Fall 2012

As many of you know, this past fall our attention and focus was on what I refer to as "The Flood."  Our condo flooded at the very end of September.  And I wanted to share some photos of the mess, but first, allow me to share some photos of our ignorant bliss.  While our condo was flooding and our things getting all wet and asbestos-y, we were playing in the Colorado River in Blythe, CA.

  Daddy-daughter exploring...

  Dance Party!

 My dad's "River Rocket" boat...

  Why isn't she in the shade?

Mr. Sandman... 

And the blissfully ignorant couple...

Arriving home, tired from a long day in the sun, we discovered the mess.  We sprang into action and cleared out the first floor in 2 hours and called our insurance to open a claim.  We put all our damaged and non-damaged items from the living room in the garage - which looked stuffed - and the rest of the non-damaged items from upstairs and the kitchen were put in a storage unit.

Below are some pictures of the place looking so barren and bagged up.  It truly looked like a scene from an episode of Hoarders: Buried Alive.  It was sad to see our cozy home so dirty and pathetic.

For 3.5 months we lived in a one bedroom suite at Candlewood Suites.  Towards the end, I really did feel comfortable there.  Don't get me wrong, the space was extremely too small for our family, and in no way would I ever want to live in that hotel over my previously non-damaged condo, but our condo was so pathetic and smelly and dirty and cold and yes wet for so long that the hotel was a dry and warm alternative.  Plus, I didn't have to clean (dust, vacuum, sweep, launder sheets) in that hotel - which was super nice.

The pictures below are of our hotel, which I took on the day we checked out.  The bed was made everyday and we had some pictures of us around the place, but the place was a mess and our stuff was all packed up when I took these pictures.  I think you can still sense the space and feel of our temporary hotel home though.

It feels great to be back in our condo!  With a new kitchen too!  And now we are selling it.  I'll post on that soon.  It's quite the roller-coaster ride!