The Rocc Flock: Tropical Storm Isaias

2020 shall go down in history as one of the most difficult for a myriad reasons. We added yet another hurdle for the Rocc Flock to withstand yesterday.

Tropical Storm Isaias came through Pennsylvania causing major flooding and damage. The storm itself hit us starting around 7:30 AM and ended around 3:00 PM. By 4:00 PM, the sun was out and the twins and I were out exploring what was going on in our neighborhood.

Before we get to the sad stuff...here is some joyful stuff...

We decided to try to grow a butterfly sanctuary of sorts last fall. I am so excited because it really took off this year and we've been anxiously awaiting the monarch caterpillars!

They have arrived!!!

We love the tiny ones!!!

We collected all we could find because we knew the tropical storm was on its way.

Cam and Michael went fishing with a good friend and caught this beauty!

The twins went to an awesome day camp put on by the Wildlands Conservancy. They got to be OUTSIDE and with a small group of kids from 9 - 4. They were EXHAUSTED!

Now onto the sad stuff...The entire Rocc Flock tried so hard to save our basement.

But in the end, our French Drain System completely failed. It was a traumatic experience for everyone and one that I don't care to record on our blog.

I do want to record all of the lovely people in our lives who came to our rescue:

Aaron and Lisa - lovely neighbors who did loads of laundry for us

Jay and Nikki - great friends who checked on us even while their basement was flooding

Devon and Lee - new friends who offered their help

Corrie and Matt - they brought their generator down during the most nerve-racking part of our day

Mikey D - he sought refuge at our house and helped us laugh a little bit that day

Juan and Maria - great neighbors who made sure we had an extra shop vac when things were very bad

Chris and Paul -- I don't know their last names but they came to check on our neighbor's house for her.
They arrived at just the right time and let us borrow their generator. Mike and I truly believe this act of kindness saved further damage from happening to our home.

Rick - awesome colleague who checked in throughout the day

City Line -- same company that built our house back after the fire. Dana helped us by sending 5 trucks over as soon as possible to help with the clean up.

Erie Insurance/TW Cooper -- truly the best insurance company around - at least for the unlucky Rocchis. Special shout-out to Mike Burger.

My friends who texted me just to check in....and read my heart-breaking texts and told me it was going to be ok. You know who you are.

Lynn - for allowing me to call and cry and helping me to calm down

Jeff and Jessica - for coming to our house to offer help and then taking the twins for a bit so they could play with their daughter.

Sandy and Don -- Offered to bring us a generator -- they were on their way when the electricity thankfully came back on!

Sean and Elissa -- for being awesome friends always willing to help out when you can

Gammy and Poppy who again offered their house as a refuge to us.

My Dad -- we talked several times during the day. He told me to "Calm down and get yourself together" at just the right time.

Michelle and Cassy who came and vacuumed and steam cleaned our carpets upstairs which also got very dirty yesterday.

Red Robin for making the most delicious meal that we all ate at 8:30 that night...exhausted but thankful for our little family

When the storm was over, the sun came out and we went out exploring.

We thought it was pretty funny when people drove by and splashed us....the people in the cars thought it was pretty funny too. Glad we could add some humor to this awful day.

We took a walk over to our "secret ponds". This has been a fun spot for us during the pandemic.

When we got home, we started working on cleaning up our mess. The twins decided to go next door and pick up the sticks in our neighbors' yard. They did this completely on their own - no direction from us. These kiddos are pretty remarkable and make the darkest days have a bit of light in them.