The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,205 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—7,043 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ
Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …
For this week’s Outpost/Glamping Merit Badge, I steeled myself for an overnight with my favorite triplets. Midge’s kiddos are somewhere between the ages of 6 and 12, respectively. Hey, I’m a single gal: I’m not great with guessing children’s ages! I just know they are old enough to buckle their own seat belts, but not old enough to get a learner’s permit.
Anyway …
Midge needed an overnight sitter, so Yours Truly volunteered. Well, volunteer is a strong word … more like my deer-in-the-headlights look must have masqueraded as a pick-me look. I’d better work on that. But all kidding aside, I was psyched, amped up, phat, chillaxed, you know, to be the cool auntie for a night, plus it was the perfect opportunity to earn another badge! Which one, you might ask?
The ever-popular Glamping one.
Oh. Yes. Indeedy.
Though I’d heard of glamping, collected a Pinterest wall of glamping ideas, have friends who have done it, and daydreamed of all it entailed, I still hadn’t left my house.
My comfy, comfy house.
With that comfy, comfy bathroom.
Yes, I’m a wimp. A pathetic excuse for a farmgirl. I’ve said it.
But no more! I was going glamping. Even if it was just in the backyard.
Close to that comfy, comfy bathroom.
Don’t fret, chickadees, I don’t plan to cheat.
Unless completely necessary.
Pile of quilts in hand (because, let’s face it, sleeping bags are so dull and so are broken zippers), the triplets and I spent the twilight hours readying our campsite. I had a tent somewhere in the depths of the garage, but we were really hankering for a REAL night under the stars, so with their tree-climbing skills, we managed to drape king sized sheets and erect our own bohemian, gypsy style, open tent. Even with just the sheets, our glamping was coming along swimmingly, if I do say so myself! My yard already looked pin-able, and we hadn’t even finished with the details yet.
Next to come were pillows and blankets and a hammock, and when combined with the ever-so-lovely garden light I made a while back, we were really in style. My fire pit was readied with kindling and one of the triplets sharpened sticks for s’mores and other roasted delights. (While I looked away in fear. Fear of a child with a knife? More like fear of Midge finding out. What I claim I didn’t know can’t hurt me. Babysitting 101.) Evening was just settling in when we started packing out dinner prep, dessert items, breakfast foods, snacks, and elevensies. Hey, glamping is at least 50% about the food!
My excitement was building and our adventure had only just begun …
Hopefully the weather was perfect for your camp~over. The moon was said to be super bright & extra big last weekend & just maybe you & the girls got to see lightning bugs (one of my favorite things about being outdoors as night falls).
My first time camping it rained all night; our tent was…inadequate; rain water seemed to gush inside our tent & over us; our sleeping bags got soaked & so did we. It was chilly & to be honest a little bit creepy. And not one lightning bug was spotted all weekend long. But the weekend wasn’t a total washout as I won 1st prize for catching the biggest fish from the well stocked campsite pond (yep, we fished in the rain). My 1st prize choices were a new beach towel or a roll of 35mm film. And when the rain stooped & the sun peeked out we took a horseback ride through a long winding trail (my 1st time on a horse). I can still remember the horses name…& being reprimanded by our guide for lagging way behind because I allowed the horse to stop whenever it wanted & eat the surrounding vegetation until its giant heart was completely content & he was ready to stroll once more:-)
I love how this Farmgirl just let the inspiration flow for a true glamping experience with the twins! I bet it will be a memory that none of them ever forget. One memorable night under the stars inspired by MJF glampers. Who knows what that one experience will create within the hearts and minds of those 3 children? I predict there is a Farmgirl growing inside one of them. Who knows, one of them might be buying one of the glamped up trailers from one of us older Farmgirls who have to downsize in our 70s!! Hahaha!! The beat goes on.