Preparedness Fair This Week, Easter Next

Today Kirk and I went to a preparedness fair.  It was unlike any we've ever been to before.  We love everything that has to do with becoming more self sufficient, whether it be for emergency preparedness or just simply every day living.  It is so satisfying to be able to do the things that so commonly are expected to be done for us in our current American culture.  For example, its really cool to know how to make soap.  This can save tons of money, and its a good way to control the quality of the ingredients in your soap.  Its funny I use soap as an example though, because I've never actually made my own.  I feel like it would be too dangerous to make it with the kids around because the ingredients are so temperamental until after they've had their chemical reactions with each other.  I am planning on making liquid laundry detergent from a bar of soap though (its kinda like making soap, even though its also kind of cheating since its just adding extra ingredients to pre-made soap - this is just like when someone claims to have made a cake from scratch because they didn't buy it fully made, but they really just made it from a box of cake mix).  Anyway, the fair had tons of information about all kinds of options for how to prepare for natural disasters or survival camping.  Going to these always makes Kirk want to set up the tent in the back yard and practice survival camping... I on the other hand really prefer my bed.  Its not that I don't like camping, its just the kids keep me hopping all day and I sleep better on a bed after a long day like that, and then there is the fact that Daisy still keeps me up a lot of the night.  Maybe, once I'm not kept up so much by the baby when I should be sleeping, it will feel much more fun to set up that tent to sleep in.  I've never seen so much gear for all kinds of different things.  So fun. It was very odd that a lot of the speakers were trying to promote their businesses and special offers cause this was a church function, but my Mom said she had seen one like that before.  There were 4 classes at the fair that we attended on different subjects and the only one that didn't push promoting their business we had to dig to get his business name out of him.  That was funny.

I actually thought this fair was supposed to be next week so I had arranged Grandma Patty to watch Eeva and Tye then, but we got a flyer just a couple days ago that said it was this week.  Changing plans for babysitting is not always the easiest and she had other plans.  I hate making people change plans to cater to me or to our family, so I didn't want to make her worry about it.  Luckily Grandma Barclay was able to come play with the kids so that we could still go.  It was fun to see her again and she brought me some of her awesome chickens eggs.  Thanks Mom!  We're hoping to do our first easter egg hunt in the back yard next saturday (of course it will be a candy free egg hunt since we are off sugar right now) and the kids are hoping Grandma Patty can come do that with them.  We're gonna do easter activities with the egg hunt too, but I need to think of a couple more activities.  So far I found some golf clubs that look like carrots and we're gonna play easter golf with them in the back.  I am trying to decide if I should try to make grain and sugar free gingerbread for them to make gingerbread houses.  Let me know of any ideas!