Roasting 'Shmallows...

Another one of our favorite things to do as a family is backyard campfires. Matt and I used to go up into the mountains when we were dating and roast hot dogs and 'shmallows over a fire all the time. Now we do it with the kids in the backyard and it's so fun to pass on a tradition that we started 13 years ago. That's also when marshmallows became known as 'shmallows. Matt and I were up in the canyon roasting hot dogs and marshmallows when he turned to me and joked, "Honey, the marshmallows are coming between us." I looked down and he was trying to scoot his camp chair closer to me but the marshmallow bag was in his way. I looked back at him and said, "Darn 'shmallows!" and a new word was born...

It's funny how just cooking hot dogs over a fire, instead of on the stove or in the microwave, makes them taste so much better! There's something magical to kids about getting to cook their own dinner over an open flame all by themselves. It's also a nice break from the routine. It kind of feels like we are on vacation for an hour or two. My kids beg for a campfire almost every weekend once it gets warm enough. They always help Matt round up wood and newspaper to get the flame started then they go get the "forkers" as T calls the roasting sticks, and the camp chairs and we are in business.

Now that we are back into toddlerhood again it's a little tricky finding a good time to have a fire sometimes. Emilia is scared of the fire, which is good because she stays away from it, but bad because she also fusses during the whole thing so I usually have to come inside with her which makes me grumpy or we sometimes wait until she goes to bed.

Sometimes we just do a quick hot dog/'shmallow roast and other times we do a full out dinner with corn on the cob and chips and watermelon etc. Whatever we do it's always delish!

Just another family tradition that I hope they always remember...