Lana Clark and her kids, four and six-years-old, are visiting her parents here in Humboldt.
But she's not here because of a family reunion or Canada Day festivities - she's here because her house in High River, Alta. is flooded.
Well, not her house but her home, a "beautiful, two-storey" home that is full of memories and keepsakes, a place of familiarity and comfort.
The community of 13,000 south of Calgary suffered the worst of the Alberta flooding, with almost the entire city underwater.
Clark didn't expect it.
Her house is located in the east side of High River, away from Highwood River that runs through the northwest side of town and often floods in the spring.
"When they told us to evacuate, we took it seriously but I thought it was just precautionary. Our street was bone-dry," Clark says. "I asked 'Is this voluntary?' But officials said 'No, mandatory,'" Clark added.
Clark can't remember the exact moment when she realized that her neighborhood had become a victim of the flooding as well ("That part is all a blur," she says) but after staying with friends in Calgary for a couple of days, she quickly realized it'd be awhile before she'd be allowed back into High River.
Over 100 millimetres of rain fell in less than two days, with a total of 27 local states of emergency being declared, High River the worst of them.
Canadian Forces personnel and RCMP quickly ordered the city evacuated on June 20, barring anyone from returning into the city limits.
Clark took her children to her hometown of Humboldt to be with her parents, Herman and Frieda Baur, while her husband Jason, an Alberta Health Services worker, stayed behind to help with the evacuation and subsequent rescue efforts.
She also left behind her two cats, whom she hopes have survived.
When being evacuated in what she thought was just a precautionary measure, she figured they'd be able to return to their house within a couple of days.
"I moved the cats and their food and litter to the top floor, and am just hoping they're okay. Cats are really resilient," she says.
But she, like the rest of the city, has not been allowed back in to see her house. She has no idea what state it's in.
"I know the basement is for sure flooded but I have no clue if the main floor is as well, the top floor. We just have no idea," she says.
She assumes the water must have risen to the main floor and says if so, they have no choice but to fix it up.
"We've never considered not doing so. It's our home."
Still, Clark is remarkably positive and calm about the future.
"You have to have a mentality of the long haul. This isn't something that is going to be fixed in a matter of a few weeks. This will take years but you just have to continue and carry on," she says, her voice cheerful and reasonable.
She credits much of that to the outpouring of support and help she's gotten from family and friends.
It's easier to get through these horrific events when surrounded by great people.
Staying in Humboldt and visiting with her parents has been a calming relief for her and the kids.
"They just love it here. My parents' house is like their second home because we always come here in the summer," she says.
But this time it's bittersweet.
"Well I've been conflicted because I'm a teacher, so this is the holiday part of my work and I feel I should try to enjoy it like that. But I feel awful not being back there and helping right now," she explains.
Clark says from what she understands, emergency officials will start letting residents back into High River in phases.
When that happens, she'll rejoin Jason to start repairs on the house, leaving the kids to spend the rest of the summer with their grandparents in Humboldt.
Seeing photos of the disaster is admittedly devastating and hard to take but Clark says it's important to deal with it and move on.
But the entire event is still surreal.
"I had no idea it was going to be this bad. I don't think any of us did."
Donations to the Alberta floods relief can be made through the Canadian Red Cross' Alberta Floods Fund. Go to redcross.ca to make a donation.
Donations can also be made at the check-out of Sobeys stores across Western Canada until July 15, or at the local Conexus Credit Union building.
