Backyard Camping - S'mores - Hot Dogs - Fun

Nothing says Summer like some good old fashioned backyard fun, right? For those of you who follow me on my Facebook Fanpage, Twitter or my iCANDY features right here, you have seen my constant updates on this topic. I'm like a little kid thinking of ways for my own 4 year old to have a fun Summer like I did as a kid.

A few weekends ago one of my childhood friends came to visit me with two of her kids and the family tent. Toss in a trip to Target's $1.00 section, an endless supply of Raspberry Beer Cocktails {for the grown up ladies}, some hot dogs, mosquito spray, and you have the perfect starter ingredients for a recipe of FUN on a hot, sweltering Southern Night. Then we added...

a couple dads to help pitch the tent
(not 100% sure either of them have ever seen a tent)

a handful of kids to make sure everything is A-OK!

Some backyard games

S'mores!
the star of our party

large tub of Wet Wipes

Sparklers

to help us get into the 4th of July mood a tad early

and of course what backyard party
would be complete without
Glow Bracelets?

They sure leave interesting photo effects

How about this most adorable, printable
collection for your own backyard party?
From Fresh Chick Design Studio

As you can see we had a super time and hopefully made some great Summertime memories for the kids. By keeping the Raspberry Beer Punch flowing for the grown ups, I was hoping we could have at least passed out in the tent in order to get a good night's sleep - no such luck! By 11:15pm, my son announced he wanted to be "cold" and also wanted to "tear the tent down". Acorn didn't fall far from the tree, eh? My friend and her kids were the true troopers after all, as they spent the entire night in the tent, slanted on a slight hill and all:)

I'd love to see pictures from your own backyard fun this summer, send them along to info@inkspotworkshop.com

iCandy - Backyard Camping Edition

Hello and Happy Thursday everyone! I'm bringing you this week's iCANDY a day early as I prepare for my good friend's visit this weekend. She's bringing 2 of her kids and combined we'll have 3 kiddos, all under the age of 6! Can you tell by the theme what we'll be up to?

I thought it would be fun to take advantage of Atlanta's {gorgeous} Spring weather and do some good old fashioned backyard camping. I can't remember the last time I slept in a tent, but I'm pretty sure I was in my teens, so I'm a bit ....overdue? My 4 year old is so excited about this, it's all he can talk about, especially since he discovered the art of catching fireflies this past weekend :) too cute.

I'm not sure who's more excited for this.... the kids or me? My friend is already asking me if I have blowup mattresses, I told her, nope, we're roughing it, this is not the Ritz!

Please enjoy this week's roundup of fun stuff to make your own backyard camping experience super fun. Also, don't forget, The National Wildlife Federation has declared Saturday June 26th as the Great American Backyard Campout! So go pitch a tent:)

1. Banana Boats - I've never heard of these before, but thanks to This Week For Dinner you too can learn how.
2. Bodum Fyrkat Portable Charcoal Grill - Perfect for Banana Boats, Hot Dogs and S'mores. $49.99
3. Power Plus Penguin - Kid's hand powered flashlight, eco friendly too! $7.63
4. Back Yard Explorer Tent - Easy setup $26.49
5. "My Bug Jar" Craft Kit - Perfect for catching fireflies, $9.99 for 12
6. Coleman for Kid's Lanatern - $9.99
7. S'Mores - Plus other perfect ideas to make your backyard camping experience {perfect} From the Queen herself, Martha Stewart.