastic box at the end which shoots air and makes the rocket soar.  One of the so-called rockets got stuck in a large tree at our campsite.  Daddy wanted to get it down so he decided to fill a water bottle with water and throw it to knock it loose - that did NOT work too well.  He then tried to throw up a set of large caribeners hooks to knock loose, but those decided to get stuck right next to the rocket in the tree.  Finally, he tied a rope to a water bottle, threw it up, snagged the branch, and shook them both loose.  And then boasted about his ingenuity, I just laughed.

Groupon is a wonderful site that posts deals - some are nationwide and others are location specific.  The site helps me find new ideas about family outings and save money while doing them!  I always seem to save at least 50% on them.