Making Memories With Your Kids During the Lazy Days of Summer

You don't have to travel to the most remote places to enjoy a camp out with your kids!  Take advantage of the lazy days of summer by planning a camp out in your own back yard. 

When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to plan fun activities with me and tell me that she was "making memories."  While I didn't really have a real grasp on what she was talking about at the time, many years later, my mind often wandered back to those lazy days of summer drinking a cold coke in a glass bottle on the old fashioned front porch rocking back and forth on the glider just talking with her until the wee hours of the morning.  Air conditioning was not so common in those days and I can still shut my eyes and remember the warm breeze that blew through the windows clothed in ruffly white curtains.   Then there were the nights at 10:00 that we would jump in the car in our pajamas and run down to George's drive-in for a cheeseburger.  It seems to be the small things that she did that will just make me chuckle to myself.  I tried to use the same template that she did when caring for my grandchildren several years ago.  It wasn't the big, grandeur activities that made the best memories, it was the small things.  

Taking a short camping trip to the backyard can be an easy way to capture the best of memories with your little ones.  There are lightening bugs to light the warm air and there is no better way to observe the stars than laying on your back in the grass and looking up into the night sky.  Dinner can be as simple as hot dogs cooked on sticks over a fire or on the grill.  These are the best times to share a short story about your childhood with your young ones and discuss issues of the heart.

We live in an age where we tend to think every plan has to be well thought out and elaborate but the best memories are made when we are spontaneous and keep it simple!  It eliminates the stress and allows for relaxation, fun and lots of laughs!  So, pickup some hot dogs next time that you are at the store and put them in your freezer, grab a jar for lightening bugs and take those kids camping!