Krewe of Carlton: The Great Flood: Saturday

After finally falling asleep Saturday morning some time around 3, I woke up and decided to check Facebook. That seemed to be the place to go to figure out where the water was heading. I read a post that Kline street was flooding...Uncle Larry's house where Grandma was staying. Uncle Glen and Aunt Linda couldn't get to Grandma on Friday night after helping at Mom and Dad's. It was too dark and he couldn't see the streets due to the water. The plan was for him and Josh to get her out that morning. Mom and I got on the phone and they were already on the way to get her. Uncle Larry and Grandma were taken out on a 4 wheeler and dropped off at my office. With the help of strangers, and Josh carrying Grandma down the street on his back, they were able to make it to Josh's truck then out of Denham to Praireville.

After that scare, things were back to normal at Greystone. This was around 10 am. The water was holding steady, although there was lots of it. We were trying to keep our phones charged.

We tried to keep the kids entertained, but by 11:30 am they had to play in the water. I guess it's okay since it was just rain water. I decided to make a call to my IT guys about the office. As high as the office is, I wanted to make sure that our server had backed up properly to our off site storage. They let me know that the power was still on at the office and everything had backed up. We have no way to get out of the neighborhood to prepare the office, as well as Veterans Blvd is flooded. Just praying that the building is high enough to stay dry...

Around 1:15 pm, Ben noticed that the water is starting to go higher on the driveway, past the alarm sign. He and Doc are scoping out the situation...

Around 1:30pm, Ben walked to the creek behind our house and realized that the water was now flowing the opposite way .The parking lot is now taking on water. He comes inside and says he thinks we should get prepared as he is sure our house will now flood. Trying to stay calm, we send the kids to start packing a bag. With our house only being a single story, I asked Ben what we were going to do once the water started to come in. He already had a plan in mind. He told Cooper to get a hammer and they walked to the old Clubhouse next door. It was being renovated by the family who bought it. There is a staircase outside that leads to a large front balcony. Ben and Cooper broke an upstairs window on the french doors to get inside. We would take shelter there for as long as we needed. Mom starting packing up the pantry with food and drinks that we could bring next door.

We picked up as much furniture and possessions as we could, placing it on beds, tables and counters...

Water levels around 2:45 pm. Mom, Dad and the kids are settling in upstairs next door, while Ben and I continue to make trips back and forth...

Water levels around 3:45 pm, coming to the realization that it is only a matter of time before we have water in our home...

Making his way across the street...

Our view from the balcony around 4:30 pm...

Leaving our house for the last time around 4:45 pm, water has entered, nothing else to do except make sure our family is safe...

Photo that was shared on the news. Hanging out on the balcony with Kristen and Christal and their dogs...

Around 5:30 pm, boats dropping off families who live in single story houses to join us upstairs...

Chuck had been in touch with Ben and told him he was getting a boat to rescue us. Cell service was terrible and we hadn't heard from him. The National Guard trucks arrived about the same time that we saw Chuck and Ryan walking the boat down Carnoustie Way to us. We had a decision to make, get in a non motorized boat or get on the truck. Chuck reassured me that he had a boat with a motor waiting to tow us out and life jackets for the kids. Next obstacle: where would he be taking us? We had no where to go. He made a phone call and said that was taken care of too. He was taking us to the Templets and we could stay upstairs for as long as we needed. With that, and it being 6:30 pm, we loaded up in the boat as I was hoping we would be to dry land before it got dark.

The guys walking us down Carnoustie Way as far as they could get us...

Being towed through the golf course to Wax Road by the bridge. The guys tied up the bateau, and we all transferred into a big motorized boat. The boat had to gun it over the current to get us to Serene Road where we unloaded to get in Ryan's truck. Me, mom and the kids got into the cab with Ryan, while the guys rode in the bed of the truck. Somehow, we made it down Wax then Juban to the interstate. Chuck's truck was parked on the westbound side of the interstate. The eastbound side was closed due to the water. We made our way down the exit ramp to Chuck's truck having to pass over water that was rapidly flowing. The guys got out of the bed of the truck and jumped into Chuck's truck. We drove east bound on the westbound side of the interstate to Walker and managed to get over the overpass to Cory and Annie's house. I will never forget all the emotions that hit us as we got out of the truck and put our feet on the ground. We made it! We were all safe!