September 11

In our family, September 11 has become synonymous with a task that Melissa has taken upon herself- re-evaluating our 72 hour kit and making plans. She dumped out all our kits and saw that some of our water bottles had exploded at some point probably while it was in transit on our moving truck but had dried out even before we moved in. With everything in bags, though, nothing was ruined.

Other supplies needed to be cycled out. Batteries, glowsticks, etc. So there's usually a large expenditure there. All in the name of preparedness. And Melissa has it all in the computer too so she knows what will need to be replaced when. Along with making sure we have stuff, she makes sure we have information. Key personal data and health info like SSNs, blood types, bank and insurance info, emergency utility numbers. False identification papers for getting out quickly. No wait, that was in a book I just read.

One thing that was obvious was that the kids have grown so we had to pack in a new set of clothes. Rachel's got the toughest job of course since her backpack is loaded with diapers. So while I'm carrying the huge bag with tons of water I'll need to be carrying Rachel and her bag too. :)

Each of us has a bag for the 72 hour kit. A backpack for each kid with some activities and snacks they can have in a tornado. A large duffle for Melissa and a very large rolling bag for dad with a lot of water and heavy things.

Grant's looking over my shoulder wondering what a blog is and when I explained now wants to help. We'll see...