The local creek swelled from 4 feet across, to 50 feet across during the hurricane. I took this picture as the eye of the storm was passing over Manhattan, about a 30-minute drive from our house.

The local creek flooded during Hurricane Irene. For about 10 hours it overwhelmed its banks and shut down our street. The current was strong enough to sweep anyone away.

With the road flooded and the street shut down, there was very little traffic on our street during the hurricane... well, there wasn't much traffic anywhere, really.

I don't think a sump pump has ever created more joy.

The power came back on for a brief period. During that time, the sump pump worked non-stop to drain the basement. The water went out front, and Trevor decided to dip his head in the flow. About 15 seconds after this picture I glanced over to see his cheeks full of basement water. He swallowed before I could tell him to spit it out.

Ah, the things to look at during a hurricane!

So there's a hurricane outside, what else would you do than dress your kids in their swimsuits and send them out to play?

Kevin found a fallen branch and decided that it would make an excellent whip.

I remember playing with the water at my grandpa's house when I was a kid. Now my kids couldn't get enough of the sump pump.

Christopher found a fallen branch and carried around like an "umbrella" for a while. We all had so much fun.

Apparently the best time to dress in swimsuits and play in a hurricane is just as the eye of the storm passes by.

They shut down our road due to the flooded stream, and we saw dozens of emergency vehicles on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I saw a few downed trees, hundreds of downed branches, and a snapped telephone pole.

Splish splash, I was taking a bath...

Water is just fun.

We couldn't keep the kids in, so within minutes of the eye passing us, the kids got in swimsuits and started splashing outside.

The world is your swimming pool during a hurricane.

I took Trevor to go look at the raging torrent that had become of our local creek.

I took Trevor to go look at the raging torrent that had become of our local creek. We had fun.

I took Emma to go look at the raging torrent that had become of our local creek.

Savannah smiles with her tongue out all the time. While everyone else was splashing in the water during the hurricane, she kept busy with her rubber ducky.