女兒要去露營了! Going Camping!

My 9 year-old is going camping with her Junior Scout troop this weekend. It's not the first time she has gone camping, but it will be the first time she'll be away from me for 2 whole nights. The last time she spent the night away from me was at an overnight backyard campout at a friend's house 5 minutes from our house. She was 7 at the time. I wasn't as worried then because she was only a phone call (and a short car ride) away. This time, they are going all the way to Malibu to a horse camp called the Rawhide Ranch for 3 days and 2 nights.

http://www.rawhideranch.com/

It'll be a great experience for her learning about horses and not relying on her mom at all. She has to think for herself and make decisions on her own. That's part of growing up.

The weather forecast for this weekend is rain! It doesn't rain often in Los Angeles, so this should be interesting for the kids as well. I still have to buy a few more things for my daughter to pack for camp. Neither my husband nor I are outdoor/camping type of people, so I had to buy a sleeping bag for her specially for this camping trip.

I found a great sleeping bag on Amazon. It's the Coleman Kids Explorer Sleeping Bag. I tried looking for a sleeping bag at Walmart and Target (should have gone to Kmart as well) for a children's sleeping bag that is light and warm enough for 25F climate. I initially saw this sleeping bag on Walmart.com for $20 but the website said the sleeping bag wasn't available on-line, so I went to the store and this item wasn't even in their inventory system anymore. Someone at Walmart.com needs to work harder updating their on-line presentations. Amazon sells it for $32.99. It's a little pricey, but after reading the reviews by other customers, I went ahead and ordered it. I got it 2 days later and it's a great, light sleeping bag. My daughter is about 4"9' and the bag is just right for her in length and width. She absolutely loves it. I like the gray color because I know her brother will get to use it after she outgrows it.

For my daughter's camping trip, I still have to buy her an extra pair of jeans, a small bottle of insect repellent, sun screen, and Listerine (for her retainer). I guess it's time to go to Target.

這幾天很忙,最主要是上個 weekend 的課外活動特別多,所以平常留到 weekend 要做的事情都沒做。女兒的病才剛好,整個 weekend 都在看她努力的把功課補寫完畢。看著她一天天的長大、變成熟,這種滋味我還是第一次有所感受。她再八年就要上大學了。所以我也只剩下八年的時間跟她好好的相處,創造我們母女倆的美好回憶。我要我的小孩有個愉快的童年。算一算我女兒的童年也快過了。面對我們的是陌生的未來,尤其是如何去面對女兒青少年時期會帶給父母的挑戰。我想我們必需要用智慧、耐心、包容、及愛去面對這些挑戰。不過這話說起來簡單,做起來就難了。反正船到橋頭自然直,到時候再去煩腦,現在擔心這個也沒用。

我等一下要趕快去幫女兒買她去露營要用的東西。