[Image]  This has been such a stormy few weeks. We're used to having monsoons in July and August, but usually most of them provide dry lightning and a little cloud cover and not much else. This year, it started raining in mid-August and has rained nearly every day.

[Image]  One afternoon after a particularly hard downpour, we were treated to a double rainbow. The kids, their friends, and I ran outside to enjoy it.

[Image]  Then came the best part for them: jumping in puddles!

[Image]  They ran and jumped, splashed, and repeated. It was warm enough that they didn't care if they got a little (or a lot) wet.

[Image]  Desert Girl really wanted to go touch the rainbow. I tried to get creative about where the rainbow ended, but it didn't end up quite like I wanted. Nevertheless, it was sure beautiful!

[Image]  We decided to go for a walk, and the kids were on a mission to find every puddle they could.

[Image]  Some of the puddles were nice and deep, allowing for big splashes.

[Image]  We don't get to enjoy puddles out here in the desert too often, so this was a wonderful treat. It didn't hurt that mud was involved!

[Image]  I was wondering if we would see any flash flooding, but the ground did a pretty good job of absorbing most of the rain. After two drier than normal years, the ground is thirsty!

[Image]  I couldn't resist a photo of the old time wagon and barn. It always looks so neat, but if I had to use it all the time, I might not think quite the same.

[Image]  The rainbow stuck around for a long time, gracing us with its beauty.

[Image] Life is good with a friend and a puddle and the freedom to run wherever you want!