I can't believe the weather difference!

Okay, so yesterday was a beautiful, sunny 61 degrees for the high! And I heard from some of you in Minnesota that it's been below zero?! Talk about arctic weather!

My dad, who has been staying down here with us to work, is flying back to Minnesota this Saturday and admitted that he's nervous about the drastic climate change he's going to be going through. That's more than a 60-degree difference?!!!! Feel free, Minnesota friends, to comment on this blog this summer when I am unable to go outside for weeks at a time and are paying ENORMOUS electric bills!

We went for a walk yesterday around the neighborhood to the end of our road where there's a cul-de-sac and a GREAT view. (This picture is from Sunday afternoon when it was also a beautiful day and we took this walk with Pete.) I was told that this spot was where the tornado hit 15 years ago, so most of the houses back here are new. In fact, right behind everyone in this picture, a builder is trying to prepare this lot for a house! Subcontractors/builders are encouraged to bring any type of fill they have (concrete, dirt, etc.,) so they can build up this lot enough to build a house on it. In this cul-de-sac, these people obviously don't have any kids or they would fall right off the cliff! Thankfully, our yard doesn't drop straight off like this.

The first day we pulled into Catoosa, this view is the first thing I saw when we exited the freeway. I remember saying, "Whoa, look at those houses way up there on the hill!" My dad then said, "Yep-that's where you live!" My first instinct was serious concern and debilitating fear. But how often do you get to live somewhere where you can see for 20 miles from your own backyard?! (In the picture with Pete and the kids, we were standing about 100 feet in front of the house you see in this last picture on the very right at the top of the hill.)