craftiness is not optional guest post~childhood summer memories

Hey, all! I’m Jess, from Craftiness is not Optional, and I am psyched to be here on Kristen’s lovely blog reminiscing about summers past today!

So when I think of my summers growing up, instantly I think of camping. I grew up the oldest of eight kids, and we loved to go camping together! It was a family tradition, one that we repeated multiple times during the summer months. My parents would load us up in our big striped van, hook up the trailer, load up the food and tents (yes we needed a trailer and tents to fit us all), and we’d be off on an adventure!

Some of my favorite memories of my childhood are from these camping trips-often we’d go with cousins and extended family so there was always someone to play with…or convince to lick a banana slug. (true story)

Oh boy…our camping duds were stuff of legend. Please, refrain from being jealous of my fabulous sweatshirt, plaid lined jeans, and multi colored shoes. Just don’t…you couldn’t pull it off, I promise. (No one can.)

Yep, suspenders didn’t help.

Once we pulled out the camping clothes (no we didn’t wear them in our normal lives THANK goodness.), it was time to get dirty, have fun, and eat tons of marshmallows. Yumm, s’mores! We would play those cheesy campfire games and my brothers/uncles/dad would tell scary stories about forest monsters and such. Which I totally didn’t believe…and which is why I slept with a large stick near my sleeping bag. Cause a stick would totally fend off a ferocious mutant grizzly.

What I loved most about camping was that we used our imaginations so much while we played. A stump became a castle, and a stick, a sword or bazooka…another camper became a vampire…(seriously we thought that once)…so it was pretty much every child’s dream vacation. (if they don’t know about Disneyland, that is. We didn’t.) So here’s to continuing the tradition of camping with our kids! As long as they learn to sleep in a tent quietly. Nothing worse than your baby waking up the whole campground, am I right?

Thanks for having me, Kristen! Have a great summer, everyone!

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Kristen Duke

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