HOLIDAY, Fla. — With a car full of supplies and seven kids, the Cox family is ready to go. 

“Yeah, we are not used to preparing for a hurricane,” said Olivia Cox. 

The decision to leave is tough. 

“We are not really wanting to leave, but we gotta leave,” Cox said. 

Saying goodbye to their home is hard, because they moved in just three days ago. 

“We just got in here,” said Keith Cox. “We tried to get everything set up for the kids. It was a surprise for the kids, but it didn’t go as planned.”

A surprise followed by disappointment after learning Hurricane Ian was fast approaching. This family admits they didn’t actually know the hurricane was coming until a day ago. 

“We found out when the message came from the schools, that is when we found out,” said Olivia. “Because we have been working so hard, working on this project, that we weren’t paying attention between work and then this.”

In fact, they are just finishing setting up the kids’ room. The four girls in one, and three boys in the other. 

“They haven’t even been able to sleep in their rooms yet,” said Keith with a sigh of disappointment. 

Seven little beds, that will stay made up for a few more days now. 

“We are having to drive away. That is the hurtful part,” said Keith. 

In the city of Holiday, they are zoned for some impact conditions and flooding. A canal sits just off the back of their home. 

“As we are on the water, I’m just worried about if it’s gonna flood or, because we are in that flooding zone,” said Keith. 

For now, they will lock up and hope. 

“Just want to make sure everything is secure before we leave out,” said Keith. 

They all climb into two cars, that also have a dog and two reluctant cats inside, and then turn out of their driveway with their GPS headed North.