BLACK HAWK COUNTY- Few people will ever experience a major tornado firsthand.

But one Black Hawk County family now has more experience than they ever wanted. They've now lost two homes to twisters in the space of eight years.

Rich and Patti Schmitz who live northeast of Waterloo on Moline Road lost a home when a tornado struck the area and hit part of Dunkerton in 2000. They rebuilt the exact same home in the same spot later that year. On Sunday, stormy weather spawned more twisters and they lost their home for a second time.

Patti Schmitz said "I would say the storm was a little more intense this time...this time we have dirt and corn cobs everywhere."

The middle daughter Anna was a 6th grader the first time the family lost a home to the storm. Her parents and an older daughter were away at a school function when that tornado struck. Anna led her two brothers to safety in the basement.

This time, everybody went to the same safe place together. And as one of the few people to survive a major tornado strike twice...Anna is in a unique position to compare storms.

"The second time when we were sitting under the pool table we thought...ok...my brother and I looked outside and knew what was going on. We could look out the little storm windows and see stuff blowing around," she said.

The Schmitz family still has the original blueprints of the home constructed in 1994 and then rebuilt in 2000. They plan to build again--although they might make a few adjustments because they don't have as many kids living at home.

The family has told some people about the loss and plans to rebuild. In an informal poll, about half say they'd do it...and half say go somewhere else.

"Half of them say we're crazy to stay...the others say, yeah it's a nice location...what are the changes...the third time's the charm," Patti Schmitz said.

The Schmitz say they've had lots of help from friends, relatives and neighbors. That's making the second recovery process a lot easier.