Memoirs of a Happy Camper (and an Enchilada Recipe)

We have had many of memorable camping trips. My husband and I used to camp literally spring through fall every year in our prekid years. We would find a spot we loved and camp almost every weekend. Making a lot of crazy memories along the way.

If Pinterest Brought you here for Chicken Enchiladas Click HERE, for some reason I can’t edit that pin

Like the time we camped along a river so we could canoe only to be fed to the local mosquitoes. There were…no joke….a million mosquitoes. How do I know this you ask!? We sprayed some bugout fog and jumped in the car and waited 15 minutes got out and the picnic table was covered 1 inch thick with mosquito carcasses…..gasp!

We could have been completely blood drained if it weren’t for bugout, seriously that stuff is amazing, just bummed that I can’t find it at Wal-Mart anymore. Oh sorry, back to the fun stuff! It was a wildlife preserve so it was such a peaceful and private canoe trip with no houses along the way, all God’s beautifully untouched nature…..long sigh:-) One of our favorite spots for sure.

Or the time…

We decided to camp at this little locally owned campground called Ponytown for the 4th of July….just a primitive no shower-little pond in the middle-nothing to do- kinda campground. Soon we realized this was the best kept secret ever for the 4th. Night was fast approaching and there was a strip of land that went across the middle of the pond filled with people setting up what we thought would be the typical home done show, you know, boom….5 minute pause….boom…. 5 minute pause….boom…..grand finally is 3 sparklers and a couple bottle rockets.

We still had no clue what we were about to witness. It was time, time to start the show, whoa!

IT WAS AWESOME!!!! It was two hours of what seemed to be a professional fireworks show!

We could not believe our eyes and ears. Best fireworks we have ever see to this day! We decided right then and there we would never go anywhere else for the 4th. Next year rolled around we packed up the car and headed on over to Ponytown only to find it was CLOSED down. Ugh! The 4th of July has never been the same again!

Then came parenthood

Jada, then Jasmine….4 yrs of no camping….awwww. But then finally in fall of 2009 we took the girls camping for the first time. We opted for the campground with a playground, beach, working potties and showers, oh yea we were roughing it for sure now. I took a lot of crafty stuff and other fun stuff to do in case of boredom.

It was only like 40 something degrees at night so I took like 50 blankets since we were in a tent. FYI If you’re looking for a relaxing vacation, camping with a 3 year old and a 2 year old is probably not the best option….. NO NO NOOOOOOO came up A LOT! But it was all worth it to see them beyond thrilled to be doing something different.

Then came Jordan and 2 more years of camping hiatus! We finally gave it a go again opting to go the the same fun campground we went to in 2009, leaving Jordan with grandma & grandpa because there were such high temps, she would have been miserable, we were miserable!

My high maintenance husband actually brought fans and wait for it…Yep an air conditioner!!

Let’s just say we camped out all right, right in front of the air conditioner in the screened in tent, hahaha! The screen kinda defeated the purpose though, really didn’t think that one through, but it was nice to feel at least a little cool breeze. We did manage to have a good time even in 100 degree weather.

The girls played at the park (the dirtiest park in America by the way see pic below), went on a hayride, played at the beach. Of course glow sticks for the tent too:-)

Let me tell ya, we really aren’t conditioned for camping like we used to be! We’re just a bunch a sissies. Things have changed quite a bit from when our adventures began. We’ve gone from literally living in the woods to pitching a tent in ours or a family members backyard.

But alas, now we don’t have to pack the whole house just to spend 2 nights away from home,  and we can flush the toilet, we can take a hot shower and if it’s too hot or too cold or too buggy we can simply walk the long walk to our backdoor, ah the luxuries of backyard camping, is priceless.

Forest Rose

Forest Rose is a God Loving, Blessed Wife, &  Mama to 3 girls. She’s passionate about lifting moms out of the trenches that are discouraged, overwhelmed, or feeling alone or isolated. Her hope is to point them to Christ and equip them to rise up with a newfound hope and joy within, that He alone can provide. Besides blogging, she also loves to create printables!