The Crafts

We had a great, but tiring, time during the big 10 mile race yesterday. We both ran about 8 minute miles for the first four miles. Matt took an early lead, but I caught and passed him 2 miles in. He caught me at 7 1/4 miles. Then I caught Matt at 8 1/2 miles and we unintentionally finished together at 1 hour 25 minutes. Ironically I thought Matt was holding back to wait for me near the end so I was pushing hard to not slow him down. Whereas Matt said he was struggling to keep up with me. So I guess in the end we both pushed each other to a faster finish. We had so much fun training and racing together that we started looking for another distance race to run. We averaged 8:30 minute miles and I couldn't be more proud of us.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the big race. Matt and I have been training since March for the Sturgis Falls half marathon. But unfortunately due to flooding, the half marathon was shortened to a 10 mile run. I've had a really great time training with Matt. We may not have been able to do many training runs together but its been fun to talk about our times, race strategy. etc. Matt is much more focused on his times, I, on the other hand, try not to worry too much about pace. Rather I just want to feel strong. Since I know Matt will not read this post until after the race, I am predicting that he will run 1 hour 22 minutes. He is going to kick butt.

I am quickly learning the joys of modern technologies living in this house. In some ways the new place is a blast from my college days. No dishwasher, no washer or dryer, no attached garage, and carpet in the bathroom. (Two layers of carpet to be exact!) We thankfully have central air conditioning...that would have been a deal breaker for me in a house this size. Slowly we plan to make upgrades and changes to not only make the house our own, but to bring it up to today's standards. And I'm not a prude, I know plenty of people live without these technologies, I just didn't intend to be one of these people. :) Actually our washer is now working, but the dryer is electric and the house doesn't have enough voltage to allow our dyer to heat up. We luckily have plenty of clothes line downstairs to hang clothes so we are fortunate for that. We own a dishwasher but it is a built in and we're going to eventually create a place to build it in. And the bathroom carpet...

Well LeAnn, Kate and I pulled weeds, dug holes, trimmed shrubs and planted flowers most of the day Monday. It seems that weeds have overtaken much of the yard so Matt has been dealing with that. I think we are all a bit tired from the hard work. I also did a little painting this weekend. I'm trying to decide which colors to paint where. With each small change the house feels less like we are visiting and more like our home. Matt and I were planning to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) this coming Sunday. A race we have been training for since sometime in March. But we recently learned that because of the severe flooding the route has been changed and it will only be 10 miles instead of 13.1. I'm not too disappointed since I've already raced two half marathons but this would have been Matt's first. So we will run the 10 mile race this weekend and then most likely begin training for another half marathon. Anyone interested in joining us?!

I'm happy to report that Matt's ISU sign is still intact without a scratch. Hopefully out positive attitude toward the situation will actually work in our favor. This morning LeAnn , Kate and I worked our tails off weeding what was once a flower bed. Believe it or not, Kate was a great help. She pulled some weeds (and some flowers.) She helped move dirt (and ate some too.) She also watered flowers (and stomped in the mud.) Some Kate highlights included Kate watering her tummy rather than the flowers. She made a pile of dirt and poured her sippy cup over top, creating a delicious mud pie. Oh, and she sweetly brought me hand fulls of dirt to dump over top flowers. She was super cute!! So after hours of work we have a beautiful flower bed. We planted both mature flowers and some seeds so by next year the flowers will be even more gorgeous. I used old wood left in the garage by the previous owner as edging. I thought it was a great way to re-purpose what would have otherwise be...

I should probably watch myself with this post. Where we previously lived we had great neighbors for blocks and blocks. Friendly people would stop to chat, wave hello as they walked by, or pick up your garbage can if it blew over. Then we moved. We have some great neighbors over here too but we also have others who overshadow those great new neighbors. And this morning was the straw that broke the Crafts' back. Matt has an ISU yard sign; a testament to his allegiance to Iowa State. Yesterday Kate and I were walking out of the house to play when an older kid rode by on his bike and kicked the ISU sign. Being the more vocal of the Crafts I yelled at him to mind his own business. Then this morning we woke up to find the yard sign ripped and bent and not where we left it. My first response was to post a sign reading "I hate this neighborhood." Then I realized the possible retaliation. After a brisk jog I regained my wits and we came up with a much better plan. One of Matt...

Matt went grocery shopping and bought a new beer. He doesn't drink but thought I might be interested in giving it a try. Thanks for the thought Matt, but I'd rather drink flood water. It was called Chelada and its a blend of Bud Light and Clamato. What's Clamato you ask? It is the most unexpected, unusually blended combination of two things many adults don't like in the first place...clams and tomatoes. That's right I drank a beer that not only contained tomato, but also clams. What was Anheuser-Busch thinking? Actually, I only managed two sips and I was done. I bet I could sell the remaining cans to some neighbor kids for at least a buck a beer. (NOTE: I would never, ever do such a thing but I could totally make about five bucks if I tried.)

A view of 7's fareway from 6's green. Hole #3 What was once hole #5. A view of #1 from its tee box. What was the 7's tee box. 6's green with what was hold #7 behind it.

Well we awoke to more water in the basement this morning. When we went to bed last night the basement was dry but the sump pump was still taking out water that was trying to get into the house. There is a good chance Wolf Creek, which runs through town, may get worse. Wolf Creek is a little odd in that it flows in a northerly direction. Well Matt was on his way to work and had to go south to get to Waterloo since there is only one way out of La Porte and he noticed that Wolf Creek is in worse shape down there. And its all heading towards us. The homes closest to Wolf Creek are in sad shape and I'm sure the homeowners are frustrated. The homes near the Cedar will also be pumping and cleaning for days to come, if not weeks. And with more rain in the forecast, I guess all we can do is pray.

It is difficult to understand the shock value of these photos unless you have seen these same areas dry. This used to be a bridge over the Cedar River. Highway 218 N... the road to Waterloo Highway 218 N This is a view from Brandon Road into La Porte City. We took the picture from one of the only dry spots on the road. Another view from Brandon Road. This used to be the way we'd travel out of La Porte to get to Mike and LeAnn's house (Matt's parents). A view of a field surrounding Brandon Road. This area literally resembles an ocean.

Matt left for work this morning and by the time he got to Waterloo it was announced no one is allowed in or out of La Porte City. He is trying to make his way home despite this. Last I knew he was in Dysart and for anyone who knows eastern Iowa, you know Dysart is not in the direct path from Waterloo to La Porte. In fact its probably 15 miles south. We still have power and hopefully that continues. We'll keep everyone posted.

At this point there is only one way in and out of La Porte City. We have water in our basement but it is thankfully contained right now. The previous owner of our house left us a sump pump which we are extremely grateful for. Our house is not in the floodplain but the basement did see some water in 1993. Right now we are pumping out at the same rate the water is coming in... about 23 gallons a minute. Matt just took off for work and hopefully he will be able to get home. The Cedar River is the cause for the flooding and isn't going to crest until probably late tonight. While we are dealing with a small amount of flooding, it in no way compares to a good portion of the community and the state. Parts of La Porte are shockingly unrecognizable.

We all know about the floods but it is still shocking to see pictures. The LPC golf course is unrecognizable. This weekend is La Porte's town celebration, Festival of Trails, and its not looking good for the golf tournament. Beyond that, many homes in La Porte have been inundated with water. Waterloo and Cedar Falls are beyond flooded. They seem to have become an ocean. Both their downtowns have been evacuated and there are very few ways out of downtown for those who live and work there. All of this flooding is due to the Cedar River out growing its banks. What is even more scary is that the Cedar River flows right past La Porte. What a mess!

Matt's friend from ISU, Josh, along with his wife, Angie, and son, Reagan, came to visit this weekend. It was a surprise visit for Matt's birthday and he sure was surprised. Check out the great pics... Josh, Angie & Reagan Double duty Reagan and Kate enjoy the pool. Combined, the two kids drank at least half of the pool water. Kate loved getting sprayed with the hose. The kids played hard and were in desperate need of a bath See you soon everyone. Thanks for visiting!!! (This hug looks a little forced.)

And here are some cute pics of Kate in her new swimming pool...

There are so many reasons I detest insurance companies. Instead of going on and on with my list of reasons let me show you a picture from Parkersburg, IA. Below is the remains of a home directly affected by the tornado two weeks ago. I hope I'm not offending anyone with this post.

This Friday is Matt's birthday but we celebrated a bit early with my mom, dad and sister this past weekend. Below are a couple of photos from the party. Also, we attended the annual Cyclone Carnival Tuesday night and got our picture taken with a few ISU 'celebrities.' Kate loved dad's birthday cake. Kate LOVES Cy!! We asked Bill Fennelly to sign Kate for an early scholarship. He is taking it into consideration. While Matt may want Kate to play ISU basketball, I on the other hand hope she swims. I convinced the head swim coach to give Kate a full ride. She begins two-a-day practices next week. To my left in this picture is my favorite ISU football player, Rashawn Parker a.k.a. Bubba.

Actually 'jute' is my new cuss word. The previous owners of our new house left us huge, beautiful, expensive rugs. But hiding underneath these rugs were jute pads. They're basically very cushiony carpet pads made of jute; a material used to make rope. Well the jute is very, very, very old and is rapidly deteriorating. This wouldn't be a problem if the jute were to stay under the rugs but it instead finds it way out and gets dust everywhere. Thankfully its not a hazardous fiber, it just creates a mess. Well for those who know me well, if I get an idea in my head I cannot get past it. During Kate's nap yesterday I put on my dust mask, threw off the 30 foot rug and started rolling up the jute pad. Not only did the jute pad fall apart it had left itsy bitsy pieces all over the floor, the rug and me. Mildew had grown in spots underneath the pad and jute was stuck to each mildewy spot. I of course couldn't lift the jute pad out of the house by myself so I ha...

Mike and Megan are doing well. I visited them in their new house yesterday. They are staying in the empty home of a family friend until they can find their own housing. Everyone has been very kind to them. They have an abundance of clothes, toys and necessities. They are so blessed to have such good friends, family and a great church family. Below is a picture of their kids; Ian (4), Alli (3) and Hanna and Cooper (almost 2).

Kate and Lily Kate reciting poetry for Lily Where are you going? What a pose Kate talking about a big truck