Mini Campout in the backyard

our family is busy –  i am guessing yours is too!
finding time to be together as a family can be a challenge as they get older.
there are softball games, basketball tournaments, friends, camps and summer jobs.
even with all the demands for everyone’s time… we are constantly trying to carve out family time any way we can because it is important to us.
so… we had a mini campout!
at home.
on a week night! 
making memories doesn’t have to be a big trip… 
or cost a lot of money… 
you don’t even have to leave your house! 
put a tent up in the yard… hang some lights…. bring your pillow & blanket off your bed outside… play some games… turn up the music… 
mixing it up is FUN!

 
i had never made sliders and my kids LOVED them! 
they are a new favorite for the meal list. 
and they had never seen mini cucumbers. 
it seems like it is always more fun to eat something when it’s “mini”.
even the drinks were mini!

since it was a MINI campout, we went with a “mini theme menu” 


i pulled out the fancy napkins that we usually save for birthdays or guests.   
for something fun and different we ate in the red baskets – aka: mini plates
and every meal deserves the colorful straws!

i finally got around to planting our pots on our deck!
now we want to be out here as much as possible.
we have an outdoor pretty  living space now instead of just a dusty place to sit.
flowers bring me joy… and i planted A LOT of flowers.
talby & sean set up the tent by themselves.
and even strung those lights!
we brought the couch outside to watch a movie… yes… the white couch. 
but you know what?  it’s FUN to just be a little crazy and do something silly like that.
what is going to happen?  the slipcovers are washable.  
talby’s words about bringing the white couch outside for a few hours: “YOLO mom!”

we found our movie projector on craigslist several years ago.
we hook it up to our lap top and to our outdoor speakers.
and by WE,  i mean craig… i have no idea how he does those things but he makes it awesome for us.
the kids played the Bean Bag Toss game that we gave Craig for Father’s Day long ago.
they played basketball.
the boys threw the football.
talby worked on handstands.
and everyone played fetch with the dogs.
being at home made all of those things so easy to do.
 
i know some people LOVE going camping for long periods and roughing it but… we are not those people.
we are BUSY!
and we like our toilets clean and nearby.  
camping at home is something we can always do and my kids will remember it forever.

we made floats with vanilla ice cream and the Coke minis.
an ice cream float reminds me of being a kid… it brings me back in time.

YUMMMMM!

talby dished the ice cream but everyone wanted to pour their own Coke & add their own whipped cream.

there is some teeny tiny proof inside scott’s selfie that i was indeed AT this family campout.  🙂
can you see me?

i know it’s cliché to say but my kids are growing up so fast!
we only have a few more years to do this kind of stuff together!
i don’t even like thinking about that.
time keeps ticking away… i am so glad we pulled this off to spend more time with each other. 
when it got dark enough, craig turned on the movie and we all snuggled in.
we even started off with Mini Movies first – old home videos about 1 minute clips of all my cuties!
my heart was melting at their little voices and toothy (or toothless) smiles.
they always laugh so hard at the funny things they said.

doing something different makes a regular thursday night into a forever memory!
we plan on doing this much more often.
so if you are coming to visit… be sure to bring your sleeping bag.  🙂
we promise to share the bug spray.
and to make a spot for you on the couch.