Camping Ideas- What are your traditions and what gear is a must to take?

I'm not a huge camping person. I remember as a child going a few times with my family and as a teen going a few times with my family and my best friend's family. The last few times we have gone- which have probably been at least 4 years now we went to a place that was close enough to the beach which seemed to make it a little more fun then just hanging out in the woods. Since it's been so long since I've gone I'd like to hear from you your camping traditions, tips and ideas! Anything you'd like to share about camping go for it! I have three little kids now and imagine that I'll probably be dragging way more then I used to with me. We don't have too much in the line of gear but I know that my parents have quite a bit that we could borrow from them. I also found out that overstock.com carries camping gear- which is nice to know because I know I've found some pretty good deals there on lots of other things. We are also trying to figure out where to go. We'd like to stay somewhere kind of close to home so that we aren't forking out a whole bunch in gasoline just to get there. We have decided to do this as our frugal family vacation this summer - we had originally planned a trip to Idaho as we do every year but have decided we'd like to save a little more money this year and nixed that idea. So if you know of any great spots in Western Washington for camping please let me know! I'm looking forward to hearing all your great ideas!