The Kitchen Sink V5I6

By Misty Crouse

Happy Father’s Day Oklahoma! It’s time to Thank your Father Figures for all they have taught you over the years!

I am grateful & blessed to have two Dads, my bio Dad and my Stepdad. The great thing about having two Dads is you learn from both. My Stepdad is a mechanic, which means I have learned to always have a jack in my car and a basket of important things in my trunk. Keeping it organized lets you have everything at your fingertips. In my basket, I have a few bottles of water, a blanket, an emergency roadside kit, and jumper cables. If any of that doesn’t solve the problem he is always a phone call away.

My Bio Dad and I live next door to each other, so he is my go-to DIY guru. He has taught me how important “don’t put it down, put it away” is especially when it comes to tools. I’ve learned that even if my husband has tons of tools, I still need my own set for around-the-house projects. I have a small stash of tools, a small hammer, screwdrivers – both Phillips and flat head, and a good pair of pliers. I can’t tell you how handy they have been.

My Family normally Camps for Father’s Day Weekend because the lake is our happy place. I have learned along the way that an organized campsite makes everything run smoother. It is so much work to get ready and to put everything up when you get home. Have no fear! I have a solution for that too. I use totes for our camping stuff that we take with us every time, plates, coffee pot, matches, etc. and when we return home, I just reorganize, replenish, and pack it away for our next trip to the lake. I use laundry baskets for clothes, towels, and groceries. Use different colored baskets for different things, for example; I use a white basket for my groceries and a blue one for clothes and towels. When we get home it is so simple, put the blue basket in the laundry room and the white one in the kitchen, it makes putting things away so fast. As we all know, putting things away is the worst part of camping.

I don’t know about your children, but mine are glued to their phones. When we camp we unplug and put the phones up, which only works if you keep them busy. You can only keep them in the water for so much of the day. Before we go, I take them to the dollar store and let them pick out some cheap toys or activities to bring with us. Water guns or blasters are always a big hit, they will chase each other around for a long time. Now this is an odd activity for the lake but hear me out because my kids enjoy it. We bring water-based paints (or paint with water books) and paint our hearts out. Clean-up is so easy because they just go for a swim and bam they are clean! Hang their pictures on the clothesline to dry, and throw everything else in a ziplock until the next time. Easy peasy.

After all that activity they will be starving, my kids are big snackers. I don’t want them to just eat junk food all day. I make sure we bring easy healthy snacking foods like grapes, bananas, apples, watermelon, cheese cubes, goldfish, and veggie straws. Fruit during the day will help keep them hydrated. Of course, they have their hot dogs and smores in the evening. What camping trip would be complete without smores? Have you ever swapped out your Hershey’s for a Reese’s or a Rolo? This might be the best tip I’ve ever given. Try it! You won’t regret it.

"Happy Camping"