If you saw the Today Show yesterday or any major news network, you probably heard stories about the record breaking flooding in Rhode Island. Towns across the state are under water. Roads and schools are closed, houses are evacuated, belongings are floating in basements.

It’s bad. One local river is supposed to reach 20 feet above flood stage by the time all is said and done. TWENTY FEET.

We live on a river, and woke up this morning to find the river in our yard. Most of our yard.

(The water is about halfway up this gate, and comes up to about my mid thigh. IN our yard.)

A quick look confirmed what we expected…our basement was flooded. Fun! Since this has never happened to our house before, we weren’t prepared and did not have a pump. Unfortunately, you couldn’t find or buy a pump in the state to save your life today. After a little bit of panic, we figured out some people we could call to beg, beg, beg for theirs, and luckily, they came through.

Hours and hours of pumping later…it’s still filling up. We’re fortunate to not be in the part of the state that’s under evacuation, but it’s sure not pretty.

We’ve become something of a neighborhood side show, as people have literally been parking in front of our house to see what it looks like to have a river run through your yard. We’ve even had people ask if they can take pictures!

All and all, a major pain. Kodiak agrees — he does not like having half a yard.