The Flood

When the National Weather Service says "We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring", I really don't want to be anywhere close. However, here we are. Cedar Rapids is under water. As I came (SLOWLY) over I-380 tonight on my way home, I was speechless at the devastation. The estimate is 100+ blocks under water and the river is expected to crest a full 10 feet above yesterday's prediction. The latest issue is water....strangely, even though we obviously have too much, it sounds as if we will lose water to homes somtime in the next few days. 3 of the 4 wells supplying Cedar Rapids water are gone and the 4th is being sandbagged at the moment. Will is so interested in all of the coverage and wants to go see the water, but he's going to have to settle for the videos on the news....he's not getting anywhere close. Keep praying.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/

Standing!

She still hasn't really figured this out...she'll stand but hasn't pulled herself up yet. That's ok with Mommy. I'm not ready for her to be running after her brother yet!

More Fun in the Sun

The kids and I had another great weekend enjoying the weather. It's been rainy so much that clear skies and warm temps meant that we were going to spend most of the weekend outside. We fit in trips to two parks, the duck pond, two splash pads, and lots of scooter riding up and down the street.

Here's a handsome guy at the duckpond....the ducks & geese still love the graham crackers.

Morgan cracked me up when I set her on the grass. She didn't cry but as you can tell by her expression she wasn't quite sure what to think!

Will swang and swang until MY arms were tired from pushing him.

Sissy was a sleepy girl at the end of the busy day yesterday but was happy and ready to go today!

We had a great weekend....hope you all did too.

After the Storm

On Monday, I made a trip to Aplington (about 5 miles from Parkersburg where Scott's aunt & uncle live) to pick Will up to bring him home. His dad stayed on with Grandma and Uncle Steve. Will was very talkative on the way home telling me all about how he and Grandma went to the basement and how loud the storm was and "Mom, did you know that Grandma's neighbor's garage hit her house and is in her backyard now?" All things I hoped I wouldn't have to hear out of my 5-year old's mouth. He has lots to tell me about the storm and has talked about it pretty constantly since. After we got home and got sissy (who was THRILLED to see her brother), we headed to the park to run off some energy. Will ran and swang and jumped and slid. Sissy had a great time watching.

YAY WILL!!

After the park we hit the duck pond to feed the ducks and geese, who apparently LOVE graham crackers (Sissy's favorite food, which is why I had LOTS on hand).

Will was disappointed the swimming pool wasn't open yet as it turned out to be a gorgeous spring day. I drove past one of the splash pads, hoping that it might be open and it was! I barely had the van stopped before Will had undone his seatbelt, stripped off his t shirt and sandals and was out the door running for the water.

He had a ball. He ran all over the place for a solid hour while sissy and I cruised in her stroller. After that we hit Dairy Queen for milkshakes and headed home exhausted. He crashed about 715 Monday night and slept until about 715 Tuesday morning. He was reluctant to go to school yesterday morning and wanted extra hugs before Morgan and I dropped him off. But he had a good day and another good night's sleep last night. I'm so grateful.

Parkersburg

Will & Scott were in Parkersburg visiting Grandma Jo this weekend when an F-5 tornado went through. They were lucky and Jo's house sustained some damage but it is repairable. There is incredible heartbreaking damage to the rest of the town. Please pray for the town and the families who live there as they begin to rebuild.

Soccer and Baseball...Will's a Busy Boy

I've been SO slow in posting....I have lots of pics on my camera and they never seem to make it onto my computer. Will's been busy with soccer & baseball. Sissy's busy crawling around and getting lots of teeth - 4 in the last week - and boy is she a grump when those teeth are making an appearance.

Here's Will getting ready for his game.

Warming up

ACTION SHOT!

Will's leadoff hit for his baseball team

Baby in Motion

Baby sis is crawling!

Such a cutie (not that I'm biased or anything...)