In the spirit of the holidays …

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In a few days, my family will head out to Iowa to spend Christmas with my parents. It’s roughly a 22-hour road trip. With two 70-pound dogs, a cat and a 10-year-old.

I’m pretty sure my husband and I have lost our minds.

These are the things, though, we do to be with family. Besides, I love going home for the holidays and I almost always drive. Even with the potential for bad road conditions, I find it so much easier. Particularly given that 50 percent of our family is of the four-legged variety.

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Sure, we could go without them, leaving them to stay with their pet sitter. But it really wouldn’t be Christmas without their crazy antics added into the food, fun and festivities.

As we prepared for the trip, I realized that an ICE (in case of emergency) kit had not yet been created and stored in our new Ram 1500 Sport. How it is possible that I overlooked such a thing, especially once the snow started falling?

An ICE kit is essential travel gear and there’s no time like the present to put one together.

Let’s see here. Where to begin? Seems like I’ve written read a blog or two about this somewhere …

Oh yes. Staying safe this winter season is a great place to start.

My first item is blankets – one for the front seat and one for the back seat. Big, warm ones that can be pulled out if the need arises. Then, of course, we’ll have extra socks, mittens/gloves, hats and scarves. These will come in handy not only for emergencies, but also as extra layers that may be required when we get the dogs out to stretch their legs.

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We have to take cat litter along anyway, for the smallest family member, so I’ll grab an extra-large bag, just in case we get in a jam along the way. The tires on our truck are really good, so using this is unlikely, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!

I picked up my family’s favorite granola bars at the store last weekend. Those will go in the emergency kit and I’ll pack some fresh fruit and water to snack on in the car. Then we’re covered not only for the long drive, but also any kind of delay that may arise.

In addition, I have:

  • Extra phone chargers
  • A shovel
  • A prepackaged emergency kit that includes some small tools, jumper cables, etc.
  • A first-aid kit, for all those “I don’t knows” that happen when you have a 10-year-old

Check, check and double-check. I think we’re ready to go. You know, except for the clothes, gifts, pets, kid …

122116-cc-in-the-spirit-of-the-holidays-4And now, after writing this, I’m convinced there is no doubt about it – my husband and I have lost our minds.

Happy holidays, everyone!