Water, Water Everywhere...Including the Basement

Because the river is so high, the ground water table is sitting just below
ground level (literally if you dig down a foot you hit water right now). Our
basement is about 5 feet below ground at the floor, and so water is seeping
into the basement around the edges.

We are taking out about 6-10 gallons a day with the shopvac along with the sump
pump which is taking out about 10 gallons a minute. In this picture, the floor had been vacuumed about 30 minutes prior.

The last picture is a snap shot of the sump pump pumping out water. I set
it to run continuously (not use the float) on Friday. Today is Tuesday.

Flood 2010

Here are some pictures of our areas flooding late September 2010
We received over 10 inches of rain in a 24 hour period
which caused immediate flash flooding, and then long term
river flooding.

The river crested at 23 feet, which is 4 feet over flood stage
and to this post has not stayed below 22 feet.

Family History

Thanks to Kathy, a distant cousin I made contact with through Familyseach.org!

This is a picture of my great grandfather, great grandmother and their family and children. This is my grandfather's (my mom's dad) family.

What Cody Creates

Here is a dragon the Cody painted.

Here is a doll house that Cody created.

She really is VERY talented!!!

Interviewing in Sedalia

We spent two nights in the hotel so that Chantel could attend her peer interview
at Bothwell Regional Healthcare Center, and we could get a tour of Sedalia from
Pat Monsees, our realtor.

Looking Around Sedalia

Resting Along The Way

This has to be the absolutely cutest rest stop in Iowa!!!

Driving Weather

On our trip to, and from Missouri we ran into thunderstorms! Okay
ran into is not really the correct term, rather the weather ran into us.

As a matter of fact, on our way down to Missouri we felt a bit like we had
a hit and run with a thunderstorm. Let's just say, it was raining hard enough, and the
wind was strong enough that we couldn't see the road that we were trying to drive on,
and Vern had both hands and elbows on the wheel.

But, the most exciting part of it all, other than the hydroplaning, the flashes of lightening,
the complete lack of sunlight even though it was still daylight, and not having
a single place to pull over on the long stretch of 65 through Iowa that we
decided to take....

Was the realization that the mist on the ground that looked like it was swirling
and the hail coming down from the sky pointed to presence of a funnel cloud!

Enough excitement for us all!!!

Cody And The Snake In The Grass

Our neighbor's kids brought home a snake from the environmental area which ended
up in our yard. Chantel went out one morning and found Pretty playing with
something under the bench swing, and with a girly shriek figured out there was
a snake curled up in the grass. So, she turned to Cody, the snake wrangler!

Cody came out, picked it up and was about to take it back to the
environmental area when it coiled up and struck out, causing another girly shriek
from Mom and Cody dropped the snake.

We never saw it again.

However Chantel walked on the sidewalk until she mowed the yard a few
days later.

Fishing With The Girls

The girls went fishing at Talcot Lake. Didn't catch much, but
had a great time in a very beautiful place!

The boys stayed home and played video games.

Bestest Friends Forever

Elemental Oven Repair

While baking last week we saw a bright flash in the oven. Now it is not
a new thing for Chantel to light the stove afire, but to explode something in
the oven IS rare.

We opened the oven door and found the element burned in half (picture). So,
Vern ordered the part from the appliance store and Chantel replaced the
element just in time for a cold day and bread, cake and cookies to be baked!