Rain, Rain, Go Away

I have never hated rain so much. It is devastating to see all of the images. I am not going to post them here, but my friend Lindsay wrote a great blog with lots of pictures if you want to check them out.

I woke up this morning with the intent to get to the dog, Ali. I arrived about 10 AM and we played for a bit. I thought, "Great day, we can get the rest of our stuff moved in storage". Then I went to Best Buy to return the camera. Still no rain. After that I went to Target** to get the camera that I wanted (pink - score!!!). While in Target, the skies opened. So, I hung out for a bit, probably buying more than I needed to. Break in the rain and I ran for it. Then I went to Kroger and spent a ridiculous amount of money on groceries, but we are good now.

**If you read this blog, you know that I am Target-lover. Why, oh why, did I not really know about Super Target? I have heard of them, but never been to one. When I walked in it for the first time, I almost fainted. Granted, the "super" is really just groceries, but if you knew the Target I came from, this is unbelievable. **

Oh lordy, as I was loading the groceries, the rain started coming in SHEETS. I was soaked. I still had to stop at the apartment office and pay the deposit for storage. By the time I got home and unloaded the groceries (which Stu, bless his heart, did most of), I had to change clothes. I have never seen so much rain.

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Meanwhile, Ms. Abby is just loving life with Gammy.

Playing Dress-Up!

House!

And just plain chowing down!

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I left our apartment right off Sam Ridley about 3 to get the girls and bring them home. I don't think that I went over 40 on the Interstate. Those 18 wheelers were flying!

My first hand experiences:

• The railroad in Murfreesboro had flashing lights, but no train (the tracks were flooded).
• I could not go in the main entrance of my parents neighborhood as it was about 6 inches underwater. That doesn't seem like much, but I was not willing to risk it, so I went around.
• They are out of town this weekend (Gatlinburg - not a drop of rain). I noticed a leak in the roof (they have sky lights that constantly leak when it is raining), but this was bad. It leaked all over their recliner, so I moved the recliner and set up a bucket. There was also about a 3 inch crack in the ceiling. I called them, so hopefully they can get someone out their tomorrow to fix it.
• If you are familiar with Murfreesboro, you know Stones River. My parents live by this river. In all of my years, I have never seen the river so high. What makes it especially bad is that these same houses were hit with the tornado last year. All of their trees are gone, so you can clearly see the river.
• The Stones River Golf Course - underwater.
• Stu's parents (where Abby was) live on Northfield. Right in front of their house is a very bad flood area. When I was leaving, there was a wreck about 4 houses down.
• Driving over Almaville Road exit, completely flooded. People could not even get off the exit.
• To get to our apartment, you have to cross back over the interstate. As I am trying to do that, there is a steady stream of traffic. Apparently, they closed the interstate to Murfreesboro. Whew, I'm glad I left when I did.
• Stu's parent's house is also leaking. There are going to be alot of people with alot of damage when the dust settles on this.

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When I called my parents to tell them about the leak, they said "Oh, that leaks all the time". They have no idea what is going on here! I tried to explain that schools were closed, roads were flooded. My mom says, "For Rain?". Uh no, this is not just rain. She said, "Well we are going to try and come to your apartment tomorrow". Good freakin' luck!

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We are finally a family reunited! Since we have no cable, all FOUR (including the fur baby) of us played on the floor tonight. Just wrestling and laughing. It was great. Although Ali has a bit of a "gas" problem, especially when she is excited, we had a blast.

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Just saw the green light on the camera battery - time to start taking pictures again. Be warned!