There are so many summer activities that we look forward to when the temperature rises - swimming, softball games, trips to the ice cream parlor. Another highlight for our family is camping. Since I was a kid, many of our family vacations were spent in a tent or camping trailer, and now we have started that tradition with our own kids.

Camping trips are my favorite. We have taking many family vacations and been privileged to vacation on some nice resorts and we've had a trip to both Disneyland and Universal studios and all those trips were quite nice. But nothing beats a simple camping trip to get us to focus in on one another while forgetting about our everyday life.

Not all of our summer vacations have been spent camping. There have been trips to Disney and road trips to see grandma, and they have all been fun and memorable. But there is nothing like a camping trip to really slow down the hectic pace of life and bring the family together for some simple fun.

I'll begin with a word of advice for the novice camper. Start in the backyard. The bathroom and food are handy, but sleeping under the stars will create memories for a lifetime. And if you insist that the electronics (MP3 players, electronic games, DVD players) stay in the house, you just might reconnect with some of those old fashioned activities like Go Fish and ghost stories.

When the time comes for the first real camping trip, make your life easy by a little pre-planning. Yes, a little work first, makes the whole vacation much more relaxing for you later. First check out if a reservation is required. It's best to know you can stay before you go. Then check out campground facilities to be sure if you need bathrooms with running water, you've got them.

Beyond the research you should do on the campground itself, be sure you do a bit more work on packing. Here is where a good set of checklists becomes invaluable. A list of what to pack and a list of food you will bring and what you will buy locally will save hours of effort and prevent you from freezing some night when the weather turns cold and you forgot proper clothing.

Also use the Internet to come up with you list of 'must haves' for your trip. Experienced campers would know to bring a pocket knife and cooler and their experience is yours if you do a bit of online research. BTW, a deck of cards is a requirement for any camping trip.

You can make camping as simple as being in your own backyard or go on a bigger trip but whichever route you go, be sure to relax, focus on family and have fun. When you do that, you'll be making memories everyone will cherish forever. Now that's summertime fun!