Here a few pics of the girls from the weekend.
Must of been one heck of a nap
Huh??
First time on roller skates
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
TGIF...a day early.
What a week!!!! I know I can't complain too much. I'm very lucky to have a house unlike the approx 25,000 people who live in CR who have lost almost everything. It really was a tough week I think many others would agree with me. My work building was evacuated last Thursday and as of today, it's still closed. We've been working temporarily at our office in Davenport. I stayed in Dav Mon & Tuesday night and drove up today and will make one more trip there tomorrow...hopefully my LAST trip. Our office may open by Monday and my co-workers and I agree that we'd rather stay in CR and use porta-potties and skip the commute. It was hard being away from Scott and the girls but I can't see i didn't enjoy a free hotel room, free meals and some much needed "me " time!
Last night we drove around downtown and I gotta say, seeing the damage after the water is gone is far worse than seeing the initial flooding. I can take picture after picture but you really have to see it in person to understand how devastating it is. Tonight I drove around our old neighborhood and up Ellis Dr and started to cry...again. House after house, block after block, destroyed by the water. Mountains of furniture, carpet and appliances sitting out front of each house, waiting for the dump. The scene that really got to me was the dozens of computers I saw sitting in a pile outside the local Boys & Girls Club. Organizations like that depend on donations from the community and I'm sure it took a lot of time and planning to raise the money to purchase them. But I did hear a positive statistic today. Out of the 25,000 displaced citizens of CR, less then 500 are staying in shelters. That means they are either staying with friends or family or have already found alternative housing. I pray this clean-up goes quickly so these families can go home again.
Last night we drove around downtown and I gotta say, seeing the damage after the water is gone is far worse than seeing the initial flooding. I can take picture after picture but you really have to see it in person to understand how devastating it is. Tonight I drove around our old neighborhood and up Ellis Dr and started to cry...again. House after house, block after block, destroyed by the water. Mountains of furniture, carpet and appliances sitting out front of each house, waiting for the dump. The scene that really got to me was the dozens of computers I saw sitting in a pile outside the local Boys & Girls Club. Organizations like that depend on donations from the community and I'm sure it took a lot of time and planning to raise the money to purchase them. But I did hear a positive statistic today. Out of the 25,000 displaced citizens of CR, less then 500 are staying in shelters. That means they are either staying with friends or family or have already found alternative housing. I pray this clean-up goes quickly so these families can go home again.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Fathers Day!!
Happy Fathers Day to Daddy!!! Thank you for ALL you do! Especially for your patience and your smiles. You make every day fun!
We also found out this morning that we can start using our water again...HOORAY!! Everyone will get a bath today and we will slowly start up laundry and dishes. We drove over downtown last night and I was amazed as how quickly the water has receded but the mess left behind is going to take months to clean up.
We also found out this morning that we can start using our water again...HOORAY!! Everyone will get a bath today and we will slowly start up laundry and dishes. We drove over downtown last night and I was amazed as how quickly the water has receded but the mess left behind is going to take months to clean up.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Cedar Rapids Flood
Unbelievable. That is the only word I can find to explain what is going on in here. I hear myself saying that word several times a day as I watch TV and talk to friends and family. I've been watching the coverage on KCRG non-stop for the past couple days. They've shown the same pictures and video over and over again and it's still hard to watch.
I walked down to the river on Wednesday over my lunch and took some pictures of the river from the 2nd Ave bridge and a few of the streets downtown had just a few inches of water on them. That entire area is now flooded.
I passed over the river and downtown on my way to work on Thursday morning on I380 and I was in total shock. All I could do was cry. All of the downtown bridges were covered in water. It was so hard to focus at work. I kept checking news online and they were closing roads every hour. I finally left work at noon to pick up the girls from daycare and our building was evacuated just an hour later. I turned the news on when I got home and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Downtown is like my home away from home. I've worked down there for almost 13 years so I'm very familiar with the area. I was watching aerial coverage and I could see all the restaurants I eat at, the benches I sit on and eat my lunch at and they are ALL covered in water.
The water is a block away from our old house. We talked to our old neighbors and they are doing fine but no one ever imagined the water would reach THAT far. Our neighbor owns a plumbing business just a few blocks from our old house and it's a total loss. As I laid in bed last night with Rachel and watched the news, I couldn't help but feel guilty. Guilty because I have dry house and warm bed to sleep in while there are hundreds of families who have lost everything and who knows how long it will be before they can go home again.
Scott helped fill sand bags last night and we are trying to figure out how we can help after the water recedes. I can't even imagine how long the clean-up process will take and how soon before life goes back to "normal".
On a lighter note, life does still go on around our house. Rachel and Sam have been playing non-stop for the past three days. Today they decided to get creative with Rachel's markers, thankfully WASHABLE markers!
The view of 1st Ave on Wed afternoon. The water
is now up to the Dairy Queen sign.
View of 2nd Ave from my office building taken
yesterday. The water is now all the way up
to the bottom of the picture.
No wonder they were playing SO quietly
in the basement!
Rachel & Sam
Miss Dimples
I walked down to the river on Wednesday over my lunch and took some pictures of the river from the 2nd Ave bridge and a few of the streets downtown had just a few inches of water on them. That entire area is now flooded.
I passed over the river and downtown on my way to work on Thursday morning on I380 and I was in total shock. All I could do was cry. All of the downtown bridges were covered in water. It was so hard to focus at work. I kept checking news online and they were closing roads every hour. I finally left work at noon to pick up the girls from daycare and our building was evacuated just an hour later. I turned the news on when I got home and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Downtown is like my home away from home. I've worked down there for almost 13 years so I'm very familiar with the area. I was watching aerial coverage and I could see all the restaurants I eat at, the benches I sit on and eat my lunch at and they are ALL covered in water.
The water is a block away from our old house. We talked to our old neighbors and they are doing fine but no one ever imagined the water would reach THAT far. Our neighbor owns a plumbing business just a few blocks from our old house and it's a total loss. As I laid in bed last night with Rachel and watched the news, I couldn't help but feel guilty. Guilty because I have dry house and warm bed to sleep in while there are hundreds of families who have lost everything and who knows how long it will be before they can go home again.
Scott helped fill sand bags last night and we are trying to figure out how we can help after the water recedes. I can't even imagine how long the clean-up process will take and how soon before life goes back to "normal".
On a lighter note, life does still go on around our house. Rachel and Sam have been playing non-stop for the past three days. Today they decided to get creative with Rachel's markers, thankfully WASHABLE markers!
The view of 1st Ave on Wed afternoon. The water
is now up to the Dairy Queen sign.
View of 2nd Ave from my office building taken
yesterday. The water is now all the way up
to the bottom of the picture.
No wonder they were playing SO quietly
in the basement!
Rachel & Sam
Miss Dimples
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Going for a Cruise
Our neighbor, Roger, asked Rachel if she wanted to go with them to watch a Little League game at one of the area parks tonight. Roger also owns a Mustang GTO convertible so the girls got to ride in style to the game! This picture is of Sam and Rachel as they were getting ready to leave, sunglasses and all!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
It's Officially SUMMER!!!
Rachel has been waiting...and waiting for it to warm up so she could play in her Dora sprinkler. This weekend she was in her swimsuit by 10am and READY to play outside. This weekend was also Annie's first time swimming in her baby pool and she loved it. Amazing how one inch of water can entertain a baby for almost an hour! It finally felt like summer and despite the bugs, we enjoyed every minute it!!!
Rachel & Sam
Ahhh....this is the life!
Annie being attacked by bubbles
We knew those curls were still there, we just had
to wait for it to get hot so we could see them again!
Oh yeh, I'm using a sippy cup.
Rachel & Sam
Ahhh....this is the life!
Annie being attacked by bubbles
We knew those curls were still there, we just had
to wait for it to get hot so we could see them again!
Oh yeh, I'm using a sippy cup.
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