I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore.

A tornado hit our street last night at 9:15. We never heard sirens go off. We heard a loud wind, but didn't think anything about it. I saw emergency vehicles a few houses down, and thought a house had been hit by lightning, but I didn't smell any smoke. About 10 minutes later, a firefighter knocked on our door and asked it everyone was OK. I said we were fine, and asked what had happened. He said, "A tornado touched down about 100 yards from your house."

Kate was asleep, so we walked down the street to see what had happened. It was pretty bad. A car was flipped on its roof in the middle of the street. Our babysitter's house was at Ground Zero. They lost their chimney, and pickets from their fence came shooting through their windows. Glass was everywhere. All the upstairs bedroom ceilings were leaking from the holes in the roof. Their patio roof collapsed. Their trampoline and patio furniture were gone. The house was not safe and the kids were scared, so the kids spent the night with us.

As far as our house, it seems to be OK. I think we lost some shingles, but we gained a trampoline! It is bent, but it landed right-side-up in our backyard, perfectly placed between our trees! An inspector will come out later and check our roof, but we're way down the priority list. I walked around today, and everyone is pitching in to help each other. It's a gorgeous day, so it's a good day to take care of everything that needs to be done. The Red Cross is here, and some people have been driving around handing out water and Rice Krispy treats.

No one was injured, although 5 homes are currently uninhabitable. We were all very lucky. My side of the street sustained the least damage, while the other side of the street and down the block had quite a bit.

This link shows the scene from last night: http://wyliephotos.com/fire/2007/070330/index.htm and I have also attached some pictures I took this morning. The trampoline is our yard, and the other houses are down the block.