Campfire Conversations And Fire Safety With Kids

As you can see we are in camping mode over here and I can't say I'm really sorry about it. We've worked hard to finally get our airstream on the road so we are just a little excited that it's finally happened and we can create some fun family memories. 

One of the things that seem to go hand in hand with camping is sitting around a campfire. I'm not actually sure that a trip would feel complete without it. When we had our first adventure in Hershey we had a bit of a campfire fail. Well, not a total fail, but it wasn't all warm and fuzzy campfire vibes and the ease of just sitting around and enjoying it.

For starters, we purchased the wood directly from the campsite and it happened to be wet. This made it extremely difficult to actually get a fire going. Eric is always amazing at this stuff and his inner boy scout comes out and before we know it we are set. This time it wasn't so easy.

We didn't have the proper kindling, the sticks we were finding were also damp, and we forgot to bring some old grocery ads or newspaper to help get it going. Lord Jesus please forgive us, but we went into our glove box and found offering envelopes from some weeks that we missed and used those to jump start it. I felt bad because I knew deep down this isn't what a burnt offering was intended for. We also had a mishap with little nugget that could have been so much worse but we are so thankful it wasn't and that someone was there to help him. Long story short, Eric went off to try and find some dry sticks and leaves and he thought the boys were with me. I thought the boys went with him (it was an honest mistake on both our parts) and before I knew it a nice couple was carrying my crying boy back who had tripped and fallen into a fire ring on another campsite that wasn't being used. He was covered in soot with tears running down his face and told me, mama I fell in an old tire. My heart about melted and all I wanted to do was sit there and hold and hug him. I feel embarrassed to admit this even happened, but I think it also goes to show that as parents, things can happen in a split second and none of us are perfect or ever intentionally mean for something to happen.

After that, Eric and I knew that we needed to put some best practices in place when it comes to camping, and specifically dealing with kids around a campfire.

This time around we were better prepared (no more tithing envelopes) and we brought our own wood so we knew it was dry and ready to go. We also made sure to get a fire going around dusk instead of when it was really dark out so everyone could see better at what they were doing.

We also made sure to prep the boys before our trip and then talk to them about fire safety while we were there. They're young and curious but also need to know that fire can be such a dangerous thing and not something to be taken lightly.

If we decide to do a fire it's part of mine and Eric's responsibility to make sure that one of us is out there with them at all times. They know that they are never to put anything into the fire expect for marshmallows when mommy or daddy are around. Even when Eric or I add more wood to the fire it's to be done at an angle where they are placed in and never thrown in to create sparks or flying embers that could hurt someone or something else.

Another great idea that we read about was creating a fire ring. You can bring a piece of chalk or involve your kids to collect rocks or extra sticks and make a wider ring around the fire. It should be a good distance away and explained that they can't go over that fire circle. This is to keep them at a distance to avoid them getting too close.

They also know there's no running around a fire, no playing ball or anything that could go up in the air. We also keep water near by in case anything were to get out of hand and the boys know and practice stop, drop, and roll. We pray that it will never have to be put into place.

After we felt comfortable and confident that the boys understood we did sit with them and allowed them to roast marshmallows and makes s'mores.

Some of our conversations sounded like this...

A: how come a marshmallow gets so fat when it goes near the fire?
Me: that's because it gets warm and starts to heat up and melt

Little nugget: but it looks like a booty
Me: I don't see that. Let's not talk like that (why does it always have to resort back to potty words?! )

Little nugget: we can't get too close to the fires because our feet might get bleedy
A: eww bleedy
Me: well he is right, we should never get close to the fire and you definitely never put your feet in it

A: if a bug flies near the fire will it die
Me: if he gets too close it could happen

Little nugget: daddy has really long arms so he won't get burned (referring to him putting more wood in)

A: I think I just like to eat the chocolate and a regular marshmallow. Can you pick the brown spots off mine?
Me: so you really don't like roasting marshmallows?
A: no, I like putting them on the stick but I don't like eating them after the fire. You can have it

Me: Ok, it's time to come inside to get ready for bed and wash those dirty feet off. Daddy's going to put the fire out.
Little nugget: but pumpkins stay outside
Me: yes, they do, what does that have to do with anything?
Little nugget: I want to be a pumpkin and stay outside
Me: not tonight kiddo

Our First Time RV Camping

Oh happy day! We finally were able to take the Road Toad, our Airstream out camping. Looking back it was funny to see that almost a year to the date from when we bought it, we got to take it out for our first family adventure. 

This renovation took a lot longer than expected and not that we ran into any particular problems with it, life just happened, the weather didn't always cooperate, and sometimes other things took priority. Regardless of how long it took us to get it going, we are so happy and thankful that we had this weekend to enjoy. 

We are about 95% done with it aside from some finishing touches on the bathroom, some decor pieces, and needing to put the hardware on our cabinets. I've actually never seen an order arrive like the one we got for our drawer pulls. Half of them were one color and the other half where like a matte black color. We were so confused and made sure we didn't order the wrong thing, which we didn't. We're waiting for a new shipment to be sent on those and hopefully the color we were hoping for. I've gotten a lot of messages on my instagram about our renovation and people asking if we are moving into our Airstream full time. That would be a no. I have so much respect for families that do it, but it's just not for us. I like my square footage and having space, so this is strictly just for some family fun and exploring. I've also had a lot of people wanting to see the inside of it. If you're a regular viewer of my stories (as always thank you so much!) then you know I've been sharing majority of our progress over there. I will put together some highlights for my main feed to have there as well and will try to do a video tour once we are all finished with everything. A tour has probably been the most requested thing from you all. Side note, I still don't have instagram TV on my app. I have the google pixel 2 phone which is Android operated, so am I just missing out because I don't have an iphone? Other Android users please fill me in.
 

I will be doing some dedicated posts here and showing a lot of before and after pictures and listing products and techniques that we used along the way. I recently read an article that the number one thing people visit blogs for, aside from your loyal community, is for helpful posts. Which I would completely agree with if I look at my analytics. In my opinion those posts also take more time to put together, so eventually they will be on here. But for now, here's a look at some pictures I snapped of how it's looking so far.

Ok, so our camping weekend. How about we get into that because that's probably why most of you clicked into this post. We always knew that we were taking the boys Hershey again this year because we went last year and loved it. We found out Hershey has a campground and since it's a Hershey property, it also allows you access into the park the night before you use your tickets, an hour earlier the next day, and a shuttle service that takes you to and from the park. Hello, Hershey! We will be coming to you every year now. Not only was the campground so much fun and a really nice setting, but you can't beat the amenities.

We surprised the boys when we picked them up early from school and told them where we were going. Little nugget started jumping up and down saying, yay Hershey! A asked a lot of questions like he does in true A fashion. I had to laugh because at first I think he thought we were literally driving the Airstream into Hershey Park and sleeping next to all of the rides. Then a light bulb finally went off when he said, ohhhh so the Airstream is like our hotel.

We've gone camping before so this isn't like it was our first rodeo, but that was tent camping, with air mattresses and sleeping bags, and well, I'd say more so roughing it. I give my 20 something self a lot of credit because it was fun, and I'm sure it's still fun, but RV camping, I can get used to this. You guys, I had electricity, running water, and my own bathroom. Those are beautiful things to have especially when you are almost in your third trimester of pregnancy. We did say that when the boys are a little older we will bring our tent along in case they want to camp out in it, but me, I'll be snuggled up in my bed. Call it the easy way out—whatever. RV camping takes it to a whole other level.

Thanks to Target's dollar spot I picked up some fun things to surprise the boys with for our trip. They had these bingo type boards, scavenger hunt bags, and band-aids, of course. But thankfully we did not need to use any of the band-aids.

The verdict is out with these giant roasting marshmallows, that I thought would be a huge hit. Actually, they were kind of annoying. They didn't roast evenly so the outside would get crisped but the inside was still cold. They were also too big and made such a mess. The boys enjoyed snacking on them, but to actually used them for smores, I think I would go back to the regular marshmallows or cut these in half.

Much to our surprise, the boys slept amazing! Maybe it was the fresh air, the sounds of crickets, or just being so tired out, but they didn't wake up until after 7:30am. We designed the curtains to be blackout curtains but there is only so much you can truly black out in there. We thought for sure they would be up at the crack of dawn, but nope, not this time.

When we weren't at the park we were exploring the grounds. The boys enjoyed all of the tree climbing, stick finding, and weird bug encounters. We also took advantage of the pool they had on site. It was nice to be able to disconnect and enjoy some family time.

 

Overall it was a really nice time and we're already looking forward to this weekend when we're headed out for another adventure. For now, we are starting are trips off slow and then hopefully over time, probably more like next year, we hope to do some national parks.