The Camp Trunks are packed...

Unless you have actually packed a camp trunk in the past 10 years, you may think that I am insane but packing camp trunks is a major pain in the butt and once you are done, you feel like you have hiked Mt Everest. Let me explain why I am so happy that they are zipped up and ready to go...

• First of all, they are not hard sided trunks but giant duffle bags. Like body bags. They are huge. Each kid has two of them.

• I needed to make my sons try on every item of clothing due to recent growth spurts. My "little one" is now taller than me, having grown four inches in the past year. Having teenage boys try on every article of clothing in their closet sounds easier than it is. It was a huge battle and took forever.

• This is my sixth summer of packing camp trunks. You would presume that I would have plenty of stuff in my house that I could send like fans, towels and bedding etc. You would wrong.

•   Thinking that anything that you send to camp will come back home when they are done OR will not be stained or too smelly to even take into your home is plain foolish. Last year, a wet towel was placed in the duffle on the way home. Five days later, when the trunks arrived home, the smell of everything was unlike anything I've ever experienced. Just imagine putting a wet towel in a nylon bag, placing it in an un-airconditioned cargo truck and sitting it somewhere in the August, Florida heat for five days. Don't you want to vomit now?

• I  needed to go to Target, Sports Authority, Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy, Marshall's, T.J. Maxx, Two malls and my least favorite place on earth, Wal-Mart. I probably went to Target at least ten times. Armed with my list, I tried to find stuff that not only fit, but that is acceptable to the teens while not breaking the bank. My kids are man-sized and unlike the good-old days when I could shop in the kid's section, the man-sized stuff is more expensive. 

• I almost had a mind-melting experience in the camping section of Wal-mart. People there saw me debating with myself over the fact that the giant 6 volt batteries are more expensive when you buy them without the flashlights than they are with. I did not need a new giant flashlight but it was cheaper this way. This defies logic and confused me. Here is proof direct from the Wal-mart website...
  
  
  
  

 See why I was confused? Unfortunately, I seem to have this same moral dilemma every summer. That is why I have 12 of these  flashlights in my hurricane box (without batteries).   I guess if the big one is coming, we can either pay triple for the 6 volt batteries during the price gouging OR tie the floating lanterns together and make a raft.

• My entire living room was covered in camp crap. If you happened to stop by during the past month, at first glance you would have thought that I was moving or burglars ransacked the place or that my housekeeper was, once again, on vacation. Here is proof..
  

                                   Aren't I the most organized looking mom ever? 

• After I procured enough clothes, towels, flashlights and axe body spray for two teen-aged boys, I had to wash, fold, separate and label everything.  

• Then I placed them all in giant ziploc bags (The HUGE ones!) and tried to shove them in the body bags  trunks.   Even though the trunks are huge, the stuff is more huge! 

• I can't forget to mention that during this process which started on June 1st and ended today, July 4th, I would wake up in the middle of the night screaming "swimming goggles! " and whatever else I forgot.

The bags are not being picked up for two more days so finishing early is like winning the gold medal. It was a huge battle. I'm so happy to be done. The fireworks you see tonight are celebrating my victory. Just kidding Happy Birthday America!!!